Sweden & Denmark

Malmö Sweden & Copenhagen Denmark:  3-6 November 2016

Nyhavn Harbor, Copenhagen, Denmark

"It's about the journey, not the destination"

Yes and no... On any given weekend this semester, I would argue that it's much more about the destination than the hours upon hours spent sitting on trains. This weekend, was a bit more about the journey, than others because it took so long to get to where we were going! From our apartment in Vienna to our hotel in Malmö Sweden it took us over 20 hours to get there.

You'll notice Carli packed a little heavier this time around. That is because she did not come back to Vienna with me. Instead, she left from Copenhagen and flew to Turku, Finland to visit with her exchange student Anette.

Our 12 hour night train left Vienna at 8:47 PM and brought us all the way to Hamburg, Germany where we had an hour to kill before boarding our train to Copenhagen.

It was nice to stretch our legs and walk around the station for a while.

I wondered exactly what rout the train would take to get to Copenhagen. If you look at a map, it doesn't seem very easy to get there. The question was answered when our train drove right onto a boat in Puttgarden, Germany and set out across the Baltic Sea. We landed in Rødby, Denmark.

Our ship looked exactly like the one behind Carli in this picture. While crossing, which took an hour or so, we had to get off the train and were able to walk around the ferry where they had restaurants, shops, and lounges.

Our first view of Denmark! One of the reasons we wanted to come to Denmark, is because of Carli's genealogy. Carli's Great Great grandfather was a convert to the church in Copenhagen, and we wanted to see where he grew up.

Train on a boat!

Malmo, Sweden

When we got to Copenhagen, it was already 2:22 pm on Friday. Just about 18 hours after departing from Vienna. When booking out hotel, I found hotels in Malmö Sweden were much cheaper than they were in Copenhagen, so I booked us one there, and we went there first thing on Friday afternoon. It was already dark when we arrived.

We dropped off our bags at the hotel and set out to enjoy the city for the evening with a goal to find real Swedish Meatballs!

We found a restaurant and Carli got a steak, while I got Swedish Meatballs. Just like IKEA!.. Just kidding. They were very good.

Since We had to use the Swedish Kronor, we had no idea what things cost and were happily blind to how much our meal probably cost us.

København, Denmark

Our day in Copenhagen started out clear, dry and not too cold. We knew it was going to rain, so we went straight to Nyhavn harbor which was at the top of our list.

On the way to the harbor, we passed a Guinness world record museum, and this guy. I didn't feel as tall next to him. Actually, I didn't feel as tall the entire weekend because Danish people are a very tall people.

Nyhavn Harbor: 

We made it to the harbor and took lots and lots of pictures before the rain started.

When we were done at the harbor, we made our way through town to the Little Mermade statue.

On the way we walked through the the area with the parliament, and other governmental buildings just in time to see the changing of the guards ceremony.

Just a Danish girl eating a Danish Danish in Denmark. It was the best Danish I've ever eaten!

It rained the hardest, and was super windy during our 30 minute walk to the little mermaid and we got pretty soaked on one side. 

We got there, snapped this picture and turned right around to find a warm place to sit where I enjoyed another Danish danish with my Danish girl. 

 Church of Our Lady: Original Christus Statue

The Christus statue is particularly familiar to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's safe to say that most of them don't know that the copy of this statue sitting in the visitors center in Salt Lake City, or on the grounds of the Paris, France temple are not originals.

When we got to the Church of our Lady, it was already well into the afternoon, and our feet were soaked through, and we were cold and wet. It was nice to just sit inside the church. This church was different than others you'll find around Europe. It was very white, well lit, and clean. 

We wandered the streets for a couple more hours and made our way back to our hotel in Malmö.

Come Sunday morning, we located a Church building near the Copenhagen airport so that Carli could catch her flight right afterwards. We had everything timed out perfectly, and walked up to the church to find out that it was Stake conference at the stake center clear on the other side of Copenhagen. So... we tried.

Carli was off to Turku, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia to spend five days with Anette, and I was headed back to Vienna for classes. This was the first time Carli and I were apart since we got Married! I guess Finland and Estonia are pretty good reasons.