Cyril Dixon takes a good look at the country’s inspiration for Hamlet and takes a ferry to Sweden
Apparently, the military-minded Frederick built Kronborg Castle in 1574 as a fortress in case his neighbours should fancy a skirmish.
He built it in the port of Helsingør, perched on an outcrop in the Øresund, the strait separating the two Scandinavian countries.
It was protected on three sides by the 165ft-deep channel and on the fourth by layers of ramparts, reinforced gates, moats and drawbridges.
The castle itself has walls 10ft thick, towering turrets, a maze of basement tunnels where the army laid in wait and chilling dungeons for any unfortunate captives.
Methinks that Frederick was a very worried man!
It’s no wonder that Shakespeare, inspired by Kronborg’s air of mystery and foreboding, used it as a setting for Hamlet, one of his bloodiest plays.
Its annual drama festival held in August draws hundreds of performers, playing out the key scenes in its true home.
Alas, poor Yorick would be crowded out these days by hordes of skull-clutching actors.
But to be fair, Frederick also liked to party, throwing 24-course banquets lasting for days in Kronborg castle’s ballroom where Klaus, dressed as a Renaissance nobleman, briefed us.
Now a vast expanse of black and white tiles, with Baltic pine-beam ceilings and glittering chandeliers, it must have seen some sights.
In the past, noble guests gorged themselves on 8kg per head of heavily-spiced delicacies including swan, peacock, wild boar and hare.
The indigestion must have been horrific. But fortunately, Frederick also left his people a tourist legacy of castles, culture and cuisine.
THE BARD’S INSPIRATION: Kronborg Castle seen from across Helsingør harbour
My partner Jayne and I are checking it out on a Scandinavian double-bill city break, taking in Helsingør and Helsingborg, similarly named, but across the water in Sweden.
Denmark’s Helsingør is a compact, laid-back former ship-building city, reinvented as a heritage and arts mecca, one hour’s train ride from Copenhagen.
Tower blocks are banned and other new building restricted, so its cobbled streets and ornate, red-brick merchants’ houses preserve its olde worlde feel.
We walked the “cultural promenade”, linking 20 historical gems including Hans Christian Andersen’s former school and a railway station claiming to be Denmark’s prettiest.
There are stylish boutiques, fascinating antique shops and a lively nightlife scene, including the new, uber-trendy Culture Wharf street market in a converted harbour warehouse.
Little wooden food stalls surround big communal tables, rowing boats and fishing nets hang from the ceiling and 80s hits form a musical backdrop.
At Francophile, a dimly-lit, atmospheric bistro on the harbour, crackly Charles Aznavour records play and there are wall-mounted photos of every French icon from Brigitte Bardot to Eric Cantona.
The three-course set menu with Gallic specialities such as cassoulet or rillettes of pork, with salads and seared hake was around 325 Danish krone (£30).
Our accommodation was a quirky guesthouse, called Kyhn’s, lovingly created from a former wine store and two minutes’ walk from the railway station and harbour.
It only has six rooms but they are big, light and airy, with whitewashed walls, painted wooden floorboards and pretty houseplants. Each boasts a kitchen and sitting room.
Out front is a coffee shop, playing jazz and selling cakes, pastries and Smørrebrød (rye bread) open sandwiches as well as a courtyard to enjoy those balmy Scandinavian summers.
Helsingør is a handy base to explore the wider North Sealand region by the cheap, efficient rail service, or bike – across reassuringly flat countryside.
Cyril and Jayne get on their bikes
We took a 30-minute train trip to Fredensborg Palace, the spring and autumn retreat of Queen Margrethe II and late husband Prince Henrik, which opens to the public in summer.
Dubbed the Danish Versailles, the white baroquestyle palace sits on beautiful Lake Esrum and has six miles of paths wending their way through 300 acres of lush garden.
Nearby is the Skipperhuset, an elegant eaterie on the lake shore.
Our Danish sojourn ended at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, home to Picassos, Warhols and Hockneys and offering awesome views across the Øresund.
In Sweden, reached by ferry, we went cycling out of Helsingborg along a seafront to rival Brazil’s Ipanema or Copacabana Beach.
The strip of white sand stretched away into the distance and palms swayed lazily in the breeze.
Thankfully, the autumn weather was too cool for lovers of that skimpy Brazilian swimwear.
Helsingborg is on the “Swedish Riviera”, an under-explored stretch of coastline with nearly 25 miles of stunning beaches.
Kyhns Guesthouse in Helsingor, Denmark
You can swim, fish, sunbathe, take a boat trip, or walk or cycle along miles of wooden decking or uninterrupted cycle path.
There are great beachside cafes and restaurants dotted along the way. Sillen & Makrillen, a slick, wood-and-glass construction, a 15-minute walk out of town had us raving.
For about £100 all-in, I enjoyed trout with radish followed by butter-fried cod. Jayne had shrimps on dark bread, with cauliflower cream and truffle cabbage.
Although Helsingborg is bigger and busier than Helsingør, there is still a pretty old town, centred around Karnan, a 700-year-old keep.
We stayed nearby in the enigmatically-named “V”, a boutique hotel which mixes period decor with quirky modern.
Four-poster beds come alongside table lamps shaped like lion’s-head door knockers.
From there, we cycled easily to Fredriksdal, a 19th-century manor house converted into a working farm museum – all thatched barns and windmills, heavy horses and “rare breed” cows and sheep.
In the opposite direction, we biked to Sofiero Palace, an ivy-clad Renaissance pile used as a royal holiday home in the 1900s, but now open to the public.
Princess Margareta – the Surrey-born wife of Prince Gustav Adolf – borrowed ideas from Kew Gardens to create a private magical retreat to enjoy there with her husband and their four children.
You can stroll through acres of colourful flowerbeds, walk under rose arches and admire slide-rule hedges and beautifully-named features such as Queen Sylvia’s flower jewel.
There are mini-ravines filled with rhododendrons and a green and peaceful hillock where you can gaze into the distance across the Øresund to Kronborg Castle.
In fact, I can’t help thinking Prince Fred of Denmark should have spent some time here – it would have made him a nicer person.
Kyhn’s, lovingly created from a former wine store and two minutes’ walk from the railway station and harbour.
It only has six rooms but they are big, light and airy, with whitewashed walls, painted wooden floorboards and pretty houseplants.
Each boasts a kitchen and sitting room.
Out front is a coffee shop, playing jazz and selling cakes, pastries and Smørrebrød (rye bread) open sandwiches as well as a courtyard to enjoy those balmy Scandinavian summers.
Helsingør is a handy base to explore the wider North Sealand region by the cheap, effi cient rail service, or bike – across reassuringly fl at countryside.
We took a 30-minute train trip to Fredensborg Palace, the spring and autumn retreat of Queen Margrethe II and late husband Prince Henrik, which opens to the public in summer.
Dubbed the Danish Versailles, the white baroque-style palace sits on beautiful Lake Esrum and has six miles of paths wending their way through 300 acres of lush garden.
Nearby is the Skipperhuset, an elegant eaterie on the lake shore.
Our Danish sojourn ended at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, home to Picassos, Warhols and Hockneys and offering awesome views across the Øresund.
In Sweden, reached by ferry, we went cycling out of Helsingborg along a seafront to rival Brazil’s Ipanema or Copacabana Beach.
The strip of white sand stretched away into the distance and palms swayed lazily in the breeze.
Thankfully, the autumn weather was too cool for lovers of that skimpy Brazilian swimwear.
Helsingborg is on the “Swedish Riviera”, an under-explored stretch of coastline with nearly 25 miles of stunning beaches.
You can swim, fi sh, sunbathe, take a boat trip, or walk or cycle along miles of wooden decking or uninterrupted cycle path.
There are great beachside cafes and restaurants dotted along the way.
Sillen & Makrillen, a slick, wood-and-glass construction, a 15-minute walk out of town had us raving.
For about £100 all-in, I enjoyed trout with radish followed by butter-fried cod.
Jayne had shrimps on dark bread, with cauliflower cream and truffle cabbage.
Although Helsingborg is bigger and busier than Helsingør, there is still a pretty old town, centred around Karnan, a 700-year-old keep.
We stayed nearby in the enigmatically-named “V”, a boutique hotel which mixes period decor with quirky modern.
Four-poster beds come alongside table lamps shaped like lion’s-head door knockers.
From there, we cycled easily to Fredriksdal, a 19th-century manor house converted into a working farm museum – all thatched barns and windmills, heavy horses and “rare breed” cows and sheep.
In the opposite direction, we biked to Sofiero Palace, an ivy-clad Renaissance pile used as a royal holiday home in the 1900s, but now open to the public. Princess Margareta – the Surrey-born wife of Prince Gustav Adolf – borrowed ideas from Kew Gardens to create a private magical retreat to enjoy there with her husband and their four children.
You can stroll through acres of colourful flowerbeds, walk under rose arches and admire slide-rule hedges and beautifully-named features such as Queen Sylvia’s flower jewel.
There are mini-ravines filled with rhododendrons and a green and peaceful hillock where you can gaze into the distance across the Øresund to Kronborg Castle. In fact, I can’t help thinking Prince Fred of Denmark should have spent some time here – it would have made him a nicer person.
Norwegian (0330 828 0854/ norwegian.com) offers return flights from London Gatwick to Copenhagen from £25.
Trains (rejseplanen.dk) from Copenhagen to Helsingør £14 one way.
Ferry (scandlines. com) across the sound, £5 one way.
Kyhn’s Guesthouse (dialling from the UK: 00 45 71 70 84 82/kyhnsgaestehus.dk) offers doubles from £125, B&B. V Hotel (42 14 44 20/vhotel.se) offers doubles from £120, B&B. Norway tourism: visitnorway. com. Sweden tourism: visitsweden.com
