Frederiksborg Palace

Day two in Copenhagen was another fun and busy day. I think everyone was working on limited sleep, but it didn't dampen our spirits. 

In the morning, we took the train, and then walked, to Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerod. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV, and now is a national history museum. 

Diane and David

 Brian and Helena stroll through Hillerod.

The palace was stunning. Especially its ornate chapel that is still used for worship services.

The palace also houses many of Carl Bloch's original paintings of the life of Christ. Bloch was commissioned to paint 23 new paintings for the king's praying chamber in 1865, after the castle was ravaged by fire. It took him 14 years to complete this project. Our church has used many of Bloch's paintings in its church buildings and printed media for over 50 years. I really loved seeing the originals.

 I thought this painting was beautiful. And it was massive.

After the castle, a few of us stopped at a chocolate shop in Hillerod and bought ice cream and the best chocolate dipped waffle cone we had ever tasted. We ate it too quickly to even think about a photo. We never missed an opportunity to get ice cream.

A handful of us decided to visit the Open Air Museum, which is a massive collection of 17th-19th century original buildings and dwellings of Denmark. This particular one depicts early life on the island of Bornholm. The ceilings were short and I bumped my head entering one of the homes. They tell me heat efficiency and/or architectural style/cost had something to do with that. But how awkward to have to duck all the time. I do appreciate modern architecture.

We walked back through Stroget and enjoyed the sights. This was a relatively small collection of parked bikes. They were everywhere!

Peter and Darin walked by this live "statue," but didn't want to get too close. He was a little creepy - moving only every few minutes. 

That night, we met up with everyone at Mother Pizza, which was a hip spot with delicious pizza! Thankfully, Liz had made reservations ahead of time for all of our dinners. Dining with 24 of us was always an adventure - We spent at least 2 1/2 hours every night at dinner, and it was always enjoyable and fun, and a nice rest after lots of walking. 

After dinner we headed back to Tivoli Gardens and rode the roller coaster. So fun to stay up late and not have to worry about much. 

Check out Liz's post from this day. Her pictures are gorgeous!