Mosta Dome

 

A must see in Malta is the church of the Mosta parish, called Mosta Dome. Hailed as the third largest free-standing Christian dome in Europe, it really is worth a visit. Remember to see the miracle bomb as well, and hear the story of how the German bomb penetrated the dome during World War II and failed to go off, saving the lives of around 300 people celebrating mass there at the time.

 

Flowers in the snow

 

A detail shot from Vestre Cemetery in Valby, a great place to go to get some close-ups of details. Also a great place to wander through the Danish history of the last 100 years. Here you'll find the graves of primeministers, artists, magnates, soldiers from the two world wars, German refugees, immigrants from all over the world and ordinary people lying shoulder to shoulder. There's sections for Catholics and Moslems, for people from Greenland and the Faroe Islands, along with a host of others. Even though I've been here many times, I can still stumble over something I haven't noticed before.

 

A sad sculpture

 
One of my favourite sculptures in Copenhagen is this one, called Death and the Mother by Niels Hansen Jacobsen, 1892. It's placed right outside the oldest building in the inner city, the St Petri Church from the 15th century. The church has been the German church of Copenhagen since being given to the German Lutherans in 1585 by King Frederik 2. Its most prominent internent is Count Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772), German doctor, royal physician to King Christian 7, de facto regent and lover to the queen. His downfall ended with him being beheaded, drawn and quartered.