Once upon a time there was a castle, a lake and two swans...

Or why not once upon a time there were three castles and many different swans, which swam freely in different waters. Weekend was delightfully longer than usual, as friday was a national holiday in Denmark. Coincidently the weather turned much better, perfect for enjoying the outdoors, warm enough so one can forget about winter coats. Ballet flats instead of boots, silk coloured scarves instead of the ones made of wool, tights and dresses, without a chilly-sacrifice. I wanted to see the flowers in front of Rosenborg castle, just like it is in those postcards japanese tourists adore, but they hadn't blossomed yet. Instead of, there was two swans, one on a nest, the other one in the waters that surround the castle, among some male and female ducks. I cannot tell if the swan was a male or a female, perhaps a male, as it sounded menacing each time one had no more breadcrumbs. Except among the little ones, who just sat by the little lake calling the bird's attention. A little girl in a pale pink coat runs around while the mother takes a seat and rests. She sounds like a british, but you can notice the father is danish. They speak in english.

A couple of hours later, we were hungry and went to a place called H.C. Andersen, but unlike the writer's tales, the small square was far from magical, except for the intoxicating smell of chocolate cake coming from the oven, and the lovely cakes and sweets seen through the glass. People stand on a line to buy cake, coffee or tea, although there are not enough tables. A flat-haired blonde woman around the age of 28-30 stands and waits alone in her dark vests, so snobbish and unsatisfied looking that reminded me of one of Andersen's tales, the one of the top and the ball. I could almost picture her saying, "desuden har jeg en prop i livet"*. And so I wanted to leave, winter is gone after all. Hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, and dark chocolate muffin. Later on carrot cake and blueberry tea.

Saturday wasn't very interesting, not like sunday. First time I went to Kronborg castle, or why not "Elsinore", immortalized by the words of Shakespeare in Hamlet. From the coast, where the castle is located, one can see Sweden quite clearly. The beach is nothing but a collection of rocks from all sizes, and so there was a boy sitting in one of them while fishing. Boats and ships go through the danish-swedish sea freely, unlike in the past: "In Denmark there stands an old castle named Kronenburg, close by the Sound of Elsinore, where large ships, both English, Russian, and Prussian, pass by hundreds every day. And they salute the old castle with cannons, “Boom, boom,” which is as if they said, “Good-day.” And the cannons of the old castle answer “Boom,” which means “Many thanks.” In winter no ships sail by, for the whole Sound is covered with ice as far as the Swedish coast, and has quite the appearance of a high-road. The Danish and the Swedish flags wave, and Danes and Swedes say, “Good-day,” and “Thank you” to each other, not with cannons, but with a friendly shake of the hand; and they exchange white bread and biscuits with each other, because foreign articles taste the best."**

I haven't seen the entire castle's interior walls, as we got a ticket for the royal bedrooms, the "basement" (if one can call it that way) and the chapel. The interior wasn't as eye-catching as the ones in other "castle-museums" in DK, although it was funny to see some old age reconstitution, like a royal banquet no ordinary man ever ate at those times. Many golden candelabra candles on the ceiling, as well as paintings. The chapel is the only that remains as original as the times of 1420s, when the castle was built, as a fire in 1629 destroyed great part of it. And, what about the dungeons, perhaps, that's a more appropriate word. It must have been the refrigerator in old times, when they needed to stock food during warmer seasons. Outside it's 12 C warm, but inside, it feels like an ice box. It's so dark, I touch the walls while I walk, and brrrrrrr.. it's cold. A flash of lampshade and I get scared by my own shadow. A few steps forward, and I can no longer hear the loud americans who were ahead of us. "It's scary here, I'm cold, and I wanna leave". Driving back home, or why not, from Helsingør to Hillerød, although I wasn't expecting it at all, it was a little surprise John prepared for me. It's past 5, and Frederiksborg castle doors are closed for visitors. But its outdoors is always there, quieter than ever.

*Read Hans Christian Andersen's The Top and Ball.

**Fragment from Andersen's Holger Danske, a legend whose statue "rests" inside Kronborg's dungeons.

***Read about Kronborg and Frederiksborg castles.