As the ship left Bergen to return to Copenhagen, my friends and I decided to celebrate our cruise with dinner at the “fancy” restaurant. It’s one of the few places that you needed to pay extra for. So, I completed one more checkmark on my “haven’t done that yet” list:

It was fine. I find many sparkling wines have an annoying after taste, but the Dom and the other from the food/wine matching lunch did not. However, I won’t go out of my way to drink them. Good thing, considering how much a single glass cost. To go with the champagne, I had matching hors d’oeuvres and desert.

It was a wonderful ending to a great cruise with friends. I’m almost looking forward to my usual, basic meals. Almost…

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I choose to extend my cruise with a three-day tour around Copenhagen. Two others and myself left the Silver Dawn and climbed into an upscaled people-mover van for the “Denmark – Land of Legends” tour. Turns out the tour was named after our first stop: Sagnlandet Lejre, the “Land of Legends” open-air museum.

Like my trip in Borg over a week ago, a Viking-era longhouse was found in this area. So, they built a replica.

Our guide explained the differences between the two sites: Borg was a chieftain’s longhouse, where the community leader actually lived. The house even had an attached barn for the animals. In Copenhagen there was a king’s longhouse, which was only used when the king was in the area. It was like a temporary courthouse with living quarters. However, the replica was still built with non-aged lumbar and wonderfully carved.

There were craft creators on site, from cooking to jewelry to masons. Our guide showed us armor replicas built from artifacts discovered. No, they are not made from gold. But it’s not cast plastic either.

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From the 8th Century were moved forward in time… Dragsholm Castle is only 800 years old or so. While the name seems related to “dragon”, it is not. In the past if you wanted to move your boats around the islands and inlets it you take hours. Instead, you’d just drag it over the ten meters or so of land to get to the bay at the other side. So, this is the castle (more like a fortified home) near the boat dragging site. Huh. It was also the site of our hotel and evening meal.

Long-time Cruiseboysians may remember that I am not a fan of “olde timey” manor homes converted into hotels. The floors aren’t level. The stairs are narrow and rickety. The windows are single pane to leak. All that is still true at Dragsholm. However, the groundskeeper gave us such a great tour of the area, explained the near-1000-year history of the area, changes in ownership over time and how locals use the facilities now. I was impressed.

The castle itself is a registered historical site, so repair work is regulated. To mis-quote Yoda: “When 800 years old you are, look as good you will not.” After wars with Sweden, civil wars and WW2 occupation, the place looks pretty good.

However, the stables are not historic, so they converted it into a restaurant. We had breakfast there. And when I say “in the stables”, I mean it.

This was a great use of space, with the nearby storage area now the buffet bar and sales floor. They have done a great job slowly updated the grounds.

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Sorry for the delay in posting – I caught a cold during the flight back from Europe. I should get the following post up more quickly!