Castle day in Copenhagen

For my second last day in Copenhagen, we ventured out of Copenhagen to visit the Kronborg and Frederiskborg Castles. It was a mostly enjoyable experience and upheld the trend of beautiful Scandinavian architecture and nature that had been a prominent theme throughout Helsinki and Stockholm.


Kronborg Castle

First up was the Kronborg Castle in the Danish town of Helsingor. Known as the critical setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Kronborg is an important Renaissance monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle features the royal apartments, a series of rooms describing the history of Copenhagen, detailing its one-time occupation by Sweden and subsequent independence. Paintings, sculptures and artwork relate to notable figures in Danish history. There is a ballroom, a hallway and of course, a room dedicated to the history of Hamlet and its various iterations around the world. Better still, some of the rooms are interactive, with a virtual video providing a nice overview of Danish history for those wanting a cliffnotes history lesson and nothing more.


The ballroom within Kronborg Castle

There is even an additional section where you can go underground called the Casemates (‘Kasematter’) and wander the actual areas where Danish soldiers remained during long sieges or bombardments in times of war. Despite it being the middle of the day, it was quite dark and at times unnerving to be walking around in this section of the castle. I even had to use a flashlight app on my phone on occasion to avoid being completely blind at times! There was signs warning that the area was very slippery and it is filled with cobblestones, so good footwear is a must.

Other than the castle, there was a small garden area that had some nice views of the castle and a collection of museums and cafes that were unfortunately closed, it being outside of the summer season.

Attraction details

Name: Kronborg Castle

Directions: From the Central Railway Station, buy an all day regional train pass (it was 108 DKK when I bought mine). This provides unlimited travel to regional Denmark and back again so you can have piece of mind and is cheaper than buying two one-way tickets.

Admission fee: 70 DKK for entry. From the Central Railway, the station you need is Helsingor. The castle is in plain view from Holinberg and takes around 10-15 minutes walk to get to. To get into the Royal Apartments, you need to store your bags in the lockers with a 10 Danish Kroner coin (you can borrow a coin from the shop if you don't have one on you).

Traveler’s tip: Bring a flashlight (either physical or an app on your smartphone) to provide lighting in the casemates, and wear suitable footwear for easy movement. If you’re a museum person, be sure to check out the free Maritime Museum next to the library. We stepped in for a quick browse and were immediately given a free tour of the small museum by the friendly staff member. The library next door to the Maritime Museum is another good place to keep in mind as it offers free Wi-Fi.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Having completed all there was to do at Kronborg Castle, we decided to deviate from our original plan of returning home by taking a few train stops to Hillerød to Frederiksborg Castle.

Frederiksborg proved to be much better (in my opinion) than Kroborg. Not only was there a beautiful castle to look at (we didn’t go inside as we had paid the 70 DKK for Kronborg and didn’t want to get slugged again by another pricey monument), the castle was adjacent to a magnificent garden space, lake, running track and a park containing many trees which were extremely pleasant and shady to walk through.

In hindsight, we both agreed that it would have been better value to have paid the entry fee for Frederiksborg instead of Kronborg in light of the adjacent garden, trees and impressive natural scenery. Oh well, there’s always next time!


The beautiful baroque gardens at Frederiksborg Castle


Frederiksborg Castle


A front view of Frederiksborg Castle and the surrounding gardens

Name: Frederiksborg Castle

Directions: A few train stops away from Helsingor and the Kronborg Castle, take the local train from Helsingor to Hilerod or get the Line E train from Copenhagen central to Hilerod. The journey from Helsingor takes around 30-40 minutes. There is clear signage near the station directing you to Frederiksborg near the station.

Admission fee: 75 DKK for adults. See the website for more information.

Traveler’s tip: Pack plenty of water and your energy to walk around the castle and the surrounding areas. Leave around half a day to see Frederiksborg Castle.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

In summary: If you need a break from Copenhagen city and enjoy nature and history, take a visit to (preferably) Frederiksborg or Kronborg Castle.

Do you have a favourite castle in Europe? What are your thoughts on Kronborg/Frederiksborg Castle?

Hotel review: The Savoy Hotel, Copenhagen

In my second hotel review, I take aim at The Savoy Hotel in Copenhagen, ideally positioned on the main city street of Vesterbrogade.


The Savoy Hotel, Copenhagen. Source: http://copenhagencitybreaks.com

The good:

• Location right in the city centre: The hotel is located on, the busy street in Copenhagen. It is surrounded by restaurants and shops, and is a short walk from both the central railway station and the shopping district in Copenhagen. This made it incredibly easy to find from the station and simplified our trips in and out of Copenhagen.

• The buffet breakfast was tasty: There was slightly less variety in the buffet breakfast in The Savoy compared to the Best Western, but the food was tasty and fresh. There was a good selection of breads cheeses, meats, juices, tea, coffee and fruit available, and I enjoyed more than a few Danish pastries to sweeten the deal.


• Staff were friendly: Staff made the effort to smile and greet us every time we entered and left the building, which was a nice touch.


• Luggage rooms were locked: Compared to the Best Western which used an unlocked baggage room opened by a switch at reception, The Savoy's room was opened with a key. This made me feel much safer when leaving my luggage there after checking out. Check out is at 11am.  

The not so good

• Rooms were quite small: The rooms were significantly smaller than the rooms at The Best Western. Between me and my friend, there was little room to walk around and the bathroom door, when opened, touched the side of my bed. This is apparently quite the norm in Copenhagen due to the limited space, but it isn't a good feeling for a guest to have.


• Interiors quite drab: The rooms were quite monochrome and dull in colour, which can turn some people off. For me, it wasn't a big deal as I just wanted somewhere to sleep but I did notice it. Copenhagen as a city is quite bland looking apart from the Nyhavn harbour and some areas of the city so I guess it is consistent to say the least.

Other comments:

• Patrons are of an older demographic: The hotel had an older demographic compared to The Best Western, which catered to a broad range of people. I felt close to the youngest person there in a place full of middle-aged and older tourists. I wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but it does have an impact on the atmosphere. I didn't mind as I barely spent anytime in the hotel or mingling with guests.

Overall:

The Savoy Hotel
Vesterbrogade 34, Copenhagen
00 45 33 26 75 00

Location: 5/5
Facilities/Security: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Check in/check out: 5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Overall: 4.25/5

In summary: For an ideally located hotel with good, secure service and friendly staff, you might want to try The Savoy Hotel. Just be aware that the space in the rooms isn't the biggest and the rooms won't set your visual taste buds alight.

Tumultuous times in Tivoli Gardens

When you're stepping off a flight, you're often feeling jetlagged or sluggish. You just want to get off the plane and straight to your hotel to relax and unwind. The day I arrived in Copenhagen I felt much the same. Luckily, I didn't stay in the Savoy Hotel too long as my friend reminded me that it was the last day for the summer season at Tivoli Gardens - a garden/amusement park/shopping district hybrid.

Tivoli is quite something! Compared to amusement parks in Australia, Tivoli seemed gigantic, with its numerous rides, food outlets, shopping outlets (selling silver, jewellery, souvenirs, etc) and restaurants. There is a distinct Asian feeling to this place, with its Asian gardens and architecture. You could easily spend a whole day exploring the place, but for me and my friend, the main appeal was the rides. Note that the place really comes alive during the night, with the central concert stage often being used (a tug-of-war match was underway when we went there) and the gardens aglow in the evening making for some incredibly nice photo opportunities.


A strong Asian feeling pervades Tivoli Gardens

It costs 99 DKK to enter the Gardens, with additional fees of 1-3 tickets (costing around 25 DKK each) to go on the rides. There are also multi-ride tickets you can purchase for unlimited rides for 199 DKK. My friend and I purchased these as we worked out if you go on 3 or more rides, you are better off paying for the multi-ride ticket. And it ultimately proved to be insanely worth it!

The three rides I tried were one of the rollercoasters, Vertigo (a giant swing and spinning ride) and The Golden Tower, which drops you from a tall height. The most intense of these (for me anyway) was actually The Golden Tower due to the lurch you feel when dropped, comparable to a really sudden drop in an aircraft. The rollercoaster had its moments but was nothing unmanageable. Interestingly, Vertigo wasn't anywhere near as stomach-churching as I thought it would be - I found it very pleasant in fact. And the views of Copenhagen from atop these rides is simply unrivalled anywhere else that I went. For a video of Vertigo, click here.  It is exhilarating, thrilling and undeniably impressive. Here's a video from YouTuber showing what I experienced.

A major downside of this ride was that it made me feel nauseous for a good 30 minutes after getting off. This complicated things as I didn't feel like getting on another ride while I was feeling ill, and I had no motivation to keep moving. Instead, I had to sit down and breathe deeply for around 30 minutes until I felt better. I ultimately lived to fight another day, albeit with a giant grin on my face whenever I recall those fateful moments. Me and my friend still discuss it every now and then, and have a good laugh about my 'illness'.

Despite getting slightly sick, I highly recommend Tivoli for its one-of-a-kind rides, beautiful atmosphere and sheer abundance of leisure options for the casual traveler. I would stay away from the restaurants at Tivoli unless you want to pay the higher prices in this popular tourist site.


The Taj Mahal lookalike building at the front of Tivoli

Attraction details:

Name: Tivoli Gardens
Address: Vesterbrogade 3, 1630 København, Denmark
Directions: Tivoli Gardens is located on Vesterbrogade, which is the main city street in Copenhagen. You can't miss it, but if you do, it's near the fast food outlets (McDonalds, etc).
Rating:5/5. With so much on offer in terms of food, rides and entertainment, Tivoli is a must-see for anyone coming to Copenhagen, even if the rides can make you nauseous!