2nd Best Castle in Scandanavia??? (not Kalmar)

I don't know about '2nd best castle in Scandinavia' but Kronborg castle is easily reachable from Copenhagen. It's the one Shakespeare used as his inspiration for Elsinore in Hamlet and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I like Rosenborg in Copenhagen. It's small and includes the crown jewels in the basement. A short train ride north of Copenhagen gets you to Kronborg. I enjoyed the casemates and short tour there, it's the setting for Hamlet (it's in Helsingor, Shakespeare calls it Elsinore castle). Fredericksborg is supposed to be the best, I didn't see it because they were doing track maintenance and the alternate route was really inconvenient.

I wanted to visit Akershus in Oslo but my companions had other priorities so I missed that one (Rick doesn't recommend it very highly).

I went to a castle just north of Schlesswig, Germany that I really liked - a Danish summer palace - but that's too far out of your way.

Another big one is Suomenlinna Island across the harbor from Helsinki. It's a ten minute ferry ride from the market area, you could easily spend a few hours exploring. It's post cannon, which means low, thick walls.

In general, the castles in Scandinavia don't look like the classic castles one normally imagines. They are more palaces that also include defenses. The towers and walls around Tallinn are more like what one would envision as a castle.

We liked Egeskov Slot (castle) in Denmark:

http://www.egeskov.dk/en/castle

I wanted to visit Akershus in Oslo but my companions had other priorities so I missed that one (Rick doesn't recommend it very highly).

Oslo's Akershus is more of a walk around and on top self guided tour. The view of the fjord is as interesting as the fortress.

Another big one is Suomenlinna Island across the harbor from Helsinki. It's a ten minute ferry ride from the market area, you could easily spend a few hours exploring. It's post cannon, which means low, thick walls.

Again, a walk around but in very pleasant surroundings. These "castles" are more fortresses configured to withstand seaward cannon beyond repealing attackers with arrows and ladders.

I'm not a castle person, but even I really liked the Frederiksborg Slot (castle) in Denmark near Copenhagen, and as a bonus, the town of Hillerød is really nice too. Rick's book has details (it's an easy day trip from Copenhagen, and I believe it's included on the Copenhagen Card).

Denmark overall is a great place to visit--- friendly people who all speak English, good food. Lots of history, pretty towns. Bring lots of money.

Thanks to everyone for the invaluable feedback!
Looks like we'll do exactly as suggested -- avoid Kalmar & get our castle fix from one or more of the more convenient locations.

The "best castle in Scandinavia" is a bit arbitrary and very subjective, the castles in Scandinavia range from different periods, have different functions and settings.
If you want to find something similar to Kalmar castle, then Kronborg in Helsinghør is just as good. Both castles are from the same period, are essentially renaissance palaces with moats and bations to defend against cannon fire and both have a rich history.

As mentioned Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød is also a very much worth a visit from Copenhagen and unlike both Kalmar and Kronborg it has no military function, but purely a palace. Both Helsingør and Hillerød are reachable by train from Copenhagen, use www.rejseplanen.dk as a travel planner. The town of Helsingør also has a rich history with an old town and the maritime museum next to Kronborg is world class. Hillerød on the other hand is a fairly modern and boring danish town.

As Brad said "In general, the castles in Scandinavia don't look like the classic castles one normally imagines. They are more palaces that also include defenses. The towers and walls around Tallinn are more like what one would envision as a castle."

Both Kalmar and Kronborg are from the rennaisance period and have been modified in that period to suit the needs of the time as has happened to most medieval castles in Scandinavia. The ones that did'nt get modified during their history where the ones that fell out of use and the valuable building material was looted to build houses and other buildings, some remians as ruins like Hammarshus on the danish island of Bornholm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammershus
Chrisitansborg Slot (the danish parlament in Copenhagen) has an exhibition in the basement, where their found the remnants of the original medieval castle on the site, which features models of the previous castles and upgrades on the site.