We met up early the next morning and caught the train to Helsingor, the location of Hamlet's Castle, Kronborg. The castle is immortalized as "Elsinore" in Shakespear's play, Hamlet, and is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. Built in the 1420's, it's located at the northeastern top of the island of Zealand at the narrowest point of the sound between Denmark and Sweden. Consequently, this coastal fortification, now one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites, controlled the entrance to the Baltic Sea. In 1574, King Frederick II had the medieval fortress radically transformed into a magnificent castle. At the North Wing of the Castle is the Great Ballroom or Knights Hall. It measures almost 63 meters long and is the longest hall in Europe. The floor is decorated with Swedish marble and the walls are decorated with a series of large historical paintings dating back to 1618. In 1785, the castle ceased to be a royal residence and was converted into barracks for the army until 1923 when the army left and, after a thorough renovation, it was opened to the public.

In 1658 Kronborg was besieged and captured by the Swedes who took many of its valuable art treasures as war booty . Consequently, although the exterior of the castle is commanding and magnificent, the interior was quite sparse. Today Kronborg is home to full productions of Hamlet and, from June 1st to August 31st, the characters from Hamlet take up residenc in the castle's halls and private chambers. When visitors walk into the Courtyard of Kronborg Caslte, nobody knows who they might meet and when as, the main story of Hamlet is told in small scenes found throughout the Castle.

Upon exiting the train, we entered the main station at Helsingor, which is another wonderful brick historic building. Then, walking to the Castle, we passed by a playful, huge fish sculpture made from recycled garbage materials...made me think of our friend, Lanny. Next we passed by a stunning, huge glass building that was interspersed with brick sections. I never tired of the mixture of old and new that we saw everywhere we went.

After our visit to the Castle, we hopped on the ferry that took us to Hellsingbrog, Sweden, 20 minutes away . This scenic coastal city is a charming blend of historic buildings, modern commercial buildings, old-style stone-built churches and the 600 year old medieval fortress, Karnan, located in the city center. All that's left of the fortress is the Tower that sits high above the city and looks down on the beautiful roof tops. The streets varied from wide avenues to small alley-ways. Kullagatan, the main pedestrian shopping street in the city, was the first pedestrian shopping street in Sweden and was lined with colorful and interesting shops and restaurants. We spent quite a bit of time wandering the streets then stopped before taking the ferry back to Helsingor.

The small town of Helsingor was equally as charming and we stopped for a beer in the town square before catching the train for home after another full day.