Category Archives: Denmark

Freddy’s Place

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Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg is an amazing castle. What we see today is in fact the third incarnation of the palace. In 1550 Frederick II acquired the estate in an exchange agreement, renamed it Frederiksborg and began constructing buildings. His first son Christian spent much of his youth here and came to love it. When he became King Christian IV in 1558 he immediately ordered the existing building torn down and rebuilt in a Renaissance style. The project took just ten years, an enormous accomplishment at the time. It is still the largest Renaissance palace in the world.

Jacob Christian Jacobsen, the founder of Carlsberg Brewery, recognized the national significance of Frederiksborg and knew that the country alone could never afford to rebuild it. He embraced the project and using original plans and paintings from the period organized and funded the rebuilding of the entire structure. He also agreed to maintain and staff of the castle in perpetuity. The docents that greet and inform the millions of visitors all work for the Carlsberg Company.

Christian IV

In Frederiksborg there are at least 160 portraits of Christian IV. In this painting the crown sits on the right. It was considered too egocentric for a monarch, even one anointed by God, to be wearing the crown in a royal portrait. The visor of helmet is raised indicating that the country was at peace when the painting was made. Christian IV was not just interested in fine buildings, he loved wine, wars and women. He married twice and had 24  legitimate children. It is also thought that he had an additional 30 children with five different women, of which he acknowledged 26 who he provided for and dubbed his “Golden Lions”. When he died in 1648 he left the treasury completely depleted.

Throwing Down The Gauntlet

Karl Hansen Reistrup made this historic painting in 1909. It is titled “Niels Ebbesen avoids Count Gert” but I imagine what is really depicted is “Ebbesen Confronting Gert “. I was drawn to the picture because it is the first image I have seen that depicts the actual act of throwing down the gauntlet. Up until now I had imagined that the expression was a metaphor that simply referred to a challenge and not an actual act, but in the age of chivalry it was indeed a real thing and a grave insult so egregious that it could only be answered with personal combat.

In the painting we see that Ebbesen has enraged the entire group. Men are yelling, some are coming out of their saddles, everyone is tense and worried. Even the horses are pissed off. Not only has Ebbesen thrown down his gauntlet but has raised his hand in the classic three finger “up yours” gesture. He is definitely itching for a fight. I doubt that this encounter actually took place and that the painting simply expresses the conflict between the two men.

What really happened was that Gerhard III, a German Count from the house of Holsten, had levied exorbitant taxes on this part of Denmark. Ebbesen refused to pay. With an army of 11,000 men Gerhard advanced on Denmark to collect his debt by force. Gerhard set up his headquarters in the small town of Randers. On April 1, 1340 under the cover of darkness Ebbesen and just 47 knights advanced on the town. He took two of his most trusted men, snuck through the town and into the inn where Gerhard was staying. They made their way to his bedchamber, killed his guards, dragged Gerhard across the bed, lined his neck up with the bedstead and chopped off his head. The men then made their escape with the loss of only one man. This act solidified Ebbesen’s place in Danish folklore and made him Denmark’s first national hero. He will forever be a symbol of Danish resistance and rebellion against their German overlords.

His reputation was so powerful that in 1942, during the occupation, the author Kaj Munk wrote a play celebrating Ebbesen. Hilter so feared rebellion that the play and any writings about Ebbesen were outlawed. 

Live Larsdotter

Live Larsdotter

This portrait of Live Larsdotter was painted by P. van den Hulst in 1691. She was the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe’s housekeeper. This is the first time I’ve seen a royal portrait of a housekeeper. Her claim to fame was her longevity. She died in 1698 at the age of 123.

Dr. Johan Frederick Struensee

The German doctor Johan Frederick Struensee was King Christian VII’s personal physician. It seems that Christian VII was mad as a hatter. Historians suggest that he was schizophrenic and heard voices from an early age. The nobles were completely distraught until Dr. Struensee arrived at court and said he could cure the king. He couldn’t really cure Christian VII but he could keep him sedated and quiet which is really all the nobles wanted.

The good doctor came to realize that he could rule the country by keeping the king behind the scenes. Struensee got a little ahead of himself and staged a coup d’etat 1772, which got him executed. It’s truly unfortunate, apparently he was a pretty good ruler and most of his progressive ideas are part of Danish culture today.

Come On Up To The Square

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The Stortorget, Malmo’s largest square, is adorned with a collection of the most playful and imaginative bronze statues we have come across.

Stortorget Malmö, Sweden
Charles X Gustav
Rådhuset, Stortorget, Malmö, Sweden
Stortorget, Malmö, Sweden
Charles XI – Stortorget, Malmö, Sweden
Stortorget, Malmö, Sweden
Emigranterna “The Emigrants” – Stortorget, Malmö, Sweden

Arcades & Passageways

Arcades and passageways are an absolute necessity in all the older cities we’ve visited. With long blocks of four and five story buildings packed cheek to jowl they make passing from one block to the next much less burdensome and saves miles of circumnavigating city streets to get from one block to the next. They also create access to closed off courtyards and gardens.

Malmo, Sweden
Malmo, Sweden
Malmo, Sweden
Malmo, Sweden
Helsingborg, Sweden
Helsingborg, Sweden
Helsingborg, Sweden
Malmo, Sweden

Nyboder

Nyboder means new small houses. This historic row house district was the former Naval barracks. Construction of the district was begun in 1631 by Christian IV to house Navy personnel and their families. Nyboder is very much associated with their yellow color named “Nyboder yellow” to refer to the exact hue of yellow. Interestedly the original color of the development was red and white.

Copenhagen, Denmark

The neighborhood has had a bit of a grim past. On December 16, 1658 a gunpowder storage building  just north of Nyboder exploded, damaging or demolishing many houses and causing numerous casualties.

In 1668 the city’s gallows were moved to the district. In 1677 another bleak neighbor moved in when the Copenhagen Stocks House or military prison was built just a little to the south. it was opened to civilian prisoners in 1741 and held people sentenced to “slavery”, meaning prisoners sentenced to penal labor in irons. Prisoners were classified as “honest” and “dishonest”. The latter were beaten at the whipping post,  a punishment that connoted a severe loss of honor. In 1783 an even larger facility was opened when the Greater Stocks House was built next to the old building and held 600 “slaves”. The use of “severe examination” or torture was finally abolished in 1837.

Copenhagen, Denmark

From early on, the area also included a guardhouse which had an external bell used to gather people in the event of a military attack or fire. The building also contained a jail, where trouble-making residents were deposited.

Copenhagen, Denmark

A Castle Or A Palace?

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Gripsholm Slott 1700

Just what is the difference between a castle and a palace? A docent recently told me that castles were built as fortifications where as palaces are essentially big fancy houses. I think there’s a little more to it. Castles are almost designed to be incredibly uncomfortable. They are cold, drafty and intensionally hard to get in to with narrow, steep and winding stairways. Palaces are plush, amazingly adorned and some are pretty cushy. Their commonality lies in the fact that they are both designed to impress. Castles, as well as providing protection from the disgusting rabble just outside the gates, were built to impress your enemies with your size and might. The sheer bulk of the structure could strike fear in the hearts of your foe as his cannon balls bounced off the 12’ thick walls. Just approaching them could be dangerous. Arrows could rain out of the little slit windows at a moments notice. Hot oil could pour down on your head from the 100’ ramparts. It both looked and felt impregnable. Now a palace was built to impress in a whole different way. Your wealth is your fortification, your cannons are loaded with political and social connections. To gain entrance to a castle you might have to scale a wall, cross a moat, walk under a murder hole and hack your way through a battalion of blood-thirsty mercenaries. Where as getting into the palace may only involve passing through an army of groundskeepers and a phalanx of maids and butlers but could be just as daunting a task. At some point wealth and status becomes as powerful a weapon as the sword and the cannon.

Örebro Castle

Örebro Castle

Kärnan

Kärnan, Helsingborg

Gripsholm Slott

Gripsholm Slott 2024

Gripsholm is an amazing property. Although never attacked it most definitely began its life as a fortress when Bo Jonsson Grips built the first structure on the little island in 1370. It became a monastery in the 1400s until King Gustav I took over. In 1526 he both reinforced the fortifications and turned it into one of the royal residences. The Slott was renovated in 1773 and again between 1889 and 1894, getting a little more palace-like each time. Most of the monarchs from the 16th through the 18th century spent considerable time in Gripsholm.

The Servants Privy
In summer all the royal residences have a garden that depicts the Crown.

The House of Vasa

In the words of the great Mel Brooks in The History of the World Part 2, “It’s good to be the King!”, unless, of course, you get exiled or imprisoned or poisoned by your power hungry brother or unscrupulous children. It would appear that Kings don’t really have any friends. Even their closest advisors will turn on a dime.

Gustav was elected King by the Swedish Parliament but quickly decided that harmony could only be achieved if his heirs replaced him. After his death his first son Erik became King but Erik didn’t trust his brother Johan. He charged him with high treason and imprisoned him with his wife in a small two room apartment for four years. When Johan was finally released he immediately imprisoned Erik in the same apartment and began to slowly poison him. Johan took over but died in 1592. Johan’s son Sigismund was supposed to became king but his Uncle Charles IX had a different plan. He quickly imprisoned his nephew and eventually exiled and deposed him. So much for family harmony.

In all the portraits of the House of Vasa the men wear tights or, more accurately, silk stockings. No there were no pilate classes and they weren’t dancers. In the 16th century what made a man beautiful were his legs and particularly shapely calves. This was so important that when Erik XIV tried to arrange a marriage with Elizabeth I of England he created this portrait with the hope that she would be so smitten with his appearance that it would seal the deal. In order to hedge his bets he decided that one of the stable boys had the nicest legs in the castle and had the painter replace his legs with the boy’s. Queen Elizabeth didn’t take the bait but she did keep the portrait.

Charles IX has a comb-over that would put Trump to shame. He braided the side bits and then fashioned them into a cross to express his Catholic devotion.

This Rune Stone was erected in the 11th century to honor Ingvar the Far-Travelled. At least twenty-six Ingvar Runestones refer to Swedish warriors who went out with Ingvar on his expedition to Russia, down the Volgar River and on to the Middle East to war against the Saracens. 

The inscription reads;

They fared like men far after gold and in the east gave the eagle food. They died southward in Serkland.

To give the eagle food is to kill your enemy.

Stockholm – Hustle & Bustle

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StockholmCardLet’s start with a travel tip. I’m always a little leery of package schemes and deals aimed at visitors, but the Stockholm Card is the exception and a great deal. This is a real godsend, which, if you keep busy, offers significant savings. It is also hugely convenient to not have to dig for cash or use a credit card everywhere you go. Besides giving you free passage on all of Stockholm’s public transportation you also get free access to over 75 major museums and major historical sites.

Our public transportation map after 6 days.

Our public transportation map after 6 days.

Stockholm is a big and busy city, not big and busy in an otherworldly sense like Hong Kong, New York or London. There are no skyscrapers and the church spires are still the tallest structures in town. There are no giant cloverleaf overpasses like arteries in some huge beast, but Stockholm is spread out over 14 islands with a complex overlapping transport system that incorporates ferries, buses, trams, subways, bridges, walkways and roads that tie the whole thing together.

CityMarket2

The City Food Market

CityMarket

The City Food Market

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Shopping on Drottninggatan

Shopping on Drottninggatan

Shopping on Drottninggatan

Harbor1

In Blasieholmen

Dij3

On the ferry to Djurgarden

Harbor2

In Blasieholem

Dij5

On the ferry to Djurgarden

Harbor6

On the dock in Skeppsholem

Statue

Hotorget Square

Harbor5

Across the water towards Ostermalm

Harbor3

Across the water towards Ostermalm

Dij1

Kiosk in Djurgarden

Clock

Clock near Kungstradgarden

Old Tram Sign

Old Tram Sign

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Building in Ostermalm

City1

Walking in the old city.

City3

Near T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan, or “Old Town”, is our favorite part of the city. It is situated on the island of Stadsholmen and is one huge warren of narrow medieval streets and heritage sites. The Royal Palace, museums and 17th century churches are just steps from each other. The entire atmosphere is of a bygone era.

CafeStGeorgeMailboxes Alley2 Alley1 Alley4 Alley7 Alley6 Alley12 Alley15 Alley16 Alley17 Alley18 MenuWindow3 Window2 Window1

Stortorget was the site of the old Stock Exchange is now a lively square in the heart of the old town but in 1520 it was the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath when the Danish King tricked the Swedish Regent and beheaded more then 80 Swedish noblemen in this very square.

Stortorget

Stortorget

The Hotorget Flea Market

No trip would be complete without a flea market. The square at Hotorget is a flower and produce market all week but every Sunday it transforms to a great little second hand market. Just try to keep Wendi away. I dare you.

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Sinking Expectations or The Very Short Voyage of the Vasa

VasaB&W4

When the Vasa was designed by two Dutch brothers in 1628 it was the largest and most heavily armed war ship in the world. With this vessel the Swedes hoped to strike fear in their enemies and control all trade on the Baltic Sea. Unfortunately, there was no engineering, as we know it, at the time and all construction was essentially done by trial and error. The massive ship proved to be just a whisper too tall and slightly too narrow. It was a lovely sunny day on August 10th in 1628 when the Vasa set out on it’s maiden voyage. In a slight breeze it listed a little to starboard, took in water through the gun ports and sank to the bottom of Stockholm harbor where it lay until being rediscovered in 330 feet of water in 1956. After a complex salvage operation and a 17 year conservation project the Vasa now sits proudly in it’s own especially designed museum.

http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/The-Ship/Life-on-board/

Vasa4 Vasa3 Vasa2 Vasa1

The Wendi Files

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The Wendi Files:

I’ve been kicking around with Wendi for quite awhile now. When I was editing pictures the other day I realized that over the years, picture-by-picture, image-by-image, slowly but inevitably, I’ve turned into the chronicler of all things Wendi. While perusing the files it quickly became apparent the she has totally encompassed my entire interest and attention. I’m sort of a photographic stalker. People in Holland must be thinking, “Who’s that woman with the photographer following her around.” Shades of Gloria Swanson.

And the thing is she’s just not that gosh darned interesting. Don’t take me wrong she has her moments. That time with the bottle washer noises in the Sultan’s Palace. Or when she got drunk on that God Awful green stuff in Bruges. Sure they were great times, but to return home each day with fifty frames of the same person. I don’t think it’s natural. What do you think?

Maastricht

Maastricht

Adult Education:

She’s a sponge with Attention Deficit Disorder. Her thirst for mental input is unquenchable. Between taking pictures, sorting pictures, uploading pictures, checking on Facebook, checking email, QR Coding, “GPS”ing, Trip Advisoring and Googling everything in the world it’s nonstop.  the Iphone is her most perfect accessory. It keeps that hot wire to the brain firmly in place.

The Crazy Hour:

Just like a cat she’s got a Crazy Hour. It’s sometimes a little longer, but the symptoms are always the same. Elevated metabolism, heightened awareness, peculiar facial expressions and extremely wacky behavior complete with physical pratfalls. Like a Labrador Retriever, run, run, run, sleep, run, run, run, sleep.

Hey, Look This Way:

Sure I point out all these characteristics, but I’m the enabler. I’m the guy running around saying, “Stand over here”, “Look this way”, “Say Gouda”. Perhaps I’m the one with ADD and she just tolerates me.

Enough

Enough

Chilly In Copenhagen

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I thought the Dutch were tough. They’re whimps compared to the Danes. I haven’t been this cold in 20 years and they’re telling me it’s down right balmy. It’s 15 F out there and then an icy wind starts to blow. It creeps up your back and makes your jeans as penetrable as tissue paper. Do you think it slows these people down? Hell no! It’s spring in Denmark. They’re biking and walking and window shopping and setting at outdoor cafes with cold beer. The construction workers in front of our hotel started at 6am. They must have been trying to beat the afternoon heat. Nobody even notices the temperature. That’s the reason I’m complaining to you, the Danes don’t know what I’m talking about.

A frozen Nyhaven.

A frozen Nyhaven.

Hot or cold Copenhagen is a terrific town. It’s got a nice pulse with a lot of color and a youthful vibe. Cars and bikes and trucks and pedestrians all vying for dominance, and yet somehow cooperating with each other. Walking at night or taking public transport, although freezing, is relatively stress free as this is Europe’s safest city.

Copenhagen has lots of courtyards and private passages from one street to the next. I was intrigued with them 20 years ago and find that I still am.

There are a few things that every tourist is obligated, by law, to see.

And lots of shopping.

Nervous Shopper

Nervous Shopper

A Raid On Odense (the D is silent)

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Take me now! You Girly Man.

Take me now! You Girly Man.

We have sailed into Odense, Denmark. Named for the Norse god, Odin, this must be the epicenter of Viking culture. As it turns out this is more the birthplace of Denmark’s favorite son, Hans Christian Andersen, then a Viking encampment. Our dear friend and Danish host, Dea, has informed us that Vikings were mostly farmers and all this talk about rape and pillaging is pure myth. That been said, I would much rather keep some of my illusions in tact and think of Vikings as the spitting image of their Gods; fierce, courageous and brooding.

St. Canute's Cathedral (Sankt Knuds Kirke)

St. Canute’s Cathedral (Sankt Knuds Kirke)

The history of St. Canute’s Cathedral does very little to dispel the Viking myth. King Canute and Prince Benedict were both slaughtered by angry peasants on the altar of nearby St. Alban’s Priory in 1086. Arriving at the site to collect her dead husband’s remains, Queen Adela said the small church emminated a golden light. Pilgrims soon began to show up to have their infirmities cured. Never ones to let let good propaganda go to waste, the Catholic Church canonized King Canute in 1108 and moved the Saint’s remains into the newly constructed Cathedral. And the miracles just keep on coming.

Sunbathers at the Radhus 26 F

Sunbathers at the Radhus 26 F

We’ve had a few snow flurries in Denmark. Mostly the air has been clear and sharp, but winter is still with us. The sun stays low in the sky and the trees haven’t  begun to soften their mark on the surroundings. 

16th and 17th century timber houses are scattered throughout the old town.

Finally, the “What the Hell Is It?” section.

I asked a lot of people what this is. Either nobody knew or thought I was an idiot for asking.

Rope Thingy.

Rope Thingy.

These are the Danish version of French balconies. Actually, they’re pretty cool and really open up a room.

French Balconies

French Balconies

These devices come in a variety of designs. They have a mirror on each side and allow you to set in the house and keep an eye on anything happening up and down the street. Apparently this is a very popular pastime in Denmark.

Nosey Neighbor Spyware

Nosey Neighbor Spyware