Roskilde trip
The Danish city of Roskilde, located just thirty-five kilometers from Copenhagen has been around for a very long time. It actually dates from the Viking age and as such, there are quite a couple of Viking-themed attractions to see, mainly the Viking Museum and Roskilde Cathedral.
The Cathedral has been around since the 13th century, but three centuries before the current church was built, a wooden church lay on that spot. The building is the burial place for over twenty kings and seventeen queens, spread amongst the four chapels, but the most impressive by far are the monuments for king Christian the 3rd and his wife.
Roskilde is definitely the place to visit for those who are fascinated by the Vikings and want to learn much more about the truth behind what is popularly seen as a bunch of war-happy raiders – the truth being quite far from that.
The Viking Ship Museum features several original viking ships, a research center, and a harbour in which you can view replica viking ships, as well as a shipyard where they make new ones, if you’re lucky you can watch the activity for a bit.
All of those are quite interesting in their own right indeed, and a decent attraction for many travelers, however the thing that makes Roskilde a well-known name amongst many others, is the presence of the four-day Roskilde Rock Festival.
Rock music enthusiasts flock to the town from all across Europe, half of its tickets being sold outside the country, to make up one of the largest rock festivals on the continent, vying with Glastonbury for the title.
What started back in 1971 with a few thousand attendants, has rocketed to an annual gig that sees over a hundred thousand visitors and a wide range of singers, bands and sub-genres.
The festival usually takes place in late June and early July and has a large camping area set aside right next to the stage area. This means that many people will show up a few days earlier, maybe up to a week before the festival actually starts to get their tents up as close to the stage area as possible because the camping area is quite immense.
