Would You Like Fries With That?

God help me if anyone asks what Copenhagen is like because I keep leaving. I have happily trapsed around the Danish countryside, today to Sagnlandet Lejre which is a hands-on step through history from the lands of the first kings of Denmark.

The Kingdom of Denmark is over 1200 years old being able to trace its history to Gorm the Old (please never give me that honorific) and his son Harold Bluetooth (I shit you not) who reigned in the 10th century. The reign of Cnut the Great (I’ll take that one, even with the initial reading I know you all did) was the height of the Viking Age with his rule over Denmark, England, Norway and northern Germany at the time. Well after that the Danes found Jesus and all the cool names went out of vogue, and it’s been Christian and Fredrik on rotation right up until today with Fredrik X (Mary’s beau) the King. The territorial lands of Denmark as we know it today have been divided, occupied and reformed several times through various conflicts with Sweden who also divided up Norway and Finland from time to time.

The Norse mythology was interwoven with everything the Vikings did – like the Swedes, the Danish Kings believed they were chosen by their gods to rule with their power. The symbols of Odin, Freyja, her twin Freyr and Thor adorn the pillars of the Kings Hall, a meeting place built in Lejre in the likeness of the Viking halls of the first kings. The Hall and the surrounding village are a historical reconstruction of the Viking Age where there’s a blacksmith, weavers, potters, farmers, and soldiers all represented. I tried my hand at a few crafts and found my success as an archer, hitting the bullseye on my fourth shot. The land is also home to geese, pigs, goats, donkeys, oxen and one cat.

It was a fascinating place to wander through with volunteers in historic garb about to teach you their craft or share the stories of the old kings, the Norse gods or about Denmark more generally.