Return to Copenhagen: Frederiksborg Castle

Our return to Copenhagen was uneventful. We were able to eat until we were full, and leave the room around 9 AM. We expected to be kicked off the boat at 6 AM, so 9 AM was a treat. We were glad we bought the bus ticket to the center of town, especially since we paid for the tickets from some magic shore credit account that was the use-it-or-lose-it type of account (the surplus went to our room steward). 

Before our cruise, Tine, our AirBNB hostess, let us keep a spare key to her apartment. Once we made it to the center of town we walked to her place and dropped off our suitcases and were free to go sightseeing.

We bought a Zones 1-99 all-day metro pass and took the train to Frederiksborg Castle. Ellie, a friend, raved about the palace and town saying if you only go to one palace, this is the one. It is an easy 45-minute train ride from the Central Train Station.

We were hungry when we arrived in the town of Hillerod, so we found a cafe. I had the "Stone Age Meal," which sounded very Paleo -- a salad plus beef stir fry (no rice). Don had the lasagna and Ashley had an avocado salad with smoked salmon.

According to the Rick Steves' book on Copenhagen, this castle is the "Danish Versailles." It is overwhelming.

Devastated by a fire in 1859, it has since been restored. Generations of monarchs have lived here. There are four floors of rooms to see covering 500 years of Danish history, most items include an English translation but seems the most interesting items did not have translations, or maybe that is what made them even more exotic. That is a lot to absorb.

The top floor covers the past century from when Iceland split off from Denmark (in 1918) until as close to today as possible. It included current pictures of the royal family.

Of note, we only saw two beds during the entire tour. I guess royals don't sleep.

At one point we saw a couple of women in old-fashioned clothing dash through the halls. Cosplay? Reenactor? About 10 minutes later I overheard a tour guide say in English, as she pointed to a portrait, that the group had "met" the princess earlier. I couldn't tell which princess. Umm...okay.

The Great Hall had a fun exhibit about the life of crowned Prince Frederick (age 50), who is next in line to be monarch. He is very well loved by the general population (as is his mother, Queen Margarethe). The exhibit even included the bicycle he used to transport his kids to elementary school when they were younger.

No one's three generation picture is as cool as this one.

A Gutenberg Bible

I was disappointed the chapel was closed to tourists. It was a Saturday afternoon in the summer and the chapel is also the local church. They had five weddings and two christenings scheduled for that space. After asking different guards, all of whom thought it would be open "at some point" for tourists between events, a guard who seemed to be in charge and told us to meet him at 4:15. If things ran on time, they would open the chapel for about 10 minutes. Since Rick Steves raved about the chapel, if it could happen, I wanted to see it.

We finished up inside and toured the gardens a bit. Though not as fancy as Peterhof in St. Petersburg, they were still quite admirable.

THAT'S how you make an entrance!
The King came into the room on his chair through a hole in the floor.

Christian V's coat of arms

The wallpaper in this room was restored
within the past couple of years.

Ashley's world history class coming to life.

Another astronomical clock
(saw one at The Hermitage in St. Petersburg)

The reenactors who popped up out of nowhere.

Royal nick knacks in a curio

The gardens were partly modeled after English maze garden. In at least one section, it was used for growing food.

It was time to visit the inside of the chapel. It has a very long main aisle, and a box for royals. The ornate organ looked impressive. I was confused because the organ has a date of 1863 on it, which surprised me because they had a major fire in 1859. I would have thought they would still be rebuilding other things four years later, not investing in an organ. The chapel was not damaged. The chapel is where royal weddings and coronations take place. It looks regal.

King Christian IXs mark

Coats of arms

After exhausting the castle, we took the train back to Copenhagen. Here we noted there are specific train cars specifically for baby carriages and others just for bicycles. We knew they were bike-friendly, but there is also enough of a baby boom to merit train cars just for strollers and their parents.

I was disappointed to learn after we returned to Copenhagen we missed the Gay Pride Parade by about an hour. Gay Pride Week was scheduled to go through Sunday, but ended on Saturday because the Ironman Competition was taking over Copenhagen on Sunday. I really think there are enough weekends in the summer they could have both had their time, but what do I know. Maybe Copenhagen is just that happening of a place.

We had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and noted the gay pride decorations.

Lots of Gay Pride flags flying

The view out the Hard Rock Cafe window of City Square -- the hub of Gay Pride events.

Back to our room for the night. It was a bit tight for the three of us and our luggage, but we had been warned. Best feature was the window looking out to the courtyard below. It provided a nice breeze on the hot nights.