Day #2: A Journey Through the Danish Royalty

If I had to sum up today, the title pretty much says it all. My day started by taking the S-Tog, which is a type of hybrid between a Metro and a regular train out to Hillerød, a small town about 45 minutes outside of downtown Copenhagen. I suspect it was this tranquil atmosphere that led King Christian IV to build his summer palace, Fredericksborg, there. Called the Danish Versaille, it definitely lived up to its billing.

My favorite part of the castle was the chapel, where royal weddings still take place.

It was wonderfully ornate and was covered with various family's coats of arms, including this one:




Also pretty cool was in the king's box, he had a number of paintings, depicting the life of Christ, starting with Gabriel informing Mary she was going to be the mother of Christ

And ending with the resurrection.

After a traditional Danish meal of a pølse (basically a sausage), I returned back to Copenhagen to tour the town some more. I also took a guided tour of local Christiansborg Palace.

The royal family does not live here and has not for quite some time, as it has burned to the ground twice, once in the late 1600s and once in the late 1800s. Accordingly, the current incarnation of the castle is less than 100 years old. It was fascinating place and I wish I could show you the interior, but Queen Margarthe II has forbid any video cameras or photgraphy within the castle itself. Especially fascinating was a large family portrait taken of King Christian IX (bonus trivia note: all of Denmark's kings from 1440 onward have been named either Christian or Frederick, except for King Hans in the 1500s). Christian IX is called the Father-in-law of Denmark because of his prowess at marrying off his children. Represented in the painting are: his daughter, Alexandra, who married King Edward VII of England, his eldest son who became Frederick VIII of Denmark and then Frederick's younger son became King Haakon VII of Norway, his youngest son became King George I of Greece, his middle daughter who married Czar Alexander III of Russia (their son, also represented in the painting was Nicholoas II, also known as the last Czar of Russia), and finally, their youngest daughter who married down . . . to the Crown Prince of Hanover. Quite an interesting family.

My day wrapped up with Dining with the Danes, a service that matches you with a Danish family for dinner and conversation. Danish people are really warm and welcoming, but only once you get to know them. They feel like they are intruding on someone else's personal space if they were to engage people that they meet in conversation, they are more reserved to strangers. I had a great time with my hosts, who served salmon and bread covered with white asparagus for a first dish, then followed up with a main dish of pot roast, carmelized potatoes, and red cabbage. We topped it all off with a turtle ice cream (like the chocolate caramel type, not the actual turtle.) I was joined by a couple from Seattle and college lecturer from Dublin. It was a great way to meet the Danish people and know a little bit more about Danish culture.