A Side Trip to Sweden

This morning, Christopher and his mom and dad - Petra and Christian - picked us up in their Dodge minivan (the only one I've seen on the road since we arrived) and took us from Copenhagen to Kronborg Castle, in the town of Helsingor. This is one of the most remarkable castles I've ever seen - massive, intriguing and - perhaps most notably - the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet. We toured the castle and grounds and celebrated ol' Billy - in this, the 400th anniversary year of his death.

From there we took a 20 minute ferry ride across a channel that separates the North Sea from the Baltic Sea to the town of Helsingborg in Sweden, a delightful place where we had lunch at a cafe that featured outstanding Swedish pastries.

We then drove to a big shopping mall called Emporia to get a taste of everyday life for the average Swede in the town of Malmo. From Malmo, we took a bridge/tunnel back to Copenhagen. What a tremendous day! Thank you, Yde Family, for taking such good care of us :-)

 By the sea on a windy day

On the way to Kronborg Castle 

Scale model in the foreground (the castle, that is) 

Crossing the moat 

MB and Petra on the way to find Hamlet's ghost 

The Yde family after signing a few treaties 

 "C4" stands for Christian IV, King of Denmark

Inside the palace courtyard 

The legendary Holger Danske, from a Hans Christian Andersen tale 

Z and me where the cannon used to boom

MB and Nick enjoying the wind and water 

Here we are 

Yorick's skull...our shared humanity? 

On the way out 

Kronborg Castle in the background off the back of the ferry to Sweden 

 Downtown Helsingborg, Sweden

At Fahlman's in Helsingborg for a delicious lunch

Outside the Emporia Mall in Malmo, Sweden 

Yes, they have a supermarket at the mall, and no, you never thought they sold Old El Paso Stand N' Stuff tortillas in Sweden, did you? 

ICA Kvantum...a most exciting place to grocery shop. Of course, we just loaded up on snacks!