Last Day in Denmark

This will be our last day in Copenhagen and our last one in Scandanavia. Tomorrow phase two of our trip will begin. We get up, shower, eat breakfast, and pack. We are staying at the airport tonight, so we check out and store our belongings in the basement storage lockers. Then, a short walk leads us to Rosenborg Castle just as they open the gates. This was built by Christian IV in the early 1600’s as a summer residence. It was his favorite and where he chose to die. I guess if you are king, you can choose your death place. It has been open to the public since 1838 and holds the Crown Jewels and 500 years of Royal collectibles.

The Throne Room

We begin the self guided tour of the castle. King Christian the IV was a popular ruler. Copenhagen doubled in size during his reign of 60 years. He inherited the throne at age 11 but Denmark was ruled by a regency until he turned nineteen. In the winter room, he entertained and the door that led to his bedroom had a peephole in it so he could spy on his guests when he wanted to. In one room known as the dark room there was a chair which when you sat down, metal cuffs would pin your arms and water could be poured down the back making wet your pants. When you stood up it made farting sounds, so he was a king with a sense of humor and perhaps the inventor of the whoopee cushion. We walk through the marble room and on up the stairs to the throne room.

Narwhale Tusk Throne

The long hall was great for banquets and is a well preserved baroque room. The decor focuses on the accomplishments of all the great Danish kings. The tapestries show the Danes defeating their Swedish rivals. The Kings throne was made of narwhale tusk believed to bring protection from evil and poison. The Queens throne was hammered silver. There are two side rooms with amazing porcelain and glass collections. We walk out of the castle, turn the corner and walk down into the treasury.
There is a wine cellar, an amber and ivory collection and diamond and pearl studded saddles used for the Kings coronation and his sons wedding.

Special Ring

As we go through the Royal knick knacks, we see a ring that was given to a queen that was caught having an affair after 22 years of marriage. Her King gave this too her and it shows the hand of his queen shaking “hands” with a penis. Very thoughtful and well played. We finish up with a jeweled sword and King Christians IV coronation crown.

Kings Coronation Crown

We now amble on to Amelienburg Palace, where Queen Magrethe II and her husband live. The museum is small but allows a glimpse into the life of former kings, with their studies and items preserved. We finish up around 1300 and decide we will take a short unplanned train ride to an aquarium. It is in a small town called Kastrup and included with our card so why not. The walk from the train to the aquarium is under a mile and we make it in no time.

Pirahnas

The aquarium proves to be a worthwhile stop as I always enjoy seeing critters and creatures. We see some fish species that we had never seen before and everything was well laid out. Back to Copenhagen we go and decide to spend our last bunch of Danish Kroner at the same place we ate last night by the canal. At 1530, it is still lunch so no grilled stuff. We order Moulettes and Frites and a cheese platter. A beer to wash it down of course, and I am left with 3 Kroner. Fresh bread you slice yourself comes with it. The bowl of mussels is tremendous and tasty as well as the fries. The cheese platter comes wit a remoulade which is really good. A mix of raisins, craisins, nuts, and some other ingredients, it is something we will have to try and make at home.

Great Last Meal

I counted the mussel shells after we finished and there were 73 mussels in the bowl. Pretty good value for 17 bucks. We walk back to our old hotel, grab our packs out of the lockers, and take the metro to the airport. 15 minutes later, we are checked in and in our room. We walk over the skywalk to the airport and are able to print our boarding passes for tomorrow and confirm what terminal we are leaving from. We are settled back in the room in a relaxed state and are in bed by 8:30 P.M. Because our wake up call is at 0345 for our oh my God, it’s early 0600 flight to Split.
Expenses
Hilton Airport Hotel 65 DKK + Hilton Points
Breakfast Pastries. 32 DKK
Dinner and Beer 260 DKK
Storage Locker 20DKK
Walked 9.6 Miles