15 September - Kristiansand, Norway

 

Today we were in Kristiansand, Norway. Every year thousands of tourists visit the local coastal area, enjoying its fjords and thousands of small islands. The Kristiansand area has more days of sunshine than any other location in Scandinavia, and the beaches and smooth rocks are ideal for sunbathing. The area is considered being the number one holiday area in Norway. By charter boats tourists can visit the unique scenery and the charming fishing villages with their traditional white wooden houses. Salmon fishing is popular at the river that runs through the city. At the Fisherman's wharf one can find an exciting fish market, lively restaurants, small boat traffic and sight-seeing boats.

Since the renaissance town was founded in 1641, Kristiansand has boasted one of the world largest fleets of sailing ships until the beginning of the last century. Often being the first Cruise Port for ships arriving from Europe.

Posebyen is what's left of Kristiansand's old town. It occupies several blocks on the eastern part of the town center. Here you can still see small, white, single-storey, wooden houses occupy a whole block. Very peaceful just a few minutes' walk from the busy shopping streets. Ravnedalen (Ravens' Valley) is a lovely park just outside the city center. It is surrounded with steep cliffs and presents the visitor with lush flower gardens and manicured laws perfect for picnics.There's also a café.The Odderøya peninsula (just to the right if you walk off the cruise pier) is a former military area that has been converted into a recreational park a few years ago. It makes for pleasant and quiet nature strolls, with views across town or across the sea.

This was the last port on the cruise, tomorrow we will be at sea before returning to Southampton on Saturday, it sure has gone by fast!

14 September - Copenhagen, Denmark

 

MY EXCURSION:   CASTLES OF NORTH SEALAND (Princess Tour)

Today was our second day in Copenhagen and I booked a tour to some castles on the outside of the city. Before we hit the countryside to see the castles we made a stop at the most famous of Copenhagen's attractions, The Little Mermaid.

The sculpture of The Little Mermaid was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale about a mermaid who gives up everything to be united with a young, handsome prince on land. Every morning and evening she swims to the surface from the bottom of the sea and, perched on her rock in the water, she stares longingly towards the shore hoping to catch a glimpse of her beloved prince. Unveiled on 23 August 1913, The Little Mermaid was a gift from Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen to the City of Copenhagen. The sculpture is made of bronze and granite and sits in the water at Langelinie Pier. Carl Jacobsen fell in love with the character after watching a ballet performance based on the fairy tale at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen.

The brewer was so captivated by both the fairy tale and the ballet that he commissioned the sculptor Edvard Eriksen to create a sculpture of the mermaid. The sculpture was inspired by ballerina Ellen Price, who in 1909 danced the lead role in the ballet The Little Mermaid at the Royal Theatre. However, Ellen Price would not model in the nude for sculptor Edvard Eriksen. Thus Eriksen’s wife, Eline Eriksen, posed for the sculpture of The Little Mermaid.

Since cars are discouraged in Copenhagen for bicycles people have gotten used to the cargo bike, a bicycle with a large storage cart in front to carry produce as well as people! We spotted one on the boardwalk along the river.

I then set off on an enjoyable, narrated tour to my first destination of Hillerød, home of Frederiksborg Castle. Seeing Frederiksborg Castle, you might think that this elegant Dutch Renaissance structure sitting on three small islands, is right out of a fairytale! In fact, the Castle had been the royal residence and setting for important ceremonial events since the beginning of the 17th century to the 1850s. Your guided tour begins at the Neptune Fountain and visits the rooms of the King's Wing, the Church, and the impressive Knight's Hall, which boasts an intricate carved wooden ceiling. Today, the castle has been transformed into a national historical museum and is best known for its outstanding collection of portraits - the largest of its kind in Denmark.

This was one of the most beautiful castles I have even seen!

After the visit to Frederiksborg Castle, the tour continued through the picturesque countryside of Northern Zealand. Before reaching our next destination, Kronborg Castle, there was a photo stop at Fredensborg Castle, one of the Queen's most used residences. 

Kronborg Castle, situated in the narrow sound between Denmark and Sweden, is often called 'Hamlet's Castle.' This dramatic Renaissance castle was the inspiration for Shakespeare's tragedy, 'Hamlet.' Originally built in 1420 and expanded between 1574 and 1584 by King Frederik II, the castle's historic and rustic surroundings are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. We continued along the coastal road with the lovely view of the sea past impressive manor houses and small marinas. 

We returned to the ship around 6PM. Got ready for dinner and had an early night.

13 September - Copenhagen, Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark is the geographical link between Scandinavia and Europe. Half-timber villages and tidy farms rub shoulders with towns and a few cities, where pedestrians set the pace, not traffic. In the capital, Copenhagen—København in Danish—mothers safely park baby carriages outside bakeries while outdoor cafés fill with cappuccino-sippers, and lanky Danes pedal to work in lanes thick with bicycle traffic. The town was a fishing colony until 1157, when Valdemar the Great gave it to Bishop Absalon, who built a castle on the site of what is now the parliament, Christiansborg. It grew as a center on the Baltic trade route and became known as købmændenes havn (merchants' harbor) and eventually København.

In the 15th century it became the royal residence and the capital of Norway and Sweden. From 1596 to 1648 Christian IV, a Renaissance king obsessed with fine architecture, began a building boom that crowned the city with towers and castles, many of which still stand. They're almost all that remain of the city's 800-year history; much of Copenhagen was destroyed by two major fires in the 18th century and by British bombing during the Napoleonic Wars.

Today’s Copenhagen has no glittering skylines and little of the high-stress bustle of most capitals. The morning air in the pedestrian streets of the city's core is redolent of baked bread and soap-scrubbed storefronts. If there's such a thing as a cozy city, this is it.

We will be spending two days in Copenhagen so on this first day I ventured out on my own and do my favorite Hop-On bus tour of this city.

               This little one reminded me of my lil Miquette which I miss SO much!

EVENING ENTERTAINMENT:  "GISELLE" BALLET

Tonight I went to the ballet to see one of my favorites, Giselle. The opera house is so beautiful!!!!

The story of Giselle is a romantic tale of innocent love and betrayal; of philandering Count Albrecht and a trusting peasant maid, Giselle. Her beauty has enchanted Albrecht, he disguises himself as a peasant. Giselle, resists Albrecht’s advances,only to succumb to his ardour.His plans are thwarted by the arrival of a hunting party which includes the Duke of Courland and his beautiful daughter Bathilde, to whom Albrecht is already engaged. Bathilde is enchanted with Giselle and her youthful innocence. When Giselle tells the princess that she is engaged, Bathilde gives her a necklace, unaware that they are betrothed to the same man. Hilarion, a gamekeeper in love with Giselle, discovers Albrecht’s disguise. Consumed with jealousy, he reveals his rival’s true identity. Giselle loses her reason, and the first act ends with the famous mad scene, and her death.

Giselle has been buried deep in the forest and has now become a wili. The wilis are ghostly apparitions of folklore, girls who have died betrayed by their faithless lovers on the eve of their weddings. Hilarion is discovered mourning at Giselle’s grave. Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, summons her maidens, who haunt the forest, luring wayfarers to dance with them until they die from exhaustion before the dawn. Hilarion is forced to dance until he dies.

Albrecht, full of remorse, comes to mourn at Giselle’s grave. The Queen commands Giselle to come from her grave and entice Albrecht to join her in dance. Giselle continues dancing with Albrecht through the night. Although she has been betrayed by Albrecht, Giselle still loves him, and helps him to stay alive until the dawn, when the wilis lose their power and will not be able to destroy him. With the arrival of the dawn, Giselle vanishes back into her grave, and Albrecht is left alone with his sorrow. But his life is saved.

This was a long day so when the show ended at 10:30 I was ready to get back to my comfy bed on Sky Princess.