A day in Copenhagen Denmark!

Spent a day exploring in Copenhagen, Denmark.  What a treat. Loved the architecture.

 

It was amazing how many people use bicycles as transportation.  Come to think of it-no one looked overly fat here! ...hmmm...

 

Looks like a covered Big Wheel!

 

The city had an open air concept, many cafes and beer gardens and it sure was a

beautiful day for them!

 

I couldn't believe that this bakery had a line and a number system to get in and make purchases!

 

This could be a few of the reasons...

 

This place was also an open area just off the sidewalk... YUM!

 

Copenhagen was busy....MANY shoppers, MANY walkers, MANY bikers, MANY explorers.... My sister-n-law (SIL), and I were two of them.  We knew that her parents (my in-laws) and 6 of our other friends were also somewhere in Copenhagen enjoying the sights.  When this sight seeing bus rode by, I said to my SIL, I'll bet your Mom is on that bus!  My SIL looked, paused, and said, SHE IS! Of course I felt the immediate need to chase down the bus...which I did...and was able to knock on the window and wave to our family!  Can you say needle in a haystack?

 

One of the things I loved about many of the places we visited in Europe, was the flower markets.  Beautiful, seasonal flowers were on sale everywhere. 

You could buy anything from a stem to a bouquet.  Gorgeous!

 

We asked a local for a recommendation on eats and ended up here at Cock's (cocktails) and Cows.

We ordered and shared the Illegal and the Marco Polo.

Excellent choice, locals!

 

 

Canals and waterway transportation.

 

Have you seen enough bikes yet?

 

Post Office.

 

I don't know yet what these trees are or if they look like that year round. 

We saw some of them in Sweden too.

This was the Central Station for trains.

Looks like people ride their bikes here and then catch a train to work.  A woman that we spoke to on the train confirmed with us that Americans work a 5-day work week.  She let us know (thanks lady) that Denmark's norm was so work 3 days a week and use the other for their mental health.

Nice...

The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood, St. Petersberg, Russia

The following was copied from Saint-Petersberg.com This marvelous Russian-style church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881. After assuming power in 1855 in the wake of Russia’s disastrous defeat in the Crimean war against Britain, France and Turkey, Alexander II initiated a number of reforms. In 1861 he freed the Russian serfs (peasants, who were almost enslaved to their owners) from their ties to their masters and undertook a rigorous program of military, judicial and urban reforms, never before attempted in Russia. However, during the second half of his reign Alexander II grew wary of the dangers of his system of reforms, having only barely survived a series of attempts on his life, including an explosion in the Winter Palace and the derailment of a train. Alexander II was finally assassinated in 1881 by a group of revolutionaries, who threw a bomb at his royal carriage. The decision was taken to build a church on the spot where the Emperor was mortally wounded. The church was built between 1883 and 1907 and was officially called the Resurrection of Christ Church (a.k.a. The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood ). The construction of the church was almost entirely funded by the Imperial family and thousands of private donators. Both the interior and exterior of the church is decorated with incredibly detailed mosaics, designed and created by the most prominent Russian artists of the day (V.M. Vasnetsov, M.V. Nesterov and M.A. Vrubel). Interestingly, despite the church’s very obviously Russian aspect, its principle architect, A. Parland, was not even Russian by birth. The church was closed for services in the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks went on an offensive against religion and destroyed churches all over the country. It remained closed and under restoration for over 30 years and was finally re-opened in 1997 in all its dazzling former glory. The view of the church from Nevsky Prospekt is absolutely breathtaking.

 

After 'falling in love' with St. Basil's Cathedral in 2006, I couldn't wait to see this Cathedral in St. Petersberg.  The different colors and textures to the onion bulb style domes are so beautiful to me!

I don't think there was one centimeter inside the church that wasn't decorated.  Each and every picture in the cathedral was a mosaic!

 

 

So many angles....so little time...