Howdy. You're still following along with me as I explore Copenhagen, Denmark. My 6th day, only 4 remain.
I decided to expand my sightseeing to somewhere other than just the city of Copenhagen. There were a couple of castles I wanted to see in the northern part of the island. Just FYI, Denmark is a country made up of many islands, Copenhagen is located on island of Zealand
By the end of the day, I had taken 125 photos of which only (only!) 54 are published here.
Like almost anywhere in Europe, you can hop a train to go where you want whether it's a large city or small hamlet. I railed it to Helsingor, at the northern tip of the land mass I was staying on. Not to be confused with Helsingborg which is located 5 miles across the water from Helsingor...but in Sweden.
As I write this, I looked at a map of Denmark. My eye fell on the name of a town. "Middelfart" I know my eyesight is getting worse with age, so I zoomed in on it just to make sure. Yep..."MIDDELFART". But, I digress....
Kronborg Castle
It originated in the early 1400's but it wasn't until the late 1500's that it was radically transformed into much of what is seen today. BUT, in 1629, a fire caused major damage. So, King So-n-So had it rebuilt. In 1785 the castle ceased to be a royal residence and was converted into barracks for the Army. The Army left the castle in 1923, and after a thorough renovation it was opened to the public.
Kronborg is known to many as "Elsinore," the setting of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
After I got off the train in Helsingor, I had to walk about 1 km along the waterfront to get to the ticket office. It was 11:30am but they didn't open til noon! A small group of us hung around until we were able to get our entry stamp, then walk across a bridge spanning the moat to enter the castle grounds.
No, this isn't the castle. It's the train station in Helsingor!!
Along the way to the castle, a church in Helsingor.
THAT's the castle over there!
Along the way is this 'fish' making a strong point about how much everyday household stuff gets into the ocean that won't decompose and harms ocean life.
Crossing the moat to the castle, I spotted this gem.
Somebody has a sense of humor!!
Entrance to the inner courtyard of Kronborg Castle.
I'm guessing, by the clock, they didn't 'Spring Forwad'.
Suprisingly, the castle was rather barren of lavish furniture and decorations...compared to others.
Wood plank floors?? Odd.
This is the main ballroom.
Huge...measuring over 180 feet long by 40 feet wide.
The Kitchen
I went down below the castle into the labyrinth of the dungeons. Apparently, that's where the militia men stayed and, at times, it was used as a prison. Cold, dank, low ceilings, dark...I really had to watch my step and my head. The only way I could see was because the tunnels were dimly lit with real kerosene lamps and arrows pointed which way to go so you didn't get lost. At least it was nice and cool!! But, must've been frigid in winters.
Back outside again!
I love the humorous corbels I see so often at castles and cathedrals.
Kronborg has its own chapel, too.
I finished touring Kronborg and schlepped my way back to the Helsingor train station. There I caught a different train to head South to Hillerod where the Frederiksborg Castle is located. Along the way were these stunning fields of yellow. I have no clue what the crop is...mustard?
I dubbed the train, though it was electric, the 'chug chug' train because it took us an hour to go 25 miles due to 23 stops!! Once I arrived in Hillerod, I took a short bus ride to within 1 block of the entrance to the castle.
Frederiksborg Castle
Far more elegant than Kronborg, the palatial complex was built as a royal residence for King Christian II, or was it III, maybe IV (so dang many of them!) in the early 1600's. All these kings with the same name they couldn't come up with something more individual like 'Apple', or 'Twan' or 'Northwest'? Geez!!!
Anyhoo...the castle was built on 3 small islets on Castle Lake. It was unique in that it was built inland whereas most were on coasts.
BUT, in 1859 a large fire took it's toll but it was rebuilt and restored by 1882 when it was reopened to the public as the Danish Museum of National History which contains the largest collection of portrait paintings in Denmark.
There seems to be a common thread among castles....they all seem to have fires!! But, it's not surprising given the times when:
- Candles were used for lighting since there was no electricity.
- Fireplaces were in nearly every large room.
- They were typically decked out with countless tapestry wall hangings (which I'm sure were not treated with fire retardant).
- Kitchens used fires too cook. That's the reason some castles moved their kitchens away from the main building so they could burn down and not take the whole castle with them!!
Ya know how sometimes your eyes play tricks on you? Like those puzzles with dots and you're asked if you can see the old man in it? Well, that happened to me when I looked at the wood carving in the next photo.
I saw ET's Face !!!
(phone home)
Do YOU see him?
Look just below the two black round 'buttons'. ET's wide eyes are the two curls. His nose is the womans face. His mouth is her mouth.
I laughed and had to look at the figurine again to see what it really was!
Moving on....
Ummm....I'm not sure how to do that.
The Chapel
(looking towards the front)
(more like a cathedral if you ask me!)
I'm constantly amazed at the DETAIL in these places, from a time when modern tools didn't exist. So much effort and perfection in the littlest of detail. Take a look at the caps and bottoms of the columns that encase the organ pipes. I'll zoom in so you focus on the intracasies.
Now looking from the front to the back where the organ pipes are. The Organ was installed in 1617, the oldest organ in Denmark, it has 1,001 wooden pipes. Its original manually driven blower has been preserved. The church was spared from the fire of 1859.
My neck hurts just THINKING about the painters who had to paint all the frescos/murals on the ceilings!
Ummm....not my taste in decor, but okaaaaay.
Where there's a will, there's a way.
This is the Kings 'elevator'.
Servants used ropes and pulleys to raise and lower the platform holding the King in his chair.
The formal gardens in baroque style.
Probably one of the most ornate ceilings I've ever seen.
Popcorn ceilings would've been soooo much easier!
I guess it just wasn't in vogue yet.
Closeup of a section of the ceiling
There's that sense of humor again!!
Tapestries were everywhere to help keep the rooms warmer, especially the royal bedrooms.
I walked into an adjacent room and next to the doorway stood this very midget-like figurine. VERY strange. Wouldn't fly in todays society...you'd be put in jail.
"SEND HER HOME!"
(lol)
The beautiful 'King Neptune' fountain in the courtyard approaching the estate.
I took the bus back to the train station and grabbed a train to take me back to Copenhagen's main station. The trip from Hillerod to CPN took 40 mins to travel 40 miles with 6 to 8 stops. MUCH nicer than the previous 'chug chug' train!!
Next up...Day 7...it's gonna be a WILD one!!
Dano
