Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen...I am in love! Of all the places we have lived and visited, Copenhagen ranks right up there at the top! Don't worry, it is too cold there to convince Tony to ever make a permanent move! Why do I love it? Mainly I love it for the lifestyle. Bicycles, trains or your feet will get you anywhere you need to go! No need for me to get behind the wheel! The other night at dinner, the General Manager of the Copenhagen FLUOR office was asked, "What do you do in the winter when it is cold?" She answered, "The same thing we do in the summer." It is true. I have seen it. People walk, jog, ride bikes and SWIM!

Me bundled up in front of the swimming platform while they swim in their swimsuits or perhaps their birthday suit. (I refrained from those photos.)

The first time we were in Copenhagen was in November. Tony was off at site and I had planned to just hang around the hotel and read. The sun came out, though, and the day looked too beautiful to stay inside. I bundled up, laced up my shoes, turned on my maps...and got lost! (Just me, isn't it?) Only this time it was a wonderful adventure through Kastellet, Copenhagen's military fort. Apparently the Kastellet is free to visit, but I was a little worried at the time as I was the only one in the area besides the guys in camouflage holding guns. 

He seemed friendly!

This beautiful church greeted me as I exited the gates!

The entire area was absolutely stunning!

Fast forward to when we were there for work last week. I laced up my shoes again and hit the streets. What I have found is that if you bundle up enough and keep moving, the cold isn't so bad! I made my way back to the park near the Kastellet to see The Little Mermaid statue. I didn't even know she was there on my last visit. 

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale, 

she was donated to the city in 1913.

From there, I walked over to the Amalienborg Palace (Danish Royal Residences). 

I didn't get a good picture of the entire area, 

but here you can see the Danish flag flying meaning one of the Royals was at home!

Just outside of that area is the Marble Church. Funny enough, it isn't made out of marble. Construction began in 1749, but there were many bumps along the way. The church finally opened its doors in 1894. I guess marble had gotten expensive after the 145 year pause, so they switched it out for limestone.

I eventually made my way to Nyhavn. 

Hans Christian Andersen lived and wrote 

several of his fairytales in this area.

The other thing I love about Copenhagen is that one of my first and dearest friends from our Australia days lives about 20 minutes outside of the city. She has been my wonderful tour guide these last two visits! This time she took me on a boat tour.  It was a bit dreary this day, so my photos didn't turn out great, but I did get a few. 

The Royal Danish Opera House

Our tour guide said the top is the size of three football fields.

I don't know what they were filming, 

but I do know it was freezing!

I don't know how the boat captain managed going under 

this bridge without scraping the sides!

After our boat tour, Joy took me to some places around town that I would have never found on my own. She also introduced me to some traditional Danish food.

Fastelavn is their equivalent to Mardi Gras...

only it sounds much more family friendly. 

The fastelavnsbolle is a bun filled with cream or jelly. 

You can only find them this time of year around Fastelavn.

This translated to a fish meatball and a fish filet. 

Not quite my favorite, but I had to try it!

Joy and Me

Back to the lifestyle...

the market area where we ate had the most 

amazing looking fruits, vegetables and flowers!

On our last day, Tony took me in to see his office. He may have made a mistake. On super cold days, I could just go up there and people watch!

The FLUOR office is up on one of those floors.

View of the public swimming platform.

Tony tested it out back in October. I would 

give a lot of money for those photos!

They swim day or night, with or without a swimsuit! 

Remember, y'all, it is literally freezing! I read that the

warmest the water gets is around 64F...in AUGUST!

It is possible that Tony may find me in his office watching the sunset on future visits!

Nah....they don't serve beer.

Well, maybe I will try to convince Tony to move here.

I'll take one of those apartments, please!

Hamburg, Germany

 Last week, Tony had work in Hamburg, Germany. Of course I joined him! When Tony set off for work that first morning, I had no real plan, but a quick search while at breakfast led me to something called St. Pauli Bunker. I laced up my shoes, turned on my maps and hit the streets. Honestly, I could just walk around cities in Europe and take in the architecture. I have a dozen pictures of buildings in Hamburg because I thought they were so pretty. I have no idea of their use! Well, except for the Rathaus...

                    

I found it funny that the name of their 

town hall looks a lot like "rat house"

After a few wrong turns (am I the only one capable of getting lost while using Maps?!), I reached St. Pauli Bunker...

A VERY brief description behind the St. Pauli Bunker:

It was built in 1942 as one of two flak towers in Hamburg to serve as anti aircraft defense and a shelter. It contained a hospital, stored ammunition and sheltered up to 30,000 Hamburg civilians, soldiers and government leaders. Interestingly enough, it was built with the help of about 2,400 "forced laborers" from areas of Europe occupied by Germany. Because of fuel shortage, these workers loaded heavy building supplies on to trucks and pushed them by hand to the construction site! After completion of the bunker, were they given use of the shelter? Nope!

They wanted to demolish all of the flak towers after the war. This one, though, was too massive and thick of concrete that they feared it would be too destructive to the surrounding areas if torn down. It served many purposes after the war, but just this past July, they opened a green space and five additional floors that were built on top of the existing bunker. There are restaurants and a hotel occupying these floors. 

Back to my walk.....

Now remember, I just did a quick search at breakfast. I had no idea I would be climbing to the top of this structure. I just fell in line with the rest of the folks. The stairs wrapped around the side of the structure and at one point I realized how high I had gotten and could see below on both sides of the walkway. My heart started racing (I have a major fear of falling), my head got light and my ears started ringing. I took a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other until I finally reached the top....

I have to say that the views were amazing!

                    And I am certain the sunsets would be spectacular!

This area is underneath the hotel and restaurants.

The center area was the control center for the towers.

The stairs wrapped around AND AROUND the structure

Pretty sure this is the spot that I panicked...

While the St. Pauli Bunker was a cool experience, I prefer the architecture of the other random buildings I came across on my walk...

And anything on the water....

It was a quick, but wonderful trip!  Next stop....Copenhagen

London: January 2025

One of the perks of moving to Europe is that I knew it would include lots of travel. Some of the places I have seen and some will be new. Last week, Tony needed to travel to the Fluor office just outside of London. It would be a quick trip, but one I didn’t want to pass up! 

Where we stayed:

All of the hotels next to the office were full, so they put us at The Elvetham Hotel. The estate was established in 800AD, but the building that now holds the hotel was built much later…in 1862. While I am sure it has been remodeled many times, it still had creaks, quirks and lots of portraits with eyes that fallowed you across the room. I found my self intrigued with the history of the property. It is where Henry VIII met his future wife, Jane Seymour. Queen Elizabeth I also planted an Oak Tree there that still remains. The name “Elvetham” is formed from two Saxon words meaning “spirit dwelling”. While it was lovely, I think I will opt for a different spot on our next visit.

What I did:

While Tony was hard at work, I had a fantastic catch up with my first friend from the Philippines, Jane. I had been to London two years prior and done many of the touristy things, so wanted to do something different. Jane did not disappoint! She picked me up and gave me a “roadside” tour as we made our way to Windsor. There we saw the quaint town of Windsor, Windsor Castle and the Long Walk. Oh, and I may have popped in to a few shops to buy some things I can’t seem to get my hands on in Gliwice. I was able to visit Jane’s beautiful home where we had dinner with Angus (hubby) and Megan (daughter). It was the most amazing day!

And as always, I took loads of photos…..

                                           The Elvetham Hotel                                             

Oak Tree planted by Queen Elizabeth I

Sunrise View 

But those eyes...

The Renovations did not include an elevator. 

To get to our room, we went up stairs, down 

stairs, down hallways and around corners. It 

was quite a maze! And 66 stairs to be exact!

Windsor Castle

                                      Looking out from Windsor Castle along The Long Walk

And most importantly my visit with Jane!

Here we are having lunch at The Ivy.

Next Stop....Hamburg

Sunset...It has been too long!

 It has been over a year since the Philippines went under quarantine. There have been different levels of quarantine, but mostly they are all the same: virtual school, masks/shields, children under 18 and adults over 65 are not supposed to go out, restrictions on alcohol and limited shopping. Last weekend, though, we got a special treat. The manager of one of our favorite resorts messaged us to say we are allowed to visit, we just needed a PCR test. October of 2019 was the last time Ellis put his feet in the sand. His excitement erased all the worry I had about traveling over here. And what a wonderful weekend we had together! I want to hold on to these memories forever!

The name of the resort is appropriately named "Sunset".

Can you hear his laughter? First time in the waves since 2019.

We played many games over the weekend, but this may have been Ellis's sweetest victory. He beat Tony at "D-Ball". 

Just the three of us....almost literally. Only 8 others there with us this weekend. 

Hope to visit again soon!

 Ever feel God tapping on your shoulder? Last year, my Bible app got stuck on Philippians 4:6. It was more like a knock upside the head than a tap on the shoulder when the verse finally kicked in. I don’t know what it is about my Bible app, but it got stuck again this year on a different verse. The verse this year was Joshua 1:9 (Remember I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.) For several days, when I opened my app, this is what I read. I felt the tap this time and I snickered, “I hear ya this time.” 

So when the Philippines closed their borders for anyone traveling from the United States until January 15th, I remembered to be strong and brave. Let’s be honest, that wasn’t too hard. We would get extra time with Hannah Grace. When the Philippines extended the closing until February 1st, I wanted to worry about Ellis’s school and Tony’s work, but I took a deep breath and said, “Be strong and brave.” Even when I was diagnosed with Covid on January 25th, I turned to that verse. But when Tony and Ellis drove away on February 4th to catch their flight to Manila, I had to hold on to those words like my life depended on it. I couldn’t hug them and that about did me in. I could only wave good-bye from the balcony. I hadn’t spent time with them since January 25th and if I am honest I can’t be sure when I will see them again. I have a flight for the middle of March and, if it is God’s time, I will be on it to see my boys. In the Fall, I ended up being away from them for 4 months. It wasn’t ideal, but we managed and we will manage this again. So, whether it is one month or 4, I will continue to be strong and brave. 

I pray that you will hear the little whispers from God. It is amazing what a difference those whispers (or knocks on the head) have made in my life!  I am hoping, though, next year my app gets stuck on something a little more uplifting like 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (Rejoice Always!). I mean, can’t we all use a little rejoicing?!

Rejoicing over memories made from a fabulous trip to Highlands in January as a family of four!