Prayer day and Borreby Castle

 A bit of history:

Many years ago there were many prayer days throughout the year each on for a different reason may it be a saint or a particular religion. For each one of these prayers day it was a national holiday and some people said it did not make sense to have all the prayer days so instead they made one big prayer day.  The day before this big prayer day it is tradition to walk around a park with a castle or church and then enjoy a piece of bread and a cup of tea. Every one I talked did not know why walking around a park eating bread and having tea is a must on the day before national prayer day.

 The Copenhagen Post wrote:

The Danish nation has [King] Christian V to thank for the holiday, which is celebrated on the fourth Friday after Easter, after he decided in 1686 to group together a number of Roman Catholic feast days, particularly as the country had converted to Protestantism over a century earlier. Traditions include eating a bread called varme hveder, a walk along Langelinie and lots of bell ringing.


Cx found out about an event at a near by castle on the evening before prayer day. The tourist office did not have a lot of info about this event and even after a few phone calls we were not any closer to determining what this event was all about. All we could determine was that every one we spoke to was really excited about the 'old fashion' bus ride to the castle.  But we were both very curious so we had to go.

On Thursday May 19th, After work we got on the bus and took a 30 minute ride to a town call Skælkør. The town is right next to an inlet from the ocean it was a beautiful view.

During our phone calls we found out the a hotel in Skælkør was serving dinner and had an 'old fashion' bus ride to the castle about 2 miles away. When we arrived we were served a nice dinner with bread and wine while eating dinner Cx and I determined that we were the youngest people at this dinner and on the bus ride. We did not mind both of us just wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves.

Once Cx and I arrived at the castle we were pleasantly surprised on how many people were there. We also noticed many people dressed up in Victorian era clothing. The castle was not one of those huge castles you think of but it was still impressive and well preserved.

Chancellor Johan Friis erected this castle in the year 1556, on a little islet, the renaissance castle which - with some alterations over the years -- can still be seen to-day, being one of the oldest buildings in the country. Originally BORREBY had renaissance gables. They were, however, removed - and so were the watchman's gallery in the third story along the north and south walls.  Early in the 17th century the subsequent owner built the east and the west wings of the castle as well as the gatehouse and (to the west) the cart building. All buildings mentioned are under protection. In 1783 major general J.M.H. Castenschiod took over BORREBY, and since then it has been passed on from father to son. The garden with lime tree alleys, bridges and sandstone monument is surrounded by stone fences.

While walking around the castle grounds we watched this gentleman row the little boat up and down the molt around the castle. The castle ground were well kept and some parts were kept wild while walking Cx and I saw a couple deer running through a field along with a great view of the inlet of the ocean.

We were not able to enter the castle but there was plenty of things to see and entrainment that we had plenty of fun.

Here is a video of this small band on horse back:

After crossing the castle bridge of the molt we entered the castle courtyard where we found some really nice cars on view for all to see.

Around the castle grounds we saw a many horseback riders with nice costumes. There was also a small band that played while on horses.  Other entrainment included a marching band and a small choir.

After walking around Cx and I went to get some refreshments and some bread. The problem was that the bread would arrive from the kitchen inside the castle and they would be gone in less then 30 seconds. I was so determined that we were going to get bread that we just stood there at the refreshment table until the next batch came. Some of the cute serving ladies were giggling at us since we were so determined. After waiting another four to five minutes we were able to get our bread and more wine.

After spending about two and half hours at the castle were rode our 'old fashion' bus back to Skælkør and then we rode the back to our apartments.  I am glad that I was able to participate in a Danish national holiday.

Thank you for all your love and support.

Roskilde

Roskilde is one of the oldest cities in Denmark.
More than 1000 years ago the Vikings established a trading post that developed into a major town. In the medieval period, Roskilde was one of the most important cities of northern Europe, the seat of the Danish crown and an episcopal residence.

Today, the city is rich in historical and cultural sights and attractions. In the beautiful red-brick Roskilde Cathedral the kings and queens of Denmark are buried.

The islands and islets of Roskilde Fjord can be viewed from a viking ship or a small cruiser docked at Roskilde Harbour the atmosphere of which hums with activity. The former gasworks at the same location now houses one of the many art galleries of the town and a glassblower.

The city centre offers a pedestrian precinct as well as a market square with plenty of commercial life. Culture flourishes all year round and the city has a rich musical life ranging from summer concerts at the cathedral organ dating back to 1554 to the Roskilde Festival.

The lovely scenery around Roskilde offers numerous historical sights as well as a landscape perfect for biking and trekking.

On Saturday, May 14th, Cx, Cg, and I went on a day trip to Roskilde which is only a 30 minute train ride from where I live.  Once leaving the station at Roskilde we saw these three huge vases,  near the center of town is not far from the station. Not far from these vases was a small church behind a old brink wall and gate. I looked around for information about this small church but I could not find anything, but at least I got some good pictures. 

 

The brick wall and gate of the church.

The church behind the gate.

The three of us continued walking towards the center of town we passed many shops and restaurants and the farmer's market. We did not have time to go through the large farmer's market, but did Cx purchased some fresh cherries.  There were also many different crafts for sale and many flea markets, there was one wood craftsman that was selling these beautiful hand carved bowls. 

 Walking through Roskilde you could get the sense that is such a beautiful clean, and relaxing town. The houses were in typical European style, small but cute with flower gardens.  Just by looking at the buildings you cold get a sense of the history and heritage in the town.

While walking around town we found an interesting fountain inside a brick wall along side the street. Over the top of fountain it said the word maglekide, which means "The Large Spring." The one thing that we really noticed was the creepy red eyes.

This spring yields 15,000 liters of water an hour, about one sixth of what is used to. The spring supplied 5 mills in the beginning of industrial life in Roskilde. In 1842 a hydro was built in connection with the spring, and was pulled down again in 1972. The Neptune head at the outflow and the weather vane on the well house date from 1842.  The well house itself dates from 1927.

 

The Roskilde area has a lot of history, there were these green signs everywhere stating the history of the area. The was this one sign in the middle of small open area with a nice gravel path.  Next to the sign was what looked like the ruins of a small building. I read the sign and thought the information on it was interesting:

The church of St. John the Baptist was probably built in the 12th century as a parish church for the clergy of the cathedral.  It was pulled down after the Reformation. The surround field is protected area, below which lie the remains of a medieval town with streets and houses. Finds from the excavation of the church can be seen at Roskilde Museum.

I did not have time this trip to go to the Roskilde Museum this trip, which means I have another excuse to go to Roskilde. 

Roskilde is also well know for the Dome Church or The Roskilde Cathedral, we also went see this national landmark.  This church was huge and there is so much history surrounding this church since so many Danish Kings and Queens are buried there.  I took lots of pictures and there is so much to tell about this church that it deserves its own blog post.

After walking through this beautiful park with many trails, steams and small lakes we made our way to the inlet or fjord.  We noticed a strange 'thing' near the road. Once we got closer we discovered that was a small replica of the town Roskilde on display. However, it did look like the birds had fun destroying parts of it. I really liked the detail you could see in this replica.  We continued on our way to the Roskilde Viking Museum.

After spending four hours at the Roskilde Viking Museum (which will get its own blog post) we walked back through town in a thunderstorm and since main street was not as packed I took a few pictures of the area.  Just so that you could get a feel for the town but remember when we first arrived in town in the late morning the streets were packed with people.

Getting to class...is not so easy

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am taking a class. This class is about perl programming and taught at the Denmark Technology University (DTU) in Copenhagen.  This class met Monday’s and Thursday’s for 13 weeks for four to three hours. 

Honestly I did learn a lot in this course and even though there was many times I was so frustrated at all the work, it was still worth it. But I think the most interesting part of this whole class is where it took place and the adventure I had every Monday and Thursday getting there. The perl programming class took place in Lyngby, which is North of Copenhagen.

On every Monday and Thursday I got a train in my small Danish town and rode the train all the way Nørrport, which is just North of Copenhagen. Each time this particular train ride took one hour and 15 minutes and sometimes longer depending on delays. Most of the time the train was so packed that I would be lucky to find a seat. After going through Roskilde and Copenhagen I got off the train at Nørrport station and I make a short detour to the local café for a café latte to go.

Once I have my café latte in hand I wait about 5 to 10 minutes, I get on a bus to DTU. After a 20 minute scenic trip through Nørrport, where I passed the Rosenborg Castle, Botanical Gardens, and the Statens Museum I get off at  DTU.  I repeated this trip twice a week and then had the joy of traveling another 1 hour and 35 minutes back home.

Each time I would pass those neat tourist sites I kept thinking that I have to visits all those sites once this class is over. Well this class is over on June 2^nd at 1pm and my first stop will be Rosenborg Castle

Beautiful flowers

 When I walked around town a few weeks ago there were so many unique, beautiful flowers and the air smelled as fresh flowers. I took out my camera and took some pictures of some of these beautiful flowers.  I hope you enjoy all the pictures.

Cute Chocolate and Farmer's Market

 On Friday (5/6/11) a friend of mine at work came by the office and gave me some chocolate. The chocolate was so cute and unique I just had to take a few pictures of it.  As seen in the picture the chocolate as in the shape of a bottle. The best part was that inside the bottle shaped chocolate was hollow and filled with Orange Liquor. Yumm.....

This Saturday is so nice outside, so I just could not spend the entire day in my apartment working on my perl programming project.  So I went out to the farmer's market in the city center to get some fresh air and fresh veggies. 

In this farmer's market, I can find lots of fresh flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables ranging from strawberries to green beans. There are also two small shops where you can buy fresh fish (fisk in Danish) and another shop were you can get freshly made cheese.  Some but not all of the people selling items can speak  English and all are very nice.  I think many of them do not mind that I do not speak Danish that well, they just appreciate the business.

Well back to work on my project.  Thank for all the love and support.

Sorry for not posting lately.....

Sorry for not posting lately but I do have a valid reason why.  For the past 12 weeks I have been taking a perl programming course. Some of my close family members may have heared me complaining about this course. Yes I have learned a lot at the cost of of sleep, exhausted brain cells and pure frustration.

Anyways a big perl programming project is due in a few days so all my free time right now is being spent on this. So just letting every one know: yes I am ok.

I was able to get a whole bunch of great pictures of all the flowers blooming in the area near my apartment. I plan to post those as soon as I hand in this project.

Again thanks for all your love and support.