Vikings at Sea 🚣🏼

We left the big city this morning, and headed out to the Danish countryside. We spent most of the day in Roskilde, just outside of Copenhagen.  The plan was for us to sail in official replicas of Viking ships. However, the weather did not cooperate very well. We did the best we could to row out of the harbor in two separate ships, but the wind and rain was too much for us to actually set sail. It was raining for most of the voyage, and even started snowing at one point.  Everyone learned very quickly how to row with the oars, because we wanted to make it safely back to dry land!

Here is my boat crew before our sea voyage:

I sat at the front of the ship, and was responsible for steering the boat.

Here is a picture of the other crew rowing in the harbor:

And here is my boat crew again, at the end of our voyage, with our boat guide who has earned several rowing medals for Denmark.  He had to help us row when we were on the open waters.

After our boat rides, we had time to explore the Viking Museum and interactive exhibits. The boys couldn't resist the invitation to build your own Viking boat.

They were very proud of their finished products:

 

They even floated...

The Viking Museum had several ships on display, which had been recovered from this harbor.  Apparently, the Vikings scuttled (or sank) at least seven of their own ships in the harbor, as a line of defense (to make it difficult for other boats to sail through the harbor). So, these sunken ships have been excavated and studied as a link to Viking history.

I know Phillip would have loved this museum (and Clara, too). Between this experience and Tivoli Gardens, I think it is worth a family trip someday!