Denmark in Depth

After exploring the Danish castles north of my home base in Roskilde, I decided to next head south into the countryside. Studying a map, it was interesting that the capital city of Copenhagen (København in Danish) was snuggled up to Sweden to the extreme east of the rest of Denmark. Perhaps it was most important historically to be the primary port on the Baltic Sea?

Regardless, the rest of the island of Zealand held plenty of interesting destinations. As I drove south, the pastoral landscape reminded me how surprisingly rural Europe could be despite its much higher population density than back home in the States.

I soon arrived at the estate surrounding Vallø Slot (castle) near the seaport of Køge. Rare among castles, its history was largely shaped by women. The most prominent parts of the castle were built in the 1580s under the direction of Mette Rosenkrantz, one of the richest women in Denmark of her day. Eventually it passed to Queen Sophia Magdalene who created a foundation for unmarried daughters in 1737.

Basically, it functioned as a convent for unmarried women from noble or princely houses. Today, the castle still provides housing for unmarried women of the Danish nobility but admission now includes widows and divorced women.

As I examined a wall in the grand carriage entrance, I noticed centuries-old graffiti carved into the stone. Just think, a random etching from 1748 might be the only earthly reminder this particular person existed at all.

I pondered that thought as I strolled the immaculate grounds of the castle, passing under orderly rows of trees lining finely-gravelled paths. Once back in my car, I drove further south, this time to the edge of Zealand where it dropped into the Baltic Sea just beyond the town of Højerup.

Here were the chalk cliffs of Stevns Klint, famed as one of the world’s best exposed Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundaries. In geological layman’s terms, I learned this was exposed rock where you could see a thin band that marked the dust cloud that fell to earth roughly 66 million years ago due to a meteorite strike near the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The resulting mass extinction event wiped out 75% of the earth’s plants and animals, including the dinosaurs.

That cataclysmic event couldn’t have contrasted more with how pleasant the area was today. I hiked along the top of the cliffs and looked out over the sea. I soon noticed a building in the distance that seemed to hug the very edge.

As I hiked closer, I discovered the Højerup Gamle Kirke (old church). A couple were being married inside so I respectfully waited in the churchyard. As soon as their party cleared out, I stepped in for a look.

An old newspaper hung near the entry. I leaned in and read about the church’s startling history. Originally dating from the 1200s, erosion had caused the chancel to suddenly collapse into the sea in 1928.

Thankfully a service was not in session. You could still see the ragged end of the church that had been sealed up and fashioned with a balcony looking out over the water. It was from this precarious spot the happy couple had just exchanged their vows.

Of course I had to get a better look at this daredevil church and the geologically-significant cliffs from below.

Whoa. For as safety-minded as Scandinavians always seem (Volvo anyone?), the stairs on the way down were so steep I was sure countless overly-eager Danish children had plunged to their end on the rocks below.

I carefully managed my way down the slick metal steps only to round the corner and find those same imperiled Danish children frolicking gleefully along the raging sea’s edge.

Completely baffled, I returned to the safe confines of Roskilde and set out to find dinner. Danes evidently love their street food (much like the Germans). It sounded crazy but the traditional Danish hot dog topped with ketchup, mustard, remoulade, onions and pickles suited me fine after all the day’s drama.

The next morning, I waited out a passing shower and then hiked down to Roskilde’s harbor to visit its famed Viking Ship Museum. Five boats sunk together a thousand years ago and were preserved in the fjord mud. Their bits were recovered in the 1960s and painstakingly pieced back together over 25 years.

Several modern versions based on the originals bobbed in the water nearby. They’d proven the Vikings could sail to what is now the British Isles and Ireland in about three days, the Mediterranean in 14 days and the coast of Greenland, more than 1,000 miles away, in just three weeks. Amazing. The first Europeans in North America were most certainly these guys (sorry Columbus).

The museum itself where the original ships were displayed was reinforced with wood beams supporting a wall facing the water. Evidently, during a recent storm, the sea had tried to reclaim its bounty. Serious efforts were underway to build a new museum just a bit further inland to preserve these priceless examples of Danish heritage.

The afternoon sky cleared and I took advantage of the warm sun to walk through the Sankt Jørgensbjerg neighborhood again, just to the west of the harbor. To me, these warmly-colored cottages with thatched roofs perfectly epitomized the Danish concept of hygge. Something like this is what I would have wanted to come home to after time spent on the raging sea.

Many of the homes featured this strange contraption attached to the window frames. It housed angled mirrors which allowed those inside to view the full length of their property. I concluded these were the forerunners to today’s security cameras.

That’s it for now from Denmark. I’m next headed down to northern Germany. The Danes say “hej” (pronounced just like “hi” in English) for both hello and goodbye. So, hej!

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