KØPENHAVN - Part 1
April 27, 2009: Sybille and I drove 45 minutes north to the city of Rostock on the Baltic Sea. She dropped me off at the ferry yard where I bought a ticket and exchanged my euros to Kronas.
I said my farewells to Sybille and then boarded the ferry...
I went to the back deck of the ship where I watched all the big semi-trailers load onto the ferry.
...and then we were off, leaving Germany behind....
We passed the beaches of Warnemünde...
and finally, the lighthouse...
But where was I going anyway?
I was on my way to the land of Denmark, a new country for me! The ferry took me the stretch from Rostock to Gedser...
I enjoyed the sun on the deck...
Soon, in the distance one could see great windfarms standing in the sea, creating clean energy, and killing shorebirds...
And before long, the ship approached the southernmost tip of Denmark, the town of Gedser....
It docked...
The mighty ferry boat lifted it's nose and let the trucks out...
Then I boarded a nice little Danish train and was on my way to Copenhagen, passing through the beautiful Danish countryside...
The train made several stops along the way, of course, but in the town of Nykøbing Falster, they announced that the train would not disembark for another 40 minutes. That's too much time to sit and waste on a train when there's a new and beautiful city on the other side of the window. So I trustingly left my bags on the train and went out to explore Nykøbing (while keeping a close eye on my watch)...
I'm happy to report that Nykøbing is a very nice town.
The Danes love their colorful houses...
There was a nice walking street with interesting architecture and lazy cafes...
A typical old brick church...
Classic European squares...
I got back to the train with plenty of time to spare and soon I was on my way again.
The train crossed from the island of Falster to the island of Zealand over the Storstrøm Bridge...
And before I knew it, I had arrived in Copenhagen!
I was met in the train station by my great aunt and uncle Don & Carolyn Jepson who are serving as missionaries in Copenhagen at the moment. They direct the Institute Center for young single adults in the Church. Here I am with them and their "YSA's"...
They were very nice to let me stay in their apartment on an air mattress in the living room. The location couldn't have been better, right in the middle of town. All the major sights were within walking-distance.
So after putting my stuff down in the apartment and catching up a bit with Elder & Sister Jepson, I went off into the city to explore the Danish capital.
I passed first by the Rådhusplads, one of the main squares, featuring the city hall...
I took a stroll down the main pedestrian street, the "Strøget"...
The city moved with energy greased by a kaleidoscope of languages from both tourists and immigrants. 7-11's were found on every corner and an occasional Viking gracing a pigeon-packed square...
The Strøget led me to the old harbor area of Nyhavn (which actually means "New Harbor").
Those colorful Danish houses were at it again...
From Nyhavn I jumped aboard a canal boat tour and enjoyed a tour of the old city from the water. We left the harbor and entered the main waterway of Copenhagen where the new opera house sat perched on the waters...
A group of kids on a field trip were among my fellow passengers providing fodder for some more people shot practice...
This kid thought he was pretty cool...
The tour took us passed some very fancy shmancy aparments built right on the water...
We skirted the edges of an island that was taken over by hippies a few decades ago, and is still inhabited by some fringe elements of Copenhagen society...
Interesting houses though...
We passed old sailing ships...
And Royal battleships...
Below on the right is an old 18th century industrial crane, then the battleship, then some sort of Royal Naval building...
Of course the boat had to pass by one of the most over-rated sites in all of Europe...
Yeah, I'm talking to you, Little Mermaid...
You've gotta love the royal "crown steeple"....
We went along some of the old canalways...
...catching site of a line of Sri Lankan demonstrators, protesting the violence of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka...
My boat tour came to an end and I hopped on a bus that was somewhat slowed on its route by the Sri Lankans with baby coffins...
I rode the bus a bit away from the old town in order to visit one site that isn't on the tourist maps. When I saw this store, I knew I was getting close...
And then I found it, the Copenhagen Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's not very large and sits on a small but well-kept square in a quiet neighborhood...
Right down the street from the temple is the Institute Center for the Young Single Adults where Elder & Sister Jepson spend much of their time.
I found my way up to the top floor of this building where the Center could be found. It was a happening place and quite large compared to Munich's Center. These Centers were started several years ago and can be found in many of the major European cities where there is a large LDS population. They are basically places where YSA's can come and hang out, socialize, have activities, and where the weekly Church Education System Institute classes are held each week.
There was a large social/game area...
A nice computer room...
A kitchen...
And two classrooms...
Because it was Monday night I was able to be a part of Family Home Evening. There were around forty YSA's there (by contrast, tonight in Munich we had a cozy group of 8) and we had a short lesson, then played some games, and had treats. It was fun to meet people there. One thing about Denmark is that everyone speaks English really well. So even though the lesson was in Danish, there weren't too many problems communicating otherwise. (As a side note, Danish seems to be a little bit closer to German than English, but it was still very much a foreign language. It sounded a bit like Chinese to my ears. Seriously!)
After visiting the center I headed back into town to get some evening shots along the canals. I was only able to snap a few before a storm came in and I got soaking wet as I high-tailed it back to the apartment...
The Royal Theater...
Nyhavn by night...
I got home wet and tired, and slept like a baby on that air mattress after such a fun long day.
...
6 Deep thoughts:
Very fun. I like the colorful buildings. It is also interesting to hear what the Church is doing for YSAs.
Wow! I am so excited!
Beautiful pictures, as always! I'm amazed how bright all the colors are.
Nate, you are just so lucky! You will have seen so much of the world by the time you are 30. Crazy! The great thing is that you will have some awesome stories to tell your kids someday.
Nate, it was awesome meeting you at FHE the other night. I feel the same about you -- there was magic the moment I saw you. I hope we can stay close forever.
I hope you gave Uncle Don and Aunt Carolyn your blog address so they can enjoy the pictures you took. As always, you amaze me with your photography. When we went to the Copenhagen Temple, I never did get a full view of it. You must have a wide angle lens or you are simply just a better photographer than I am. Thanks for sharing!
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