Copenhagen - Day 3 of 10 - Rosenborg Castle

Hello again mi amigos!

On this day, I only (only) took 50 photos.  I don't know what that means.

Like Amsterdam, Copenhagen has bicycles up the wazzoo.  The city is actively trying to reduce its carbon footprint and it seems the locals are totally on board.  Unlike Amsterdam where most of the streets are narrow, plus there's the canals, Copenhagen has broad streets.  On any given arterial, you have 4 lanes of traffic (2 each direction), plus one car-width lane dedicated for bicycles on each side of the street, maybe a lane for parking, and wide sidewalks.  Not only do you have to watch for vehicles when you cross the street, you have to look again when you cross the bicycle lane or you'll get clobbered.   They're serious and they ride FAST!

People of all ages ride them to work, to the grocery store (with large bins mounted on the bike), to haul cargo, and even to take the kids (2 in an attached buggy) to the park, or school, or the doctor.  Most of them are the 'old-fashioned' sit upright kind...not the bend-over 10-speed racing sort.  And, many of them are assisted with electric motors.

I hadn't ridden (rode?) a bike in years but I wanted to try out the electric bikes.  Using the internet on your cell phone, you can locate, and reserve, a bike parked at several self-serve lots around the city.   All of it is done online...no contact with no one.

I went to a bike lot outside the central train station and entered my reservation code on the bike-mounted screen and it displayed my name!  The screen also had a GPS map system that allowed me to enter my desired destination and it would instruct me how to get there.  Off I went to see the Rosenborg Castle.

I found it oddly interesting with all these gazillions of bikes I didn’t spot but just a few using locks.  Why?  Were there so many bikes they’re not desirable to steal?  I finally figured it out.  90% of the bikes come with a lock built in just below the seat.  It’s a type of clamp.   If you put your middle finger and touch it to your thumb that’s what it looks like.  When you push the two ‘fingers’ together, they go thru the spokes and prevent the wheel from turning. This type of lock allows you to park the bike anywhere without having to lug round a chain and padlock and find somewhere to connect it to…like a railing or pole.

Bikes are allowed on busses as well as trains.  With trains, the cars are marked on the outside which car can accommodate bikes.  Inside those cars are special loops that you push the bike tire into and it holds the bike upright.  Meanwhile, you can go take a seat. 

Oh...yeah...Rosenborg Castle.  Almost forgot. 

Rosenborg Castle is smaller than your typical (typical...HA!) castle.

The castle is surrounded by a huge park which is open to the public to use without cost.

The level of detail in these places always astonish me...even the ceilings!!  

Humongous fireplaces in nearly every room which was necessary back then to keep the massives rooms relatively warm.  I would've hated to be the one that had to chop all that wood!!

Betcha can't guess what it is!!   The hole was a mechanism to be able to 'talk' to someone on the other side of the castle.  They would speak (shout?) into the hole and the person on the other end would have his ear up to the hole on their end.  But one wonders...doesn't one?...how did the person on the other end know that someone was 'calling'?

I spoke to a museum employee about the hole and we got into how thing were made with such intricate detail at a time of no modern equipment, etc etc.  I pointed out the fireplace detail.  She told me the castle had 2 fires that caused considerable damage...both of which were started in the kitchen.  After the 2nd time, the King ordered the kitchen to be built away from the house, so that's what they did.  Guest what....that kitchen burned down, too.

Most of the tapestries in the castle had more than one purpose.  Not only did they tell a story, but they also helped keep the rooms warm by insulating the walls.  Some of them took 10-20 years to make.

I love this chest.  The moment I saw it, it immediately reminded me of the Wardrobe character in Beauty and the Beast.

Mirror, mirror on the walls...and, um....on the floor, too.  One wonders what was going through King Frederik IV's mind back in 1686??

Very rare chandelier made of Amber (considered the 'gold of the North').

I noticed this chair because of the very 'art deco' design.

The Great Hall.  On the wall hang 12 tapestries depicting Christian V's victories in the war against Sweden 1675-1679.

At one end of the hall, three silver lions (seen in the video below) from 1670 guard the King and Queen's thrones, which are made of narwhal (whale) tusk.

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO OF THE INTERIOR OF THE GREAT HALL

Two rooms were dedicated solely for the display (floor to ceiling) of the King's collection of fine glass (from the early 1700's !!) as well as porcelain from China, Japan, and Denmark.

In the basement, displays of weapons and wine casks, ivory, and amber.  

The ivory collection spans from 1575 to 1850.  Some objects were made by members of the royal family (a lathe was displayed in the Queens room), others were presents, but most were made by the kings' turners and carvers.  Take note of this one...a spiral staircase, each of the steps are maybe 1/2 inch wide.  The staircase itself is about 3 ft tall.

To get to the Treasury, we had to exit the basement to outside and then down again via a separate stairwell and through massively thick steel doors.

The Crown of the Absolute Monarchs

It weighs more than 4 pounds and is set with sapphire, garnets, diamonds, and a ruby.

A look of the rear side of the castle as I head out.

I hopped on my electric-assisted bicycle and pedaled (sort of) to my next stop, the 'Round Tower' as it is referred to.

Built in 1642....377 years ago!  Do we have anything older than 1967 in the USA??  Sheesh!!!    Anyway...it's a little over 100 feet tall and has an observatory at the top.  The only way to the top is a wide spiraling ramp that twists around the center core of the building.  The observatory is still used in the winter months and is the oldest observatory in Europe.

I was pooped after this, so I turned my bike in, logged out of the rental app which stops the charges, set the lock, and immediately received an email receipt for my 4-hour rental...about $16.

Next up...Day 4...!!

Dano