Ellen G. White in Europe 1885-1887

The Arrival in Copenhagen

Three more travel hours brought them at midnight to Kiel, on the Baltic Sea. Soon they were at rest in assigned staterooms of a little steamer, bound for Korsor, a port city on the west side of the large Danish island of Sjaelland. Then came another train ride across to Copenhagen on the east coast of the island. The traveling party arrived Friday morning at 10:00 A.M. EGWE 93.3

They were met at the Copenhagen station by John G. Matteson and Knud Brorsen. The two men had been working there since spring, and in spite of difficulties, had started a church of about twenty members. EGWE 93.4

Matteson took his guests by hack to Oster Farimagsgade 49 (now No. 73), and then to the Matteson's apartment on the sixth floor. There were no lifts to speed the ascent. But once Ellen White got settled, she was very much impressed with the view she had from her “sky parlor” (Manuscript 25, 1885). “It is closer to heaven up here,” Europeans often say of their high apartments. EGWE 93.5

“The view from our windows was very fine. Just across the street were beautiful grounds which had the appearance of an extensive park or garden. We were somewhat surprised to learn that it was a cemetery.^*... Evergreen hedges separated the inclosures, and choice flowers and shrubs were scattered everywhere.”—Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 179. EGWE 93.6

Looking off toward the sea, she saw the windmills, and to the right of that the golden dome of Alexander Newsky's Russian Orthodox church. Not far away she discovered the Kommune Hospital. She was surprised to learn the sick were “provided with everything—room, food, bedding—for thirty cents per day.” And then she commented, “This is one of Copenhagen's blessings, especially for the poorer class, who must suffer with want of proper care and conveniences if it were not for this merciful provision.”—Manuscript 25, 1885. The Danes are rightly proud of their medical system and the provisions that are made for the care of the citizens, especially the poor. EGWE 93.7

On Thursday, after meeting a dental appointment, she returned to her room by way of a beautiful artificial lake, the charm of which took away some of the pain of the dentist's chair. She commented on the fine sturdy buildings of Copenhagen and its “large grand blocks” which reminded her of Oakland and San Francisco, California. EGWE 95.1