Day 3 - Copenhagen

16 degrees going to 21 with sunny weather forcast.

The morning started early enough for me to do some writing and to organize my pictures from the day before. We had breakfast in the hotel where we were greeted by almost a full restaurant. For a small hotel (125 rooms on 5 floors) it is very busy and there were both tourists and business-people from other areas. The small breakfasts at the hotel are buffet style with eggs, bacon, sausage, cold cuts, cheeses, toast, fruit and of course lots of coffee. There is always lots of chatter during breakfast and this morning there was lots of laughter as we met up with the folks we had been with the evening before.


At around 10:00 am were off to Hillerod to see Frederiksborg Castle for the early part of the day. Bob, Edna, Bruce , Alison, Lucy , Freddi and I decided to make this little trip to see the castle that was built around 1604 and 1620. Paul and Mary Ellen and Allan and Pam had been there before today. The train ride out away about 40 minutes long, well exactly 40 minutes as the trains are very precise, and I was very impressed with the quietness of the trains and the efficiency of the service. Trains are a major transportation method for the folks in Copenhagen but the service is second only to the bicycle as a means for getting around. You see bicycles everywhere and the people ride them with grace, poise and a sense of purpose as they pedal and obey the rules of the road as if they were driving a car. Their dedicated lanes are free of other vehicles and pedestrians as their path is for bicycles only. Additionally, you see bicycles that are designed and constructed with modification to meet the needs of the owner. There are bicycles with carrying carts up front where you might see tools, animals, children, groceries etc stored in the carts. Mostly there are black old fashioned pedal bikes that are at least 28" with small handle bar baskets on the front. There are millions of bicycles in the city on a work day and they accumulate in large numbers around public transportation areas - like the train station.



Frederiksborg



Freddi in the fireplace of the Grand Hall

Upon arrival in the small town at the end of the train line, we wound our way through town to get to the Slot (castle) and watched the merchants opening up their shops for the day ahead. I spotted some nice shirts for a reasonable price and noted their location for a later purchase. At the castle we entered and used our cOPENhagen card to cover the entrance fee. Actually we have used the card for all entrance fees, train and bus travel and some other occasions to date. This card was a good buy if only for the convenience. The castle is a huge building that was built in stages by various Christiansan and Frederiks as the kings of Denmark. They were an ugly lot, judging by their pictures throughout the castle but they certainly had a flair for the unusual and expensive. Almost every room had an unusual ceiling design (some fancy, some plain), a variety of floor designs in hard and soft woods and a huge collection of paintings and furniture from the era. The castle burned in the 1700s and the Government, the citizens and a private investor spent several millions on the reconstruction. The private investor was Carlsberg, the owner of the beer dynasty. Today it is a marvelous depiction of their family and it was turned into a museum at the request of the major investor. Behind the castle is a garden that was manicured and constructed with over 100 acres of trees, bushes, vines, fountains and flower gardens in a very precise fashion. Wandering the garden affords one a spectacular view of the castle, the lake and the town behind. We then hopped on the little ferry service across the lake to get to the main strip of the town. We settled on a restaurant and ordered our club sandwiches, burger, salads and of course the salute to the major investor in the castle. To our disappointment they did not serve Carlsberg but the waiter pointed us in the direction of Royal dark ale which turned out to be a pretty good choice. Our waitress was in her second day on that job and was a beautiful young Danish woman with Austrian heritage who owned the planet with her big smile and friendly attitude. There was some discussion about spiriting her back to North America. From there, after we devoured our huge lunches, we meandered through the village where we bought some Danish wine and other wines for our cruise. Suddenly we were at the crossroads and I realized I had not seen the shirts I was interested in. We pushed on regardless of my disappointment! The train ride back to Copenhagen was swift and su

pported a number of short snoozes by this person as we moved through the sunny countryside watching the fields of mustard and crops as we sped along.

Back at the hotel a crew was collecting to continue the bonding of the day before between the Creek people and the Lake people. That continued party in the garden ended in a challenge now fondly referred to as the CanAm challenge where we will compete for a prize in various games of skill during the cruise. This should be interesting to say the least. So far the only combined skill that has been demonstrated to date is wit and the ability to consume large quantities of alcohol.



Bob, Edna, Freddi, Lucy and I decided to try food outside of the hotel for dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant around the corner where we met up with Tony our writer and Name his sidekick. I think they worked on the sidewalk cafe so they could watch the beautiful women drive by on their bicycles. Tony was a great waiter and we had many spirited discussions with him. We also enjoyed some very good Italian fare accompanied by good Italian wine. It was fun eating outside as we were benefiting from the beautiful weather we have been fortunate to enjoy here in  Copenhagen. The locals tell us it is not always like this as they get lots of rain and cold weather. After dinner we joined the others in Tivoli where some of the more adventurous took on the rides until closing time. A short walk back to the hotel and sleep came easily.