HOUSE HUNTING AT FREDRIKSBORG CASTLE
- Joelle McDonald
- Jul 12, 2022
- 6 min read
Hillerød • Fredriksborg Castle • Copenhagen Canal
By now Copenhagen has earned a place among Hannah and I’s all time favorite cities. There is an ambient energy of community and joy here and fun things to see everywhere. So far we have only seen the city of Copenhagen, but the greater area of Copenhagen is much larger and extends on a good deal of this peninsula. Figuring we should get out of the city at least once, we made a plan to visit Fredriksborg Castle in Hillerød last night. Admission, transportation, and a ferry ride around the castle’s lake are all included in our Copenhagen Cards so there is nothing stopping us.
The Run
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I start my morning with a run in and through the King’s Garden behind __Rosenborg__ Palace. Unlike the many picnicking young adults here yesterday evening, today the park is filled with toddlers of all shapes and sizes. Some are chasing bubbles, others playing with sticks, and many are strapped into wagons. I’m grateful for the small-people watching they provide to entertain me while running. Also entertaining, I run by some sort of movie production on the street on my way to and from the park. There are traffic guards blocking a street and in the nearby intersection there is a hair and makeup trailer, wardrobe truck, production bus, and a few food trucks (presumably to feed the cast and crew). I didn’t get to see any celebrities, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for movies set near the Round Tower in Copenhagen for the next 6 months to 2 years.
The Transportation
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Back at our apartment I get ready and blog a bit while Hannah assembles a little picnic lunch for us. Eventually (two hours later than we initially planned, we’ve been tired) we are on a train to Hillerød. The ease of train transit makes me wish that they were more available at home. They are so quiet, reliable, and efficient. They don’t get stuck in traffic and—my favorite feature—are so easy to be productive on! We both blog on our phones for the 45 minute ride, being sure to look up at the passing scenery too: small towns, farms, and smatterings of trees.
Our stop is the end of the line, and when we get off we realize we have no idea where we are. Generally I am staunchly opposed to relying on Google Maps or other navigation since they allow the brain to skip mapping out or understanding surroundings (my sense of direction has vastly improved since I mostly stopped using Google Maps). International travel, however, would be nearly impossible without using a GPS occasionally. This was definitely a GPS moment.
The Castle
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Walking through Hillerød, we reach the Main Street and stop by a bakery on our way to the castle. The amount of gluten I’ve been eating is definitely starting to get to me, but I need it to get just one pastry worse to be convincingly reminded why I should still be avoiding it. The woman behind the counter, after I asked if they had any gluten free options then settled of a regular croissant, said “Are you sure your stomach will be okay?” It won’t but I’ve decided to keep learning my lesson for today.
Soon we see a castle tower emerge in the distance and know we are almost there. We cross a bridge into the outer bailey (where buildings for domestic castle management were), then cross a moat leading into the palace courtyard. A restoration project has a tall tower and shorter building, which turn out to be the prison, wrapped in scaffolding and screening.
Inside the castle there are many art and museum exhibitions, but Hannah and I are mostly interested in the architecture. We’ve been having fun comparing castles to one another and deciding which ones we would want to live in. After touring this one, we decide that our favorite rooms are from the small, more recent addition to the castle (as in only a couple hundred years ago). The castle is beautiful, but it is a bit dark and not very open concept (basically none are, more rooms was more impressive back then I guess). We decided to come to this castle instead of the castle where Hamlet is set (we debated between the two at length) based on two features: the beautiful, restored-to-its-original-appearance garden, and the very fancy Great Room. Our impressions of the garden and Great Room will we the true test of this castle’s ranking on our real estate list. From inside we get our first glimpses of the garden and are impressed, but the old glass windows with many grilles warp the view, so we can make out blurry but clearly well maintained green. As for the Great Room: we are a bit disappointed, though not for a reason we expected. It was recently Denmark’s Crown Princess’ 50th Birthday, which is being celebrated in part by an exhibition of some of her more important clothes. This exhibition, while very cool (we got to see a royal wedding dress), blocked the view of the supposedly coolest room. We were glad for the exhibition, but thought it definitely should have gone in a different (less regal) room so we could pretend to be attending a ball.
The Ferry
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After having a picnic on the dock while waiting for the ferry to come, we boarded a very small boat filled almost entirely by families with young kids. One of the operators launched into what I assume was an explanation of some of the area, but it was entirely in Danish, so honestly who knows. The ferry ride took us around the castle (not under the bridges and moat like we hoped), along the garden (a more splendid view than from the windows), and a bank along the town. The highlight of the boat ride for me was definitely the stickers the operator gave us. He only gave them to the kids on the boat, but I suppose he thought we deserved stickers too. He said a lot of Danish to us with a smile when he handed them to us, so we don’t really know what he said, but I’m guessing it was variation of “You can have stickers too. You are probably the most fun people on this boat.” Okay, so maybe not exactly that, but the fun part is nobody can tell me that isn’t what he said.
The Garden
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Next up: the beautifully restored Baroque garden. How do you restore a garden from hundreds of years ago you may ask. Great question! The original plans for the garden from 1720 were replicated both in design and plant choice in the 1990s. Even the initials related to the previous inhabitants of the castle are laid out in fancy, calligraphic bushes. The garden has four levels: the initials, hedges, more hedges, and a lake (lowest to highest). Hannah and I played a bit of tag through the hedges (we definitely earned our stickers from the ferry). Ultimately the garden is one of the prettiest, if not one of the floweriest, royal gardens we have ever seen. It was very and impressive and a great place for a walk and games. Our real estate list is now as follows:
Christiansborg Palace (winning interiors, but no garden or beautiful moat)
Fredriksborg Palace (stunning garden and lake with a gorgeous silhouette, nice rooms)
Amelienborg Palace (not very bright rooms and just a small triangle of walled-in grass in the back)
Finally it was time to look at the train schedule and head back to our home-for-now. We have big big plans tonight (this is where you get excited… are you excited yet?)
The Big Big Plans
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Copenhagen is a costal city with many canals running through it. A few decades ago the water was filthy with waste, mostly from industries, but recent effort have helped the water be some of the cleanest canal water in the world. Today cruise ships must dock at the edge of the city, there are “fish kindergartens” (nurseries offering food and protection to young fish), and many other cleanup efforts. One of the greatest benefits of this cleanup? Now water sports are common all over the city: kayaking, paddle boarding, water-cycling, swimming and more. We have walked by a number of swimming docks near our apartment, and we decided that we had to jump in the water at least once before leaving.
Dead tired after our castle adventure, but aware of how little time we have left here, we put on our suits and march to the closest dock, which is filled with locals around our age enjoying the evening. Hannah is the first to jump. Her biggest impression: “That water is so cold!” She didn’t find it a refreshingly cold. When it was my turn, I looked into the water and saw the recognizable sign of oil on the surface. Gross. I guess the “World’s Cleanest Canal Water” is relative. The bar is probably pretty low. I jump and my biggest impression: “Oh, that water is SALTY!” Duh, Joelle. It’s ocean water. I thought it would be more brackish than straight up salt water, but no, that was very salty. Freezing and with our mission accomplished we returned home for warm showers and our last night in Copenhagen.
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