Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Denmark: I'm no great shakes at Shakespeare

and had no idea where Elsinor, the setting for "Hamlet" was prior to last Wednesdays arrival in Denmark.  During a weekend break from my work in Copenhagen, we visited Elsinor and its Kronberg castle and became instant Shakespearians! In case you don't already know, Elsinor (Helsingor in Danish) is on the Northeastern Coast of Zealand -- just a few miles across the Oeresund channel from Helsingborg, Sweden.  The Danes consider the coast between Copenhagen and Helsingor as their Riviera with beautiful towns, large villas, yacht harbors, galleries, museums and several castles.  It also has many inlets where the Danes cut through the ice in winter to take their famous plunges which they believe is good for the heart!  I guess we could try that in Salt Lake City too but it would probably be the end of me.

Kronborg Castle (setting for Hamlet)
I won't bore you with a discussion of the many interesting tourist activites available in Copenhagen because one can easily find them on the Internet. However I would definitely encourage visits to other Danish castles on the North Coast and  to Rothskilde, an hour's train ride from Copenhagen which is home to an impressive Viking Ship Museum as well as the cathedral where the Danish kings and queens are buried. (http://www.roskilde.com/cmar(ter.asp?doc=2961)


at Viking Ship Museum, Rothskilde


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