Ribe: Local lamb, stars and 17th-century inns

Ribe is forever immortalised for me as Medieval, sun-drenched bliss. I hit a very good run of weather over the Easter weekend I spent there. I boarded a bus, then a train, and then a second, regional, battery-powered train from Vejle to Ribe crossing the width of Jutland East-West. I really enjoyed my stay here, I will wax-lyrical, its a long 'un.

What?
Ribe is a Medieval town on the west coast of Jutland. It started life as a seasonal trading post in 700 AD. It experienced a massive period of expansion when it became a Cathedral-town under our friend Harald Bluetooth (who enclosed the city in a wall) and instated a famous bishop, Ansgar, at the helm. Ribe grew and grew with a harbour, watermills, and a significant role in the Lutheran reformation. It is also very close to the Wadden Sea national park, home to 12 million migratory birds.

Ribe Viking Museum
Ribe has several museums including the excellent Viking museum, which for half the price of the BM exhibition knocked its competitor into the water! The museum has a trilingual introductory video, as many artefacts as you can shake a stick at, and an exploratory zone where you can try the helmets and swords out for size. That's to say nothing of their experiential spaces which channel that Jorvik vibe. I suspect when the Viking Village is open this museum gets less traffic. Ribe also has a town museum and art museum, but you can't see all the museums at once.

(Ribe Museum: Channelling Jorvik and selfies in masks. Images: author's own)

Ribe Cathedral and tower
You know how I am with cathedrals and their towers. I have to get inside and I have to climb the tower. I had two experiences of this cathedral; the first time I arrived it was Easter Saturday, 11pm. The town square was pitch black, you could see all the stars, there was a fire in the grate outside. Easter services are always magical, something about meeting Jesus in the middle of the night always draws me. But the Lutheran, Danish service left something wanting in comparison to its Catholic counterpart in Aachen.

(Ribe Cathedral, feat. 13th c painting. Image: author's own)

The second time I visited was Easter Day - and the cathedral museum was excellent. I learned that the cathedral tower fell and killed many parisioners in 1283, inspiration for Ken Follett perhaps? The climb to the top of the tower (52m) was well rewarded, with sunshine, a breeze and a stunning view.

(Ribe from Commoners' Tower. Image: author's own)

Eat
Your options to eat in Ribe are far from limited! I enjoyed eating the view on many occasions. Having Ribe-boller (a Danish with vanilla and chocolate) from a local bakery, eating ice-cream and waffles from the ice-bars, I had an amazing burger the size of my head at Quedens (a renovated haberdashery-come-eatery) and ate lamb reared on the nearby Wadden-sea island of Mandø at the illustrious Kolvig. I really wanted to get a meal in at Sælhunden but it was always too full. Most of the hotels also offer meals but the menus are quite traditional.

Sleep
There are lots of options here. I slept in real luxury at Weis Stue, a 17th-century inn which still has many original features from the wooden beams, and wonky floors, to 17th-century paintwork in the dining room. Staying here wasn't cheap (about £40 per night for a single room and shared bathroom) but for me was all about location - right on the Cathedral square, and character - they give you a big door key for late night escapades. Staying here was magical. There is a nearby youth hostel, much more central than others I have seen, I can't vouch for the interior but the cost sharing a 4-bed is £25.

(Weis Stue. Image: author's own)

Walk on the wildside
Much of Ribe is tightly knit together, you can see most of it within a half-hour walk. The Wadden Sea area offers lots for the nature lover but it seemed a bit distant without a bike. I did however walk the banks of the Ribe river, tour St Catherine's church, explore the old castle mound and chat to my mate, Dagmar. Lots of open space and sunshine.

 (Sunset at Ribe Harbour. Image: author's own)

One particular delight was sitting by the Medieval harbour in the 'field of heads'(!) sketching and enjoying the sunset.

So, if you like history, excellent food, sunshine and boats, Ribe is THE place to visit. Its a bit provincial, but if you fancy stepping back in time for a few days its hard to beat.

Promise next time I see you, I will be more concise!

(Signing out with Queen Dagmar. Image: author's own)

Jelling: Good Friday and an empty grave

The regional train dropped me ostensibly in the middle of nowhere. I had arrived at Jelling - a tiny, station (shut I might add!). This was a momentous pilgrimage for me. I was going to see the Jelling Runestones.

Sorry, what?
When I was a student I did a degree that frequently received a response of, 'sorry, what?'. It was a veritable casserole of early Medieval joy - which for me took an archaeological shape, in the main. Visiting Denmark has been motivated by my desire to get back in touch with all those ships and towns that I wrote about more than 5 years ago. I say 'back in touch' because whilst I was meeting the objects in the flesh for the first time I already felt like I knew them intimately. One such space is the Jelling Memorials.

(Over-excited much! Image: author's own)

Jelling Memorials
So once upon a time there was a king by the name of Harald Bluetooth; as previously mentioned (here) he was a bit of a big deal in Denmark. Whether a goodie or baddie in your opinion, he brought the country together, he converted a large part of Denmark and made it the state religion complete with bishops, cathedrals and town-ramparts. You will be hearing lots more about Bluetooth over the coming posts (he was quite involved with both Ribe and Aarhus).

A place he's really associated with is the Jelling Monuments, preserved by UNESCO in 1994 for being outstanding examples of Nordic culture.

What's there?
The Jelling Monuments consist of:

• 2 mounds, 70 metres in diameter and some 11 metres high. 
• 2 runestones - 1 dedicated to Harald's mum and one dedicated by Harald to, er, Harald.
• A little stone church between the two
• Perhaps a stone setting like a ship?
• A large wooden pallisade confirmed just last year.

(Jelling church from a mound. Image: author's own)

Why is it interesting?
I can hear you ask why I'm bothered by any of this so lets see if I can explain...

• 2 mounds - a pagan burial practice perhaps? One of them is over an oak burial chamber - which is empty...so where is the body? Was there ever a body in there? If there was, who moved it? And why? The momentousness of an empty grave at Easter was not lost on me!
• 2 runestones - Both feature some of the first references to Denmark; and one an early depiction of Christ, still in immaculate condition. These stones mark a very particular point in time in a very physical way. They are the 'birth-certificates' or perhaps even 'baptismal certificates' of the Danes.

(Can you see Jesus? Image: author's own)

• A little church - when Bluetooth erected the stones in the 10th century Denmark stood at a cross-roads between a pagan past and a Christian future. The current stone church was constructed in the 12th century but stands on the site of several older wooden churches perhaps built by Harald who 'christianised the Danes'. During excavation in the late 70's  Krogh found a body, re-buried in pomp and circumstance beneath the church. Could it be that Harald moved his father from the pagan past into the church and a Christian future? This question followed me during my third year, as I looked at similar situations in England. Seeing the mounds in the flesh produced quite profound emotions in me; I'll admit I nearly cried when I sat on those mounds, tempted to quote 'The Wife's Lament'.

I eventually climbed off the mound and boarded a bus that dropped me in the middle of nowhere...what was round the corner?

(Where's the hotel? Image: author's own)

Copenhagen - København

What: Seaport of the Danes, capital city since the 15th century, aiming to be carbon neutral by 2025.

(Copenhagen Harbour. Image: author's own)

Accommodation: Woodah Yoga Hostel. Amazing; novel space in an old veg. store. The decor was seriously stylish - perhaps the nicest I've seen in a hostel yet. Beds are contained in little pods - great for changing in private, and minimising the noise and light problems brought in with 24-hour hostels. The staff were consistently helpful, one even drew me a walking-route round Copenhagen! Location-wise: Vesterbro is sort-of trendy with slight overtones of dodgy, I'd compare to Bethnal Green in London.

(Woodah Dorm Pods: Image: Europalust)

What can I do on a national holiday? 

So many things! 

• Go to Tivoli and pretend you are a celeb (they all gather there for the Annual Opening of the park), 
• Go on a walking tour of the city (guides leave the tourist info office daily at 10am, for just 100 kroner see all of Copenhagen, learn so very much about Hans Christian Anderson, gaze at 'the Danish Big Ben' until you get run over by a hoard of cyclists. 
• Sample the local delicacies at the harbour - I surprised myself in that I actually enjoyed pickled herring and gravlax.
• So many churches to visit...
• Climb the Round Tower - wide enough to pull the King's wagon all the way to the top!
• Go see a show! I watched Evita, in Danish at Det Ny Teater! The service and surroundings were both stunning; and the staff all look like Buttons. 

(Kir Royale at the Det Ny Teater. Image: author's own)

Christiania - Freetown

One of the places I was encouraged to visit by my hostel host was Christiania. It is an interesting visit; in my head it was a lake-side walk with a nice vegan cafe half way round. What met me instead was this semi-rural anarchic community, the faint smell of cannabis persistently in the background. Christiania reminded me of Camden in that it is famous for being anarchic and controversial but the reality was fairly tame having been subjected to decades of tourism. Christiania houses about 1000 people in its various houses and squats, usually built by the inhabitants themselves. My experience was generally positive but I chose to leave after one circuit of the lake; you get the impression that if you hit a problem with a local, the police would be powerless to help you. Definitely would not recommend a visit alone or at night!

(Christiania. Image: author's own)

Crossing the Great Belt

I left Copenhagen by train to overnight on Fyn, and that involves crossing the Great Belt. To get an impression of how this feels, try entering 'Storebæltsbroen' into Street View; endless sea in nearly every direction. I did all my Danish travel by bus and train, this was neither the cheapest nor quickest way to travel but it did give me plenty of opportunities to check out the Danish countryside. 

The land of sea, sails and bicycles: Denmark

Hello You!

Its a pleasure to see you! Yes, I am looking a little peaky. Its been a rough week for me with a fever and vomiting bug which I've only just about recovered from. So its time to share with you all of the exciting adventures I got up to whilst I was away in the land of sea, sails and bicycles; the place where there are 5 pigs to every person and about as many bicycles! The place where there are holes in your money and people genuinely enjoy being in the gym at 5am! I had a great time away full of variety, a lot of Vikings and one or two brushes with Harald Bluetooth (did you know the symbol for bluetooth is Harald's initials in runic?!)

 

So as a brief introduction to the uninitiated Denmark consists of three main parts, the islands of Fyn and Zealand, and the Jutland peninsula. Denmark has many other islands (407!) and territories including the constituent countries, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. As you can see from the map I travelled across the Danish regions heading mainly east to west with a brief u-turn near the end to head north and home; I flew in to Copenhagen, had a stop-over in Odense, travelled to Ribe and then up to Aarhus. I took a week to do this but it was Easter - you could definitely do it quicker! More to follow with regard to transport.

What follows is a diary of the trip; complete with local stories and adventures - details of accommodation and things to see and do.

But firstly some sweeping generalisations in a big list:

1. Denmark is really expensive - accommodation, food, even public transport is at the pricey-er end. I never thought I'd go somewhere more expensive than London!

(Danish coins in my hand. Image: my own)

2. You don't need Danish to do well here - everything from bars and restaurants to museum panels and even local bus drivers is in English (and Danish).

3. People are so polite - I wasn't harassed once. I know that doesn't sound like much, but usually on my own people always ask me for money, think they can offer me money for sex, generally make statements about me. This was really refreshing.

4. Being a woman in Denmark doesn't seem to be a problem!

(Cinnamon rolls. Image: my own)

5. There is a strong emphasis on sustainability of food supplies and sustainable living.

6. Its flat (except not THAT flat) so people bike everywhere.

7. You are never more than 30km from the sea.

8. The museums are ace. And their education system is really good!

(Aarhus Viking Museum. Image: my own)

9. Eating out - high quality, but high prices. I paid £28 for a piece of lamb one night, I know! But it was good lamb. 

10. There will be Danish flags everywhere. 

(Ribe Harbour. Image: my own)

Next installment: Copenhagen.

The Vikings: a British Museum Exhibition

Hello you lovely lot!

First off I am writing this on my phone en route to Stansted because I am flying to Denmark, hurray for technology!

In preparation for my hanging out with many Danes I recently visited the new Viking exhibition at the British Museum.

I had seen the trailer, which as you will note makes quite the claim in suggesting it will revolutionise the way you see the Vikings. Determined not to be put off by the £16 price tag I gave it a go.

watch the trailer

Treasure trove
What a collection! All the famous things are here; the Hunterston Brooch, the Cuerdale hoard and my personal favourites, the Lewis chessmen. There are literally hundreds of objects telling 'the Viking story' from beads to spears, coins and pots. The aim of the exhibition was to widen the public perspective on who the Vikings were; I'm not entirely convinced this worked.

(Lewis chessmen. Photo credit: theisleoflewischessmen.com)

Roskilde 6
The central artefact for this exhibition was the remains of an astounding 37-metre long ship known as Roskilde 6. I was really impressed with this boat; and the way it was presented. So often when we work with medieval ships we're left looking at a handful of rivets, or even just the rivet holes! To see remaining planks and their position in the wider structure was amazing. I also felt the presentation of the ship; complete with videos on the building materials and the opportunity to touch modern examples of fur and wood really made a living, breathing exhibit out of something that would otherwise have been a relatively opaque artefact to the initiated.

(Roskilde 6. Photo credit: The Independent)

Packed out
In some ways this exhibition is a victim of its own success. Despite booking several weeks in advance and being allocated a booking time you really couldn't move in there! I think this might have been due to the queue jump facility allocated to BM members, but having paid my £16 I hadn't expected to queue for each cabinet.

Vikings
The curators had been clear that they wanted us to come away with a broader understanding of who 'the Vikings' were. Sure, there were representations of work and leisure, faith and travel. Yet all 'the Vikings' were clubbed together without a framework of chronology or geographic locality and I felt that led the public more towards generalisation of 500yrs of history rather than less. Also I'd have liked more on the process of interpretation, something more experiential and a few less saga quotes. But perhaps most of those are satisfied in the audio guide (which cost extra) and the supporting programme of seminars.

BM at its best
In 2011 I compared the duration of 2 BM exhibits for an essay and noted then, as I do now that the BM is best at bringing us the monumental and the foreign, as opposed to the domestic and familiar. I felt the Viking exhibition was the same, showcasing the large monumental objects well but perhaps the smaller objects could have been better presented.

Coming to a cinema near you
I was encouraged to see that the BM is taking the exhibition to other museums across the country that share Viking heritage. This willingness to share resources will only win it friends moving forward. I also was pleased to see the BM take a leaf out of the National Theatre's book in taking its exhibition and seminar stream to cinema broadcasts which massively opens up the reach of these exhibitions.

Must see collection, but choose your  time carefully
It is not often that you see so many famous Viking pieces all in one place; this has been an incredibly collaborative project. It is also an amazing opportunity to see Roskilde 6, which on its own is worth the £16. But pick your visit time carefully to avoid crowds and to spend time with the precious artefacts.

Privilege
I want to conclude by recognising I have experienced great privilege. I have touched several of the treasures on display first hand and studied the Vikings in great depth. I reckon my luck and privilege will have shaped my view.

TTFN
They're calling my flight I better go. See you for more 'viking' and specifically Danish things soon!

‘Oh What a Lovely War!’: The film

When I was 15 I studied ‘Oh What a Lovely War!’ for my drama GCSE. That was some 10 years ago. I remember having so many thoughts about it I filled a work book with notes and wrote an essay that was some 4 pages long. Having recently bought the DVD to celebrate the 1914 centenary I am exploring what it is about the film that I enjoy so much.

What is it?

A surreal film telling the narrative of world war one from the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand to ceasefire; through the medium of song and dance and using the picturesque background of Brighton coastline. It was produced in 1969 after the musical version by the same name released in 1961. The film features many actors and members of the production community that would go on to be very famous. Examples include Maggie Smith (see the video below and try to imagine her in Downton), Vanessa Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde, and Richard Attenborough who directed the film.

Maggie Smith on video!

The war game

The 2 main themes of this highly surreal film are war as a game and war being classist. From the opening scene filmed in a ballroom where troops are deployed on a map to all the fun of the fair as war heroes board the merry-go-round war is portrayed as a frivolity, as a game, to be enjoyed. Similarly when the soldiers are recruited the girls on stage carry lacrosse sticks as if they were rifles and offer free kisses to the first recruits. Even the losses from each battle are recorded on cricket score boards.

Belgium put the kaibosh on the kaiser (watch here)

Class is really emphasised in this film. The officers are often portrayed as buffoons, incapable of listening to reason. In one scene the officers play blind mans buff with the striking casualties from the Battle of Loos shown in the background (watch here). After a gritty scene from the front some elites in black tie are pictured ‘it doesn’t feel like Christmas’ and thinking that by not drinking German wine they were contributing to the war effort. The officers in the film never listen; when the sergeant tells his superiors that it’s a bloodbath massacre they merely laugh. When an officer visits the dugout he insists the arm of a German soldier is removed with immediate effect despite the fact it is fulfilling a structural function in supporting the trench.

The context of its creation

I think a lot of the class criticism in this film comes from the context of its creation. Picture the scene, its 1968 and the world is on fire. The US was facing daily riots about its involvement in Vietnam, it was also the year the Czechs and Poles fought for freedom from Moscow. It was the year of Martin Luther King's assassination; the Bogside, Derry revolution in Northern Ireland. All over Europe protesters were registering their objections to the government; and no better is this reflected than in 'Oh What a Lovely War!'. Obviously there are some constraints from the song subject matter, and I am sure the officers had some similarly derogatory remarks to make towards the Privates but I would suggest the stronger emphasis here comes from a generation critical of war in its contemporary politics.

What it means today

We are 100 years on. In a lot of ways trench warfare does sound like a surreal game. Musical, multi-sensory experiences like ‘Oh! What a Lovely War!’ make it easier to access the past and to understand something of what that must have been like. I was particularly struck by the amount of time the men would have been away and how that worrying that would have been; as a teenager perhaps a father left when you were 13, by the time he returns you’re 17! Or to meet someone in your late teens (like my great-grandmother) and to date at a distance to a war-zone over 4 years and hope for the best. It’s a big deal. It would be really interesting to see what a modern director given this same collection of songs would do in terms of creating a narrative that reflects life today.

You can see a selection of scenes from Oh What a Lovely War! online here; but why not buy the DVD here.

The world's a stage: Drama and Trauma at Maidan

Hello you lovely people!

Yes I know, after a strong start I've been a bit quiet in March I have been busy; watching Emil and the Detectives at the NT, crying on the tube whilst reading The Book Thief, travelling halfway up the country for a charity auction at which I won all the preserves, watching Miranda at the O2, becoming a godparent and watching this fascinating documentary about life on death row. So, apologies for the delay in talking to you, but hopefully you'll have got the gist that I haven't been laurel-resting.

One of the interesting things I did recently was go to hear Hjalmar Jorge Joffre-Eichorn talk about using forum theatre to engage people in crisis or war situations. He is a seasoned professional, using Theatre of the Oppressed in Afghanistan and other war-torn areas to help people face their traumas head on. Hjalmar has been working in the Ukraine since Autumn 2013; using similar forum theatre skills to engage the protestors of Maidan in dialogue.

Dispelling myths

The first thing Hjalmar asked of us was to play word association with the word 'Ukraine' it was interesting what came up 'blood', 'tractors', 'war', 'a battle of young vs. old'. Whilst Hjalmar was primarily there to teach us about using forum theatre we also learned lots of other things about the progress of the revolution through his eyes. I was surprised by how different the narrative was to that told to us by the BBC. The perception of young vs. old was one such supposition blown out of the water. As has since become more apparent, this is a battle of ethnicity and power, not of old vs new.

Gendered space

Hjalmar had taken lots of photos, of fire, meals, and burning tyres, of confrontation and commemoration. One of the interesting facts that came out of the discussion is there is a clear absence of women from the 'front line' images. Women here play ancillary roles, they feed the men at the front, they roll tyres, they are the mourners. This all felt surprisingly Shakespearean. I immediately thought of Enobarbus' words in Anthony and Cleopatra about 'serving with horse and mare together'. It also seemed strangely reminiscent of the war a whole century in our past where women rose to new roles back at home but did not see direct action. I was really quite surprised that all the Women's Lib and Feminist movement still lead to modern, gendered conflict.

Memory

Ever since the MA I do a lot of thinking about ethnicity, and creating places to remember. It was interesting that so soon after the deaths at Maidan memorials cropped up. They had all the features you might expect, images of the dead, candles, flags. Interestingly the three first killed came from a variety of different places and politics. Since February the role of memorials has gained prominence with the statues of Stalin in the Crimea. It amazes me how much interest is now paid to an area which until 3 months ago was solely referenced in the minds of many as 'the place Florence Nightingale went that time'.

Roles to play

To briefly consider the role of forum theatre. One audience member asked the very relevant question, 'why would someone want to role play when there is a war going on?'. I think we were all thinking this. It was interesting to hear Hjalmar's demographic breakdown. Most of the participants were Ukrainian who perhaps hadn't quite found their place yet, who didn't have a role. Didn't feel comfortable perpetrating violence, but still wanting to vocalise what they were feeling. The theatre-dialogue model has actually been taken on by the future government as a way of creating democratic legislation - by trying out ideas with teams of locals. Here drama is not only relieving trauma but creating a space to legislate which is exciting.


Finally, I'm aware I might have lit a touch-paper here. I'm really sorry if I have said anything offensive. It certainly wasn't intentional. See you guys again soon!