To go or not to go was never the question.

Kronborg Castle, or better known as Hamlet’s castle, had beckoned to us from the time we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark. Both my daughter and I are avid Shakespeare fans and the only burning question we had was when were we going to make the trek out to this magnificent Danish castle in Helsingor (Elsinore).

The problem was snow and lots of it.

Now, you understand, snow in Denmark is relatively common in the winter months, but this year the country had been hit with much more of the cold stuff than usual, and during the week we had to explore Copenhagen and its surrounding areas, the forecasters were calling for more of the white fluffy stuff.

Being born and bred in Canada, Sarah and I shrugged at the thought of snow, and wondered at the looks of concern we were given when we mentioned our desire to visit Kronborg Castle. We were warned about the fierceness of snow in this northerly point of Denmark. If the snow worsened, we were told, the trains to Helsingor may stop running and we could run the risk of being stranded. But being true Canadians we smiled, a little bad weather never got in our way of having some winter fun.

We did decide to be cautious in our travel plans and picked a day that was supposed to be relatively blizzard free, we also decided to forego our plan of stopping enroute to explore the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art at Humlebaek.

We left Københavns Hovedbanegård, Copenhagen’s main train station, early on a clear but grey morning taking the Malmo C train line (platform four) along the Danish coastline to its last stop of Helsingor. The train for Helsingor leaves the station every twenty minutes and the trip took only about forty minutes.

As we traveled through the Danish countryside, it started to snow and as we got closer to Helsingor, the snow started to blow. Sarah and I looked at each other, and I asked: “How far is the castle from where the train stops in Helsingor? She didn’t know. “Where exactly is Kronborg Castle?” We didn’t know. So perhaps we didn’t plan very carefully at all!

We got off the train in Helsingor and looked around, in the distance, to the left of the station, we saw a castle, and wondered if perhaps this was our Hamlet’s castle.

It was.

It was shrouded in snow, looming on top of hill overlooking the water.

It looked huge, menacing, lonely, and dark.

It was perfect.

A perfect Hamlet’s castle.

Check out my short clip of Kronborg Castle in the snow, as you can see in the shot, the weather was too wicked to do much filming!

We spent the day exploring Kronborg and the pretty, little village of Helsingor, in the snow, and in the cold, heading back to Copenhagen in the late afternoon. We enjoyed this quiet melancholy place and definitively would go back again. Even in the winter.

The Facts

Kronborg Castle

Kronborg 2 c

DK-3000 Elsinore

Telephone: +45 4921 3078, fax: +45 4921 3052

E-mail: kronborg@ses.dk

www.kronborgcastle.com

Open: May to September 10.30 to 17.00

October through April: closed on Monday and opened from 11.00 to 17.00

Guided English speaking tours included with price of admission.

Shopping:

Helsingor is a small village but there are lots of boutiques to tempt shoppers along the streets of Stengade and Stjernegade selling antiques, chocolates, and handmade artisan crafts.

Axeltorv, the main city square, hosts a market on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and during the Christmas season, the square is transformed into a bustling Christmas Market.

Where to Eat:

Chocolate Mageriet: Loved the chocolate Kronborg Castle in the window.

Square 3-3400 Hillerød.

E-mail: info@chokolademageriet.dk

Gæstgivergården: Located on Axeltorv Square, it is the oldest pub in the town and sells a good variety of beer on tap.

Møllers Conditori: Denmark’s oldest conditori, or café, offering up coffee, tea, pastries and light food since 1855. OMG so good pastries and cakes.

The Hotel Marienlyst: fine international dining with a stunning view of the Øresund.