We left Africa after some uncomfortable ordeals in the Kilimanjaro, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya airports. Once back in London, the transfer process to board our flight to Copenhagen went very smoothly. After collecting our bags in Copenhagen, we caught a train into the city and then an Uber to our hotel.
On Thursday, July 16, we took a castles tour that we had booked with Viator prior to leaving the States. We visited three castles- Kronborg, Fredensborg, and Frederiksborg. On Friday we took a walking tour of one section of Copenhagen.
On the way to our first castle, the driver took a short detour so we could see old fishermen's homes. The unique aspect of these homes is that the roofs are thatched with pieces of wood on the top so that the roofs would not blow off in the high winter winds.
Here's a shot of a more modern home in the area.
This windmill is the last standing one in the area. As an aside, we saw 48 wind turbines in the bay as we flew into Copenhagen the day before.
This is Kronborg Castel whose claim to fame is that it is the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet. Shakespeare never visited the castle but rather depended on the memories of others who had visited it to write his play. It was built in the 1400's, torn down and rebuilt again in 1574, and then burned down in 1629. Charles IV rebuilt it afterwards.
A shot of the interior courtyard of the Kronborg Castle.
Down in the dungeons there is a statue of Holger, the Dane. He was a Danish hero who walked home (Denmark) from southern Europe. When he arrived, he was so tired that he sat down and fell asleep, never to awake. Prisoners were never held in these dungeons. Instead, people saught safety here in times of attack.
Here's an exterior view of one of the walls facing Sweden. Note the canons that were aimed at Sweden that, throughout history, was always an enemy of Denmark. They had numerous battles.
This is Fredensborg Castle, the summer home of the current queen of Denmark, Margrethe II. Since she lives here during the summer, we were not permitted to enter.
This is Frederiksborg Castle, built during the time of Christian IV (1588-1648).
This is the Knight's Room, reconstructed to appear as it was during the time of Christian IV when it was used as a dining room for lords and ladies of the court.
The chapel, also from the time of Christian IV, houses the world's oldest organ. Take a look at the ropes hanging in the center of the photo. The organist pulled on these ropes to play the organ!
Here's a shot of the chapel with the organ at the far end.
I took this photo of the gardens to the rear of the castel through a leaded glass window!
The paintings were amazing!
At the end of the tour, while the rest of the group went back to the bus, Linda and I ran around to the front to capture this image of Frederiksborg Castle.
During our walking tour, we saw the Royal Danish Library that houses all books ever published in Danish. The exterior is made of stone from Zimbabwe. The architect didn't take into account the difference in climate because they later found out that it was porous, allowing moisture into the library!!! They had to insulate it after the fact costing billions of Danish kroner. There are many stories of librarians who stole books and whose family members tried to sell them before being caught by authorities.
This tower's architect was very upset when the work was completed because the exterior staircase winds counterclockwise!