DENMARK - Scandinavia - page 225

▲▲▲Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet)
Vik literally means “shallow inlet,” and “Vikings” were the people who lived
along those inlets. Roskilde—and this award-winning museum—are stra-
tegically located along one such inlet. (They call it a “fjord,” but it's sur-
rounded by much flatter terrain than the Norwegian fjords.) Centuries be-
fore Europe's Age of Exploration, Viking sailors navigated their sleek, sturdy
ships as far away as the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Persian Gulf, and
the Americas. This museum displays five different Viking ships, which were
discovered in the Roskilde fjord and painstakingly excavated, preserved, and
pieced back together beginning in the 1960s. The ships aren't as intact or as
ornate as those in Oslo (see here ) , but this museum does a better job of ex-
plaining shipbuilding. The outdoor area (on “Museum Island”) continues the
experience, with a chance to see modern-day Vikings creating replica ships,
chat with an old-time ropemaker, and learn more about the excavation. The
English descriptions are excellent—it's the kind of museum where you want
to read everything.
Cost and Hours: 100 kr, price drops to 70 kr Oct-April when many out-
door exhibits are closed, open daily late June-Aug 10:00-17:00, Sept-late June
10:00-16:00, tel. [phone], www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk .