DAY 5 - DENMARK ADVENTURE - CHECKING OUT FREDERIKSSUND & A VIKING VILLAGE... 28th April, 2022...

 Day 5 seems us venture out on our own for the first time since arriving.  Both of us have arrived with very sore backs from the long haul of sitting on a plane for 24 hours, so we had Pete and Maria check for a chiropractor in Fredrikssund and make an appointment for us.  

Before we headed off though, we did some washing for Maria and two beautiful little boys helped us peg it out.  Elliot is obsessed with the pegs and did a wonderful job of helping by offering us pegs to use to peg out the washing...

Elliot helping me peg out the washing

Once our housework was done it was time to head into downtown Fredrikssund.  This was a first for us and we weren't quite sure where we were going.  Thank goodness for Google Maps which guided us.  They were situated in the very old part of town along a cobbled road.  All very picturesque. We were fortunate to find a car park just outside their front door.  We had a successful visit, although Sven (our chiropractor) wanted to see us again within the week.  

Once we had seen the chiropractor, we decided to check out the town.  We were parked in like a square with beautiful old buildings and a water feature with lovely trees that were just starting to flower...As we started to explore we also found a little alley that had some beautiful mosaic work displayed..

Although Pete and Maria bought in Frederikssund back in January, they had only moved into their new home only days before we arrived so had not done a lot of exploring around town before we had arrived.  Frederiksund is a beautiful little Danish town located on the east coast of Roskilde Fjord about 40 minutes (45kms) north-west of Copenhagen, 20 kms from Hillerod and 30kms north of Roskilde.  It is easily accessible by both car and train with the suburban commuter trains into Copenhagen leaving once every 10 mintues so makes it an ideal place for families to live and commute to Copenhagen for work if necessary.

The town received the status of market town in 1810 and is also famous for its annual Viking Games as well as for the J.F. Willumsen museum. Since 1935, it has been connected to Hornsherred via the Kronprins Frederik Bridge.

Frederikssund Town Hall

It really is a lovely time to visit Denmark with most of the trees just starting to blossum.  All very beautiful and I doubt that I would ever get tired of seeing all the plants burst forth with new life in the Spring.  We don't see it like this back home.

Spring blossoms

Frederikssund Town Hall

Even the ducks look quite majestic in Denmark...

Spring is in the air...

It was just lovely to see all the Spring flowers and the trees getting their new years and all breaking into bloom.

As it was such a lovely day, we decided to go for a walk down the street before heading off in the car again and we still had about an hour of park time left before we would need to pay..

Frederikssund has quite a colourful history.. there is evidence of communities dating right back to the stone age with a number of burial sites in the area.  It seems probable that there was a small settlement at the present location of Frederikssund in the Middle Ages but the development of the town probably began in the 12th century with the construction of a church at what was then known as Ude Sundby or Sundby Faerge.  Located at the narrow point on Roskilde Fjord, Sundby Faege became the harbour for the nearby market town of Slangerup.

In 1809-10, the status of market town was transferred from Slangerup to Frederikssund, named after King Frederik III.  In 1868, a pontoon bridge linking Frederikssund to Hornsherred was opened.  This was then replaced by today's Kronprins Frederik Bridge in 1935. 

Frederikssund's rapid expansion from a small town at the end of the 19th century is due in large part to the railway connection with Ballerup in 1879 which was upgraded to a frequent suburban service to Copenhagen in 1989...

There is nothing like the Spring Flowers in Denmark.  Flowers here grown bigger and there are more of them than any f the plants we have seen back home.  The other lovely thing I love about over here is that a bunch of beautiful flowers can be bought anywhere from $2 to $6 a bunch and you get far more in a bunch over here than we would ever get back home...

The recent development of the town centre and the old commercial harbour have given Frederikssund a new look which reflects its growing popularity as a residential area with connections to Copenhagen and the surrounding districts.  It now has all the facilities associated with a modern Danish town....  Museums, a public library, supermarkets, a hospital and sports and recreation centre.  With a location facing west over the Roskilde Fjord, it has many footpaths along the shores and up into the higher ground to the east.   The local rail and bus services are also well developed.

Our plans for the afternoon were to take the boys for a visit to the Viking Village located in Frederikssund so we decided to go check out the location before heading home so that we would know where to go.  On our way back we took a side road that took us down to the Fjord and some parklands and fishing shacks.  

This was a lovely area behind the main township of Frederikssund with paths leading around the fjord.  Steve had a wander along these whilst I checked out the fishing shacks.  All very quaint and decorated according to each of the owners...

large dandelions - bigger than any we see growing at home..

 

 

 One of the thing that amazes us over here are the dandelions.  They grow prolifically everywhere here at the moment and the flower are HUGE...

Beautiful fjord around Frederikssund..

There are picnic tables everywhere in Denmark.

Large bridge over the fjord in the backgound - this bridge is close to where Pete and Maria live.

Paths everywhere along the water's edge..

Whilst Steve wandered some of the paths, I went to check out the fishing shacks...

The dandelions must be a pest plant for folks living here, but I don't think I would ever tire of seeing them growing wild.  They along with a small white daisy weed are in everyone's lawns, on nature strips and footpaths and I think it all looks amazing...

Growing wild on the nature strip outside of Pete's place..

It was lunch time by the time we got home, so we made some sandwiches for us all to eat and then put Elliot down for his sleep.  Whilst he has his nap, Theo gets a little TV time, so whilst the boys were quite, Steve and I made the most of this to have a bit of a rest ourselves.

Lunch time...

The plan was that once Elliot woke from his nap that we would take the boys down to the local Viking Village which is situated right on the Fjord in downtown Frederikssund.

Frederikssune is renowned for the Viking Games which is held each summer here.  The townsfold play Viking games "Hagbard and Singe"and then when darkness falls they bring to life on stage  the stories of Norse mythology.  This allows you to imagine how the Vikings traded, lived and sailed on Roskilde Fjord. This particular festival has been held in Frederikssund now for over 60 years and fighting, torchlight processions and horn-blowing are features of these colourful spectacles..  Unfortunately, we missed these by a week as they were being held the week after we left to head home.  Such a shame... We will definitely need to time our visit next time we come in Summer to coincide with this event...

Steve and the boys checking out the moss growing on the roof...

 

In 1993  the townsfolk grew the idea to expand the Viking activities with a historically accurate reconstructed village that could give the audience a chance to experience how the Vikings lived and worked.  Work began on the reconstruction of a longhouse and five pit house (small house with floor cut into the ground level).  The pit houses served the Vikings a workshops and in some cases, temporary housing.

Today Frederikssund Viking Settlement is an open-air museum,  with free admission to the village.  However during the festival, admission charges do apply but also then, there are plays and other events held there which still makes the small admission charge  quite worthwhile.

Enjoying afternoon tea at the Viking Village.

Whilst we were having our afternoon tea, we met one of the volunteers who spent some time chatting with us about the Village and the volunteers program there.  He was super impressed with Theo and his ability to speak English.  

After we finished our afternoon tea, we headed off to see the authentic viking huts  before walking down to the water's edge and walking back to the start of the village.  The first building we came across was the General Long House.

The General Long House.

The general long house in villages were often split into a stable end and an accommodation forward, whereas the finer long houses or 'halls' had a very large central space 'hall', which was used for gatherings of various kinds. Often, in addition to the hall, which was the middle of the house, one room at each gable end, these spaces could have different functions.
The plan for the long house, which forms the model of the longhouse at the Viking settlement was unearthed during an archaeological dig in 1995 in a field just south of Gershøj Church in Hornsherred. This house was about 25 m long, but the practicalities of reconstruction shortened by a few meters. Long houses could either be built in wooden walls as vertical bulkonstruktion or planks, or clay walls with risflet. 

Grube house 1 is based on the habit of the late Viking Age, which was excavated in 1986 at Tvedmosegaard on Stevns. The house is buried 1 m.

The walls consist of very wide bulkheads of 4 cm thickness.
All timber is chopped and chipped oak trees and the coarse construction is partly covered by clay on the inside.

In the north-western corner of the house, a 60 x 80 cm large furnace has been built with a Clay cap.

Pit house 4 has its basis in house-remnant excavated at Vestby Mark at Selsø.  The walls consist of a flimsy mesh, which is mud-built. At the east gannet is set up a 3 x 80 x 115 cm large cracked door. 

The house is thatched with seaweed on the ridge beam.

Grube house 3 has its starting point in the habit, even from early Viking Age, which was excavated in 1995 at Vestby Mark by Selsø.

The house is oval shaped, measuring 270 x 310 cm. The roof is carried by a backpack and 2 soles with a round cross section located freely inside the building.
In the western point of the wall there is an additional post (sule). By this proud is a cracked door inserted.

 

 

Pit house 5 has its basis in house-remnant from the late Viking excavated at Vestby Mark at Selsø.  The walls consist of mud-built mesh. The house is approximately 12 m2. 

On the east side is a narrow door near the corner of the house, and the downturn sides by mesh. The house's southeast corner an a fireplace in the form of a smoke house.

Grube house 2 is based on a former Viking era, which was excavated in 1994 at Vestby Mark at Selsø. The house is buried 50 cm. The walls consist of a flattery.
Externally, the walls of the stacked gravel are protected and the soil from the gravel is excavated.

Once we had a good look at the little huts and the kids explore inside of them all we then headed down the wooden path to the water's edge.

We also learnt that the Roskilde Fjord was a very important waterway for the Vikings. Nowhere in Denmark do they feel the Viking presence as strong as when they are  boating, fishing or swimming  in the clear water of this fjord. Skuldelev ships, which are now on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, was lowered into the narrow fairway off Skuldelev harbor just south of Frederikssund, to block the enemy's further passage into the Roskilde Fjord, and thereby also to defend the attack at Roskilde, where the throne was at the time.

We really enjoyed walking along the water's edge with the boy.  They were happy to run ahead and explore and when we were really close to the water, Steve gave Elliot a ride on his shoulders.  It was a great afternoon.  The boys love the outdoors. 

The trees were pretty tall around here, and there were also lots of flowering trees and new Spring growth on all the trees. 

Having a little rest and listening to the birds...

By the time we came back into the Village, we came in where they were setting up for the Viking Festival which was due to start in the next month.  The festival runs for three weeks, with nightly re enactments of the Viking Story.  Appartently in the three weeks of the festival, they have tens of thousands of visitors through town.

Setting up for the Viking Festival held each June.

Checking out the view from above

We had a great afternoon together.  This place was really interesting and I think we are both keen to come back and actually visit the Village when the festival is on.  Might have to be put in our bucket list for a future visit to Denmark.