One of the best parts of being in the blogging community is meeting some of the other great bloggers out there. I met Jenni from Museum Diary a few times over the past couple of years, and have always admired her dedication to not only get out and about to museums, but also to make sure that kids enjoy them too.
We did a little interview over on Museum Diary for Jenni’s new “Meet a Museum Family” series about how our family does museums when we’re here in the city or out on travels (hint: we talk about our favorites a lot) – take a peek!
You can’t think of Denmark and not think of Vikings. Forests and the sea have always factored heavily into providing for needs here, and when there wasn’t enough, well, they just popped on a ship and sailed away to get some more. And there’s still a fair amount of viking culture here – hearty, pull yourself up by your bootstraps but mind the collective type stuff…. Maybe that’s part of the reason why forest schools are so popular here.
It’s been on our list get a little more into this Viking business while we’re here in Denmark and a couple of weeks ago, we finally made it out to Roskilde for the Viking Ship Museum. The full write-up is on the other blog, but in summary, the museum is dedicated to the reconstitution of 5 Viking vessels scuttled in the Roskilde fjord. But from a children’s adventure perspective? This is pretty much your chance to imagine yourself a Viking.
At the end of the Viking Ship hall are two viking ship replicas, for kids to jump on and jump off, and commandeer, and pretend. Best part of all? There is a full closet of Viking costumery that you can don (and your parents can too), to include faux fur-lined pelts, shields that only the heartiest forest school soul could actually lift, and linen under-layers which made this particular mother think that Vikings probably weren’t the cleanest seamen across the ages. In the background are Viking re-enactments projected onto the wall with ocean waves crashing for that full adventure feeling.
The result though was one very happy, imaginative toddler. Whatever energy we didn’t use up in the costume room, she killed off with a long walk on the Roskilde harbor. A boardwalk lines the water with lovely views over the boats (and not just viking ones), and a nature float lets kids examine all sorts of sea critters in the little watering holes if they flow in. And yes, ice cream is definitely the perfect end to the day.
I hope you like pink, because we have a lot of it today… Cherry blossoms are in full swing here in Copenhagen, and being that we came here from Washington, DC, which is about one step short of Japan when it comes to these fluffy blooms, we hopped out to check them out this weekend.
In addition to the forest school topics, occasionally we’ll cover adventures that we have out and about. I cover many of our travels on my other blog, but we’ll share a few of the “#offduty” things that we here too. After all, there’s more to life than just school, n’est-ce pas? Even if the school is a purported free for all in the forest…
Anyway, cherry blossoms were the name of the game this weekend, and so was sunshine and full on spring weather. If you’ve ever done a Danish winter, well, you know what a big deal that is…(and if you have indeed done a Danish winter, please take a moment to congratulate yourself). Here’s the thing about cherry blossoms in Denmark though…in DC, if you want to see them, you head down to the tidal basin, a stone’s throw away from the city’s most significant monuments. Here, you head down to the cemetery. Yup, this riot of spring life is surrounded by death.
From what I can tell, Danes are pretty matter of fact about death. And if our visit to the Bispepjerg Kirkegard was any indication, it doesn’t have to be a lonely end to be afraid of. The cemetery is actually a cemetery of course, but it also seems to double as a park full of flowers and visitors and families having picnics, and young angsty loves holding hands and making googgly eyes at each other. Kids are climbing trees, and adults are scattered around on blankets, and just about everyone is gawking at the beautiful trees…Must be that Danish sense of practicality – why use all that space for just the dead? You could get double the value if it works for the living too. I don’t know if it’s like that all the time, but it certainly was this weekend. And if you ask me, maybe not a bad way to go?
If you’re interested in catching the blooms in Copenhagen (and we would highly suggest them), they’re in peak bloom right now so hurry along. One windstorm and these ladies will fly into the night…
Information on the Bispebjerg Kirkegard can be found on the Kobenhavns Kommune page, but basically it’s open during daylight hours. Bonus, park (if you drive) in front of the Gruntvig Church and start there in Copenhagen’s tallest (but scandi minimalist) house of worship, and take a walk over to the cemetery. And don’t forget your picnic blanket!
PS – For those that asked, the tot’s sneakers are from See Kai Run .
.