Yesterday was Day 16 of the cruise, and we were docked in Copenhagen! The chaplain on board being unorthodox in his doctrine, I left the ship earlyish (for me) to see about finding a church service nearby. The port guide, Barbara, was on the pier still and she told me about an Anglican church, a small blue building, "just past those masts" with the only English-language service in the city, a choral eucharist at 10:30 a.m. With a spring in my step I set off briskly, to become bemused when there came a split in the sidewalk at the end of the pier. Which way to go? There was a tall, elaborate stone spire visible through the trees, but that didn't fit the description given. Suffice it to say I guessed wrong, and by the time I had gone a good way in the wrong direction and curved back, it was to discover the Anglican church, St. Alban's, was indeed the one with the tall spire, and it's not especially small, and certainly not blue.
Still, I made it with half an hour to spare, so sat on the wooden pew - with a very thin cushion - unti it began. As is the case with so many denominations these days, this church was clearly dependent upon females, although the pastor was a man (who's English, and only been there a year), and I saw another one helping. There was a female priest(ess) who read the gospel and performed the eucharistic rite; the deacon was female, the choir of six or seven was composed solely of women, two women collected the offering, etc. The selection of music was a joy, including a hymn based on Psalms 42 and 43. I left when communion began as my tour began at 12:30 and the meeting time was fifteen minutes prior to that and it was almost 11:30. By the time I arrived back at the pier, my shins were hurting and my right foot wasn't fond of me, either, but I changed clothes, grabbed what I needed, and rushed to the Rembrandt Lounge. By coming in and heading straight up to where the excursion people were, I managed to be among the first to get my bus assignment, though others had been sitting and waiting a good while.
Cool. It's amazing how fast some of the elderly can be, however, and how utterly determined to be first on the bus. Several got past me somehow on the stairs and once we exited the ship. I still snagged the exact seat I wanted, one immediately behind the rear door, so that worked.
Guess what was one of the first sights to see? Right. The area where St. Alban's was, including the church itself. It was only a drive-by, but isn't that the way? It was pleasing to hear a description of the large statue in front of it (actually, it isn't attached to the church, merely in close proximity), a mythological woman who turned her sons into bulls so she could plow a large plot of land and keep it. Though she turned right around and threw it into the sea, for some reason. Odd story, to be truthful. Those mythological people were a weird bunch.
We were taken to see the palace buildings that are the home of the royal family, and the parliament, and myriad other places. Bikes all over the place! The guide, Michael, said bikes are referred to as "silent killers" in Copenhagen, and to be very watchful. BTW, he was an utter delight of a tour guide, who took wonderful care of his guests, carefully counting us on the bus, helping those with walkers, taking note of where we were and herding the stragglers, plus being knowledgable about the history of Denmark and the various landmarks.
The palace:
The above is where the queen lives. Below is the HQ of Denmark's environmental agency, which has a map of Europe in flowers on the front!
Above is a spire made of twisted dragon tails. IIRC, it's a church. Terrible how I forget everything almost immediately! ("Did you have a wonderful time on your cruise, Anne?" "Pretty sure. Can't remember it now.")
The excursion included a visit to Tivoli Gardens, which was absolutely nothing like I'd expected. Frankly, I'd no notion it was the oldest amusement park in the world, and it has rides like Six Flags. It has a million light bulbs, and would be treat at night! Oh well, can't have everything, can one? Hadn't had time for lunch, so bought a pepperoni bruschetta, and later an ice cream bar. Here's a neat thing! Due to the Little Mermaid statue being in Shanghai, China for some world exposition until November, the family of the statue's sculptor generously lent what's called "The Little Mermaid's Little Sister", a second statue of her sculpted in bronze, and it's in the Tivoli Gardens. As soon as the original returns home, the little sister will return to her home. It's never been displayed before, so I feel fortunate to have been able to be here for the six months it's available to be seen. I hope I'll return some day to Copenhagen and will be able to see TLM in its rightful place in the harbor, so will have seen both.
Last night Mom and I - she had gone on a five hour tour of the five castles of Zealand - were very tired indeed, so skipped the formal dinner and ate in the lido restaurant, then rested in the cabin, except at 7:15 I went to have another 50 minute massage. Bliss! Complete bliss. That, plus the time going back an hour for a change, instead of forward, and today being a sea day, means we should be in good shape for Dover tomorrow. I'm going on an eight hour "London Panorama" excursion, while Mom's going to see another castle, IIRC.
Today the group known as "Angels64"...that's our table at dinner....met for lunch in the dining room, as the pastry chef, James, had finally broken down to the pleading of Kathy, I think it was, and admitted he had a pumpkin pie in the freezer. Therefore, our table was offered a dessert no one else had. Mind, I chose another dessert, as I don't care for pumpkin pie, but it was a terribly kind thing of him to do for us. One of the "angels" is leaving tomorrow, which makes us so sad! About 300 passengers are getting off the ship in Dover, being replaced by another 300 for the Dover-Boston leg of the cruise.
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