Nov. 23/24, 2019
Saturday/Sunday
We left Seattle Saturday about 1:30 pm
and landed in Amsterdam Sunday at about 8am. We then caught an hour and ½
flight to Munich Germany. Our luggage missed the connection from Amsterdam to
Munich and would be here on the next flight at 1:30. We got some food at a
restaurant in the airport then went and got our rental car and headed to the
hotel. The flight was easy. It seems like the more we do this the easier it
gets. We spent the rest of the evening at the spa in Erding. So relaxing! We
fly in the morning to Copenhagen Denmark. We stayed at the Moxy since it was
close to the airport.
Nov. 25, 2019
Monday
We headed to the airport at around
6:30. We ate breakfast there. Our flight was delayed an hour which was fine
since it’s our destination for the next three days anyway. We took the metro to
the train station. The Marriott was only about 4 blocks away, so we walked
there. We checked in then took a taxi into town. We walked around a bit then
ate dinner at the Hard Rock Café’. We went to bed about 10 pm we were tired
now!
Stephen
L. Richards, a member of the LDS Church Quorum of the Twelve, purchased a
replica of the Christus (he had been inspired by the original in the Church of
Our Lady on a visit in 1950) and presented it to the LDS Church as an anonymous
gift.
I thought Amsterdam had a lot of bikes. This places is crazy. They are everywhere. I really think there are more bikes then cars, and they are moving!
I think the Munich airport is so pretty at Christmas!
Train Station
Outside our hotel
Spa in the Marriott
Nov. 26, 2019
Tuesday
We
woke up early and went to the Executive Lounge for breakfast and were ready to
go by 7am. We are going to be tired tonight. It’s gloomy and gray out there
today.
Most
of the places we want to see don’t open until around 10 am so we just hung out
in the room after we ate for a while. We took a taxi over to the “Church of our
Lady” (Vor Frue Kirke) the Cathedral of Copenhagen, and the National Cathedral of Denmark.
The Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen’s Cathedral, has
been rebuilt four times. It was originally constructed in 1209 out of
limestone. It burned down and was reconstructed in 1316, then burned again in
1728. The third church was rebuilt in 1738 and was destroyed in 1807 by the
British during the bombardment of Copenhagen during the Napoleonic wars. The Pantheon
in Rome was a model for the fourth church, including the front pediment
supported by columns. The fourth church was under construction for 12
years, from 1817 to 1829. The outside is extremely simple and the inside also.
The statues outside the church are David and Moses.
What
makes the church are the statues of Christ and His 12 apostles by the Danish
sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. In 1896 a textbook proclaimed the statue of the
resurrected Christ, commonly referred to as the Christus, as the most perfect
statue of Christ in the world.
Even before
it was put on display at the Visitor’s Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake
City, the Church commissioned another replica to be shown at the New York
World’s Fair in 1964. The Church has since commissioned about 15 more replicas
and has placed them in visitor centers in Los Angeles, New Zealand, Hawaii,
Mexico, Japan, Iceland and other locations. Pictures of the Christus are
displayed in many LDS publications and web sites and for many people the
Christus has become “synonymous with Mormonism.”
The Church of Our Lady gave
permission to have copies made of all 12 apostles that are now in the Rome LDS
Italy Temple.
Copenhagen University
We then walked over to the
Rosenborg Castle. It was built by Christian IV and is now a royal museum. The
crown jewels are in the basement which is heavily guarded.
We walked over to the Opera House then
over to the Nyhavn (New Harbor) The bright colored houses are so colorful and
especially beautiful at Christmas! The fairy tale writer Hans Christian
Andersen lived in a couple of the houses. He wrote his first tale, “The Tinder
Box.” In 1835 while living at No. 20.
If you look close the trees are all ballerina slippers
Hotel d’Angleyerre Copenhagen’s oldest hotel
We walked over to Amalienborg Palace.
Amalienborg is famous for its Royal Guard. Every day you can
experience the changing of the guards, as they march from their barracks in by
Rosenborg Castle through the streets of Copenhagen and end up at Amalienborg,
where the changing of the guard takes place at 12:00 noon. Surrounding the
palace square with its statue of King Frederik V from 1771. Just outside the
Palace complex is the Marmorkirken/Frederikskirken or the Marble Church. We
stopped at a café’ called Carlsberg. It was very warm and cozy.
We got
some “Danish” pastries and hot chocolate. It was very “Hygge” Danish lifestyle
trend that loosely translates into a feeling of warmth and coziness. We walked
over to the train station just to make sure we know where we are going early in
the morning tomorrow to Hamburg, Germany.
Nov.27, 2019
Wednesday
We ate breakfast in the Executive lounge
than we walked over to the Assistens Cemetery. It was a huge park with graves
all over. Random and a bit different then I was hoping for but it was peaceful.
I love seeing all the statues in European cemeteries but this one didn’t have a
lot. Hans Christian Andersen is buried here. We headed over to the Glyptotek
Museum. The atrium is so beautiful.
When Carl Jacobsen opened the Glyptotek
in 1882, the idea was not solely to give the people of Copenhagen a new art
museum. It was also to provide them with an oasis, the center of which would be
the lush greenery of the Winter Garden: a place to give each visitor the chance
to unwind from the daily grind and make the visit a pleasure with no
obligations. It was nice to sit and enjoy and relax.
We walked over to Strøget square. It’s a
pedestrian street only that stretches nearly a half mile long through the heart
of Copenhagen. It’s full of luxury department stores and boutiques. They had a
Christmas Market there. It’s a very pretty area. We walked around a bit through
the Market and the surrounding area. There are a ton of churches and a lot of
steeples. They say Prague is the city of steeples but there are sure a ton
here!
We walked over to Tivoli and spent the
rest of the evening there. Tivoli Gardens was founded in 1843 and has
become a national treasure and an international attraction. Fairy tale writer
Hans Christian Andersen visited many times, as did Walt Disney who even found
the inspiration to his own Disney World here.
Part of Tivoli Gardens' secret
is that there is something for everyone. The scenery is beautiful with exotic
architecture, historic buildings and lush gardens.
At night, thousands of colored lights
create a fairy tale atmosphere that is completely unique. It’s amazingly
beautiful at Christmas time! We went into a pastry shop and had Aebleskivers
and hot chocolate.
This is so funny. I love this stupid ugly sweater idea!!
Nov. 28, 2019
Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving!
We got up early and took a taxi to the
train station. We boarded our train for a 4 hr trip to Hamburg, Germany. Two
hours into the trip we had to cross the Sea.
The train got onto the ferry we had to
get off the train and go upstairs to cross the water between the Baltic Sea and
the North Sea right next to Sweden. It too about 45 minutes. Then load again in
the train and we’re off for the last two hours into Hamburg.
We picked up our rental car and checked
into our hotel. We ate there then headed to the Rathsus (old town) We walked
around the Christmas Market for a while. It was so pretty.
Nov 29, 2019
Friday
We slept in the a went to breakfast then
headed back over to the Rathaus. I love the one in Munich, this one is just as
beautiful.
We walked around inside out in the
courtyard. We walked a bit through the same Christmas Market again. We walked
all over and saw a lot of churches and other Christmas Markets. They had a huge
protest that lasted for miles. Something about saving the earth. We walked over
tons of canals and bridges. The many streams, rivers and canals are crossed by
some 2,500 bridges, more than London, Amsterdam and Venice put together.
Hamburg has more bridges inside it’s city limits than any other city in the
world.
We walked through St. Nikolai’s. The
original church was destroyed in the air raids on Hamburg in 1943, but the
ruins are kept as a reminder. The tower is also the fifth highest church tower
in the world.
We then walked over to St. Michael’s.
It’s a really beautiful church. They had a Christmas Market down in the
basement. It was weird to see a beautiful Christmas Market and the floors were
covered in Cement grave sites. We walked around for quite awhile then went back
to the Rathaus and ate at the restaurant. After dinner we walked through a few
more Christmas Markets in the area so beautiful!
Nov. 30, 2019
Saturday
We ate breakfast in the hotel then headed to Bremen,
Germany. It’s about an hour and ½ to get there. Bremen, Germany is a German fairytale town we’d actually never
heard of before we began planning our trip to Europe. It’s a bit off-the-beaten
path, and you won’t find it on most “where to visit in Germany” lists. We
decided to visit the medieval town based almost entirely on beautiful and
charming photos and rumors of legendary, classic German Christmas Markets.
As an American, the term “Old Town” doesn’t mean too much to me
other than maybe a quaint little suburb that hasn’t yet been overrun by chain
stores and fast food restaurants. Old isn’t a concept we Americans understand
very well: by European standards, our tiny little baby country is barely even
old enough to drink.
But an Old Town in a historically and culturally rich country like
Germany is a jaw-dropping experience - and in winter, it's even more magical.
Standing in Bremen’s 1,200-year-old Old Town, on ancient
cobblestones among gilded buildings which have stood for hundreds of years, is
a humbling experience.
Christmas Markets: the classic version in Old Town, and a Medieval
version along the waterfront.
We checked int our hotel and went to walk
around the Christmas Markets and looked at some of the sights. We walked
through a smaller Christmas Market right outside the train station. We ate
lunch then walked over to the Old town square. We saw the Rathaus and St.
Peters. We went inside of St. Peters and saw mummified bodies in the lead
cellar. We walked around the Christmas Market and the main square Where the
Rathaus and St. Peter’s are.
We saw the famous Bremen Town
Musicianswho are the stars of the Brothers Grimm fairtale that is Bremen,
Germany’s claim to fame. The legend is if you rub the hoofs of the donkey you
will have good fortune.
In the fairy tale a donkey, dog, cat and
a rooster have all been turned out by their masters for being too old to be of
service.
The animals quickly agree to the donkey’s
notion that they become town musicians for Bremen.
As night falls, they come across a den of
robbers who are feasting. The animals decide to sing for their supper. The
donkey puts his hoofs on the windowsill, the dog jumps on his back, the cat
onto the dog’s back and the rooster flies up on top, forming the enduring image
of the story.
They accidentally crash through the
window. The robbers flee in terror and the minstrels settle onto the meal.
Afterwards, the four friends retire for the night.
One robber is sent back by their captain
to see if it is safe to return. He is scratched by the cat, bit by the dog, and
kicked by the donkey;all the while the rooster is cock-a-doodle-dooing.
To his companions the poor robber
testifies he was clawed by a witch, knifed by a man, beaten by a monster with a
club, and over them all a judge called, “Bring me the rascal!” The robbers
left. The animals stayed.
We walked along the harbor where there
was another Christmas Market. We ate dinner then took a taxi back to the hotel.
Road trip continues tomorrow to Hanover, Germany.
Dec. 1, 2019
Sunday
We went back to the main Christmas Market
ate breakfast at McDonalds. We saw Two guys dressed in their Scottish outfits
playing the bag pipes. I loved it. We walked over to Schnoor.
The oldest part of the old city: the
Schnoor is a well-preserved section of the old Medieval quarter of Bremen. The
narrow winding street with it’s tall, thin houses and shops will transport you
back to the 1400’s. So many cute shops! We also saw while walking around the
Christmas Markets, The Roland Statue.
It has been standing there for more than
600 years now and is the protector of the city and is one of the UNESCO World
Heritage Sites.
Statue of Roland (Protector of the city)
All the buildings are timber filled with brick and mortar.
St. Elizabeth
Roland
We headed on our continued road trip. I
love when we have a car and can head to wherever we want. It was about an hour
and 45 minutes from Bremen to Hannover. We checked into our hotel and walked
through the train station ate lunch and walked over to the main Christmas
Market. It’s so pretty but they usually all are. We walked the 20-minute walk
to the Christmas Market. We passed the New Town Hall (Which we will check out
tomorrow along with the Aegidenkirche) We walked through the Marktkirche
St. Georgii there happen to be a police orchestra. We sat and watched the whole
thing. It was so awesome especially since it was inside the Cathedral and
Christmas music the sound was amazing! We walked out to the market again and
ate dinner at the Broghan Haus. It was really good.
We
had Apple Strudel for dessert it was so good! We walked back to the hotel.
Tomorrow we will check out more of the sights during the day.
Beautiful houses next to our hotel.
Dec.
2, 2019
Monday
We walked back over to the New Town Hall (Neues
Rathaus) we walked around a bit. We were bummed the dome wasn’t open today. I
think they are doing construction on a lot of it right now.
We
then walked over to Aegidenkirche. The church was built in the 12th
century and was one of the largest worship places in Hanover, the reformation
in the city started in here. In 1943 it was all destroyed.
Just like churches in Berlin or Hamburg Aegidenkirche was never
rebuilt to be a somber reminder of the tragedy of war.
On our walk back over to the Christmas Markets we stopped at a
cafe and got a sandwich, pastries and a hot chocolate. We walked around a lot
at the Christmas Markets and the opera house in the area of Kröpcke. It’s a huge
shopping area there’s a gigantic pyramid in the middle right next to the train
station. We went back to the hotel around 4:30 rested then ate dinner in the
hotel. Tomorrow we fly to Munich, Germany.
Dec. 3, 2019
Tuesday
We flew to Munich about an hour flight. We picked up our rental
car and drove to our hotel and checked in. It’s a nice Sheraton hotel. We ate
dinner in the Executive lounge then went to the pool. It was relaxing. It’s on
the 22nd floor and has a great view all the way round the pool of
the city of Munich. We relaxed the rest of the evening. Tomorrow we spend the
day in Munich.
Dec. 4, 2019
Wednesday
We ate breakfast in the Executive Lounge then took the ubahn to
Odeonplatz. The Feldhernhalle and the Theatine church are in the square.
The Feldhernhalle was the scene of a confrontation on Friday morning, 9
November 1923, between the Bavarian State Police and the followers
of Adolf Hitler in which the Nazi party attempted to storm the
Bavarian Defense Ministry. This was the culmination of the Nazis' failed coup
attempt to take over the Bavarian State, commonly referred to as the Beer
Hall Putsch.
In the ensuing gun
battle, four policemen and fourteen marchers were killed, plus two more NSDAP
members elsewhere in Munich for a total of sixteen. Many more were wounded. As
a result of the failure of the so-called Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was arrested and sentenced to a
prison term.
After the Nazis
took power in 1933, Hitler turned the Feldherrnhalle into a memorial to the
Nazis killed during the failed putsch. A memorial to the fallen SA men was put
up on its east side, opposite the location of the shootings.
The Theatine
Church is a Catholic church in Munich. Its Mediterranean appearance and yellow
coloring became a well-known symbol for the city. We spent most of the day
shopping in Marienplatz and the Christmas Markets. We ate a late lunch at Zum
Durnbrau. Our favorite place to eat. Especially the potato soup on a cold day.
We walked around and shopped more then caught the ubahn back to the hotel. We
went to the Executive Lounge and ate a light dinner. Michael went to the spa
and I worked on our travel blog for a bit. We are leaving early in the morning
to head to Baden-Baden. It’s about a four-hour drive. Baden-Baden is a spa
town. It was the first Christmas Market we ever went to, so it’s been awhile
since we’ve been there. We really love the spa there also. 
Dec. 5, 2019
Thursday
We are heading to Strasbourg
France today. It’s on the boarder of
Germany. There are supposed to be great Christmas Markets. The drive was about
4 hours. Love our road trips together especially in Europe. We stopped for
lunch along the way. We walked around Strasbourg most of the day and early
evening. The Christmas Market was very nice. It was super cold and foggy but it
looked way cool. We found ourselves in the middle of a huge demonstration.
Tons of police, police vans and
police with body shields. We drove to Baden-Baden Germany which is about an
hour.
We ate at an Italian restaurant
across the street from the Opera House. We walked down the street a bit then
went back to the hotel. Burr it’s cold.
French baker making huge cakes!!
Dec. 6, 2019
Friday
We slept in since the Christmas
Markets don’t open till 11:00 anyway. We ate breakfast at the hotel then headed
out.
Baden-Baden, Germany (Baden
means bath in German)
nestled in the middle of the
Black Forest region
east of the Rhine, and borders
with France, and is twenty-five miles north-east of Strasbourg, France.
Roman settlement at Baden-Baden
has been dated as far back as the Emperor Hadrian who visited the area to
relieve his arthritic aches. It’s been a vacation spot for royalty for
centuries.
We’d love to visit in the late
spring. It would be beautiful! We have been here once before, Michael a few
times more. We visited the thermal spas then. We were planning on going again
last night but got a late start from our last destination. For some odd reason
I was so sick and threw up that night.
I didn’t get much sleep. So even
though I felt much better on our 4-hr. drive here I was too tired to go to the
spa.
I remember it being very
beautiful and the tea light lanterns all around the outside pool. We spent the
afternoon walking around Baden-Baden. We are heading back to Munich today. We
found we had a dead battery, so we had to wait at the hotel for Avis to come
jump it! 😐 We headed back to Munich and stopped to eat on our way.
Tomorrow we will spend all day at the spa in Erding. Then fly home early
Sunday.
Dec. 7, 2019
Saturday
We went to the spa in Erding, Germany all
day. It’s a great way to begin and end a trip! We fly home tomorrow early.