Copenhagen

I loved the miniature castle of the real castle...... :)

I loved this place. As I rode on my bus to see three castles, I made a conscious decision that I would like to live here someday. I enjoyed snapping pictures of all the homes and envisioned myself living here. Water, the sea, the flowers, thatched roofs, clean, interesting places to eat and shop, everyone riding bikes, looking healthy.... They have it all. Then I learned about the winters, the snow, cold, short dark days, no sun in the winter .... and I changed my mind. I loved the homes, the land, the beautiful landscape, green and full of flowers. I loved the thatched roof on some of the homes, the red bricks. I could summer here!





Some tours are a hit. Some tours are a miss. Castles on North Zealand was my tour of the day. Level of difficulty was a whopping 3 hikers, "Most Active Tour" rating. I mentally prepare myself. Even though my tour was just 5 hours, it seemed a long 5 hours to me. After opulent St Petersburg and Catherine's Palace, the castles here were just OK. Beautiful for where they are, impressive in their way, but not over the top. Maybe the rain affected my thinking... Still it is always good to get off the ship, breathe the air and feel the country and life as it is lived here. Denmark is beautiful, worth a visit.

I visited three castles today and David did a panoramic city tour.





Kronborg is where the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet takes place. The movie Hamlet was filmed here. It is a World Heritage site. For some reason this tour only allowed us to visit the outside, too bad. Shakespeare never visited this 16th century castle. Wonder if his tour didn't pay for the entry fee also.


Fredensborg Palace. Home of the Queen. I took a quick photo as the rain started to pour down on us. Seen it, done it.... run back to the bus. I packed for rain until I heard the Captain announce a SUNNY day. I listened, left the rain gear at home and headed out on my tour, unprepared for the deluge that followed us all day. Thanks Captain!









The main castle of Frederiksborg was erected by Christian IV in the 17th century. It has been a museum of Natural History since 1878. It houses historical portraits, paintings, and furniture. The Castle is 22 miles north of Copenhagen. It is one of Europe's finest examples of Renaissance buildings.



The Lutheran Chapel is impressive, ornate and accented with gold leaf.

They have a wine cellar here ..... would have LOVED to have seen that...