Sunday morning the alarm went off and we prepared ourselves for our first full day of this tour. We would travel by bus through Copenhagen seeing a few select sites. In the afternoon we would board the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway and begin our cruise of the Baltic Sea.
The first stop was a photo op with Copenhagen in the background across the water. Claude's father's side of the family are from Denmark. The 'sen' at the end of Christensen let's you know this. It is the Danish way to spell Christensen. So, actually being on Danish soil was a great treat of Claude. Here is my Great Dane with Kobenhavns Havn (the river) behind him. Frederiks Kirke (Fredericks Church) is the dome on the other side of the river with Amalienborg Palace in front of the dome. This is the residence of the Queen of Denmark. This was a unique and very good moment in our trip. I took this with my cell phone and immediately sent it via eMail to Bonnie, Claude's mom.
Our next stop was for most of the people on our tour. There were 25 of us in total on this tour. All but about four of them were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This stop would be at the Copenhagen Denmark Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is simply beautiful.
Our next site to see was an extra provided by our tour guide. We had an appointment to visit the Copenhagen Cathedral which is home to Thorvaldsen's statues of Christ and the twelve apostles. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses the Christus statue in it's visitor centers. We were a little early so Kirsten Wedgewood, our guide, called a friend that lived down the street and asked if she would open her courtyard so we could see what this old architecture looked like. Her friend was happy to oblige and we were invited into a beautiful courtyard.
We were told this type of construction is called half-brick. They literally build the framework of timbers and fill in the spaces with bricks. Then the bricks are painted, in this case a bright yellow color. You really cannot hear the sounds from the road outside. Claude is standing in the hallway from the courtyard to the street. He is on the courtyard side of the hallway. This creates a really good barrier to the sound. It was simply peaceful with the plants and seating.
Time now to hike back to Vor Frue Kirke or Copenhagen's Cathedral. We saw a few interesting things during this hike. This bike cart is very common. Bikes are very, very common. This model allows you to haul children or your grandmother (according to our guide). Part of Copenhagen University is right by Copenhagen Cathedral. This statue of Neils Bohr was pointed out to our group. He received Nobel prize for his work in Physics. I Googled him and looked at lots of pictures. In none of them, young or old, did he sport a mustache. I noticed that he had one on this bust of him but it appeared to be of the 'stick on' variety. My Google search confirmed this suspicion. Now you may also chuckle at someone reaching up that high to put a fake mustache on an honored citizen. That kind of humor does span the world!! Claude also found the name 'Christensen' on a plaque outside an office. He was happy.
We approached the Copenhagen Cathedral from the back.
We walked around to the front and entered from there. This is a very simple cathedral. Not nearly as ornate as many we would see this trip. But that was good so the focus is on the Christus statue. Here are a few pictures. The Christus is at the very far end of the cathedral from the front entry. Along each side of the cathedral are statues of the 12 apostles. In front of the Christus is an angel statue holding a large shell with water in it. This is the baptismal font. At the opposite end of the cathedral over the front door is the organ.
After exiting, I was able to get across the street and get this picture of the front of Copenhagen Cathedral. On the right is a statue of Moses and on the left is a statue of David.
We would drive past Tivoli Gardens. This is one place I would have truly enjoyed visiting. Walt Disney actually came here when he was planning and creating Disneyland.
One of the things we learned about was the ramparts left in the city. They are embankments that were part of the fortifications to protect the city. They have been left in tact in most places and re-purposed as gardens and other things. As we traveled to our next stop, the Little Mermaid statue, the bus stopped for a bathroom break for the passengers at a place where the ramparts were clearly visible. I was able to walk down and take this picture of the ramparts as they would have been years ago.
We also drove past an amazing statue. It is the Gefion Fountain. It features the Norse goddess Gefion driving four large animals. The fountain depicts the mythical story of the creation of the island of Zealand. The Swedish king, Gylfli, promised Gefion the territory she could plow in a night. She turned her four sons into oxen and they plowed the earth that was thrown into the sea. The hole became Lake Logrinn or Lake Malaren today which is by Sigtuna which we would visit as our last port of call. Others say the Lake formed from the removal of the earth is Lake Vanern. The island of Zealand was formed by the earth. Today this statue is used as a wishing well.
The Gefion Fountain is next to St. Alban's Church.
Our final site to visit was the site of the Little Mermaid Statue. This is iconic in Denmark. One of the places everyone wants to see and have a photo moment. We were no different. This statue was donated to Copenhagen by the Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen. It is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story of the Little Mermaid. The story by Hans Christian Andersen does not have nearly as sweet an ending at the Disney version. I read it prior to our trip and was greatly surprised by the real story. I asked Bailey if she had ever read the real version and she had and told me exactly how it differed from the Disney version. In August of 2013 this statue marked its 100th birthday. During its 100 years it has been the victim of vandalism. Twice she lost her head, once her arm was sawn off, and several times she has had paint poured over her head. Each time she had been repaired or cleaned up so she can maintain her post to welcome visitor into the harbor. Why do people need to vandalize things? I do not understand this.
We caught this view of the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway as we approached the port. We checked in and found our stateroom 13276. That's right. We would reside on the 13th deck for our cruise. The number 13 has been very good to Claude and me. Both suitcases arrived and we unpacked to enjoy the cruise.
Before we leave Copenhagen, I want to post a few picture of streets, buildings and plants we saw to give a flavor of this lovely city.
We enjoyed dinner this first night in one of the main dining rooms. Then we watched as the Breakaway left the port of Copenhagen headed toward Germany. The bridge in the middle picture actually goes from Denmark to Sweden! Is that cool or what? The last picture is the wake made by the Breakaway as she cruises the Baltic Sea. This is one of Claude and my favorite things to sit and observe when cruising. Not sure why. But we both totally enjoy sitting and watching the wake of a ship.
Now, it was time to rest so we would be ready for our shore excursion in Germany the next day.
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