Copenhagen, Denmark - Sunday, May 20, 2018

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.

And We Are Off...

Our big trip this year would be absolutely awesome!! We were going to fly from Cincinnati to Newark. Then we would board Icelandair and fly to Reykjavik, Iceland and change planes to fly to Copenhagen, Denmark. We would spend the night in Copenhagen. This Blog entry will take us that far in this trip.

Before we left for the Cincinnati airport I was grateful to see a few of our flowers blooming. Peonies and irises from Utah. Nice.

We got out of Cincinnati just fine. Our plane was delayed a bit in Newark. Since we had to change planes in Iceland, we wanted to be sure there was enough time. The guy at check-in assured us they knew our plane would be late in Reykjavik and they would hold the next plane for the passengers arriving late. So we checked our bags and headed to the gate to await our flight. 

The interesting thing that happened here had to do with our luggage. We packed really light. For two people who would be gone 13 days, our luggage was exceptionally light. When we checked it that man at the counter commented as he lifted the bags onto the scale on how light the luggage was. Then he looked at our reservations and asked us if we knew we had luggage fees for each of these bags on Icelandair. We assured him we did not. This air fare was booked by our travel agent. We only booked the Cincinnati to Newark and back portion. As it turns out, the rate for each of our bags would have been $65 to get to Reykjavik and another $30 to get them to Copenhagen making $95 for each of our bags. Goodness. The nice guy at the gate told us that, since our bags were so very light, he would check them but mark them as carry-on's. That way there would be no charge to get them to Copenhagen on Icelandair. However, they would ding us $190 to bring them back to Newark. Okay???  We thanked him for his kindness. When we got to our gate, I sent and eMail to our travel agent making sure he knew about this charge and that we were not informed of it. It wouldn't be until the return trip that I would understand how that was even possible. 

We found a spot to sit and be able to charge our devices for the flights ahead. Looking out the window we saw something we have never seen at any airport. A birdhouse intentionally put up by the breezeway to the airplane. Since birds and planes really don't play well together, we found the positioning of this birdhouse very interesting.

After sitting for a bit, Claude got up to walk around. I stayed at our seats with our carry-on's. This little guy came up to sample some nuts someone dropped on the carpet. He obviously lives inside the terminal. I wondered if he looks longingly sometimes at the birdhouse out by the breezeway and wonders what he is missing by being trapped inside the airport. He was a cute little bird, not afraid of people in the least, and quite happy to eat whatever crumbs we mere mortals leave behind. 

Eventually we boarded a very full flight to Iceland. While waiting for everyone to board and the plane to leave the gate, many of us noticed this smoke coming up from the floor. That is my purse under the seat and Claude's foot to the right with all the smoke coming up from the floor. Oh My!! The flight attendant became aware of the passengers and their growing concerns. She went directly to her intercom and told us all it was only steam and a very normal thing, there was no problem. Then she added, "I'm actually making a DVD of me singing and this is the effects for that. You'll all be in it with me!!" I suddenly felt like I was on Southwest Airlines instead of Icelandair.

Before you knew it, 5 1/2 hours of flying past and we were in Iceland. How cool it that? We made our change of planes just fine and departed for Denmark.

In another brief 3 hours of flying we were in Copenhagen, Denmark. We quickly made our way through customs and found the lovely lady with the sign letting us know they would take us to our hotel. We had to wait for 6 other passengers in our tour group but we totally enjoyed the fresh air while waiting. 

Our hotel was the Copenhagen Island Hotel. Very nice. Newer. This is the view of Copenhagen from our room.  

We decided to walk around a bit and find something for dinner. We needed to adjust to the time change so staying on Copenhagen time and getting to bed on that time would help a lot. There was a mall not to far from the hotel so we walked there. This picture is of the water behind our hotel, a canal if you will. If you look on the left side of the picture, there is a framework of wood. That is the boardwalk around the hotel pool area which is really the canal. Interesting, very interesting. 

We didn't want a huge meal so we opted for the Danish McDonald's which was inside the mall. All the other restaurants seemed to be big buffet affairs and that was just too much food. Then we strolled through the mall. 

Did you know that Lego's were invented in Denmark. We were thinking before we left Kentucky that a Lego set would be a great souvenir for Hayden and Bailey. There was a toy store in the mall with a big section at the back of the store with lots and lots of Lego kits. This picture of Claude is actually two life-sized girls made out of Legos. We decided to divide and conquer. We agreed on the size kits we would pack in our luggage to take back to Kentucky and that Claude would pick out one for Hayden and I would pick out one for Bailey in the size range. When we gave the kits to the Mini's, we explained the significance of having a Lego kit from Denmark. Turns out, in all the Lego's these two kids own, neither had the kits we purchased. Yippee!! Score for us on that souvenir front.

This mall was several stories tall with a parking garage in the basement and a parking garage on the roof. It was pretty much a square shape. In the middle, hanging from the ceiling, was this huge piece of artwork. It is made up of hundreds of little silver metal fish all swimming in the same direction. Below it was a tiered water feature with plants on either side. Very nicely done. Copenhagen is on the Baltic Sea and there are lots of fish there so their theme was perfect.

Back to our hotel room we went, set up a wake-up alarm, and lights out to get some much needed rest. 

The Trips Begin...

The reality of retirement...we would begin a month of travel. Well, Claude would begin a month of travel which I would participate in during the middle portion and the end portion. 

Trip 1: Claude left Wednesday, May 15th for the DC Fly-in with Kentucky League of Cities. He would return Thursday, May 17th in the afternoon.

Trip 2: Claude and I left Friday, May 18th at Noon for our annual big vacation. We would return Wednesday, May 30th. More about that in another set of Blog entries.

Trip 3: Claude would fly out Friday, June 1 to go to Idaho and Utah. He would return Tuesday, June 5th. More about that in another Blog entry.

Trip 4: Monday, June 11th Claude and I left for Chelsea, Michigan and will return Wednesday, Jun 13th.

Whew!! That is a lot of travel.

This Blog entry will focus on a few interesting facts about the DC Fly-in. This is done by the Kentucky League of Cities every year. They take a delegation to Washington DC each year to speak with each of the Legislators from Kentucky. It is a grueling three days of walking and meeting and walking to the next destination and meeting. But it serves a good purpose and Claude feels it well worth the time and effort invested.

I enjoy the time at home to accomplish a few things. 

Here are a few interesting things that happened on this adventure. 

Claude drove himself to the Cincinnati airport so I would have more time to do my thing. Claude's flight was supposed to leave at 11:30am. The operative word in that sentence is 'supposed'. I received a text from Claude at 10:26am stating the flight was on a 45 minute delay. Okay.... At 10:56am I receive another text that they added a hour to that delay. Not good. This trip is timed to maximize meeting time with Legislators. At 11:27am I received the third text stating another delay and they would now miss their first scheduled meeting. At 12:22pm I received the fourth text stating the time to depart was now 2:00pm. Finally, at 1:52pm I received a text stating he had boarded the plane. They did miss the first meeting but made it to the second meeting. 

Later I received this picture to let me know dinner was a thumbs up experience. Crab cakes in Maryland are so very, very, very good. Claude let me know this main course was preceded by a cup of shell fish bisque that he pronounced excellent. He also explained that there was a mechanical problem in St. Louis that delayed the crew needed to fly the plane he was on. Such is the nature of flying.

Wednesday, May 16th the KLC delegation ate breakfast and Claude found these signs on the wall which he found interesting and texted them to me. 

At 9:30am I received a call from the Ward Executive Secretary asking me to meet with our Bishop that evening at 6:30pm. I sent Claude a text telling him what was going on. He responded that there was some talk about a change of callings for me. I have been teaching Institute for several years. Sure enough, they wanted me to play the organ for Sacrament meeting again. I would be released at some point in the near future from teaching Institute. I was happy about this opportunity. I love playing the organ. Not the best at it but I do really enjoy it. I would begin this new calling on June 10th. I popped Claude a text to tell him what the interview was about. 

Claude told me they had dinner that night at Charlie Palmer Steakhouse. Someone had a pedometer that day and they walked over five miles or 14,000 steps. I do believe they all met their goal and dinner at a steak house would not be a weight problem issue. They probably needed the nourishment for one more day of walking.

Thursday, May 17th, I awoke to fog on our hill. Sent these picture to Claude so he would know what he was missing.

Then I went to Georgetown to visit with Papa. It was a nice day so I put him in my car and we headed to Sonic. Our Sonic has an indoor place to eat with an enclosed patio in front of that. It would offer a place in the shade to sit on a hot day. I got Papa to a place to sit and went in and got us something to drink while we sat outside for a bit. This little bird hopped right up on the ledge and talked to Papa. Papa would talk back and the bird would chirp back at him. So cute.  

Claude got home Thursday afternoon. The race was on to get ready for the next trip the next day. I took the laundry and started getting his clothes ready to go. Claude took to the hill and started to cut the grass. Whew! The things we must do to relax and have fun. 

We made it through this first leg of our traveling adventures just fine. A few interesting things but a good trip for Claude and time for me to get lots of stuff ready for our big trip.

Bulletin Board...

Papa received pictures and cards for his 90th birthday from his family. I purchased a bulletin board at Walmart and things to hang it with in his room. Spent Monday, May 14th putting the bulletin board together. It truly brightens his room and harks to his wall of family pictures he had in his apartment.