A Day in Helsingor, A Night in the Tivoli Gardens
After two days of wandering around the quaint streets of Copenhagen (which are just as "wonderful" as sung by Danny Kay in Hans Christian Anderson), I decided it was time to do some true "day tripping." Perhaps there is a nice fishing town in Denmark that would be hospitable to a young backpacker. Or maybe another university town like Duisburg (for those counting, Copenhagen also has a good university). However, as I lay dozing in my hostel bed, the voice of Eliza Ventura, my acting teacher, came into my head. "In Denmark," she told our class when we were working on Shakespeare scenes, "I visited Hamlet's castle in Elsinore." Elsinore! Yes, that is where I should go! I fell asleep with thoughts of Shakespeare rolling around in my head.
In the morning, however, I was stumped. There are almost NO towns in Denmark named Elsinore. After much flipping through my guidebook, however, I discovered that Eliza, bless her soul, had left off the H. Helsingor is the name of the town. And, after an hour on the train (thank you Eurail!), I discovered for myself a windy, seaside town, a mere 5km from Sweden. And, sure enough, on the bluffs sat the glorious castle Kronborg Castle, a true gem. As I made my way to the drawbridge (really! it has one!), the glory of this place really struck me. It is imposing, yet it maintains a sense of curiosity and wonder, an image that I am sure would have inspired Shakespeare. And, as I wandered the castle rooms, I myself got caught up in that sense of imagination. I, as a 21 year old, am about the same age as Hamlet. For me, the experience of walking through the rooms was one of trying to become Hamlet, if even for a few moments. Where does he hide behind the tapestry? Which tapestry? In which room did he bring the players? Where was his mother's bedroom? Where did he die? By the end, my camera was filled with pictures and my mind with stories. Eliza told me that someday I will play Hamlet; after visiting Kronborg, I think I'm ready. I lunched on the ramparts, wishing I could find an English copy of the play, took a quick boat over to the twin city of Helsingborg in Sweden (where I was greeted by the smells of Swedish meatballs, although I could not find the source) and then trained back to Copenhagen.
That evening, I treated myself to a visit to the Tivoli Garden. Perhaps I've been living under a rock, but I had never heard of it. It is, for clarification, the world's first amusement park. As I entered, I was overwhelmed by the profusion of flowers, greenery, music (Danes have a thing for Big Band and do it REALLY well) and wild rides. Call it Disney meets Six Flags with a dash of Scandinavia for flavor. I had a lovely time munching on an ice cream cone and enjoying the rides (the new carousel spins you on swings HIGH in the air and has a great view of Copenhagen) and music, but the real fun started with the evening show, "A Tivoli Fairytale." It's a classic theme park show and showcases the talents of the under-30 singer/dancer/actor crowd in Copenhagen. The thing they have that is most amazing, however, is that they are genuinely happy to be there. Real smiles, real joy and, for chincy theme park parades, a really good show. After midnight fireworks, I headed back to the hostel and crashed.
In the morning, however, I was stumped. There are almost NO towns in Denmark named Elsinore. After much flipping through my guidebook, however, I discovered that Eliza, bless her soul, had left off the H. Helsingor is the name of the town. And, after an hour on the train (thank you Eurail!), I discovered for myself a windy, seaside town, a mere 5km from Sweden. And, sure enough, on the bluffs sat the glorious castle Kronborg Castle, a true gem. As I made my way to the drawbridge (really! it has one!), the glory of this place really struck me. It is imposing, yet it maintains a sense of curiosity and wonder, an image that I am sure would have inspired Shakespeare. And, as I wandered the castle rooms, I myself got caught up in that sense of imagination. I, as a 21 year old, am about the same age as Hamlet. For me, the experience of walking through the rooms was one of trying to become Hamlet, if even for a few moments. Where does he hide behind the tapestry? Which tapestry? In which room did he bring the players? Where was his mother's bedroom? Where did he die? By the end, my camera was filled with pictures and my mind with stories. Eliza told me that someday I will play Hamlet; after visiting Kronborg, I think I'm ready. I lunched on the ramparts, wishing I could find an English copy of the play, took a quick boat over to the twin city of Helsingborg in Sweden (where I was greeted by the smells of Swedish meatballs, although I could not find the source) and then trained back to Copenhagen.
That evening, I treated myself to a visit to the Tivoli Garden. Perhaps I've been living under a rock, but I had never heard of it. It is, for clarification, the world's first amusement park. As I entered, I was overwhelmed by the profusion of flowers, greenery, music (Danes have a thing for Big Band and do it REALLY well) and wild rides. Call it Disney meets Six Flags with a dash of Scandinavia for flavor. I had a lovely time munching on an ice cream cone and enjoying the rides (the new carousel spins you on swings HIGH in the air and has a great view of Copenhagen) and music, but the real fun started with the evening show, "A Tivoli Fairytale." It's a classic theme park show and showcases the talents of the under-30 singer/dancer/actor crowd in Copenhagen. The thing they have that is most amazing, however, is that they are genuinely happy to be there. Real smiles, real joy and, for chincy theme park parades, a really good show. After midnight fireworks, I headed back to the hostel and crashed.
posted by Ethan at 8:20 AM
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