Roskilde is one of Denmark’s oldest cities and the former capital until 1443. This medieval city of bishops, kings, and vikings is just West of Copenhagen and worthy of some touring time on your visit to Denmark.
Located on the Roskilde fjord, it’s easy to see why it became an active trading hub for Danish vikings. It was founded by the first Christian Viking King, Harald Bluetooth Gormsson, in 980. As it turns out, the Bluetooth technology we use today was named after him because it unifies multiple devices and he was known for unifying Denmark. The Bluetooth logo is a combination of Scandinavian runes that correspond to his initials in Latin.
Transportation
It’s very easy to get to Roskilde as it is less than 30 minutes from Copenhagen by train and a bit longer if coming from the airport. The approximate cost is $12 pp. The city of Roskilde is fairly compact with the fjord to the north and the train station to the south. You can easily walk to the main attractions.
Where to Stay
Remember when you travel your time is just as valuable as your other expenses. It really benefits you to be as central as possible so you can maximize your time. You also save money on local travel costs as you can rely on foot power which is absolutely free. There is only one centrally located hotel in Roskilde: Zleep Hotel Prindsen Roskilde. The average price is $150-200/n.
As you may (or may not) know, we are big fans of Airbnb when traveling to Europe. While big cities may have lots of hotel options, historic towns like this weren’t built with travel in mind. Big hotel chains with parking garages didn’t exist in the 900s. The best and most affordable way to be central is usually a short term rental.
We found one across the street from the Viking Ship museum. It appears an extension was added to the host’s house with 3 studio apartments, complete with kitchenette and a very nice granite shower. The host kindly provided supplies for coffee and there was a small fridge under the sink. Our total for 2 nights was only $163.
Food & Drink
We arrived late in the afternoon with dinner reservations for Piper Hus. This cute little thatched hut restaurant is located in a sprawling green park. We had a lovely walk there. It was a little more upscale but we didn’t find the prices unreasonable. Entrees were around $20. The menu wasn’t offered in English and there was no WiFi available but we managed to figure out something to order. Our waitress was pretty good at charades. Sometimes not being sure what you ordered is half the adventure.
Our midday meal the following day was at Lenes Streetfood. They have an outstanding selection of loaded hot dogs and burgers. We had a hard time deciding what to order. There was a line here every time we passed by…and with good reason.
Later that evening we were strolling down the pedestrian only main street, Algade. There are so many restaurants here and they were especially busy the night we were there. Children were out with their families celebrating Halloween.
We actually tried to get a table at 2 other restaurants before we snagged a table at Cafe & Brasserie Florentz. This is definitely a more touristy area and it is reflected in the prices. In hindsight I wish I had done some advanced research and made online reservations. That being said we really did have a good meal. Again we played some guessing games with the menu. The “asparagus broccoli” turned out to be an excellent bacon loaded broccolini. The cocktails were good too.
When we travel we attempt to visit breweries when possible. However this is easier said than done in Scandinavian countries. Breweries with open tap rooms just aren’t a popular concept. We were very excited to find one in Roskilde, not surprisingly run by an Englishman. Snipniff Brewing was outside of city center and did require a short train ride but it was worth it because the beer was excellent. We arrived when it first opened but it quickly became crowded.
We generally eat something simple in our room for breakfast to balance what we spend at other meals. We like to travel with a small insulated lunch box and pick up local food items as we travel. We tend to bring a few packages of flavored instant coffee too just in case.
Open faced sandwiches are very popular in all of Scandinavia and they also eat something similar on a heavy duty cracker or crispbread. I mention this because cold cuts and spreadable cheese are easy to find items in most grocery stores here. For breakfast we enjoyed Wasa crackers with creamy goat cheese and dried tomato turkey slices.
