In Helsingør stands Kronburg castle, the former summer residence of the royalty of Denmark. The English of Shakespeare’s time were smart and only visited Denmark in the summer. So they became under the impression that this was the capital of Denmark. They bastardized the name to Elsinor for some play.
We spent twenty minutes doing a surgical strike tour of the place. It’s a beautiful palace, but I only really saw the moats and the courtyard.
We left because we had an appointment to go sailing with an old friend of my mother’s. I’ve never met him before, but he had a thirty foot sailboat and was happy to take guests out on it. We motored out of Helsingør harbor, then tacked into the wind until we were in Swedish waters. Then we turned and tacked back into Danish waters. We were going about six knots doing so. I thought we would be able to get back to the harbor quickly because now the wind was at our back. I was wrong. The wind may have been behind us, but now the current was against us. I could have walked back faster than the two knots we were going.
The channel was also busy with many large ships. I’ve heard it is one of the most crowded shipping lanes in the world.
Of course we did eventually get back, although we had to cheat and turn on the motor.
In the evening we went to dinner with an old family friends. She is my godmother, and married to the brother of the sailor. It was great to see them. It has been too long. I even got to see their son. I remember playing with him when we were young. He was a fantastic artist who would draw little cartoons. He is now an architect. He designed part of the new Copenhagen opera house.
It is wonderful to be in a place with so may relatives and friends. I can see why having family nearby is important. It is an aspect of my life that has been lacking.