Cold, Sunny Day in Roskilde

Saturday morning we woke up with early-spring sunshine and beautiful blue skies, so we spontaneously decided to go for a day trip to Roskilde; one of Denmark’s oldest and most prominent cities with a history dating back to the Viking Age. 🔊 Listen to this

Founded in the 980s by Harald Bluetooth, the king who notoriously enjoyed blueberries so much that his teeth turned blue, Roskilde was in fact the capital of Denmark (and Norway) for more than 300 years from the 11th century until 1443.

We drove from Copenhagen to Roskilde and arrived around noon. Although the sun was out, it was still freezing. Sunshine is the most precious thing in Denmark. The longer you live in this country, the more you learn to appreciate it. When the sun comes out, regardless of temperature, people come out in droves and the city comes to life again.

We walked along the walking street, which looks a lot like Copenhagen, only less crowded. Near the end of the street, and cold to the bone, we stopped at Café Korn, one of a handful or so cafés along the street. We initially just wanted to grab a cup of tea-to-go, but once inside we were captivated by the ambience of the place and quickly decided to sit down and pause.

Part of the allure was that the café reminded us of a café — or chocolaterie — in the quaint town of Namur, Belgium, that we used to visit a lot about a decade ago.

As to be expected on a Saturday, it was a bit crowded. Yet we managed to find a table in the the back ideal for people watching. Surrounding us were dating couples as well as locals enjoying brunch with family and friends. We spent a bit of time at Café Korn before stepping out to explore the rest of downtown Roskilde.

On a parallel street you will find Roskilde City Hall and its basement café which, similarly to Copenhagen, serves “city hall pancakes” (which is basically just regular pancakes with a fancy name).

Around the corner from city hall, we saw the stunning Roskilde Cathedral. The cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage sight and traditionally the final resting place of Danish kings and queens.

At the other side of the cathedral, behind several offset rooftops, we were able to get a glimpse of Roskilde Fjord. That in itself, everything not being level, is quite exciting when you live in such a flat country as Denmark.

We continued sightseeing a bit but could no longer feel our hands and noses, so we decided to call it a day. It was time to drive home in our luxurious new car with heated seats and steering wheel.