On Aug 20, 2008, at 9:38 AM, Charles Ess wrote:
Jannie's helpful note reminds me - Roskilde is an easy, ca. 20 minute train ride from Copenhagen - and worth the visit for a number of reasons, including the cathedral, and a very nice park that you can walk through on the way to the Viking Ship Museum: <http://vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/page.asp?contentsection=3964B7C731974A1DA15F5741EA743FE9&zcs=
I second that. The walk is gorgeous and the museum is great. Might want to check if there are any Viking re-enactment encampments (ya' know, like Civil War encampments here in the states) there during or adjacent to the conference time period in order to get the most bang from your visit. For those who like to see art in an idyllic setting, I'd highly recommend the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which is right along the train line that runs north out of Copenhagen up to Kronborg Castle in Helsingor (the site of Shakespeare's Hamlet). For folks attending the conference with kids, Louisiana also has a nice art room, but for a full day of entertainment I cannot recommend Copenhagen's Experimentarium enough. Of course, there's always Tivoli, too. If you're in DK before or after the conference, Skagen is certainly nice. Old Skagen is very quaint, there are a few special shops amidst the more touristy ones, the harbor is beautful and there are a bunch of good seafood restaurants. The one I liked the most, located on the main harbor wharf was quite logically name Skagen Fiskerestaurant. They have at least 8 home-distilled versions of akavit (Denmark's national liquor), and I can vouch that at least two of them are quite excellent. Just be prepared for lots of tourists, particularly when most Danes go on holiday. That also means that staying right in town is expensive. If you do go to Skagen, I strongly recommend trekking to Skagen Grenen, the spit of sand that forms the absolute tip of Jutland. The way the waters of the Kattegat and Skagerrak crash against each other there right at the tip is something to behold (and a good reason to be careful about wading in very far right at the tip-- something that is officially discouraged). A safer and easier place to get into the water is the beach that stretches all along the North Sea to the southwest of Skagen Grenen. To access that, just drive to the end of one of the roads that feeds out onto it. Once there, you park out on the beach itself. (If you zoom in on the satellite photos available at Wikimapia.org you'll see a car here and there all along the coast up toward Skagen Grenen.) Of course, its wise not to park too close to the water, particularly if you don't know when its high tide. Skiveren is probably the closest town to Skagen with a beach access road, and there's also a big campground near the end of that road for those who want to see Skagen, etc., more cheaply. Svendborg, at the southern tip of Fyn, is also a great place to visit. Its a beautiful town with great artisans. Take the channel ferry to visit the scenic towns like Troense as well as Valdemars Castle. On the way there, be sure to stop at Egeskov Castle, outside of Kværndrup. Its a beautiful castle and surrounding gardens--said to be the best example of a Renaissance castle in Europe. There are also some fun attractions for kids on the estate, and they are removed enough from the castle and gardens that they don't spoil things. Geez do I wish I were going to the conference. Cheers, Christian Nelson