Travelling through this blog...

1. Touchdown Eltville am Rhine
   
2. Day 2 highlight - Eberbach Abbey
   
3. Cruising The Rhine
   
4. Day trip to Mainz
   
5. Amsterdam - Canals, bicycles and a few tulips!
   
6. Amsterdam - A city of contrasts!
   
7. Amsterdam, The Hague and Delft - Concerts, Opera and Museums
   
8. Amsterdam to Hamburg via Bremen
   
9. Hamburg's new drawcard..Elbphilharmonie
   
10. Inspiring Lübeck
    
11. Copenhagen and another opera house!
    
12. A night at the opera and some other treats in Oslo
    
13. Beautiful Bergen
    
14. Hear it's cold in Sydney...
    
15. Oslo wrap up...
    
16. Three castles in one day...well two castles and an ice cream stop!
    
17. Back home with a few final Copenhagen highlights! 

Back home with a few final Copenhagen highlights!

The first unexpected Copenhagen highlight was seeing the Danish National Symphony Orchestra at another amazing venue, DK Koncerthuset. When our tour leader was comparing this Hall favourably with the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, I was on-line seeing if there was a performance for the post tour return.

Two well know pieces were on the program last Thursday - found Romanian cellist Andrei Ionija performed Dvorak's Cello Concerto followed by Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modest Mussoegsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

The first photo shows the best searing available...A reserve in "the Gods"! Here's the thing about these new halls, it's all in the design and acoustics. The sears were well worth the pricing. The hall is part of a much larger complex opening ten years ago. The wood panelling is a feature and ensures the clarity and warmth of sound. Plenty of escalators and lifts to move you around the complex and there's a subway station to wish you the five kilometres back to central Copenhagen.

Next is the Design Museum Denmark located in a beautiful old building close to the palace precinct.

The impact of Danish design on furniture, particularly the chair, is very much the focus of the permanent exhibition.  Here you're walking through the origins of the much loved Parker and Chiswell brands and the more recent "knock-off" Matt Blatt.

There's also the more contemporary on display....don't know about this prototype chair and the Danish design clothing was certainly interesting!

The inclusion of a small collection of Lalique glass was the first time I'd made the connection with Iittala.  I so regret "decluttering" those beautiful Ultima Thule glasses and candlesticks I received for my 21st!

The third highlight was visiting the Statens Museum for Kunst, the National Gallery of Denmark SMK.  Opened in 1896, it's surrounded by the beautiful parklands of The King's Garden, The Botanical Gardens and Østre Anlæg.  A century later, a modern wing was added at the rear with a high glass ceilinged "Sculpture Street" merging the two buildings. 

The lobby was upgraded about 10 years ago with the addition of a giant chandelier,  a lift (behind the yellow wall) and spiral staircase.  

Moving between the buildings via "Sculpture Street",  I walked across one of the two glass floored suspension walkways on the first floor but returned to the stability of the ground floor for the return.

The central area on the ground floor of the new extension is a glass wall open area with views to the parkland beyond.  Similar views are offered from many areas on the upper floors of the new extension which houses the 20th and 21st century collections of mainly Danish art.

A big surprise was the beautifully curated collection of French Art from the first three decades of the 20th century bequeathed to the gallery by a private collector.   Here are a few favourites....

Leaving the gallery, you look across the water feature with its chairs to the towers of Rosenborg Castle - almost last highlight of Copenhagen.  I understand, in the warmer weather, patron take a seat in the water feature.

Rosenborg is another Renaissance castle from the 17th century.  The basement is the real drawcard in the castle as it accommodates The Treasury including the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia.  Other attractive baubles and trinkets caught my eye!

The castle contained the usual assortment of chandeliers and decorative ceilings.  The "throne room" with its Delft tiling was unexpected.  A castle with self-directed viewing was very pleasant....

The final highlight for this trip was dinner at Tivoli Gardens on the final evening...just because you have to visit once when you're in Copenhagen.  I'm still amazed that most visitors (including me) pay the entrance fee, about $30, to wander around, find somewhere to eat and never take a ride!

Here's one of the newer rides, The Star Flyer, built by an Australian company and offering "panoramic views of Copenhagen".... not for me at any price!

But this may be a Tivoli drawcard for some....  In one of the many gift/souvenir shops, you can buy as many pegs of the same colour as you like!  I'm a person who always uses the same coloured pegs on each article I'm hanging but will vary the colour of pegs between articles.  There are others who long to have a line filled with the same coloured pegs. While there are many options to achieve this, a trip to Tivoli can be added to the list!

Finally, a rhododendron display at Tivoli....the flower of my 2019 tour of rivers, canals and fjords!  Thanks for joining me on my travels and your good wishes and comments.  It's been a trip with so many highlights!   I'm glad that my return saw rain in Sydney....

Three castles in one day...well, two castles and an ice cream stop!

Yesterday was the day to hop on the big red bus for a 6 hour trip to the three royal castles about an hour from Copenhagen.  I'll leave "the issues" for my review on TripAdvisor.  Suffice to say that fabulous Robert and Claudia from our Academy tour were very much missed!

Leaving the hotel in wind and drizzle didn't look promising but, as the bus departed with 25 passengers from all corners of the planet, the weather cleared.  We saw another side to Copenhagen travelling out of the city through the very swank housing along "the Riviera road" with views of Øresund Strait and the Swedish coast beyond.

Our first stop was Kronborg Castle which stands on the north western tip of Zealand - the island Copenhagen is situated on.  It's one of northern Europe's best preserved Renaissance castles. It's listed as an UNESCO World Heritage site.  Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  There's no evidence that he ever visited the castle but the connection is very present with actors doing scenes from the play and the castle used in many films.

As we left the bus, I realised what we were in for during our visits as we scampered to the castle and then up and down stone spiral stairs hearing little of the guide's commentary. My scampering days are a distant memory and you need far more than 45 minutes to visit these places.  So I broke from the group, where possible, and snapped away for later research...surprised at how well they turned out!  

Entry is over the moat and into this space under the fortress wall.  Into the small entry courtyard, there's a plaque commemorating the Hamlet connection.

Entering the main courtyard, we were into a scene from Hamlet.  But no time to stop, there were spiral stairs to be climbed!  Where were all the grand staircases I kept thinking?

The interior rooms we visited were light with white washed walls.  Paintings were the major adornment.  The depth of the walls was obvious in the window openings.  We came across another Hamlet scene in the Grand Ballroom...but no time to linger although all died as we were ushered out of the room!

We were encouraged to preorder a roll and drink for lunch which was handed out as we returned to the bus for consumption between castles!  Our next stop was the Royal family's summer residence, Fredensborg Palace.  This was advertised as a "photo stop" but, with 30 minutes allocated for a photo, ice creams were recommended!  So we sat down enjoying our ice cream looking up at "our Mary's" summer residence.  Quite bizarre given we'd raced through Hamlet's castle...

Our third castle was Frederiksborg.  The big red bus's promotional material reads-

"Frederiksborg Castle is where you will risk losing your breath by the castle's splendor. It is as fantastic on the inside as on the outside with its stunning and beautiful interior and remarkable gardens. The unrivalled Renaissance castle was built by the legendary Danish King Christian IV and incorporates the best of Renaissance architecture and craftsmanship."

Well, we risked losing our breath by our guide's whirlwind speed through the castle.  The "Long Walk" from the bus to the castle took about the same time as the tour!   Again, no grand staircases as we were up and down stone spiral staircases.  An American lady asked if she could visit the gift shop for 5 minute..."no time for shopping" was the reply as we were herded towards the big red bus for our return to Copenhagen.

iPhone photography came into its own here as I just pointed and snapped as we scampered along!  

The Hunting Lodge in the Long Walk if the Chinese whispers between the passengers on the big red bus were reliable!

Neptune Fountain

Our group scamper into the entrance hall of the castle with a bystander watching on...

What a contrast to our first castle!  Here I was taken by the plaster work.  Here in the Rose Room, Chapel and Great Hall...I picked up a brochure.  And what about those gorgeous putti!

Great statues but no time to work out who they were....

So we were over the drawbridge and onto the big red bus back to Copenhagen but not via the "Riviera road" this time...we saw the industrial side of the city!  And the final sting...the guide can't take payment for our lunch.  We'll stop at the ticket office, join the queue of people purchasing tickets for the "hop-on-hop-off" bus and canal tours and then be returned to the tour's start point....another 20 minutes to bring our 6 hour castle odyssey to a close!  

So if you find yourself in Copenhagen, don't do the big red bus tour.  See Kronborg and Frederiksborg at your own pace or ask Robert and Claudia to take you.

Our reward at dinner was a bottle of delicious rose at Scandinavian prices but, believe me, it's never tasted so good!