Copenhagen Day Tour - part 1

Copenhagen - 3/5
We had arranged a day tour for the family – Pete and I had done this six years ago and really enjoyed it so ……https://hamlettours.com/grand-day-trip-around-c… - open the link and click on Tour Description then scroll down to each stop where it says ‘Read More’ – that saves me writing all about each place. It gives a brief description and history, worth having a look, it has a few photos as well.

We were picked up at the door by driver/guide Benji, 15 people in a minibus, and the history lesson started straight away. He had a good sense of humour along with all the information so it was definitely not boring though quite a recitation of dates and names through around 12 or more centuries. By way of a change, on the way he pointed out a housing estate beside a golf course, they were designed by Jorn Utzon who was responsible for the Sydney Opera House. These 60 houses were so different, called the ‘Roman Houses’ apparently based on houses in Pompeii, all a browny yellow colour, very square, almost all the same – nothing like a Sydney ‘sail’ to be seen.

Our first stop was at Roskilde Cathedral, Roskilde was the capital of Denmark around 960 and the cathedral built 12/13th centuries using brick which apparently meant it was lighter and easier to put windows in. You can see the different bricks from different ages in the walls, slightly different colours and sizes as it was added to over the years. Inside we saw the coffins of Danish monarchs for at least 500 years, lots of gold and black velvet. The current queen though is going the complete opposite and will have a crystal coffin. There were several side rooms including one with several coffins and two enormous paintings which looked like they were in marble frames with plaster or marble decorations but in fact it was all trompe l’oeil, so realistic.

The organ is really beautiful and I loved the metal man dancing on the gate. I also noticed again that each arm rest on the seats near the altar was different, little faces, quite detailed but worn quite smooth over hundreds of years. The aisles had large stone carvings set into them, all sorts of 'people' mostly worn quite smooth by thousands of feet walking on them through the centuries.

There was a great story about the beautiful altar – the king had created a barrier so that he could stop ships going up the channel and tax them on the value of their cargoes, but the king also had the right to check out the cargoes and ‘buy’ what took his fancy. One captain undervalued the cargo, which included the beautiful altar, and………you can guess the rest. And now it’s in the cathedral for all to see.

Keep reading to see parts 2, 3 and 4 about today's tourRead more