Kopenhagen

Dan and I headed north from Kopenhagen Monday morning to Helsingor.  When we arrived it was rather overcast.

Then after a quick trip to Sweden and back, it was a gorgeous day.  This is Kronburg Castle, the setting of Hamlet.

 We took a ferry to Helsingborg and enjoyed the sights there.  

Climbed up to the tower of the Helsingborg Castle.

Bought some expensive chocolates for the kids (cola, corn nut and caramel--should be interesting) and then headed back to the Kronburg Castle in Denmark.

With the castle right on the coast, the winds created the most beautiful waving grasses.  You'll just have to feel the breeze and imagine the waves :)

We took the train back to Kopenhagen and toured around, visiting as many of the gardens and parks we could find.  Fredericksburg Castle is in the far background.

Bikers were everywhere, must like the Netherlands.  The kids' carts on the fronts of the bikes were the best.  Kids as old as 7 or 8 would be riding up front, sometimes 2 or 3 with a blanket or two on their lap.

We found the Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale.  She looks a bit chilly but didn't seem to mind the breeze.

Showing his kids the little mermaid.

A view of the Church of Our Savior's Tower from the water taxi.  You can walk up the outside of the steeple but it wasn't open when we were in the neighborhood.

The Nyhaven Harbour from the water taxi.

The Kopenhagen Temple--there are lots of brick structures in Kopenhagen so the style fit in nicely, just not what I expected.  The temple was remodeled from a 1931 chapel dedicated by Elder Widstoe.  The temple was dedicated 2004.

Some of the flowers on the temple grounds.

The Church of Our Lady was our highlight, seeing the Christus statue made by Bertel Thorvaldsen.  We sat in the chapel so long that a woman finally came to talk to us and share more history of the statue and the other 12 statues of the Apostles.  We toured the crypt and more history in the back of the church thanks to this Lady's information.

The inside of the church is not as ornate as others but the statues are amazing.  I can't image anyone making just one of the beautiful statues, not to mention all of them, in one lifetime.

Each of the Apostles has something that is characteristic of himself.  Peter is carrying the keys of the kingdom. 

  John is writing his Gospel while beholding the heavenly light with an eagle at his side as a symbol of Saint John the Evangelist.

A walk through the botanical gardens, that was especially gorgeous in the fall, especially these rock gardens.

I have many pics of Danish chimneys (not as cute as the Swiss but they have their own merits), but I will just share two.  This was in the Botanical Gardens.

These are across from St. Peter's Church.  The orange is a very characteristic color throughout Denmark.  Red roofs and orange bricks which is also noticeable in the buildings around the Kronburg Castle (pics at the top).

The Danes are the happiest people in the world, must be the colors of their houses and chimneys :)