Today, another challenge: Who are the people in the photo above? There’s a hint in the headline of this post and in the video below.

In a future post, I’m going to tell you how — and where — to fika. Don’t worry. To fika is perfectly acceptable, even preferred.

I’ll also talk about the Swedish language, which I find to be extremely difficult. It’s true that most foreigners have no trouble pronouncing the number six, which is “sex.”

More difficult to say is the number seven, sju. It sounds like little more than exhaling air, but impossible for the non-native Swede to pronounce properly. So that I never have to say sju, I make it a point not to buy seven of anything. Seven tomatoes? No, I’ll take sex instead.

The castle in the earlier post, by the way, is known both as Kronborg Castle and as Elsinore. The town where the castle is situated also is known as Elsinore. But like the castle the town too has another name, Helsingør. See how quickly things can get confusing over here?

The important thing to know is that the castle was the setting for Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Thus, the castle is known also as “Hamlet’s Castle.”

Built in the 1420s and rebuilt more than 150 years later, it is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. On bike rides along the Swedish coast, I look across the strait known as Öresund to Hamlet’s Castle. Seeing it never fails to enchant me.

The strait, by the way, is less than three miles wide and separates Sweden from Denmark. If you’re cruising the Baltic, you’ll likely pass through the strait, which is one of the world’s busiest waterways. Andreas Eriksson, who is the marketing and information manager at the Port of Helsingborg, tells me that roughly 90,000 ships pass Helsingborg each year.

Fortunately for Andreas and his colleague, Monica Bengtsson, who works for the City of Helsingborg to convince cruise ships to visit her fine city, some of those ships do stop. If you’re on board one of those this summer, you can brag that you know the name of the castle across the strait.

Coming in my next post: a few recommendations for those visiting Helsingborg. And then we move on to Sweden’s beautiful capital, Stockholm, the self-proclaimed Capital of Scandinavia.

By now, you know the name of band in the photo, right? If not, watch the video. Now maybe you can tell me this, what are their names? A hint: Their names form the acronym of the band’s name.

Think about it for for a few minutes while I introduce myself. I’m the guy in the photo. My name is Ralph Grizzle, and I am an American (from Asheville, North Carolina) living part time in Sweden, directly across from the castle, in fact.

I came here to be closer to the “Cruise Capital of Northern Europe.” That would be Copenhagen, Denmark, which will host more than 300 cruise ship calls this summer. Those cruises, of course, will explore Scandinavia and the jeweled destinations along the Baltic Sea.

My job while I’m living abroad is to inspire and inform you about one of the world’s most enchanting — and enriching — cruise destinations, Europe.

I’ll begin by filing reports from Scandinavia, covering Sweden in April; Norway in May; and Denmark in June. After that, I’ll move south to cover other cruise destinations in Europe.

I hope that you’ll comment and ask questions as I expose you to the best of Europe, virtually.

Did you guess the name of the castle yet? Here’s a closer look.

Actually, the castle, and the town where it stands, has a couple of names. I’ll give you some time to think about it. If you know the answer, click on the “Comments” link below (the link may display “No Comments” until the first comment is registered).

Until next time, “Välkommen” to Sweden, Ralph Grizzle.

You Are In Denmark When You See Hamlet’s Castle, originally uploaded by Ralph Grizzle.

Also called Kronborg, the castle and the events that took place there inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The castle is open for guided and self-guided tours daily from the 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Entrance fees range fro DK30 to DK85. The latter includes entrance to the Danish Maritime Museum. The Copenhagen Card, which includes admission to the Danish Maritime Museum, reduces the cost of the complete tour (normally DK85) to DK60. I’ll be posting more on the castle later.

Entrance To Hamlet’s Castle, originally uploaded by Ralph Grizzle.

The pleasant stroll from the ferry to Kronborg takes about 15 minutes — or only five minutes bike. Tickets can be purchased inside the castle.