On Friday, purchased my 24 hour pass on Copenhagen's wonderful transit system. Found my track, and soon the express train to Helsingor arrived (I don't know how to put that little slash though the o, so Danes please excuse my spelling). The train was smooth, quick, and very efficient, what I am coming to expect from this charming little country.
Arrived in Helsingor, which is the closest point to Sweden, at a relatively narrow passage. Kronberg castle was built here years ago to collect tolls from all ships entering the waterway. As I mentioned in my previous blog, it is also the setting for Hamlet.
A sign quickly pointed me to an information centre, where a very helpful lady gave me the scoop on the castle and town. Headed over to the castle on foot, and took a couple of bridges across the inner and outer moats - very cool. The castle is quite spectacular in terms of style and setting. I explored everywhere, including inside a bit. I think I was supposed to pay some kind of admission to get inside, but it was not apparent.
Walked around the entire outside of the castle, getting some fairly good shots. The wind was blowing, and there were a fair number of clouds, but no rain. Just as I finished circling the castle, the sun came out, and off came my microfleece (which has proved perfect for the Danish weather).
Checked out the harbour, and then heading into the town, which was a big surprise. It is most likely the most charming little town I have ever been in. Lots of narrow pedestrian streets filled with shops, bakeries and restaurants. Some of the bakery windows just made your mouth water!
Wandered the streets taking in the atmosphere, and became inspired by my sister. I started snapping shots of very interesting windows, which I shall post on my flickr account soon (I hope). Maybe I can make a collection like Laurie did of Greek windows. I will be looking for your critique, Laurie.
Anyway, the restaurants were so tempting, I bent my budget a little. I could have easily broken it to pieces, but found a fairly reasonable outdoor cafe. Sat in the cool sunshine, eating a delicious thin crust pizza with artichokes, ham, cheese and olives. Had a large size pilsner to wash it all down. All in all, a wonderful day in a very nice place.
On the way back to Copenhagen, started switching trains, and just checking out little villages on the way back. No tourists in site, so I got see how the real Danes live. I really like so many aspects of Denmark, and Copenhagen, and strongly recommend it to anyone travelling to Europe.
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Once back in Copenhagen, hit happy hour at the Men's Bar. By now people are recognizing me, and I got into an interesting conversation with the bartender, who also works as a waiter at Tivoli. He was describing his "strategy" for dealing with American tourists, which he said were no easy thing to deal with. Soon, half the bar had graciously switched to English, and were joining in the conversation. I got myself into a Geography challenge with this very bright guy who knew Geography way more than me. Hmmm, turns out he was a Geography professor at the University!
Came home to a crowded house, almost forgot that it is the weekend, so most of the dorm bed were full. Got a good nights sleep, and am up this morning, updating this blog. Will now pack up my backpack and walk over to the train station to head down to Hamburg. It was not on my original plan of things to see, so should be interesting.
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