The Emerson European Experience : 10/10/13

It's October. . . already! Last week the girls were lamenting the fact that we have already seen two months pass by so quickly since we arrived in Denmark (that's not a good thing, mind you). We really enjoyed the unseasonably "warmer" 70+ degree summer days here in Copenhagen, but we were told to get ready for fall and to expect frequent rain showers and gray skies that typically come with the season. Thankfully, we are still waiting for those kinds of days, and in the meantime enjoying the cool crisp fall air with peaks of sunshine and blue skies. In other words, it has been gorgeous fall weather, and we make it a point to enjoy it while it is here, knowing that someday soon the rains will most likely come along with colder temps. The days are noticeably much shorter now. This summer it was daylight for 18 hours/day and now we are down to 12 hours of daylight. The days will continue to get much, much shorter by November from what we hear.

We went for a walk last weekend, making our way to the Botanical Gardens just a 20 minute walk from our place! It was sooo beautiful with all the colorful fall foliage and flowers. The trails through the gardens were winding and hilly, and the curiosity of wondering what beauty we would find around the next bend kept us exploring and being pleasantly surprised by God's artwork in nature at every turn. It was a fun family day!!

Leah continues with her class at DIS, at home with her German course, babysitting on occasion, and enjoys the college/young adult group at church where she is getting to know many young people from all over the globe! She rides her bike about a mile or so to church on Wednesday nights for their Bible study and they also have a get together one other time during the week. We see God providing new friendships through this group and it is an answer to our prayers for Leah. Speaking of friends, she has a good friend from the states (Anna), coming for a visit in two weeks time. We are all eager for her to arrive--I know the girls will have so much fun exploring Copenhagen together! :)

Sophia is doing well in school and says she enjoys her history and her Danish class the most, as well as hanging out with her friends. She is learning to count to 20 in her Danish class right now which she says is pretty easy. . . it's any numbers after 20 that are a challenge! This Friday they have what is called Fun Run Day where the kids choose a sporting activity to try. She chose ice-skating, so she will spend the morning at the ice rink and then have the afternoon off. . .I suppose it is sort of a kick-off to the long awaited fall break that Sophie has next week---yay!! :)

We are taking advantage of the chance to travel during her fall break and will be flying to Milan, Italy next Tuesday! From there we will rent a car and drive to where we will be staying on Lake Garda---a well known and beautiful lake in the northern part of Italy. We plan to explore the surrounding area, see the sights in Venice as well as travel to Verona, the home of Romeo and Juliet. Our visit to Verona is inspired in part, by the movie Letters to Juliet---one of our favs!

Michael has been doing his share of traveling, most recently he went on a week long study tour which involved traveling to Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary with his students. They were there to learn more about the cities--architecture, history, transportation, etc. He had many interesting stories to share about their experiences. His favorites were seeing the church where the Vienna Choir Boys sing every Sunday, September through June, and seeing the church where Napoleon got married to the princess of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The most interesting detail--Napoleon was actually too busy to attend the wedding, so he sent one of his generals to stand in for him. Ouch.

We are still learning the ins and outs of living in Copenhagen. Mike was severely due for a haircut not long ago but in keeping with the high cost of living in Denmark, prices for a haircut were no exception! Most places we checked were $100.00---yikes! However, we happened upon a place that was a bit more reasonable and I liked the European looking style he came out with afterward. :)

One of the many things I love about Denmark is their use of candlelight. I have always thought of candles as a "simple pleasure" and realize that in the states, candles are most often used for special occasions. This is not so in Denmark, where it is a part of everyday life. That is because the winters are typically long, cold and dark and candlelight gives the feeling of light and warmth. Many business establishments have candlelight in the windows, candles/lanterns at the entrance, candles on tabletops at restaurants---everywhere. The stores are always well stocked with a variety of candles and candle holders. Because I love candles, you can bet it has been fun to shop for candles to use in our apartment! :) We have already gotten into the habit of lighting our candles and lanterns in the windows as the sun sets each night.

Soft, inviting, warm candlelight does wonders to brighten a dark place and often, when I light the candles in our apartment, I am reminded of a verse in the Bible (Matt. 5:14) that says, "You are the light of the world. . ." As I think about it, this is a great object lesson for our family as we anticipate darker days in the winter as well as being in a culture that is not God-centered. May we be found faithful to be the 'lights' in this place God has placed us for a season.

(Above) On a recent bike ride, we stopped at the Copenhagen Museum and saw the city of Copenhagen as it was in 1530. The castle (pictured with the "moat" around it) is now where parliament is. There was a moat around the entire city of Copenhagen at that time.

(Below) It is a beautiful fall season here in Copenhagen! Brilliant fall colors are everywhere!