Hillerod

Our last day took us to Hillerod to see Frederiksborg Castle, the largest castle in Denmark and the most opulent one at that. I stored my bags in the lockers at the main station since this was my last day in Denmark. It was a long ride but we got there without any incidents. Surprisingly, the place was once again devoid of people despite it being a Sunday. I figured there would be crowds at the biggest castle but hey, I wasn't going to complain. True to its name, it was probably the most impressive castle I have ever seen so far in the country, nothing still tops Mont Saint Michel so far. There were a lot of statues adorning the courtyard and after much picture taking we finally went inside to shelter from the cold.

The interior functioned as a museum and each floor was furnished with not only new displays but also parts of the old castle that had been carefully preserved. It was my first time seeing ceilings that ornate with paintings and statues right on top. I enjoyed looking at the old paintings and several rooms were particularly interesting including the bedrooms and the humongous ballroom. The first time, I've ever been into one. I was still curious to see the royal gardens but my mother had enough exploring for the day. Dad and Jake decided to come with me and check it out since I wanted to see what the castle looked like from behind but unfortunately, it was covered with scaffoldings from construction and we couldn't appreciate the gardens from the lower angles. Still, we were satisfied and we went back to regroup, taking a bus to a nearby mall to find lunch. The selection wasn't that good though and we once again separated with my mom and uncle staying behind the mall while my siblings and father went back to the castle since there was an Asian restaurant nearby. We ordered some ramen and har gaw which was pretty okay all things considered. We once again regrouped and went back to Copenhagen station where I said goodbye to my family. We would see each other again very soon so it wasn't that bad. I got my bags and started to look for a way to the airport but was a bit floored as I couldn't find where the bus stop was and Google Maps wasn't helping. I tried asking for directions but people also didn't know. I decided to go for the Metro but I couldn't even tell which direction the correct line was, time was also running a bit thin. Suddenly, there was a random platform showing that there was a direct train going to the airport, despite not being on Google Maps! This was a life-saver and I took the opportunity and managed to arrive barely on time. I had to pass through a long security check and immigration line and when I got to the boarding gate, it was already time to board.

I watched IF for the flight towards Istanbul and then watched Napoleon on the next one. I caught another lucky break since I was able to snag a whole row of seats for myself for the duration of the whole flight back to Tokyo thanks to the tip of my row mate, the two of us were the only ones on the whole plane able to sleep horizontally which gave me an amazing feeling of being rested.Read more