This morning, we hoofed it over to Nørreport Station to find the S-train north to Hillerød.
The station is somewhat confusing, because it services three different train networks: regional rail, urban light rail (S-tog/S-train), and the metro.
It was a quiet 40-minute ride to the end of the line. The station was about a 20-minute walk from our objective, but Hillerød has a few buses. We wanted to get to Frederiksborg Castle early (it opens at 10 AM), so we took the bus and declared that we would walk back to the train station, seeing the town center along the way.
From the road, it isn't immediately obvious how large this castle/palace is, because you get a glimpse of a few towers beyond the outer walls.
The castle and accompanying buildings are spread across three different islands, with bridges and gates between them.
As we approached the castle proper, it became apparent how enormous this place is.
Once inside, we dutifully stowed our bags in lockers, and began the arrow-guided path through the castle.
The stairwells between floors and the alcoves in the chapel are all lined with the... shields? crests? sigils? badges? of all of the people who have been inducted into the Order of the Elephant.
Our guidebook pointed out the location of several containing names that we might recognize, like Nelson Mandela and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The attendant stationed in the chapel appeared to be a combination of amused and impressed that we were looking for (and found) them.
As you can clearly see, Sabrina is impressed by the opulence.
The castle is also a history museum, including hundreds of paintings, books, and other artifacts.
If you're into astronomical clocks/models, be sure to stop by and check out this beauty. For a sense of scale... if you look closely, you can see Sarah standing behind it, on the left.
The walls of the Great Hall are woven tapestries... essentially hand-woven wallpaper. The balcony on the left was where the band would sit during parties, to avoid being in the way.
Some of the rooms offered views out over the lake and the gardens. Many of the panes of glass have ancient graffiti scratched into them, made by diamond rings worn by children of visiting dignitaries, according to the guidebook. I found that to be a fun tidbit.
After completing our tour, we found our way around the back and aimed for the gardens.
It's not an insignificant walk from the gardens back to the road, so there is a tiny ferry that does lazy laps around the lake.
The gardens themselves were somewhat underwhelming, as a large chunk was closed and labeled "under renovation" or similar, and the rest looked unkempt.
While we explored the castle, the clouds had rolled in. The weather forecast suggested light rain in Copenhagen, but not until late afternoon. We were only about 25 miles northwest of the city, but it looked like the weather was turning earlier up in Hillerød.
That, combined with the fact that it was already after noon, led us to forego a trip into the gardens, and instead search for lunch options. The sign on the boat dock indicated that the boat only comes by twice an hour, and it was nowhere in sight, so we walked back towards the road.
En route, we paused at the cafe/restaurant Spisestedet Leonora to examine the menu. It looked reasonable, and we weren't sure what, if anything, we'd find back in town, so we decided to try it.
We mostly ordered out of the Smørrebrød section, meaning we got fancy/deconstructed open-faced sandwiches. There was also some soup and a giant salad involved.
This one involved herring, perhaps? Also a tiny tub of lard to spread on the bread.
When we left the restaurant, the wind had picked up and it was starting to rain. The original plan of walking through town no longer felt viable, so we caught the bus back to the train station and found the 2 o'clock-ish S-tog back to Copenhagen.
As usual, there were lots of bikes on the train. (They are prohibited during rush hour, per signage.)
We won the race against the weather back to Copenhagen, so we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through center city back to the apartment.
These fine gentlemen were offering mjød (mead) samples on the edge of a square. At least, the one on the left was. I don't know if they guy on the right was a potential customer or a coworker.
He was pleased to hear that I wasn't from Sweden. The mead was excellent; I had my credit card out, but he only accepted cash or (Danish bank) mobile pay.
I looked for it later, in the wine/beer section of several stores, but nobody had much of a mead selection. And they really do think of it, and refer to it, as the "viking drink".
We regrouped back at the apartment, and took a few minutes to get off of our feet before heading out again. Some time around 4, we ventured back out into the weather and took a bus across town to Nørrebro. Our objective for the afternoon was to embrace some Danish Hygge.
Our hygge was administered via a pair of 4:30 PM reservations at the RelaxMe spa.
After a lengthy soak in a hot tub, an essential-oil salt scrub in a steam room, and a brief stint in the sauna, I almost felt like I hadn't walked nearly 70 miles in the last week and a half.
The guy who runs RelaxMe (who also built it) is one of the nicest people I've ever met. If you happen to be in Copenhagen, it's definitely worth a visit.
We took the metro back to central Copenhagen, around 7 PM. The metro here is completely automated, so you can watch out the front window as the train flies through the tunnels. It's almost like being on a rollercoaster.
We exited the metro at Kongens Nytorv Station (King's Square), which is connected to the lower level of the Magasin department store/mall. We shopped around a little bit. I don't think I mentioned it yet, but several places on this trip have had artisanal marshmallows for sale.
The rain had passed, and it turned into a lovely evening to stroll through the squares one more time.
Specifically, we strolled to Det Lille Apotek (The Little Pharmacy) for some serious Danish food. Their claim to fame is "oldest restaurant in Copenhagen" (since 1720). Oh, and also that H. C. Andersen was a regular customer.
I can't speak for the other three people at the table, but the roast pork with potatoes, two ways, was tasty. Everyone was pleased with the meal, as far as I know.
This being the farthest point south of the trip, the sun was actually starting to set around 9:30 PM.
Naturally, we stopped at 7-Eleven on the way home to pick up a few items. Did I mention that the only 7-Eleven stores in Europe are in Scandinavia? They have a decent selection of pastries here, too.
Tomorrow, we have a few hours in the morning to saunter around and enjoy the last of our time in Copenhagen. The weather outlook isn't promising, but the forecasts here have been rather unreliable, so anything could happen.
We fly back to the US in the afternoon.
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