Copenhagen is beatuiful, and historic, and there is plenty in the city to keep you entertained, but if you get out and use public transit you’ll find plenty more to explore just outside the city. On my 3rd day there, I got myself to the Nørreport station and caught a train to the far north of the island (Denmark is made up of collection of islands, with Copenhagen being located on Zealand) to check out Kronborg Castle, otherwise known as Hamlet’s castle as immortalized by Shakespeare.
The castle is full of exquisite renaissance art, tapestries and furnishings. You can explore the castle cellars by flashlight and see recreated tableaus from how the castle may have been way back then. The castle chapel is very beautiful, with carved pews that have changed little over the years.
The castle is in pretty town of Helsingor (called Eisnor in Hamlet), which was a nice spot to explore for a while and grab a coffee before boarding the bus that meanders its way back slowly towards Copenhagen, giving serene views of the coast overlooking Sweden and stopping at several interesting diversions along the way.
My first stop was the Louisiana Museum, another stunning gallery but this time filled with modern art. As soon as you enter the grounds of the museum, you are greeted by a massive Henry Moore sculpture and once inside you’ll find works by pretty much every modern artist of note. It is a fabulous collection, and the grounds that overlook the ocean are full of impressive sculptural pieces (including another couple of Moore’s pieces).
I got back on the bus and it enjoyed the beautiful ride through quaint seaside villages filled with thatched roofed cottages, grand mid-century modern mansions and all manner of other pretty homes. Eventually we arrived at my next stop – the Karen Blixen Museum, home of the author of such works as Out of Africa (an autobiographical tale, she was played by Meryl Streep in the movie of her book). The museum is fascinating, with the north wing remaining exactly as Blixen left them when she died in 1962. (The rest of the house is a museum and gallery space.)
As enjoyable as the bus ride had been, it was meandering a little too much for me to consider getting back onboard, so I caught a train back to Copenhagen, but was very glad I took the time to get outside of the city and explore these beautiful places.