Sophie’s World

On our way back north was my third World Heritage site, Kronborg Castle, Hamlet’s castle, in Elsinore. The town is actually called Helsingør in Danish, but Elsinore sounds so much more romantic, doesn’t it? Thanks to Willie S., no doubt, but also, just the sound of it: Elsinore!

Kronborg Castle is interesting enough in its own right, even without any references to Shakespeare. It’s from an era when Denmark was one of the great powers in Europe. Once a naval fortress guarding the entrance to the Baltic, then King Fredrik II had it converted into a fantastic renaissance palace, a summer house. Kronborg even sported northern Europe’s largest ball room as Queen Sophie loved to dance. Must have been a fun place to hang out in the 1500s.

We explore the royal apartments, surprisingly modestly decorated. Well, perhaps not so surprising. We are in Scandinavia after all, not France. Some saucy paintings decorate the otherwise stark castle walls:

Outside, moats and drawbridges. I half expected to see the dead Ophelia floating in the moat, over by the swans there, perhaps. Or even see Hamlet’s ghost, or that of his father, brutally murdered by his wife Gertrude and his scheming brother Claudius. Dramatic stuff. But they must all be away today. Neither ghosts nor Ken Branagh or Mel Gibson roam the grounds of this magnificent castle.

The main purpose of our trip was to set up Alex’ apartment in Copenhagen. Everything else has just been fun along the way (although admittedly a roundabout way). In Copenhagen, we spent lots of time in Ikea, always a pain. But I did it, that’s how great a mum I am. And didn’t even complain… (well perhaps a little.)

Fortunately, Ikea is in the Copenhagen suburb of Gentofte, which is near another suburb, lively little Lyngby, full of cafés and shops and people out. Typical of Denmark, most shops are unique (i.e. not chains). I love that about Denmark. So civilized. One benefit of a driving holiday is not having to think about limited space in a suitcase or an overhead compartment. That’s how I ended up with a gorgeous large black velvet lamp shade, which matches … nothing else I own. It looks fabulous, though.

Tivoli
Can’t be in Copenhagen without visiting Tivoli Gardens, especially not with kids along. It’s a delightful amusement park. It’s from 1843, so it’s also the world’s second oldest amusement park (the oldest is also in Copenhagen - Danes obviously like pleasure gardens). According to Wiki, after a visit to Tivoli 100 years or so after its opening, Walt Disney was inspired to create Disneyland and decided it should try to emulate Tivolis “happy and unbuttoned air of relaxed fun.”

Tivoli Gardens also hosts concerts. When we visited, Aqua was to perform at ten o’clock, so from five onwards, the crowds steadily increased. (Never knew Aqua was so popular - enormously long queues outside, too). Luckily, Tivoli now offers a new oasis: a lovely outdoor tea house serving fresh teas of every kind, surrounded by flowers, right by the big beautiful fountain near the Chinese gate.

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