Sooo exhausted from our travels we were anxious to get to our apartment, but not before climbing four flights of stairs with 8-50 lb. suitcases, plus backpacks and purses! That was quite a workout but we made it up to the apartment and began the process of acclimating ourselves to our new home. It is a great place, right in the city center!
We have a birds eye view of the goings on in the city square which is always a busy, bustling place----at least for now, with all the tourists that are in the area for the summer. The downside (that we discovered that first exhausting night) is that there are a few pubs in our vicinity that are LOUD on the weekends! :/ We have made adjustments by purchasing fans for each of the bedrooms which helps with dulling the street noise as well as keeps us cool at night. We are hoping that as the cooler/colder weather rolls in, it will mean less people in the streets in the late night hours. We are growing accustomed to the new sounds of the city by day as well. I love it when I can sit in the living room and hear an accordion playing in the square, singing Italian tunes that I am familiar with, the clip-clop of horses hooves as they trot down the cobble-stone streets, the sound of people mulling about the square, the occasional honk of a horn, the chiming of church bells throughout the day, and the street cleaner trucks going by at sunrise (okay, well maybe not that one so much).
If I can sum up our first full week in Copenhagen in one word it would be CHANGE! As we get settled in our new surroundings, we find that daily life seems to present challenges at every turn and while that isn't easy, it does make for valuable learning and growing experiences---it's all part of the adventure! It has been an adjustment for each of us, but mostly for the girls as they miss "home", family and friends. Sophia begins school next week so it is our hope and prayer that she makes some good friends there. She will be attending an international school with other kids coming from a similar situation (parents working in the country for a year or two) so there is some commonality in that.
We went to see Sophia's school this past week which consists of a 3 block walk to the train station, a 5 min. or so train ride, then a 3-4 block walk/bike ride to school. When we got off the train to walk to her school we couldn't help but notice that the route to school begins on Esther Street (Esthersvey) and then goes to Ruth Street (Ruthsvey)---two great women of the Bible. It makes it easier to remember what streets to look for now. :)
Leah hopes to begin Danish lessons in a few weeks' time. We found out they offer them free of charge, as they want visitors to have the opportunity to learn more about the Danish language/culture. Good deal for us! :) Leah had taken a few years of German in high school (which has some similarities to Danish) and that has proven helpful on occasion in figuring out what some words mean. Yay Leah!
Grocery shopping has been quite the adventure---lol! We have learned to bring our own bags to the store, buying food for just 1-2 days at a time, learning the Danish currency (the Kroner) and how expensive everything is here! It makes for time consuming shopping when I cannot read any of the labels on the food and primarily go by the pictures on the packages. I find there are things I would like to buy only to then remember I can't read the directions on the back of the package to make it! The other day I was looking for ingredients to make chili. I found everything except the various cans of tomato products was throwing me for a loop. I couldn't tell if it was chopped tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato soup?? I reverted to shaking the cans in hopes I could tell a difference. I haven't made the chili yet, and will keep you posted as to what exactly is in that can of tomatoes I bought when I do make it! haha
One of the concerns for us moving overseas was finding a church home---something we have been praying about leading up to this move. We had researched possible churches to attend here in Denmark and ONE turned up---the International Baptist Church (IBC) of Copenhagen. It happens to be about a mile from our home here in the city, it was a beautiful day on Sunday and so we walked to church. It meets in another church's building, so they meet at 1 pm. It was a feeling of comfort walking into that church. There's something about being in a place of worship with others who come from all across the globe (all of the visitors there were from another country--Taiwan, Africa, Romania, Russia, the Netherlands, the U.S.--that would be us) and worshiping the same Lord and Savior! It was a time of comfort and familiarity and we felt so welcomed. We met a family after church who actually are from the states, who happen to live across the street from where Sophia will attend school, who happen to have an 18-year-old daughter who just graduated from high school and is taking a gap year. . but not sure what that really means for her yet. Sounds familiar?!? Oh, and the mom's name is. . . Lea (pronounced Leah)! :) We look forward to getting to know the family better as time goes on.
We are thankful for God's provision in so many ways this past week alone, the people that have come alongside us to help us get settled, and the exclamation point on Sunday---a reminder that though much around us may change and be unfamiliar, God does not change! (Mal. 3:6)
Getting set to take off-exciting. 
The stairs we climb to our apartment. Pretty. And pretty tiring.
This is how you go up to the second floor of the grocery store--with your cart!
The view outside our window to the square. People dine outside and drink coffee until 2 in the morning or so.