This morning we made our way via train to Kronborg Castle in Elsinore. It took 45 minutes by train. This castle is the most famous castle in Denmark because Shakespeare set the story of Macbeth here. However, the king that he based Hamlet on lived 300 years before this castle was ever built, and it is doubtful that Shakespeare ever visited Elsinore.
The castle was originally a fortification named Krogen, built in 1425. It was rebuilt into a Renaissance castle in 1574, named Kronborg. It was also a military barracks, and was opened to the public in 1938.
This place made a ton of money for the Danish kings. At the time, Denmark controlled both sides of the Oresund Sound, the channel that connects the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic. The Danish kings required a passage fee from every ship that went through. If the ships didn't pay, the cannons would let loose. If the captain was caught, he was hanged. All until the Americans kicked up a stink and demanded freedom of international seas. That put a stop to a sweet gig for the Danes.
We took a one hour long guided tour through the casements (dark places or dungeons) which is where the soldiers lived and also where they kept a lot of slaves. The rooms were dark and damp and could house 1000 men with supplies to withstand a 6 week siege. There is a huge statue of Holger the Dane here. He was a powerful viking. It is said that if Denmark is ever in mortal need, the statue will come to life and Holger will prevail.
Then we walked through the Royal Apartments. Our guide had a lot to say about these, we thought it could have been shorter.
We took another train, this time to the town of Hilrod. We walked around a pretty lake to get to Frederiksborg Castle. We could have toured inside, but we'd had enough of gawking at opulent rooms and opted for the extensive outdoor gardens instead. The royal monograms were done in boxwood, very pretty. We found a small lake ferry to take us around to the far side of the lake, where we could walk back to the train station for the long and hot ride back to the hotel.
As soon as we got back into the hotel room, we noticed Frankie's glasses were missing! Not again! This happened in Peru! She got them back in Peru, but where are they in Denmark??? The best guess was at our lunch restaurant. So Prince Anton trudged back an hour each way to see if they were there, because phone calls were less than helpful. Alas, no luck, but he's still a prince in Frankie's eyes. She has decided to do something different regarding glasses on future trips.....
So that the evening didn't end on a down note, we headed over to Tivoli for one hour before it closed. Anton had a fistful of Danish coins in his pocket, and they never exchange coins back, so we decided to have some fun and spend them. Another yummy fruit drink. Still more coins. So we tried the dart and balloon carnival game. Anton got 2 out of 3 shots so he got 10 points. Frankie got all 3 of her darts, yippee, so she got 40 points. We took our points and went shopping: a bauble ring for Frankie, a toy car, and a stuffed hippo. We named him Mr. Hippo.
We stayed again for the light show, we thought it was better last night. Tonight there was a breeze blowing the smoke away, plus Frankie couldn't see as well without her glasses!
One more day in Copenhagen. The locals say that this is the first heat spell of the season. Speaking of locals, the Danes make Anton look tiny. No wonder the Vikings were so successful!
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