Day Four
Helsingborg, Sweden


From Oslo we sailed down the Kattegat to Helsingborg. We awoke that morning to the news that the ship would be unable to dock due to high winds and rough seas, so we would have to go ashore in tender boats. From Helsingborg we took a short ferry ride to the port of Elsinore, Denmark, to see that city and Kronborg Castle, which served as the setting for Shakespeare's HAMLET. Yes, a gullible tourist in our group did ask the guide, "When did Hamlet live there?"

Here's a view of the Rotterdam, from the ferry that took us across the water to Denmark. This picture was taken through a window, but it really was a grey and dreary day!
This is one of the ship's tenders. We went ashore in these. We really rocked and rolled on the rough seas. Rory and I thought it was FUN, especially on the way back that afternoon in a nearly-empty tender!
Our tour of Elsinore started here, in this little courtyard, and it was a strange tour. We found out later that we were the first group to take this tour and unfortunately things didn't go very well. The weather was raw and rainy, and because things weren't as well-organized as they should have been, we missed out on most of the Carmelite Abbey, one of the best-preserved medieval abbeys in Europe. We stood in one of its hallways and admired some nice shrubs but we could hear the organ in the cathedral and wanted to be there instead!
After a quick walk around Elsinore and some time spent standing in the rain, we were rushed through Kronborg Castle, so again, we didn't get to see very much! This is one of the 450-year-old tapestries in Kronborg Castle.
The idea of being stuck on the ship while it was in port was not appeaing to us! After our ferry ride back to Helsingborg, we walked around the city, got wet, and then found our way back to the dock where the tenders were waiting to take us back to the ship.
Rory in front of a burger place in Helsingborg. We were hungry and thought about going in, but changed our minds. She's blurry because she was walking as I was taking her picture.

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