´TIS THE SEASON

CHRISTMAS is the biggest holiday in Denmark by a landslide.  The Danes go absolutely nuts with celebrating.  Traditions are taken very seriously from the Christmas Eve food to the dance around the Christmas tree.  And if you do not celebrate, you better stock up on food and find something to do at home because EVERYTHING  shuts down for at least 3 days, if not more.   Can't even find a loaf of bread to buy. Their big celebration is December 24th, plus "Small Christmas" often celebrated  on the 23rd.  Things start rolling in November with ornaments, lights and pine boughs.  By mid November, Christmas Markets are popping up on the weekends.  These markets, both indoor and out, specialize in every possible thing you might want for Christmas decorating, Christmas giving, and Christmas eating.  We visited some out-of-the-way markets early to get a jump start on the season.  Here are some of our favorites:

Egeskov Castle, Fuenen. We  found Egeskov Castle in September with Kendell.  We pulled up just as the doors were closing not just for the day, but for the season.  Kendell dubbed it "the castle that got away."  But, we noticed they re-opened for a Christmas market held on 2 weekends in November. Fortunately, we were able to travel back to Fuenen in November with the president and his wife for

a rare break during a few slow days.

Unfortunately, the castle itself was closed, but the view outside was spectacular.

Egeskov Slot

Egeskov, a magnificent mid-16th century castle,  is one of Denmark's best known sights.  It is called "Europe's best preserved Renaissance moat castle."  Egeskov means "oak forest" and is built in the middle of a pond on a foundation of oak trees.  The sprawling estate caters to families and contains a bamboo maze, a tree-top trail, acres of lawn, half-timbered farm buildings and even a vintage car museum.  And once a year, a Christmas Market.

This sign shows you directions to all the things you can do here.

Christmas at the castle means live music,  tiny booths stuffed with goodies and hundreds of people strolling the grounds. The day we visited, charcoal brazers warmed the crowds and the smoke hugging the ground gave a medieval feel to the festivities.  Children ran, dodging puddles and teetering on stilts while parents paused to listen to a brass band.  In an old workshop, brimming Christmas booths were lined up in two long aisles with a narrow path wedged in between.  You had to turn sideways to move.  Tangled lights, ornaments, and glass and paper balls brushed your cheeks and shoulders if you veered off the path, and stopping for too long in one place created a bottleneck.  We managed to go the whole length before being spit out at the other end.  Whew!

After Egeskov, we spent the night in another castle - Hindsgavl Slot - a refurbished , beautifully decorated  hotel with all the attached horse and pigs stalls turned into rooms.  We stayed in a former pig stall. Think modern, curved purple chairs, shockingly purple and green shag rugs, and two layers of electric shades.   Deer herds grazed  in the fields around the castle.  Yes indeedy.  

Hindsgavl Slot turned into a unique hotel

Svenstrup Gods, Borup.   The pig farm.  We visited this one last year on a whim and it turned into one of our favorite spots.  An added bonus this year - we got to tour the manor house. See post for December 19, 2015  - "Christmas at the Pig Farm" for a description.

Same pig farm,  different folks.  Elder Larsen, the Shurtliffs, Sister Trudy Larsen (temple),  me, Sister Larsen, Sister Jenson.

 Kronborg Castle, Helsingør -  Probably my favorite market of the year.  The Castle was all decked out in pine-smelling firs with apples and ribbons and berries.  Little booths were crowded into many of the ground-floor rooms and spilled over into the lower casements.  Thank goodness, the lighting was better than normal underground.   One interesting attraction was the sheep, reindeer and seal skin booths.  Every Christmas market has several.  Fur is in.  My favorite is the little lamb skins -  sad, but soft and curly.

Green pine bows are so festive with red apple garlands.

You can only see the castle lit up at night at Christmas time.

And who else would you find in the castle ballroom but ballerinas.

Check out the red wooden cloggs.  So Scandinavian.

 Mr. & Mrs. Claus.

Same  crew that went to the pig farm.  We doubled up and did two markets in one day!!   The early darkness back-lit by the castle made a magical ending to the day. 

We love December in this beautiful country where Christmas has such an emphasis, but sadly the focus is not on the Savior and his birth.  The many beautiful churches sit empty most of the year except on Christmas Eve, where  families fill the churches.  Not necessarily to worship, but because it is a tradition.   I am so thankful this year for the Christmas initiative where  members and non-members are encouraged to "Light the World" by following His example of light and love through small acts of kindness. What a blessing it is to have this guidance and focus for Christmas in a world growing increasingly away from Christ......  What a blessing that we get the best of Christmas traditions combined with the light of the gospel for a true celebration of that which matters most.........

SENIOR, Senior Couple

Not counting the O'Bryant's, we are now the senior missionary couple in Denmark. Yes.  We inherited this title from the Ottley's who left us a few weeks ago for family and new adventures in Washington State.  Kennewick.  This intrepid couple had served back-to-back missions - first in England as MLS and then here in Denmark as record preservationists.  (They captured over 1 million images at the Kommune!!)   It was time.  We miss their perennial good nature and energetic company.  They were always up for a road trip by bus, train or car, whether it be big museums or small out-of-the-way stops.  Good sports.

Here we are at a sporevejmuseet  -  an indoor and outdoor museum dedicated just to the history of the old trolley cars.

Denmark has a gazillion little museums dedicated to anything old:  houses,  recreated villages,  out-dated industries,  trolley cars,  steam engines.  These unique little sites are filled with historical artifacts and just made for tourists like us who want to experience the real Denmark.  We could always count on three things when poking around with the Ottleys:     1.  We would lose Elder Ottley, eventually,  as he went off on his own, sniffing out every little detail.  Indoors and out.  2.  We would not have to read any signage, because Elder Ottley would read everything.  Every. Word.  3.  We could fish any of the historical details out of his brain by just triggering a key word.  Perfect recall. Sister Ottley knew the drill and trailed along with the rest of us and figured he would turn up eventually for the trip home and a re-cap of our adventure.  Worked the same every time.  Loved it.

Frederiksberg Slot and Have (garden)  This old castle, surrounded by expansive lawns and gardens is now used as a military school right by the zoo in Copenhagen.   It is full of old treasures.

I mean, how do you study military stuff in rooms like these?

Anyway,  Sister Ottley was patient and kind and a good listener.  Elder Ottley could discuss any topic and was a walking encyclopedia.  There was only one down-side to traveling with Elder Ottley.  Geese.  Geese didn't like him.  Never could figure it out,  but when they saw him, they hissed and pranced with necks in the air,  then ran at him with their beaks to the ground.   I didn't realize there were so many geese in Denmark until now.  All the rural museums have them, and that's when we were glad he rambled off by himself.  His most sage advise:   "It is impossible to kick a pigeon."  We have laughed about this many times and I think he is right.  I have tried.  Unfortunately.   We miss the Ottleys and wish them all the best.

We have really felt the Lord's blessings here in the mission this month.  This miracle story is worth hearing.  Our Temple President and his wife were recently released after 3 years of service in the Copenhagen temple.  President and Sister Williams have served over 9 years in Europe as an MTC president in England, Mission President in Denmark and now Temple President.  They were ready to go home for a long rest.  After weeks of packing and farewells, they arrived at the airport early in the morning to catch their flight home.  While standing at the counter, checking luggage, President Williams had a heart attack.  Full cardiac arrest.  Fortunately, there were 3 doctors in the airport as well as airport personnel who administered first aid.  He was rushed to the hospital and eventually had a double by-pass.  Always a very healthy man, he was not prepared for this.  In all, they remained here in Denmark for nearly 3 additional weeks until he was able to travel. The hospital staff were amazed at how well he did and amazed at how many people knew and visited this American.  Sister Williams handed out church pamphlets and cards to all the staff.  What a missionary!  When the Williams left the second time, some of the hospital emergency staff came to see them off and said they generally never get to know how things turn out with the people they work on in the airport, and were thrilled to see him alive and well.  Three weeks ago, they didn't think he would make it.  One man said he felt a particular spirit working on President Williams and was very emotional about it. He has agreed to meet with the missionaries.  The Lord certainly blessed President Williams,  and we are grateful for the hand of the Lord in our lives and the lives of our family.  He is truly there for us in moments of need.

President and Sister Williams

Salt Lake City

LAST GASP BEFORE WINTER WITH KENDELL AND RUTH

Fall has plunked itself down with a thud.  It came suddenly after summer fizzled and left with hardly a whimper.  Shy as a wall-flower, summer never really tried to be friendly.  I kept asking everyone when it would arrive - all through June, July and August I wondered.  "Well," everyone stalled.  "You just never know."  I'll say!  NEVER being the key word here.  A few sunny days masquerading as summer in August does not count.  A smattering of a few warm weeks in September does not count.    Stingy Season.  One thing I worried about was our final visitors of the year:  Kendell and Ruth.  They scheduled their trip for the last of September and the first of October.  With summer so fickle, I just prayed the weather would hold until they came.  We were already fighting a few tourist-type downers:  1. Tivoli closed for the season  2.  Temple closed for fall break  3. Church cancelled because of General Conference  (we love GC, but wanted them to see our branch)  4.  Days shorter  5.   Visiting hours for tourists sites reduced.  So I was a little worried that they would not have enough to see.

Well.  not to worry.  Kendell and Ruth are ideal tourists.  Curious as cats, they scoured the travel books and poured over the maps, looking for out-of-the-way places to visit and ways to minimize travel and maximize sight-seeing.  They became experts on Frederick the 4th and Christian the 5th and read every historical word in the museums.  They knew far more that we, and ended up educating us!  Cool.  And the weather was miraculously cooperative!

We try to have all our visitors see some things that the others do not.  So in keeping with that, we visited Grundtvigs Kirke here in Copenhagen.  This massive cathedral, made entirely of bricks, is not old, but styled with  a classic combination of medieval battlements, Gothic pillars and pointed arches. Simplicity.  Dizzying heights.  Light spilling in from the high windows making the ordinary, yellow brick walls look glossy.  I don't know how many bricks were used, but one solid pillar contains 30,000 - the most bricks used in any one building in Denmark.

We did all the basic touristy things and then Kendell and Ruth went out on their own.  Went to Sweden on a ferry,  poked around Copenhagen's warren of streets,  and even rode bikes.  Brave souls.  

L-R  Hans Christian Andersen's home street,  Fredericksberg Slot,  Nyhavn,  Christianborg.

Selfie stick,  people.  I want one. They snapped this gorgeous roof-topped pano of the city from a church tower.

As for Danish food:  Kendell and Ruth loved the smørresbrød.  So Danish.  The restaurant below is famous for their open faced sandwiches.  Yes, we  they had liver....... more than once!

L-R Baltic Sea at Stevns Klint, Rosenborg Slot, Carl Bloch paintings at Frederiksberg

We went over the Big Belt to Fuenen and Ruth found her ancestral church.  She was really exited about that.  We went to Odense and strolled down the street where H.C. Andersen was born.  (Famous fairy tale guy here.)  Stuccoed houses with roses climbing the walls.  Charming.  

On one excursion we found a Halloween shop and even though Halloween is not huge here yet, this shop had all the good stuff.

On Sunday we went to our version of General Conference: a  mixture of recorded and live sessions at really strange times.  The mission president and a good group of missionaries met for conference and ate chili dogs provided by the senior couples.  It was wonderful to watch conference with family and hear the inspired words from inspired men and women.  Conference uplifts and boosts lagging spirits and helps keep us focused on the important things in life.  Facebook had a flood of quotes and praises about Women's Conference and the Saturday Sessions so anticipation was high here, and we were not disappointed.  All too soon,  Kendell and Ruth had to return home,  but we were so glad they came and loved having them.  

ANCESTOR CHURCHES AND FRIENDS

One of the unique things about living in Denmark is that we can actually go find the places where our ancestors attended church.  The churches were called parishes and almost every village had one. These remarkable buildings, cherished by the locals, are well-tended and preserved at great expense today.  And, generally stay open so you can wander around inside.  In order to find your church, you must know the county and the town of your ancestor.  In the states, records are kept in the counties, so the name of your county is all you need.  Just knowing a county name won't help you here,  and I'll show you why.

This is a map of Denmark and all the counties.  Look for Maribo, bottom right.  My Christensen line came from this county.  (Københavns on the far right is where Copenhagen sits.)

Map of Denmark

Below is a detailed map of Maribo County and all its little parishes.  Yes.  There are 109 and yes, most of them have their own parish church with their own records.   You will notice Stokkemarke - the home parish of some of my Christensen ancestors.

Maribo County with Stokkemarke Parish marked green

So here is the good news and the bad news:    If you know the name of the Parish and the county of your ancestors, you are in business, because their church records are marvelous and date back into the 1600's.  The bad news is that if you have a county where an ancestor lived, but don't know the name of the parish, it's almost impossible to research 109 parishes hoping to get lucky and find your people. Stab in the dark, since most records are not indexed.  Families didn't move around too much, so once you find them, you can do quite a lot of research.  Most parishes have on-line images of their original church books.  No index.  (The trick is reading the old Danish script.) 

So, while friends Doug and Claudia Larsen were visiting (we had so much fun!), we decided to take a drive and find Doug's and our ancestral churches.  We were actually close enough to find both in a day.  Below is a picture of the Stokkemarke Church, parish of the first Christensens to come to America.  

Stokemarke Kirke

Stokkemarke Kirke Cemetery

The picture above is the grounds - actually a graveyard surrounding the church.  Beautiful, manicured graves sites - often bordered with clipped hedges, are found outside literally every church in Denmark.   You will not find your ancestor's graves here though, because the old graves were removed long ago.  In Denmark, you  pay a grave fee and have to help with the upkeep to maintain the site, and over the years, neglected graves were given to someone else. Sometimes you see old, removed  headstones lined up along the fence.  You rarely find a grave dated earlier than the late 1800's, even though the churches are much older.

Arriving and Departing a Town.  Efficient.

Ancestral church of the Larsen family

Both churches were unfortunately closed, but we are nothing if not resourceful.  Doug had a selfie-stick.  I wish I had taken a picture of him window-peeking with his camera.

Doug and Claudia were here for about 10 days, so had a lot of time to take in all the sites and not be too rushed.  We escorted them to a few things and they did a lot on their own.  They got pretty good at figuring out their route amid the myriad of confusing streets here. Claudia is a natural navigator. Literally has a map in her head.

Canal Boat Tour.  They had absolutely fabulous weather while here.  The best weather of the entire summer.
Nary a drop of rain.  No wind.  No chilly humidity. 

Danish Pastry.  A must-try.  In the parking lot of the national museum, Frederiksberg Castle.

We had plenty of time with them to visit a Frilandmuseet.  There are several of these open-air museums in Denmark.  The one in Lyngby contains virtually every kind of Danish country dwelling imaginable.  The buildings (over 100) have been relocated to the museum from all over Denmark and are examples of rural architecture from cottages to grand manor houses, furnished and decorated in keeping with the period in which they were built.  It takes a full day to see it all because they are arranged into 40 groups with lots of walking in between.

You can see everything from windmills to fishermen's cottages to manor houses.

This architectural style is called half-timbered.  You see it all over Denmark.  Note the thatched roof.  Thatched roofs are still very common in the rural areas.
I think it is a law that these must be preserved - if you have one you do not replace it  with tile.

One of the older dwellings.  They arranged their farm buildings into a square-shape with cobble-stoned courtyards, often with a well in the center.  The animals and farm equipment were kept inside in attached buildings.  Handy for the long, cold winters.  Kitchens had huge stone ovens, but not much work space.

A room for lace work.  You can see the bobbins on the pillows.  The glass balls were arranged around the room to catch the candle-light and make the room brighter.  I cannot imagine doing hand work in these dark little rooms in the winter!

Claudia and I trooped through most of the houses.  The men kept disappearing to find the nearest bench or stone wall.

We poked around and they found parking spots.

We also had a visit from the Aagards - some temple friends touring Scandinavia.  It was wonderful to see them and the Larsens!  We hope they will look back with fond memories from this beautiful land. We loved sharing Denmark with them.

MORE VISITORS FROM HOME

We were so pleased when Jordan and Emily decided at almost the last minute to come visit.  Airline prices dipped suddenly and they snapped up tickets.  And Shayna and Adeline (granddaughter, yeah!!!) were able to coordinate with Jor and decided to come too. Schedules matched, timing matched and with a few key strokes on the internet all was arranged.    Our visitors  had planned a tricky itinerary which involved Utahans and Texans meeting in New York,

Just a little tired!

sharing a 7 hour lay-over, then flying to Copenhagen via  Dublin, Ireland (overnight stay plus tour).   Complicated, but do-able on a normal day.  But normal flew out the window when  the Delta hub went down and people and planes all over the world were backed up like a Los Angeles freeway on a Friday.  Just hours before departure time.  Could things  be worse?  Well, yes they could. Shayna discovered the night before leaving that Addie's passport had expired.  To make a long story short, miracles occurred.  Did you know that if you can find some place open to take your passport picture in the dead of night,  (the hardest part) you can obtain a passport in person in Dallas?   In hours?  And Jordan was actually able to get on an earlier flight;  Shayna a later one, and both ended up in New York in time to catch their flight to Ireland.  All was good.  Hurrahs.  Just one last catch:  most of Shayna's luggage booked a different trip.  A 5-day trip.  And not to Denmark.  We adjusted.

They wanted to see it all, so we got right to work!  The first day they fell in love with Danish hot dogs.  They are called pølser and you get the best ones at little wagons on the street.  Just pick your sausage, add dried onions, pickled onions, relish, mustard, ketchup and remoulade (a peculiar Danish condiment) and tuck in.  Served on a napkin.  Kind of sloppy, but yummy.

This picture was actually taken by Kendell on a later visit, but you get the idea.  Kendell and Ruth fell in love with a different Danish dish.  Future post.

We tried to show each set of visitors a little something different.  On a trip down the coast to Stevn´s Klint, we detoured and found an unusual Danish church.  I love the churches in Denmark.  Each one is unique on the inside, but most are generally white-washed or red brick on the outside.  But this one was unusual:  yellow- that unique mustard color found on old houses here.

This wonderful church and cemetery was found in Gammel Havdrup.

Every churchyard has a cemetery, manicured and lovely.

Seeing and playing in the freezing Baltic Seat at the Klint (cliff) is always a big hit!

Lovely harbor village, Rødvig

On our way back, we found a cute little couple hitch-hiking.  Or rather, they found us.  They had docked a boat, then walked 12 km along the coast to Stevn's Klint and needed a ride back to their boat. Their crew mates were getting worried.  Since we had a van, we stuffed them in with us.  As a result, we found a cute little fishing village, toured the harbor, and climbed aboard our new friends' sailing boat.  What a way to travel Europe!  They were from Germany and were crusing the coast.

This little cutie came all the way with her mom.  We loved having her and introducing her to her ancestor's homeland.

We saw all the castles and  took bunches of pictures.  Jor arrived with a  selfie-stick and it worked wonders, but you can't use them inside the museums.  Museum people are afraid you will stumble into  prized artifacts and break them.  One does tend to get a little silly  with selfies.

Adeline and Grandpa at Frederiksberg Slot garden.

Christiansborg palace where the current Queen holds receptions - hence the cute shoe covers.  These relatively new tapestries tell the whole history of Denmark.  Fabulous.

Another stop was Christiansborg .  I had never been to this one.  This is where the parliament meets currently, and formal receptions are held in majestic rooms. 

Jordan answering the phone in the copper-potted kitchen.  The butler wanted the soup brought up NOW!
And the royal horses having baths.

You can also visit the kitchens (not in use now, but full of copper pots.  Oh, the copper!)  and the stables,  Emily's favorite part.  The horses get the royal treatment and live in marble stalls.  Yeah.

Besides the Fish Kiss Spa, Adeline and the crew couldn't wait to get to Tivoli.  Tivoli is a very compact amusement park with beautiful flower gardens and restaurants and rides.  One of the rides pulls so many G's that you can't scream.  Of course they tried it.  But, Shayna freaked out most on the sky swings.   Grandpa and I just held the popcorn and said, "Have at it."

Even super moms and dads need a break.  So glad they could come and have a little vacation.

One evening this crew joined us for the missionary couples monthly dinner at the Knudsens.  You know, the place where we had kangaroo.  They met our office friends and mission friends and had an authentic Danish meal crowded  in a tiny Danish apartment.   Another evening we went to the temple where Adeline and Jordan did baptisms for the dead.  Addie and Jor were able to perform baptisms for some of our ancestors born here in the 1800's.  Our family also attended the branch where we proudly introduced them to as many as possible.

Thank goodness the Ortman clothes showed up in time for church.

After sacrament meeting we had a special experience with our family.  We drove to the mission office where Elder Buxton was set apart as the interim Mission President by Elder Sabin (from the Area Presidency in Germany)  and President O'Bryant.  After that,  President O'Bryant was given a priesthood blessing since he was leaving within a few days to go to Salt Lake for a heart procedure.  It was wonderful to see my two men worthy to stand in and assist.  What a great blessing for all of us.

And, we got the following announcement a month early:

We'll be home in time for the big event!!!!  So excited.  It was hard to see our visitors go, but school was starting soon.  Love having family visit and sharing Denmark with them!

DESTINATION ICELAND

Iceland is one of those places which was never on my bucket list of countries to see.  Not even remotely. I am just not enamored with...... well, ice and cold and anything resembling either.  Our Mission President goes once every 6 weeks, at least, because after all, it is part of The Danish Copenhagen Mission and we have 2 couples and 8 elders serving there.  Iceland Elders are actually called to serve in Iceland, learn Icelandic at the MTC, and even stay there an extra 2 weeks  because the language is so difficult.  We have recently had to send a couple of elders to Iceland on temporary emergency transfers and the Danish elders line up to go.  Beats me.  And, with the Icelandic soccer team being so popular in the Olympics, and good advertising and marketing, Iceland has become THE VACATION DESTINATION.  Did you know that they have free layovers for up to 4 days with Icelandic Air?    So hop off the plane in Reykjavik, stay a few days, and hop back on and finish your trip.   Everyone here asks, "Have you been?" or "When are are you going?"  Pressure.

So, armed with brochures, travel guides, maps and information from the Brookes and Anissa (took advantage of the lay-over in May), we decided to take the plunge and bought tickets for July.  My thinking was that Icelandic weather in the dead of summer can't be too bad?  Surely?  How cold can it be in July?  Can I just say that it was a good thing I took a coat........... and an umbrella.

Iceland is not very close, considering.  It is a 5- hour flight through two time zones.  But, other than the cold, rainy weather, I was quite pleasantly surprised.  Things are different there.  For starters, Reykjavik is not an old European city like Copenhagen.  It is a newer, sprawling town, with houses of startling colors and surprisingly flat-topped roofs, lined up on sloping streets.  The sharp smell of the sea saturates the air.  The Shephards, a record-preservation couple from Springville, UT picked us up at the airport and squired us around the city. Nice people.

City of Reykjavik as seen from the tower of the Cathedral shown below.

Hallsgrimskirkja 

The Reykjavik Cathedral (Hallsgrimskirkja Church), the main landmark in the city, sits atop one of the small hills within the city and can be seen from almost anywhere. It is massive and was inspired by the fascinating shapes and patterns formed when lava cools into blocks of basalt rock.  Inside is a humongous pipe organ and outside a statue of Leifur Eirikkson.  It is believed that Eirikkson discovered America 500 years before Columbus. We stayed in a cute little inn, just 100 yards from this beautiful building.

You can't beat Iceland for bizarre and fascinating landscapes.  The place is literally lava rock, spongy moss, waterfalls and glaciers with hot thermal vents thrown in for good measure.  Geothermal fields dot the landscape with miles of white pipe zig-zagging across the landscape and along the highways into the cities.  Houses in Iceland are heated by pumping this hot water directly from the geothermal fields to your radiator.  The water is so hot, that cold water has to be added and then, residents keep windows open in the winter so the heat doesn't suffocate them.  Of course, hot water from the tap is REALLY hot and has a faint sulfur smell. Thankfully, cold water is really cold and delicious.

Geothermal  steam vents

First picture shows  a huge steam vent.  These spout off everywhere.  The picture just above shows the hot water pipes zig-zagging across the hills.  This pattern keeps the pipes from breaking during earthquakes.  You can see the "spongy" moss -covered lava in the foreground.  Many areas are off-limits for walking because this moss takes a thousand years to form and one step ruins it.  BIG fines if you are caught traipsing around the moss.

Since we will probably never return to Iceland again, we took the plunge and did two tours.  The first was an 8-hour guided tour along the southern coast and was called The Golden Circle Tour. Massive tectonic plates from the east and west meet here amid huge waterfalls and rings of ragged rocks. (þingvellir National Park)  Everything was soooooo green.

The rocks jutting up beyond  the black sand shore are called The Three Sisters

The Golden Circle Tour

Our second tour was a bit more grueling.  Fourteen hours on a small bus.  Our very Scottish guide was superb -  entertaining, funny and supremely knowledgeable about all things Icelandic.  He knew everything from the peculiar gait of Icelandic horses to the stories and fables of the trolls who live in the hills.  He chatted for about 13 of the 14 hours.  We stopped at many places and trooped about, then climbed back in the bus, wet and dripping.   I swear, the humidity on that bus was over 100 percent.  Surely. We stopped for lunch and had lamb stew - a very popular food.  One highlight was the Jökulsarlon Glacier and bay where we got up close and personal in an amphibious boat.

Jökulsarlon Glacier and bay 

Because the ground is volcanic with a thin layer of soil you can't dig 6 feet down.  So the graves sit above gound with a light covering of soil.

The waterfall on the top right is the inspiration for the Cathedral in Reykjavik.  (The water fall is in Sveitarfelagið Hornafjöður.)  You can see how the basalt was formed into abrupt, shingled chunks of rock when the lava cooled.   The whole cathedral was constructed to mimic the rocks around the waterfall and the shape of the waterfall itself.  Both are stunning. I can see why tourists want to visit this most unusual country.

On Sunday , the Elders picked us up and took us to Selfoss, a small town with a tiny branch of the church outside Reykjavik.  We were the speakers for sacrament meeting and enjoyed meeting the Icelandic Saints in this small, cold corner of the world.  We even have 2 Elders in the north in Akureyri, located about 49 km from the Arctic Circle where they go for months in the winter without having the sun rise above the mountains.  The Akureyri Elders have had several baptisms this summer.  They are so excited with the work. The Elders who serve here absolutely love the people and the country. When they fly to Copenhagen for meetings, they cannot wait to return.  The love of the people and their homeland seems to be universal with missionaries in the church.  It is a simple truth.  You love those you serve.