July 18th, 2016 - Denmark - Day 2

Good morning from Denmark! Today we are looking forward to visiting a castle, palace, and visiting fishing villages on the north part of Zealand! Let the fun begin!

Today, we started the day by driving to Frederiksborg Castle in the town of Hillerød. But before we entered the castle, we popped into this small local bakery to try some traditional Danish pastries. We met two lovely and very helpful ladies in this bakery shop that were fun to interact with and helped us navigate the town. Upon their recommendation, we tried four different pastries and enjoyed them while sitting in the castle gardens! Such a unique experience!

After breakfast, we walked over to Frederiksborg Castle. This impressive and unrivalled Renaissance castle was built in the first decades of the 17th century by the legendary Danish King Christian IV and incorporates the best of Renaissance architecture and craftsmanship. Frederiksborg Castle has housed The Museum of National History since 1878. A tour through the museum's many beautiful rooms is an encounter with kings, queens, nobles, the bourgeois, events, and epochs, which have all shaped the country's history and development from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.

After the morning spent at Frederiksborg, we were off to visit Fredensborg Palace. Fredensborg is the Danish Royal Family’s spring and autumn residence, and is often the site of important state visits and events in the Royal Family. This palace was more challenging to visit because it is still actively used and is only open for visitors for 4 hours a day by tour only, only in the month of July. We planned this palace for the afternoon, thus we were able to visit with a very knowledgable tour guide. Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures in this Palace due to it still being an active residence.

After our visit to Fredensborg Palace we were off to drive the northern coast of the island of Zealand. We didn’t have a set plan in store, but Amanda had read that Tisvilde and Gilleleje were two picturesque fishing villages off the coast. We enjoyed walking on the beach and strolling around the marinas in town. Both places were very serene and relaxing.

Today, we enjoyed our last full day in Scandinavia. For years we had heard that Scandinavia was a very different part of Europe and that someday we must visit. All in all, we fell in love with the area and can’t wait to come back and visit more extensively. Sadly, tomorrow morning we will start our 12 hour journey back to Omaha.

Goodnight and goodbye one last time from Scandinavia!