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In an effort to learn more about the historical side of Denmark, I've spent my first couple of weekends going to 3 towns, 2 castles, 1 cathedral... and a museum. My first Saturday I went to the town of Helsingør (Elsinore in English), including to what it's most known for: Kronborg Slot (slot = castle). This past weekend I went to Roskilde Viking Museum and Roskilde Cathedral on Saturday and to Frederiksborg Slot on Sunday. So here's a brief recap of my experiences.

Helsingør: This one was actually an all day trip so I woke up early and navigated my way across town to where the buses were picking us up, in an area that I thought I knew how to get to. Apparently I didn't. When I finally realized I didn't know where I was anymore I asked a woman for help. She put me on a bus because it was easier than explaining how to walk the rest of the way. So that day I got my first crash course in the Copenhagen public transit system. Unfortunately I didn't have my klippeport (10 use pass) with me because I was so confident in my walking abilities so I had to pay 24 kroner (about 4 bucks). When I finally found the buses all I cared about was letting my frozen nose and toes thaw out. We drove about an hour north along the coast, occasionally seeing Sweden in the distance. At Helsingør we were allowed about 2 hours to wander on our own. I teamed up with a couple other students and the 3 of us decided our goal would be to find food and a warm place to consume said food. We made purchases at a cute cheese & sausage shop and also at a bakery. Little did we know that buying the food would be the easiest part. We wandered all around  Helsingør trying to find an indoor location that it wouldn't be rude to BYOL (bring your own lunch). In the meantime, we found a stand selling homemade jam and I bought some called brombær, which I later figured out is blackberry. Eventually we settled on a coffee shop where we bought coffee, too, to give an excuse for using their tables. It was delicious and represented hygge to me (Danish coziness).

Kronborg: After exploring Helsingør it was back to the bus for a short drive to Kronborg Castle which I'm actually 99% positive that you've read about without knowing it. "Something's rotten in the state of Denmark" ring any bells? That's right. Hamlet is set at Kronborg Castle and there's even a plaque of Shakespeare to prove it. It was pretty cool to wander the castle corridors while imagining the scenes of Hamlet. It was also good to hear about Danish history and learn how important Kronborg was back in the day. Because of Denmark's geography it's (as the tour guide put it) the "cork in the bottle" or the "gateway to the Øresund." that was fought over for control of trade for ships going in and out of that sea region. I should also mention that Kronborg is just 3 miles away from Sweden so you can imagine the king looking out the window to see the land of the nation that was fighting for his.

Roskilde (ross-KILL-duh): The next weekend I took a bus to Roskilde (I didn't get lost this time) which is a town about 45 minutes west of Copenhagen that, at one time, was one of the largest in Denmark. Roskilde is home to one of the most famous Danish viking ship museums, and it houses the remains of 5 authentic ships that took 25 years to piece back together. These ships were found under the ocean, used as a blockade in a war. A brief note on the viking era: the Danish vikings didn't mess around, and consequently Denmark used to be the Scandinavian superpower. Over time and through various wars with neighboring countries, Denmark slowly lost their vast land. By the 1860s the nation was at an all time low in terms of size; but this was before they gained back land that's now part of Jutland (main part of Denmark) as well as Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Until I got here I had no idea Greenland was controlled by Denmark but apparently it is.

Roskilde (continued): Next stop in the town of Roskilde was the cathedral there. I like to call it the Westminster Abbey of Denmark. It is large, it is beautiful, and it is where the majority of the Danish kings and queens and other wealthy people are buried. We got a tour there as well but the best part for me was simply wandering around and taking in the beauty of it all. Also I took a lot of pictures (no surprise there). It was interesting to see the tomb designs of each king and queen and to speculate about the reasons each chose to be remembered in those ways. Some were quite extravagant, either in terms of intricacy or in size. Others were much simpler. Though part of the level of extravagance had to do simply with the amount of money the kingdom had at that point in time, it's also interesting to see it as an analysis of their personality and their view on life and death - or even how a few highlighted major accomplishments of their reign. Things to ponder.

Frederiksborg: The very next day I was yet again on a bus, this time driving an hour northwest to Hillerød to see the beautiful Frederiksborg Castle, which I learned is also home to the Danish Museum of National History. Unfortunately for us it had snowed the night before and even snowed a bit while we were there so we didn't get the full affect of the castle's beauty, the gardens in particular. One thing enhanced by the snow, though, were the Narnia-esque statues by the fountain. I would've taken picture after picture at this castle, too, but my camera battery died after about 5 shots. Lesson learned: always, always have an extra battery with you. Good thing some of my housemates were on the trip so at least I can get pictures from them. If I had to pick one word to describe Frederiksborg Castle it would be extravagant. Yeah, I know it was the home of royalty but even compared to Kronborg Castle, this one was up there in terms of its over-the-top-ness. Gorgeous in every way, but it made me think... I've been reading the Hunger Games series which (if you haven't read it) is a social commentary on, for one thing, the rich vs. poor question. And when I was looking around at the castle, I couldn't help but think about whether or not it's right/good for some to have so much while others live with so little. On a very different note, there were several astronomically themed things - paintings on the ceiling of the major constellations, really old devices used for astronomy, and a giant music box globe thing with the zodiac on it. I was proud that I knew the names of the constellations based on their pictural representation. I'm a nerd, I know. =)

Wow. That was really long. I'm impressed if you've read this far.