The Prayer Room

Just behind the back of the chapel is this tiny prayer room filled with the masterpieces of Carl Bloch. The room is not well lit and incredibly small. You can easily get right up to the pictures. They allow photography but no flash, so lighting is tricky. This ornate silver something-or-other is the centerpiece of the room, and the masterpieces surround it along the wall on all sides.



This picture of the Nativity is one of his most famous.



Christ raising Lazarus from the dead is breathtaking. The size is about 4 feet tall by 3 feet wide.



Below is my favorite showing the angel comforting Christ in the Garden of Gesthemane. Christ looks so pained and forlorn. It is the most difficult to see, as it is directly behind the silver something-or-other and can be viewed only from the side.



Interestingly, the entire collection is not particularly featured at the castle. There are a great many other paintings of Danish historical figures that are much more prominently featured. It truly is an overlooked gem of a collection.

Trip to Frederiksborg Castle

Today we took the train to Frederiksborg. It is not far from Virum where Don and Amy live. The castle is a national museum and is breathtaking as you walk the 1/2 mile from the train, turn a corner, and get this incredible view of the lake and the castle in the distance.



Frederick presides over the view of his castle. Ducks roam the lake and a very large swan keeps order among the fowl. Below is a view from inside the courtyard. The clock impressively struck 12 as we arrived.



Below is a view of the chapel from the balcony. It rivals any of the great chapels of Europe.



In the Great Room - 2 stories high and 100 yards in length - with tapestry wall paper - William discovered a "friendly" hound. It was a spectacular day. We experimented with open faced pickled herring sandwiches. Interesting, but it is a taste to be acquired... :-)

A Sunday walk

Sunday evening we took a 5 mile walk around a lake in Copenhagen. It was nippy and very beautiful. Daddy Donald pushed the stroller.



The homes around the lake were lovely. Many had a private dock for canoes, rowboats, or small sailboats.



Here we reinacted Christopher Plummer singing with Julie Andrews. Amy and Linda were singing "Here I am Loving You" to Don and me. (The kids were crying ... it was so touching....)



Some of the houses have thatched roofs (reminiscient of The Wheel on the School). The iron works on the peak is to prevent storks from nesting :-)

Saturday in Kobenhaven

Saturday we saw the sights in downtown Copenhagen. Here in Denmark they write it as Kobenhaven and they say it as Kuh-ben-houn. Who would have guessed? Not yours truly...


There are 3 canals in Kuhbenhoun (thus the 3 wavy lines on the back of Royal Copenhagen porcelain) Here is a great shot of one of the canals. The colorful buildings are a reminder of the colorful doors of Ireland



This is the big square in front of the Royal Palace. The statue is of someone famous and the church is the Danish equivalent of St. Paul's cathedral in London.



We had a royal escort on our drive into the downtown. They were on their way to the changing of the Royal Guard. Below is a Danish version of elite forces. If you zoom in you will notice that his visage is less than intimidating. I watched him for several minutes and he was unable to keep a straight face. They do look like little tin soldeirs or a cute little nutcracker.

We're here!

Linda and I have arrived in Denmark and have loved our first day!

This is a view of Don and Amy's home from across their street. They live in Virum, Denmark - a suburb of Copenhagen. The cute Touregg in the driveway holds seven dwarves plus luggage (as long as luggage is no larger than a lunchbox. :-)

This is a view of the home from the backyard (spacious!)

We took the train from Virum station (note the sign in the background) into Copenhagen for dinner. The name of the restaurant is "Beef and Cheese". The consensus of the participants is "Danish cheese stinks to high heaven!) That did not deter the males in the group.

The crepes suzette were fun to watch. Our neighbors enjoyed the view as well.

The ambiance was only trumped by the company!

Pop Culture Conference Strikes Back

So, once again I attended the PCAACA conference. This year it was in San Francisco and we had a blast. Brooke and Sarah (both great friends from the BYU MA) and Bethany and Kati (new friends from the USC grad program) and I all shared a room. The BYU girls and I spent a lot of time with my old professor, Dr. Cutchins, and his wife which was a blast. We went to pier 39, the museum of modern art, road a trolley car, ate great food and went to movies. It was a fantastic week. Brooke and I had our panel together and once again got torn apart. Good thing we were ready for it. Bring it on adaptation people!!! My paper was on Jane Austen films and how they've created this one trick pony out of Austen. Good times!

Here are some photo highlights:


Brooke and I at the BYU dinner.

Me, Brooke, and Sarah at the pier

Me at the pier.

In the park by the modern art museum (next door, almost, to the hotel)

Sarah at City Lights bookstore, of Beatnik and Jack Kerouac fame.

Embarrassing and funny hot tub story for anyone who wants to ask. :) What a phenomenal week. We had gorgeous weather as well--clear and sunny all week.

whats new

William

The other day I overheard William. "Holy Cow! Holy Hannah! Holy Joe!" Anna and Joe's names always come in pairs in our household, so I thought this was cute.

William doesn't quite get pretending yet. While he was playing with a cousin in Arizona, Luke said, " I am a cowboy!" William said, "I am a cake. A birthday cake!" Another time, with another cousin, they had some dress up clothes on. His cousin said, "I am a king!" William said, "I am a skirt!"

In the last couple of days, William has wanted to lead scripture reading at random times of the day. So he usually opens up the scriptures (after he makes sure my hands, feet and mouth are reverent) and says something like, “Jesus. (murmur). Important. (murmur).” Then he closes the scriptures, and says, “Do you know what that means, Mommy? It means Jesus and Heavenly Father love us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” It is pretty cute and pretty amazing. Then he’ll kneel down for prayers.

Thought we'd share some cute William stories.

Holger the Dane

This is a statue of a legendary viking figure named Holger Danske (Holger the Dane). It is in the catacombs of Hamlet's castle. Legend has it that when Denmark is in grave danger this statue will come alive and save Denmark. Moral of this story: don't mess with Denmark.

We're Back in Denmark!

We are so glad to be back in Denmark and finally moved into our new place.

Amy and the boys

This is where we changed the boy's diapers before going to Hamlet's castle. Just wanted to always remember that special diaper changing place.

Helsingoer at sunset.

Hamlet's Castle

This castle is where William Shakespere set his play Hamlet. Every summer they have the play in the courtyartd (below). It's a beautiful castle with a nice view of Sweden.

Entrance to the chapel at the castle

Courtyard.

Louisiana Art Museum

We visited a beautiful modern art museum just north of Copenhagen. The views from the museum were beautiful. And the museum had a lot of natural light coming in from windows all over the museum. A must see. We got to see a fabulous Cezanne exhibit while there.

Warning to all elevator patrons!

kudos to dad

I was just putting off grading a little by reading over some old blog posts and ran across the ones Dad posted in the UK. Dad, you are one funny guy!! I was laughing out loud. Good times.

Not quite Idol related but...

Before I head out today I want to share a funny experience with you all. Last night I played a video game with my Family Home Evening group called Karaoke Revolution. I did okay but at the end of the night I decided to sing the female vocal lead in a song I had never heard before. That's right the FEMALE vocal lead. Needless to say I tried to sing it an octave lower but doing that was impossible if I wanted to keep up with the song and actually do well, so I sang in falsetto the WHOLE song. After the song, and the hilarious laughter of my couleagues I felt a little strained in my vocal cords, but thought nothing of it. Now though I am a little hoarse and I have a sore throat. Lesson learned, never sing a female vocal lead, especially If you don't know it beforehand. Just a little info for all of my brothers.

American Idol Update

I thought the right people left the show tonight. Each one who left was one who I would have picked.

Also, breaking news on Brooke White. She used to have the most incredible babysitter who taught her to play the guitar and sing. Word is that if Brooke wins she is going to give 35% of her record contract to her old babysitter. Who is this incredible child care professional? Wendy Taylor (now Wendy Bennion). Only the part about her giving Wendy the money was not true. Pretty cool, eh?

YES!!!!!!!

I hit a major goal of mine today. I have been trying to run for 30 min at 7 mph on a hilly course on the treadmill at work. I had been trying for several sessions to do it. I had been doing it regularly at 6.5 mph, but needed a walking break for 2 min at 7 mph. Today I broke through, and was able to go all the way through non-stop! It felt so good, that I had to share.

Grandma Says Thanks for All Your Birthday Comments

Grandma asked me to post this so that she might let you all know how very much she appreciated all the nice things you had to say on her birthday.

Each of you are so precious. Your love, compassion, good wishes and prayers have made life so special. She loves you all for you individuality and the special gifts that each of you exhibit.

It was one of the highlights of a life filled with our love for one another.