Divided by water, united in their appeal. Fiona Adams explores the Danish and Swedish coasts of the Oresund...
Last August, in the space of four days, I visited the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet, toured some impressive sculptures, cycled past the house of former footballer Peter Schmeichel, wandered a spectacular nature reserve, was wowed by dahlias in a royal garden and enjoyed an endless supply of fresh, local cuisine. All part of a whistle stop weekend in Denmark and Sweden: two Nordic neighbours separated by a sliver of sea.
Our journey began and finished in Copenhagen, the first two days spent exploring the coast between the Danish capital and the town of Helsingør in North Zealand – the Danish Riviera. At the end of a baking English summer, the cool of the Scandinavian seaside was like a balm for the soul: a world of scudding clouds, open space and pleasantly sparse crowds.
Daniel Rasmussen
Frederiksborg Castle is situated in Hillerød, north of Copenhagen. This impressive Renaissance castle was built in the first decades of the 17th century by the Danish King Christian IV.Frederiksborg Castle has housed The Museum of National History since 1878, when it was established by brewer J.C. Jacobsen, the founder of Carlsberg. The beautiful decorated rooms with portraits, history paintings, furniture, and decorative art invite visitors on a journey through Danish history and culture from the late Middle Ages to the present. The historical interiors and the splendorous rooms give a sensuous impression of changing styles and epochs. The collection of portraits is the largest and most significant in Denmark, with new works continually added to the collection.Danish History for ChildrenIn weekends and Danish school holidays from Easter to mid-October children and their family can visit the children’s department in the old wine cellar of the castle. In here, children can dress up in Renaissance gowns made for the museum and visit the creative workshop where they can write with feather and ink and make colour drawings with inspiration from historical paintings. Visitors can also meet the castle hosts. The hosts are wearing historical costumes that have been made especially for the museum based on dresses seen in the portrait collection. Beautiful Baroque GardenThe Castle Gardens were laid out as a romantic landscaped garden. In the garden you will find King Frederik 2's small Bath House Castle (Badstueslot) which is occasionally used by the Royal Family for hunt lunches. The grounds also include the baroque style garden that was recreated in 1996 according to the original drawings by J.C. Krieger from 1725. Especially worth noting are the royal monograms executed in boxwood, the historical flowers and the festive cascades.
And castles. Two of Denmark’s finest are here in North Zealand: Frederiksborg Castle at Hillerød – built during the early 1600s for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway and now the Danish Museum of National History – and Kronborg, in Helsingør, made famous by Shakespeare as ‘Elsinore’, the home of Hamlet himself. Where Frederiksborg boasts gold leaf, vibrant green tiles and turrets and finely landscaped gardens, Kronborg derives power from simplicity: an imposing, fortress-style structure with the shore of the Öresund – the narrow sound that separates Denmark from Sweden – at its feet.
Also at Helsingør is the Maritime Museum for Denmark, now in premises built underground around a former dry dock so as not to obscure the view of Kronborg. It’s a multi-award-winning feat of design and engineering, with a sailor tattoo parlour thrown in.
For me, however, the highlight of the trip was the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art at Humlebaek. On rented cycles brought to our hotel, Villa Brinkly – a former summer residence for wealthy Copenhageners – we reached the impressive attraction in just 15 minutes. Set in lovely landscaped gardens that double as a sculpture park, boasting work by the likes of Miro and Moore, it’s a thriving cultural hub overlooking the Öresund with eclectic shows running throughout the year. Enjoy live music with a top-notch buffet and glorious views across to Sweden.
Ty Stange
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is situated in Denmark on the North Zealand coast in a spacious, old park with a fine view across the sound of Sweden. It houses an exquisite collection of modern art by international artists such as Arp, Francis Bacon, Calder, Dubuffet, Max Ernst, Sam Francis, Giacometti, Kiefer, Henry Moore, Picasso, Rauschenberg and Warhol. Every year, the Louisiana Museum shows six to eight major exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, including classical masters of modern art as well as new and upcoming international artists. For these both solo and group exhibitions the museum publishes catalogues in the Louisiana Revy series as well as special catalogues. Louisiana is not merely an experience in modern and contemporary art, but a congenial reflection of the interplay between art, architecture and landscape. The park serves as an ideal setting for displaying the museum’s collection of modern sculptures. Similarly the prominent museum buildings, constructed between 1958 and 1998, offer a fascinating background for the permanent collection of twentieth century art.
Whether we went for our final two days, hopping over to Helsingborg on the ferry from Helsingør. The 20-minute ride – which we had been told would be “frisky, but enjoyable” – gives Swedes just 10 minutes to stock up on alcohol on the Danish side of the water. Once you cross into Swedish territory a horn sounds, whereupon only foodstuffs and gifts can be bought duty-free.
Undeterred by the rain that greeted us in Helsingborg, a swish seaside town with stylish shops and restaurants, we drove up to the coast of Skåne to the Kullaberg Nature Reserve: a thrilling medley of deciduous forests, craggy cliffs and crashing waves where porpoises are a frequent sight. And from there it was a short step to Arild’s Vineyard, Sweden’s largest and home to the Ivarssons – Annette, Jonas and their four children.
Defying the odds, the weather and family scepticism, the couple bought the farm back in 2007 when it possessed just a single vine. Twelve years on it is now a thriving farm, hotel and conference space and grows five varieties of grape, producing red, white and rosé wines, as well as sparkling. Sadly, Swedish law prevented us from buying bottles to take away. Apparently, the locals simply purchase online and get friends to bring the goods across from Denmark.
In terms of cuisine, both shores of the Öresund are a platter of delights. We had amazing locally caught fish at Restaurant Det Nye Skotterup, close to Villa Brinkly, while Bistro Francophile in Helsingør offered sophisticated Danish/French fare. To eat or not to eat? Silly question. And in Sweden we dined at the uber stylish Sillen & Makrillen – The Herring and the Mackerel, in more prosaic lingo – which overlooks the Sound at Helsingborg and serves seafood with dramatic dark skies and churning sea.
Nothing, however, prepares you for Holy Smoke: a Texas-style BBQ, hidden away in the Swedish countryside near Nyhamnsläge. There are no signs for it and customers park in a field, yet this outdoor restaurant serving pork and beef ribs, chicken and brisket – cooked in a low, slow Texan smoker – draws around 1,000 people a day, some driving five hours from Stockholm to line up for huge platters of meat. The brainchild of Johan Fritzell, it started as a hobby five years ago. Today, with cookbooks published and products in the stores, Johan is the undisputed BBQ king of Sweden. Not for the faint-hearted or the vegetarian, Holy Smoke is a ‘must’ for everyone else.
Our final day took us to the open-air museum of Fredriksdal, which includes part of Helsingborg’s old town centre, and then to lunch at the former royal summer palace of Sofiero. The pride of Helsingborg, Sofiero is beautiful inside and out, with glorious gardens of roses, dahlias and rhododendrons, as well as an expansive sweeping lawn which hosts concerts in the summer.
And so we headed south to recross the Öresund via ‘The Bridge’, made famous in the grisly Nordic noir TV drama of the same name. Fortunately, there were no bodies or troubled police chiefs in sight, though the price of one crossing (53 euros) was criminal enough.
We didn’t mind though: the past four days had given us a relaxed, somewhat Nordic approach to life. I recommend it.
