Copenhagen day 6

It was my last full day in Copenhagen and I had a day trip booked to visit Hamlet’s castle and Sweden. A 4.30 am call from Tom asking for directions to the alteration lady had me awake rather early so I managed to fit a final morning walk around the Lakes. The earlier start though afforded the most spectacular views.

My last day was to spent taking a small group tour to the north of Denmark to Visit Kronborg, or Hamlet’s Castle, before crossing to Sweden to visit Lund and Malmo. It was a long day so this update is brief but there are plenty of photos.

It was a great day as, by taking a small bus tour, we were able to to view the whole coastline of the drive and to see much more than would be afforded doing this by train. It was a beautiful day with sunshine and little to no cloud making for great sightseeing. The coastal strip from just north of central Copenhagen up to Helsingor is very pretty and lined with rather luxurious and large homes and various embassies. This would be a most desirable location to live if one was ever based in Copenhagen.

There was 90 minutes of free time at Kronborg Castle, Helsingor, and I used this to do a loop around the Castle and to take a look at the Old Town. The Castle is, apparently, much more impressive being viewed from the outside than from the inside. Looking around the Old Town revealed the narrow lanes separating the old housing and this, reportedly, contributed to the spread of disease; with slosh buckets being thrown from windows. The ferry crossing from Helsingor, Denmark to Helsingrad, Sweden, takes just 15 minutes but this allowed enough time to venture out of the bus and go upstairs to take some photos of Kronborg Castle, viewed from the water. Once across the water there was passport control and then a 25 min drive to the city of Lund.

We only visited the Old Town section of Lund and it was very much like most Old Towns around the world. with pretty, winding and narrow cobbled lanes and a spectacular Cathedral. I used the time here to finally have a traditional open sandwich which was delicious. The 90 minutes of free time here passed rather quickly and then we were on to our final stop at Lund. This, too, was a stop at the pretty Old Town with more pretty cobbled lanes but with a larger square dedicated to alfresco dining at the many restaurants and bars. Scandinavians love the food and alcohol but are a slim lot; I put it down to all the walking and cycling they do!

It was about 6 pm before we left Malmo and there was just two quick photo stops before heading home; one off a high-rise building called the Twisted Torso, based on a sculpture called the Twisting Tower, and one to get a shot of the bridge made famous in the series, The Bridge.

I was home by 7pm and rather tired after a very full day. It was a great tour and I would highly recommend this if ever in Copenhagen! Our tour had only 16 people and we traveled on a small bus. There was a driver and a guide who both gave a lot of interesting commentary but there was an audio guide with commentary for most of the journey as well so it was a day packed with sightseeing and packed with interesting information.

Some key learnings from today:

Lund: dates back to 1145.
In Denmark cars are taxed at 150% of retail value. People don’t mind as it finds free university and free health.
Tuborg: up along coastline of Copenhagen a beautiful waterfront area. Very wealthy. Embassy district.
Hellerup nice too.
Helsingør: Where kronborg Castlem is located: founded 1420
Kronborg: 16th Century castle
Helsingor to Sweden: distance is 4 km across water.
Sweden cheaper: Food taxes: Sweden is12% taxes. Copenhagen is 25%.
Sweden free health. They have evolved from a poor agriculture country to a modern technologically advanced country.
Lund Cathedral begin in 1080
Lund was capital of Denmark 450 years ago.
The ‘Espresso House’ franchise began In Lund!
Malmo: has also transformed from an industrial to a technological society.
Denmark: 95% buses electric. 5% biogas
Malmo square: dates back to 1530s, prior to this time it was a Monastery. Then a square.
Malmo: first mentioned in 1275.
Malmo: has experienced staggering development since around 2005 and this has been due to the 2000 completion of The Oresund Bridge.
Malmo cheaper than Copenhagen so many Danes live here and travel to work. 25 min by train or Oresund bridge 2000 8 km long.
All Danish electricity is green.
New Danish film: Journal 64.