After more jumping and playing first thing in the morning, it was time to hit the road again.
We said goodbye to our dear friends, the Malms, and drove down the coast to Helsingborg where we caught a 20-minute ferry back to Denmark.
We were back on a time schedule and didn't have time to see Kronborg Castle up close. This was the model for the castle in Shakespeare's Hamlet. A distant picture was the best we could do.
But we did leave time for Frederiksborg Castle, home of Carl Bloch's paintings. It was the royal residence of Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century.
We didn't have much time, and what we really wanted to see was Carl Bloch's paintings. We had a general idea where they were but weren't having much luck. Then, in a small room off of the chapel we happened upon it.
I can't quite describe the beauty of the original paintings all in one small room; paintings that are familiar and have become an expression of testimony of the Savior. We were all mesmerized. In the middle of the room was an old prayer alter of the king. In our opinion it was in the way and blocking the real attraction, but the dozens of tourists passing through took pictures of the alter and barely glanced at the magnificent paintings covering every part of the four walls in the room. The few pictures I'll include here don't give any sense of the reverence and holiness of the small space.
I'm so glad we made the effort to see those paintings!
We rushed through some rooms to the exit. It was a magnificent building. Ceci overlooked the "Do Not Touch the Very Ancient Furniture" signs.
We were so sorry missed participating by just a few short months! This was a spiritual feast. The feeling in that temple was palpable, and we felt a room full of witnesses.
Along the wall of the baptistry is a beautiful painting commissioned by President Hinckley. He asked the painter (can't remember his name) to paint as if he were Carl Bloch, because that is who would have done the painting if he were alive. The painter created a scene of the Savior inviting a large group of people, all significant people in Denmark's history, to follow him. These people would be familiar to the people of Copenhagen as they visited the temple during the open house. On a side of the painting was Carl Bloch who was reaching out and touching a blind man. The blind man was the painter, who was relying on Carl Bloch during the creation process. It was incredible. I wish I had a picture of it. And it all looked Carl Bloch-esque.
We drove to the airport, dropped off the car, waited until very late due to a delayed flight, arrived in Zurich, had serious issues renting a car that we were picking up in Zurich and dropping off in Nice (all had been previously booked without a hitch before the trip.) I mention this to remember that there were some HARD things about this amazing trip.
I realized that this trip seemed a little more crazy and difficult than trips in the past for a few reasons. First, we had never traveled on a big trip like this during the tourist season (summer). All travel while living in Europe was during the late fall or winter, and we could extend our trip or change plans without much of a problem. Hotels were always available and there wasn't a timeline. We could also get tickets to this or that at the last minute, lines weren't long and we could do pretty much anything we wanted. Second, we always had the same car and no flights were involved. Couple that with the travel season and we had a lot of unexpected delays and mishaps. Lastly, our kids grew up. They developed opinions and desires. There were a lot of preferences to consider, and expectations to try to meet. Of course, none of this is BAD, it was just different. To be honest, it took me by surprise and took me a little while to accept.
On to Zurich!
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