Helsingor

Though we have not, and will not, give Copenhagen anything like the attention it deserves on this trip, we decided to spend the one day we had left here on a side trip to Helisingor, a short train ride away.  Why do this?

Well, there is a castle there, which was high on Jen's list of priorities.  And not just any castle, it's the Konborgslot, otherwise known as Elsinore, the immortal backdrop of "Hamlet."  Yup, that meloncholy Dane got us on a (exactly on time) train early in the morning and zipping across the still-rainy countryside.  Was this a pain?  Well, not really.  Was it worth it.  Totally.

Elsinore didn't make a lot of practical sense when it was built in the late 1500's, since the invention of the cannon made tall vertical walls more like fun target practice than unassailable defense.  And this castle also has several mismatched towers, and while they look awesome, and were probably useful for brooding about murdering one's uncle in cold blood, they were probably not the most practical to build, maintain, patrol, or defend.   The Renaissance castle is surrounded, however, with much more modern 19th century moats and breastworks, laid out in a star- pattern in the bay, and commanded such an intimidating artillery position that it allowed the Danes to demand a tax to all trade coming anywhere neare the port for a couple centuries.  The fancy castle also was really impressive for guests, with its enormous ballrooms and banquet halls, where we learned diners were offered 24 courses at a sitting and their own personal vomit bucket for their very own Renaissance "boot and rally" experience.  The castle is (surprise!) wonderfully maintained and curated, and there are all sorts of friendly guides to tell you all you'd want to know about it, in addition to multi-lingual interprative signs, and even a troupe of actors who wander around the castle doing scenes from Hamlet.  (Is it churlish to quibble that they were doing it in plain English for the benefit of the multi-national crowd instead of the Bard's original verse?   Hmm... having just written that, answer=yes.).

The castle is totally great, and made even better by the addition by the legend of Holger the Dane, the legendary giant who, the old ones tell us, will rise up and protect the people if the country is in crisis. They put a big (and super-cool) statue of him in the catacombs beneath the castle, and I can tell you, woe be it to the next enemy of Denmark.   Also there is a lovely cafe on the grounds where we had a delightful Danish lunch (I meatballs- whoop whoop Teledudes!- and she a salad).   Expensive, high quality, and tasteful!

After lunch, we headed to the new maritime museum next door.  Similar to the amusement park in Copenhagen, it seemed to have its primary function come as a bit of an afterthought to the stunningly innovative interior design.  The site used to be a large dry dock for a defunct shipyard, but through a heroic effort, they hollowed out the area around it, put in a dam around it, and somehow created an underground museum that funnels in so much natural light from above it is perfectly lit, all while restoring the sight line from the charming village of Hellsingor to the castle that the shipyard had blocked for a century.  Okay, so maybe some of the exhibits are so classy they are somewhat incomprehensible, but they are gorgeous, and the space, with it's insanely elegant design, is worth the price of admission just to walk around in.  Not sure it's super-great for kids, despite the Lego shipbuilding exhibit (since it's right next to the "Sex and the Sea" exhibit which was all about foriegn prostitutes, VD, and saucy postcards), but it's distinctly possible the Scandanavians are way more sex-positive than Americans.  Anyway, great museum for the most part, but I would maybe add a little more about boats and stuff in the maritime museum.

We decided we wanted to see a little more of Helsingor before we got back on the train, so we wandered to the village square, where it turned out they were wrapping up a farmer's market and ramping up the crowd at the biergarten that occupied much of the square.  The sun had made its first appearance since we had been in country, so we plunked down at a table and took advantage of the special, which turned out to be a large beer, 2 weird orange hot dog things, 1 tiny bun, and a shot of Jagermeister.  We were assured this was what we must have, and they were right.  A rowdy group of guys a table down from us sang American pop tunes in Danish loudly, accompanied by a guitarist in leopard print tights and fairy wings.  All drank beer and laughed and enjoyed a respite in what we had heard a local call Denmark's "green winter."  Just a great end to an awesome day.

Off to start the bike tour in earnest tomorrow.  Up at 5 am to catch a train, and then a boat, to the island of Bornholm, where we will camp for a few days and see the bucolic sights.  The weather is predicted to stay nice, and hopefully that will happen, but we will probably be offline for a bit.  Bet from both of us, and rest of assured we are both well and have gone from good to great spirits during our brief time in this wonderful country.