copenhagen on $7 (plus train fare)

i dropped the guys off at school this morning and took a mostly empty train to copenhagen.  which means i got four seats all to myself! and i read... and eavesdropped just a bit on the conversation of two canadians sitting across the aisle from me.  simply because it's been impossible to eavesdrop on anything for the past four months.  but mostly i enjoyed reading before 10 o'clock at night... 

i met juan's wife, katie, who has been in the country for about a week, just to explore around their neighborhood a bit and share a little of our common experience.

first, frederiks kirke (church. and i'm not forgetting the apostrophe.  danish doesn't use possessive apostrophes, unless the word ends in an 's').

under construction, inside and out.  this church was begun in the mid 1700s, but because of the architect's death and of budget cuts (sounds so modern!) it actually sat unfinished for 150 years!

 also, its dome span is bigger than that of the u.s. capitol dome (at least according to the dimensions stated on wikipedia).  the largest dome in scandinavia, but fourth in europe...

here's the inside of it...

then amalienborg palace... the queen's residence.  four mansions surrounding a courtyard.  they were originally built for four noble, but not royal, families, because the danes like co-housing... even in the mid-1700s (yes, same time period as frederik's church) and, guess what-- same architect! his name was nicolai eigtved.  he died with only two of the four mansions completed and his rival finished them up, but stuck to the plans.

frederick v...

the opera house.  apparently otherwise known as the toaster...

and then another church.  this one an episcopalian... so not a danish state-sponsored church.
the services are in english.

katie is a singer/musician so she asked the women volunteering at the door, about their choir.

"why? do you sing?" they asked.

"yes."

"oh, they would love to have you. love, love, love it.  come to the service this sunday at 10:30 and talk to the piano player.  he directs the choir.  they are always looking for more singers."

cool!

then, along the water...

to the little mermaid...

but, maybe even bigger than the little mermaid was the discovery of this pizza place down the street from their apartment... a lunch special-- one very large individual pizza for 35DKK.  about seven dollars.  and real pizza too.  i'm not sure how the danes do pizza, but maybe they don't.  maybe they reserve it for places like this.  it was delicious pizza and probably the cheapest lunch i've had here.

they also do sandwiches...

the end!