So far behind in my updates!

Well, we have much to catch you up on...

We are very happy here in Copenhagen. Actually, our new address locates us in Frederiksberg, which is a part of larger Copenhagen. We are just west of the city center. In trying to describe the area, the City Centre (where we used to live) is similar to Times Square and Frederiksberg is like New York City's Upper West Side. It is a quiet area full of very nice houses and cute little flats. The windows all have boxes full of flowers and the yards are nicely manicured. There are many cafes and restaurants as well as gourmet shops and boutiques. And, my office is located in Frederiksberg -- a short 10 minute bus ride or a less-short 30 minute walk from our flat. The former summer home for the Danish monarchs, now a beautiful park with several ponds, is located less than 20 meters from my office building. One of our guide books describes Frederiksberg as "quiet and refined." That describes our experience quite well.

In other news, we had a wonderful time visiting with our new pastor, his wife Natalie, and another couple from the church when they had us over for dinner last week. While the congregation meets in a church in Copenhagen the pastor lives in a house in Hellerup, a beautiful "suburb" to the north of Copenhagen. The pastor lives in the top floor of the house and then the basement and ground floor serve as church offices and meeting rooms. The house and grounds are beautiful. As if turns out, the church bought the house in the 1970s when Hellerup was not as nice. Then, in the years following, several embassies and large corporations purchased and refurbished houses in the same area and Hellerup is now a very affluent and beautiful area to live. It is also very convenient to get to --just a short ride on the S-tog (train). It was really nice to meet the other couple from church. They are both Americans and musicians. He (I am not sure I should include their names...) plays the flute for the Copenhagen Ballet and Opera and she is a singer. They've lived here for over 7 years. We also really enjoyed getting to know our Pastor and his wife, Natalie a bit better. As it turns out, Pastor Rimmer and I were both at UNC at the same time. He did his BS (in biology!) at UNC while I was there doing my Master's work. And, their first church was in York, Pennsylvania, near where I went to college. In fact, Natalie took classes at Millersville University, my alma mater for her Masters in Education. Very small world...

Natalie fixed an incredible meal including broccoli salad -- one of my favorites! She also made a traditional Danish dessert. I forgot the name of it so I won't blog about it too much right now, but I plan to get the recipe and fix it for all who visit! It was YUMMY!

More to come...