If you ever come to Denmark (you should) you will soon realize that it is not a very big country. Copenhagen in itself is even smaller: just when you grasp the identity of one neighborhood you have already crossed into the next. However, I am always astounded at how many new things about the city I discover everyday. For Easter I journeyed all the way north to visit my cute Host Grandparents, and after my second travel break to London I took my bike north to stumble into very cute towns. This had me craving exploring Denmark, traveling, and cuteness more and more and more and more. When my Host came up with the idea of going to Helsingør´s Castle I said yes to the dress and became real excited.
It was very cute that we had planned to go to the castle together and woke up early to catch the train to take us to Helsingør. It was such a swift ride. The big double-decked trained cut through scenery worth a thousand postcards. Along the coast, overlooking the sway of the ocean, into the forest, through beautifully positioned houses and under the shine of the sun. I would stick my head on the glass window and sigh at the sweeps of Danish landscape that would rush before me. Everything moved so fast on the land while the quiet blue sky remained unmoved like a sanctuary. I was already smiling. When we arrived at the station in Helsingør I was smiling even more. It was very charming:
It was very cute that we had planned to go to the castle together and woke up early to catch the train to take us to Helsingør. It was such a swift ride. The big double-decked trained cut through scenery worth a thousand postcards. Along the coast, overlooking the sway of the ocean, into the forest, through beautifully positioned houses and under the shine of the sun. I would stick my head on the glass window and sigh at the sweeps of Danish landscape that would rush before me. Everything moved so fast on the land while the quiet blue sky remained unmoved like a sanctuary. I was already smiling. When we arrived at the station in Helsingør I was smiling even more. It was very charming:
When at first I thought about Helsingør and its castle I was imagining this typical medieval town with like a castle and then nothing else but a prairie reaching onto it. Wrong! Helsingør is on the north eastern corner of Zealand and was definitely founded by royals. The town seems just about 50 feet away from Sweden on the other side of the Oresund stretch so that the whole area is one nice sight. I learned that back in the 13th century when the Danes thrived and ravaged pretty much the whole entirety of Scandinavia, all foreign ships passing through the strait had to pay a toll at Helsingør to get their cargo taxed to the Danish Crown. Woah, how relevant of a place I suddenly found myself on. The nice breeze of a harbor city, and the lavish vibes of the crown made the town such a nice walk and such a nice experience! And there was no prairie, in fact, instead there was a nice arrangement of the most charming medieval street center making me want to give Denmark one big kiss in the mouth. Danish Nationalism at its best. They love their flag, they love their country, I love them. But wait, there is more. The new Danish Maritime Museum designed by starchitect spectaular Bjarke Ingels was also here to my surprise; as well as a modern culture center, a library, and the master of Danish architecture himself´s, Jørn Utzon´s, Kingo Houses. What a dream.
My host dad, host brother, and I smiled real big that the day was so blue and so perfect. The cold winter days were long behind me now. In its place Denmark had left a pleasant drift that complemented so well the shining rays of the sun. We had one goal, which was to see the castle, but when we got off the station, Helsingor was making it really really had to keep our path on track. The city was decorated so particularly wonderfully. You can see them above, the danish flag strings covered the whole entirety of the center, from one side of the street to the other. They blew about as the wind pranced down the street, and shone brightly when they were caught on the sun. It was a sight. I was forced to detour.
Then you sorta cross over to the harbor area of the town and into the castle. You can see my host dad and host brother above by the culture center and the Danish Maritime Museum. The museum was interesting because besides housing model ships, paintings, photographs, and related artifacts illustrating Danish trade, sailor life, and some wars, it is also built underground! What ends up happening is that the museum feels like a ship´s deck, which I thought was real smart because context is everything. And talking about context, it is really beautiful. The docked water front, the shipping history, the waves of the water, and the clear blue in the sky make Helsingør such a nice day trip. Here are more pics of the harbor, check it:
Okay, enough about the town, I´ve already side tracked too much (not my fault). What takes the cake off coming to Helsingør is the Castle! And it´s not just any old castle, Kronborg, dates back to the 1420s and was transformed from a fortress to a unique Renaissance castle by King Frederick II. But it´s not just another royal castle via Renaissance magnificence, it is the setting of William Shakespeare´s more than famous tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Boom! Oh, how nice it felt to be.... and not to be... here.
Not to my surprise at all, the castle is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has played a significant role in the history of this part of northern Europe, because of its strategic position between the North Sea and the Baltic. Other examples like the castle exist elsewhere in Europe; however, Kronborg is of special significance by virtue of its location, which has an exceptional value in strategic, commercial, and symbolic terms. Even better than I saw at full splendor with the clounds, the blue sky, the clear water, and the sun all in our favor. It is built to impress and to assert Danish control over ships passing through. It definitely controlled my cravings. We even went to the Casemates, the under chambers of the castle which were creepy and weird, and dark. I walked them only imagining what sort of medieval people must have walked by them on the daily. History is alive, and so am I. Hail Denmark.
At the end of the trip my host brother got the brilliant idea of getting ice cream, which felt so right and so perfect. We stopped by the most delicious home made ice cream shop in the whole word, sat on a bench, and savored it all. It was so nice to be part of the family. But it was even nicer to be in Denmark.