This morning it snowed for the first time since we have been in Denmark! For a place that I was expecting to be similar to the arctic in climate, we have had very little precipitation of any kind.  Most days have been cold, around 35-40 degrees Fahrenheit, and grey and windy.  Today there was a light dusting of snow when we woke up, and it was actually sunny outside, making the city look more beautiful than it already had.

The view out my window this morning

Today with our day off a group of friends and I went into downtown Roskilde to do some more exploring.  My house is located in Roskilde, which is a small town just outside of Copenhagen with strong viking roots.  

Some houses in the town of Roskilde

First we went to the Roskilde Kommune where we registered for our CPR cards, which give us access to the Danish national health insurance! I'm pretty excited that residing in Denmark even as short as we are yields us access to their medical institutions.  The women asked me if I wanted a male or female doctor, I signed a piece of paper, and in 7 days a card with my CPR number (similar to a social security number in the US) will arrive with the name of the nearest english-speaking doctor.  I certainly hope I don't have a need to experience the health care system while I am here, but it is a pretty amazing contrast from our health system in the US to just be able to walk in to a doctor's office and receive health care without any sort of paperwork or chance of getting slammed with expensive bills, even if you are just here for 4 months.  The more I learn about the Danish welfare state and the safety nets the government here provides, the more our American system seems incredibly lacking in what our government is able to provide to its citizens.  The Danes pay for this of course with their extremely high tax ceiling, around 59% for income tax and 25% taxes on clothing, but this is a price they on the whole seem more than happy to pay for the services their receive.

The town of Roskilde is also home to the Roskilde Catherdral, a big tourist attaction because it it where past members of the royal family are buried.  Roskilde Catherdral was built in 1820 but the interior design has been changed several times since then.  The Cathedral is part of UNESCO's World Heritage List and houses the caskets of past Danish Kings and Queens since the Reformation, as well as a few medieval Royal tombs.

The inside of Roskilde Cathedral

The Chapel of The Magi

The sarcophagus of Queen Margrete I

It was a really nice day off.  Roskilde is a great town to have right at our fingertips if we don't want to schlep all the way in downtown Copenhagen.  There is also a Viking Ship Museum and an art museum in Roskilde that I hope to see soon.  On the way back home, I took some pictures around the campus of Roskilde University (RUC) where we live.  The sun was shining and it made the buildings, which are frankly kind of unattractive, look much more pretty.

The lake and some of the buildings at RUC

Korallen Kollegium, where I live