Day 25 – 3 August 2023 – Copenhagen, Denmark – 2nd full day

Our hotel has a nice breakfast selection so we started the day around 7am. We decided to visit a castle today & boarded the Metro rail into Copenhagen city. We got chatting to a young woman with a baby in a pram also heading in & we mentioned we wanted to visit “Hamlet” castle & she suggested another “Frederiksborg” castle, which was also in the direction she was travelling. We travelled with her into the city, then changed from the Metro to the train with her after buying the correct tickets (with her help) for the journey. Our ticket was checked today. We travel a long way into the countryside & Marit with baby Marta got off & told us our station was one stop further, Hillerod.

From Hillerod station the walk was downhill to the lake, past rows of old shops with washing strung out on lines between buildings across the street (as decoration). We boarded a small vintage boat at the lake that took us across to the castle. The boat captain & his helper were volunteers, we didn’t have to pay. My goodness, this is a really big & beautiful looking castle. Frederiksborg castle was built in the time of King Christian IV (1588-1648) & restored after a fire in 1859. After crossing the first moat & through the outer gates we were in the keep, a very large area that leads to the drawbridge over the next moat & the castle. There are fountains & some tall towers & the roof is verdigris green, the colour of the copper roof that has oxidised.

The first thing that strikes us once inside is the ceilings, amazingly ornate & beautiful. The first downstairs ceiling has reliefs of stags fighting, with real antlers. Next is the chapel, my goodness, is this beautiful, it is full size big church.  Again, the ceiling in the chapel is amazingly beautiful, as is the pulpit, the altar, the organ pipes, the stained glass windows. Even the doors are a work of art with carved wood, inlays & design. Next is the rotunda, another amazingly beautiful room with an extraordinary piece of art in the middle of the ceiling.

We keep walking down ornate hallways lined with artworks on the walls & the ornate ceilings. Room after room is filled with beautiful artwork, ornate furniture & beautiful objects, not to mention the ceilings, all different, all beautiful. This palace is stunning, room after room of magnificence, each room is another WOW moment. The Great Hall is that & more, it truly is great with more amazingly ornate ceilings & walls, it is so large. We climbed up several spiral stair cases. We ended up on the top floor with a modern art exhibition. It was a disappointment, the modern art is no match for the old art masterpieces downstairs. Some famous modern artist scored this huge upstairs floor to display her work.  Amongst the many art pieces we recognised Queen Margarete II, crown Prince Frederick & Prince Christian. This Royal family always calls the first son heir to the crown, Frederick & his son Christian.  We also found Crown Prince Frederick’s portrait & cleverly showing him & then in the reflection in the mirror Princess Mary & their 4 children.

The walk back to Hillerod Station was a different route with more old shops. This time we took the train into Copenhagen Central Station, this is a huge railway station with very tall ceilings & all the ceiling support structure is either old trussed steel or massive wooden beams.  We walk past Tivoli Gardens, full of children screaming & having fun on many of the amusement park rides. Apparently Walt Disney used the Tivoli Gardens as a model for his Disneyland Amusement Parks. In the city we walk admiring more of the old buildings & get to Restaurant Karla to meet a friend for dinner. We are there a little bit early & wait for her, we don’t have to wait long, she is early too.

Dinner is traditional Danish style food & we chat for ages over dinner before we say our farewells & catch the train back to our hotel. Another great day.