More pictures from Copenhagen!!

The Danish boy thinks we're nuts...

The start of the journey, all in high spirits!!

By the time we end.....

Simplicity in a foreign land

Amidst all the excitement, travelling, and meeting new people, I have found a simple joy: cooking. Funny how I need to travel thousands of miles to claim my newfound hobby. But on deeper inspection, it must be the circumstances; no mum to cook for me, eating out is expensive, our communal kitchen is conducive for cooking, everyone cooks, cooking together is fun! And so, we crossed seas, land and mountains and arrive here, only to be domesticated.

Every sunday, we will have a corridor dinner, where everyone living in our corridor cooks something for the table. Come dinner time, the smells that waft through the air is fantastic! Austrian desserts, French pizzas, salads, soups, and broth! Greek dips, sauces, baking bread and pastas. The kitchen runs like clockwork, and suddenly all the chefs hailing from different countries work together like a well coordinated football team to pass the flour, the sugar, the salt and raw materials, to create works of art becoming to our five senses.

There is another wonderfully simple enjoyment; the worship service at the International Church of Lund. Most sundays, they meet in an attic of sorts, about 30 people. Their service is traditional, they sing from a methodist hymnal and read from their common book of prayer, not unlike the ones we have in church. They sing, without any instruments, the classic comforting hymns that people everywhere know. Holy Holy Holy, Great is Thy faithfulness, Amazing Grace. And there was particular verse that totally arrested me at the service, I've known it all my life, but its meaning became crystal clear to me on sunday:

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days, to sing God's praise.
Then when we'd first begun.

It so encapsulates the meaning of eternity, all this people I've never met from different parts of the world, of all races, praising God for 10000 years and more!

I keenly feel this exchange is a beginning of another leg of journey in my life. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would spend my 21st birthday in a foreign land. But I did, and as the day passed without any fanfare or drama, I looked back at God's special grace in my life, and was truly thankful.

Here I am, in another season of life that God has prepared for me.

LUND, Day 13 – Copenhagen!!

The BOY says:

Well it’s Sunday again and much unlike back in Singapore, it is our designated rest day of sorts. This is the day where we do our laundry, clean our rooms and of course, update blog entries. Service here starts at 5pm so we’ve got plenty of free time till then.

Yesterday, Goon and I along with 2 other Singaporean friends Jimmy and Eng Seng (his surname is Gan by the way…. Hahahaha) went for a little trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. Many of you might think it’s very far to go to another country but Copenhagen is about 1 hour’s train ride away, something like JB and Singapore. And guess what, you don’t even need your passport because of some central agreement between the European countries here.

Me and Goon at Copenhagen

Goon and our 2 friends, (from left) Eng Seng & Jimmy

In Copenhagen, we went to see the famous national museum, which was SOOO big that we only managed to cover 1 room on 1 storey in 45minutes. (There’s many rooms per storey and 3 storeys so you can see how big it is). We also went to see the palaces of the royal family, the local art museum, and walked all the way across the city to a seaside park (nicer then east coast). At this seaside park, was the famous little mermaid. It’s basically a stone statue of a mermaid who according to the famous fairy tale, is waiting for her prince to come back to her and eventually turned to stone. However, to be perfectly honest, it was pretty disappointing to walk over 40min to just see a statue in the sea…

Well that’s all I’m going to say and I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Copenhagen streets!

Copenhagen Buildings!

Another building that almost looks like a castle!

No idea what building is this though.....

One of many river running through Copenhagen!

Police patrol the city on horseback!

Public toilets are underground!

A Danish boy with his dog!!

The famous Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park that opens in April.

The gateway bridge leading to Castleborg Palace, home of the Danish royal family.

Goon in front of the palace which seems to be under renvoation.

Gateway to the Amalien palace, winter palace of the Danish royals.

The Amalien Palace

The Carlsberg Glyptotek, an art museum.

Hungry Goon meets the Hungry Lion.

The National Museum

A Knight in Shining Armor!

A picture depicting judgment day, with the holy trinity, saints, sinners etc.

One of numerous medieval religious artefacts.

A medieval bed, looks comfy!

I wish I could have one of these!

Goon in front of a medieval fireplace.

Goon trying to fire a cannon?!

One of many local churches.

The Copenhagen Central Square.......

...... complete with a ice skating rink!!

A local park, complete with a running river!

A view of the Baltic Sea.

The Little Mermaid! (not the disney one)

She's looking out to sea for her prince.....

CHEERS EVERYONE! SEE YOU SOON! (the ice cream doesn't melt...)

Lund, Day 9 - Malmo!!

The BOY says:

Well, here we are, over 1 week into our stint here at Sweden and it has been really fun! Been getting more and more busy these days which explains the lapses in BLOG entries. Yesterday, we went to Malmo, the 3rd largest city in Sweden (Sweden only has 3 by the way, so its the smallest actually...)

Malmo is somewhat different from Lund, being a city and all. Much more industrial buildings and constructions going on, more shops and people too! However, it does offer up some spectacular sights that you just can't see in Lund. For one, in Malmo is the Turning Torso, a 190metre building with a really unique design. It has 54 stories and a 90 degree twist from top to bottom. Also, in Malmo there are quite a number of public parks which look spectacular and wildlife like ducks and swans roaming freely. It really is a far cry from those back home.

We rounded off our trip of Malmo with a trip down to IKEA where we had our dinner. It was largely similar to the one back in Singapore but this IKEA was way bigger.... We ordered the famous IKEA meatballs to share thinking it would be expensive but guess what, 10 meatballs cost us only 16 SEK = about 4 SGD!!! Apparently they were having some promotion at that time, can you believe our luck??

Goon in Malmo!

The Turning Torso, don't worry, it's won't fall!

Waterfront living in Malmo. The sea is on the other side!

Clear green fields, too bad this is a park for dogs.

Goon, dwarfed by the tree.

Goon walking into the distance....

Goon on a bridge, lagi like Korean Drama cancer patient.

One of the many rivers in Malmo.

DUCKS!!!

A windmill, very different from the one at Holland Village.

The public park (for humans)

Malmo city square, and yes, it's an outdoor ice skating rink!

The statue of King Gustav that marks the centre of the city square.

City Hall of Malmo.

Look, it's IKEA!!! It looks dark but its just over 4pm...

Meatballs in Sweden! Only 16 SEK!!!