Shakespeare and Denmark

I have been living in Denmark for about a month now, and the city of København seems more and more like my home. Though, it's about 4,200 miles from my hometown of Dyer, Ind., what I have found here is a second home living with Danes and studying with Americans, Czechs, Poles and Chinese. \nI am living with a host family in the town of Humlebæk, which is situated about 45 kilometers north of København and 15 kilometers south of Helsingør. It is a tidy town full of impeccable streets and bike paths, friendly people and excellent public transportation. My host family has taken me into their home for the next four months, and I have loved every minute of it -- even when my host sister Cecilie squeals with delight at my stilted attempts of Danish.\nThough I have not explored København to its fullest extent yet, I wanted to check out what else Denmark has in store for me. Kronborg Slot, the castle of Helsingør, was one of the first places I visited. Those of us who read "Hamlet" in high school remember this lonely castle not as Kronborg, but rather as Elsinor, the castle that hosts the bloodbath. Located on the chokepoint of the Øresund, the straight between Denmark and Sweden, it is an impressive sight on the harbor. From the ramparts of the castle you can see the Swedish town of Helsingborg; the straight is only four kilometers wide at the location of castle. \nAnd Kronborg was not used as a royal residence, as depicted in Hamlet, but rather it was used to extract exorbitant tolls from passing ships. The castle was traded between the Swedes and the Danes numerous times and was known as the "Keeper of the Sound" to the ships that warily passed beneath its ramparts.\nThe tour of the castle was amazing; though most of the furniture and artwork is not original to the castle. The castle was sacked by the Swedes on numerous occasions and the majesty of the castle is undeniable. From the soaring ceiling beams in what was once the largest ballroom in Scandinavia to the gloomy casemates of the castle, it is a decidedly different castle than any other I have seen. Instead of gilded interiors and intricate ornamentation, the stark interior is a testament to Scandinavian austerity.\nThe highlight of the castle interior is the casemates, the bowels of the castle. Poorly lit and ventilated, the casemates of Kronborg give a whole new life to the word "dank." The casemates of Kronborg were once used to hold the slaves that toiled away under the king's command until they were freed, executed or died of the unsanitary conditions -- the gloom the inmates must have felt has never left the casemates.\nAlso housed in the casemates is the Viking Helgor Danske, the mythical savior of Denmark. As the story goes, Helgor Danske will remain stone until the day the kingdom of Denmark is threatened. When the Danes are threatened, Helgor Danske will awaken and lead an army of old men and young boys to save the kingdom from destruction. But Helgor has remained stone in the casemates of Kronborg, awaiting his turn to rise to glory and impressing a few tourists, myself included, on the way.