After meeting Bo Andresen our Tours by Local guide and driver at the cruise ship terminal, we were on our way to discovering the castles of North Zealand combined with a tour of the Copenhagen’s most prestigious area known as the Strand or beach area, home of richest residents of Copenhagen. On our way to North Zealand we stopped a Raadvad village and walked through the Deer Forest to see the Hermitage Palace, built for King Christian VI in order to host his banquets during royal hunts in Dyrehaven. It was raining but we still had a scenic drive up the northern coast from Copenhagen through the Danish countryside on our way to the famous Kronborg Palace. We arrived before the Palace opened and made use of our time by walking the perimeter of the palace grounds. Kronborg Palace immortalized as Elsinore Castle in Shakespeare's play, Hamlet and the resting place for one of Denmark's greatest legends - Holger the Dane. While inside the castle, we visited the castle ramparts, the Courtyard, the Royal apartment, Grand ballroom, the Tapestries and the Casemates...the underground rooms and tunnels at this amazing UNESCO World Heritage site. After leaving the Palace, we did a walking tour of Helsingor (Elsinore), a quaint, charming town of half-timbered houses with cobblestone streets, historic St. Olaf’s Cathedral and town hall. From Helsingor, we travelled to Hillerod where we visited the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia; the Royal Frederiksborg Palace...Queen Margaret was in residence so we could not go beyond the guardhouse, however, we did make our way to the adjoining Baroque formal gardens...we were impressed by the Norrdmand Garden containing statues of 70 carvings depicting 18th century Scandinavian workers of assorted professions. From Hillerod, we made our way back to Copenhagen, passing through the scenic and lush Danish countryside. During dinner in the Pinnacle Grill we enjoyed the scenic cruising along the coast of Denmark. The last picture of the blog is Kronborg Palace taken from the deck of the Zuiderdam as we sailed by…. The wet rainy day did not dissuade us from accomplishing our touring plans...it was another great day!
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