Roskilde; Friday, 26 July, 2024

I had a late breakfast, as did most of the rest of the hotel given how busy the restaurant was, then checked out and headed down to the airport railway station to catch the hourly direct train over to Roskilde. As this is the only train each hour heading in that direction that doesn’t go into the centre of Copenhagen there were lots of warnings and messages not to board it if you wanted the centre of town, but there were still a couple of people who the guard had to direct to get off at the next station before they got carried away from their intended destination.

I arrived in Roskilde with enough time to spare to be able to catch the bus up over to the hotel rather than walking the kilometre or so. It meant that I was at the hotel before 1pm a good couple of hours before check-in was due to take place, but thankfully my room was already available, so the very nice reception team let me check-in and drop my stuff off before I headed back down into town, getting into the centre just as the afternoon drizzle was starting.

I had a bit of a wander around the main central square and then through the grounds of the former Royal Palace, now the Bishops Palace, before heading over to the Roskilde Domkirke – the city’s cathedral and one of the most important religious buildings in the country.

With Roskilde having previously been the capital of the country up until 1443 it was only natural that the countries most important cathedral, and the final resting place of it’s medieval monarchs, but even after the capital moved to Copenhagen the cathedral continued to be the final resting place, and still holds that position with – slightly creepily as she’s still alive – the tomb of Queen Margrethe II already installed and awaiting it’s occupant.

Considering the role, it’s played in the history of Denmark the cathedral has a lot to see in a building that’s a weird collection of extensions and expansions – every time they ran out of space to bury royals, they just built an extra chapel in whatever the current style was. The main part of the church dates to the 12th Century and was one of the first brick built gothic buildings in Europe, but the rear of the cathedral, whilst looking like it’s original only dates to its reconstruction following a devastating fire in 1968.

I spent well over an hour looking round the cathedral, in part due to all that there was to see, and in part to sit out the heavy rain shower that was passing through at the time. By the time I finished looking round the cathedral the rain had subsided and I thought it would be safe to have a bit more of a wander round the town centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up. Unfortunately, the weather had different ideas and most of the freshening up happened on the walk back to the hotel as I got caught in a particularly sharp, but thankfully short, shower that I was able to shelter from the worst of under a bridge.

Back at the hotel I dried off and decided it was probably best, given the weather forecast was saying showers would continue for the next couple of hours, to have dinner in the hotel restaurant and wait until just before sunset to head back into town to take some photos of the city at dusk.

I had a bit of a wander around the city at dusk before catching the bus back to the hotel and turning in.