In Europe! First stop--Copenhagen.

Boardwalks are serious stuff here.

After a lovely flight on Scandinavian airlines, which included complimentary cocktails and snacks, wine with a three-course dinner, warm washcloths for when we woke up, and hearty breakfast sandwiches, we arrived in Copenhagen at 7am local time yesterday and spent a lovely morning there.  Everyone was welcoming (especially the man at the tourist section of the airport), friendly, and thankfully did not expect us to know Danish!  It sounded like a mix between English and German, which led us to confusion because we thought we really ought to know what they were saying.

Copenhagen has a metro system par excellence, which left right from the airport and took us to the city center, where we saw Kongens Nytorv, the public square, during rush hour.  The rush hour there included more bikes than cars, and it was truly a sight to watch the same look people in America have on their faces during heavy traffic on people riding bicycles.  The weather was gorgeous--60F and sunny with a pleasant breeze--so we walked through Nyhaven (New Haven), an old wharf that took us along an inlet of the Baltic Sea.  From there, we saw the opera house and then walked through the Amalienborg Castle square (the statue in the middle of the square was under repair), where lots of royal guards were guarding something or someone.  We'd like to think we were in the presence of royalty.  We walked up to the Marble Church from there (also under repair).  Many of the statues were shrouded with protective fabric for the renovation project, making them look rather monk-like.

Must everything be under repair?

We stopped at a grocery store because how could I possibly ever go anywhere without seeing what the people's food supply is like?  We walked to a nearby sculpture park and ate a Kinder MaxiKing (from the grocery store), which I must say rivaled a Magnum Bar as the best quality ice cream bar around.  We also bought some raisin- and apple-filled crisps, which were yummy.

Could there be a more fitting sculpture to neighbor an
Episcopal Church?

We walked from there to the big military barracks, which neighbored St. Alban's (under repair), the only Episcopal Church in Denmark.  We then saw the "must-see" of Copenhagen--the Little Mermaid Statue (not under repair).  It was worth the walk up there to see it and all the tourists photographing it.

We ate a traditional Danish lunch at the Amadeus café.  Aaron had their national sandwich, called Smoorebrod, a open-face sandwich with herring, a sour cream and dill spread, red onions, lettuce, and tomato on rye bread.  I had what seems to be the only food that Danes think vegetarians eat--tomatoes and cucumber!  I had a salad with tomatoes and cucumber on the Scandinavian Airlines flight for dinner; they also served me a tomato and cucumber sandwich for breakfast.  For lunch it was a tomato and mozzarella sandwich with a side of--you guessed it--cucumbers!  It's a good think I love both.  The sandwich was extra fun because it also included pesto, black olives, red onions, lettuce, and pickled jalapenos.

What was the most fitting thing to do to end our time there?  Well, when does anyone hear a word relating to Copenhagen's country outside of "something's rotten in the state of Denmark"?  At the bakery of course!  We went to a pastry shop and purchased a raspberry Danish, and I was pleased to discover that it was a truly delicious pastry, much more like a crisp croissant filled with fresh raspberry jam and just a spot of frosting than the heavy ones in the States.

This was definitely a good way to spend an 8-hour layover.

On our way

Aaron and I arrived in Washington yesterday with the gracious chauffeuring by my mother.  My parents took us to dinner to the excellent Willow restaurant where a Conneaut Cocktail was on the menu.  They drove home to Beaver today with no ill effects from the hurricane, and then we ran some errands with Laura and my brother while catching up on the last month of everyone's lives.  We stayed the night with my brother and his roommate Sam, with whom Aaron, Laura, and I had an excellent feast of homemade Indian food this evening.

Tomorrow we hope to have lunch with David, and then Laura is taking us to the airport for our sendoff to Denmark!  We have weighed and reweighed our bags and think they are successfully under the limits!  (We are hoping to add a can of pumpkin for a pie at Thanksgiving if there is some wiggle room at check-in.  Well, I am hoping that; Aaron does not eat orange foods with hard outer coverings.  Oranges are fine, but no melons, squashes, sweet potatoes, etc.)  We'll spend the day in Copenhagen before heading to Paris and from there to Rennes, where we will begin to learn what life is like there.  Thanks to all for the well wishes!

We're married!

Aaron and I had a beautiful wedding in Meadville and Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania on July 16, 2011.  The Reverend David Frazelle from Chapel of the Cross in North Carolina was our officiant, and we had many family and friends involved in the ceremony, including The Reverend Carl Neely, my childhood priest.  We were so happy with how everything turned out and how many people were able to attend.

You can see pictures of our day here from the amazing Jessica Lewis at the links below.  We'll also post some more pictures here eventually.




Our wedding pictures are here: http://livebeautiful.smugmug.com/Weddings/Aaron-and-Lisa-Wedding/18267429_nzkTgQ#1405346100_jw98J9Q

Our engagement pictures are here: http://livebeautiful.smugmug.com/Weddings/Engagement-Sessions/AaronandLisa/17709542_LXvvKK#1351399311_JpGvW75