Month: March 2019

This year Andy and I decided we were going to spend the holidays in Copenhagen. We wanted to have at least one Danish Christmas/New Year’s while we lived here. Since we were spending the holidays away from our families for the first time, we tried to incorporate some of our family’s traditions here. I also made some of our favorite dishes from our travels.

We started Christmas Eve at a friend’s lovely holiday party.

Heading home to get ready for dinner and Santa.For Christmas Eve, I made my favorite dish from Rome, Cacio e Pepe. We followed dinner with a viewing of Home Alone. Katherine and Andy made a plate of goodies for Santa. This year’s offering was very impressive.

Happy Birthday Jesus, Merry Christmas!

After tearing through all the presents, I made the traditional Simmons Christmas brunch-  Eggs Benedict. (The English muffins were hard to find.)

We had tea later that afternoon, with scones Katherine helped me make, in my new Perch’s teapot. Our ode to Edinburgh.Dinner was pork schnitzel (Germany) and fried mozzarella (Prague), with gelato (Italy) for dessert.

New Year’s Eve- K in her new nightgown and some homemade blueberry muffins (a Kee Christmas morning tradition.)

It is crazy here at New Year’s. Fireworks everywhere. We live in the city and heard fireworks in the days both before and after 31st. The kids weren’t impressed after a few days of being woken up by the noise. They light them off everywhere, sides of the street, parks, courtyards, store fronts. I ran to the store and came across some fireworks being set off in the middle of the road. What was hilarious to me, was that no-one even seemed to give it a second glance- cars kept going, people didn’t even stop to watch. Like true Danes, we watched the Queen’s New Year Address (in Danish.)

Later that night we heard singing outside our window. It was the Russians singing outside their embassy. It seems they had a mini celebration with their ambassador, ending with a toast. Then they dispersed.

As midnight approached, we walked with the kids to the Lakes to watch the fireworks. The Danes are usually pretty level headed, with a strong streak of common sense, but not on New Year’s. They go wild with the fireworks. They are constant and haphazard. The wearing of protective eyewear is actually recommended due to the prevalence of injuries.

After awhile, the kids were cold, we went back home, and the fireworks continued all night. Happy Danish New Year.

xoxo-sk

ps. Missed all the usual New Year’s Eve shenanigans with old friends.

While in Sweden, we went to the Universeum. It is a really cool museum/science center that has all sorts of fun stuff and exhibits for the kids to explore. They had a great time.

Making our way to the top where they replicate the Swedish countryside.  This stream is full of salmon and trout.

Andrew in the mouth of a Megatooth Shark that lived from 25 million years ago to a million years ago.

Checking out all the fishies in the Ocean Zone.

Over the bridge to the Neotropical rainforest.

A sweater was perfect for the chilly Swedish weather, but super hot in the humid rainforest. It is kept between 20-25 Celsius and at 90% relative humidity.

Katherine with her favorite- the sloth.

Andrew with his favorite- the Goeldi’s monkey.

Onto the science exhibits.

Fun fact- Andy is obsessed with heat cameras.

Learning all about space and space toilets.

After all this fun, we headed back to the hotel.

This statue of a girl at the train station really spoke to me.

A Swedish speciality, a cardamon bun, for the train ride back for K and me.

xoxo-sk

ps. Found massive glass Coke bottles. They really don’t like plastic over here.

From Oslo, we took the train to Göthenburg, Sweden. As per the previous post, the kids got their McDonalds fix at the train station in Oslo. Andy and I, on the there hand, took our dinner to go and ate on the train. Being the classy girl I am, I jumped at the chance to eat my beloved Subway. I am not a huge Subway fan when I am in the States, but for some reason, it has become my go to fast food in Europe. (They don’t have one in CPH.) Andy got some fancy panini.

We have made it. The kids were excited, because this is their favorite kinda hotel room- bunk beds.

We set off exploring Göthenberg the next morning. Lilla Bommen aka the Lipstick aka the Lego House is a massive building beside the harbour. It is 282 feet high and was built in 1989. It is a very cool looking structure.

The Opera House built in 1994. 

The old boats moored in the Lilla Bommen harbour.

Candy break with some crazy Nerd flavors.

The German Christian Church, established in 1623. The building was completed in 1783.

The City Hall.

The Göthenberg Cathedral (back and front.) It was built in 1633.

Katherine and some fun statues- Poseidon and what kinda looks like Falkor, the Luckdragon, from the movie, Never Ending Story.

Saluhallen is a large food market, with a massive selection of yummy stuff.

Götaplatsen Square with a large statue of Poseidon erected in 1931.

A small little park we found with a lovely pond and some swings.

xoxo-sk

My favorite place in Oslo was the Opera House. It is a beautiful building with a large slanted roof for you to climb. When you reach the top (which was not easy in the snow), you are rewarded with fabulous views of the harbor and Oslo.  

Next stop was the Akershus Fortress. Akershus is a sprawling medieval complex that was built in the 1300s. It’s been used as a royal residence, military base, and now a museum. We explored around the fortress’s walkways and battlements, lots of hills, twists, and turns.

Andrew is trying to breech the castle’s walls.

So much snow- kids are into it. Katherine and I have matching boots.

Keeping our hangry kids happy is key to an enjoyable trip.

Off to Vigeland Park. As it is a little ways from the city, we took a tram. Yes, Andrew is playing Pókemon Go on Andy’s phone.

But first we found a playground, which we obviously must stop at.Vigeland Sculpture Park has of over 200 pieces by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland. It was built between 1939 and 1949. The pieces are made of bronze and granite. These are just some of my favorites and some of our recreations.

I feel you sister.Interestingly, my favorite part of Vigeland was the decorative iron gates. It’s hard to get a good picture, but they are amazing.

In the center of the park is “The Monolith.” It is 46 feet tall and made out of a single piece of granite. There are 121 figures on it. After we explored the park, K and I shared a slice of apple cake and hot chocolate at Anne på Landet.

“Enjoy yourself.” And enjoy ourselves we did Oslo, you were wonderful. It was a great trip, and we are now onto Göthenburg. But fear not, the kids had McDonalds at the train station before we left.

xoxo-sk

ps. Always love paying for the toilet.

If you didn’t know, Andrew loves art. While not a huge fan of museums, he does enjoy seeing his favorite paintings. When we told him the painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch was in Oslo, he was excited to see it.

The painting is housed in The National Gallery. Lucky for us, we got to see it before the Gallery closed for renovations in 2019.

We signed the guest book. Katherine with a heart, Andrew with a knife through a heart…

“The Last Shots” by Arne Ekeland.

They had a room set up where you could try your hand at sketching a sculpture. Both kids gave it a go.

Andrew’s turned out pretty impressive. I framed it. (K did not finish hers.) 

Andrew and a Monet.Andrew and his favorite artist, van Gogh.Life imitating art. Andrew and “The Scream.”

Andy and I liked these- Silence and Mystery. They are so melancholy. 

xoxo-sk

 

First stop after we disembarked from the ship and we checked in (and Andy took a work call), was lunch. Right around the corner from our hotel was a cute pizzeria, Mamma Pizza. You know our kids love their pizza. I think pizza is Andrew’s love language.

Then we set off to explore Oslo.

First stop- Oslo Cathedral, built in late 1600s. No pictures from the inside due to services. The kids loved the snow. LOVED the snow. They mostly just climbed the hills made from the cleared snow, and they really enjoyed the crunch the fresh snow made under their boots when they walked. And of course they loved making snow angels.

…greatest of all is love. Good words to live by.

Andrew meet a friend while heading through town.

The Grand Hotel decorated beautifully for Christmas.

As you walk along Karl Johans Gate, Oslo’s main road, you come across lots of Oslo’s famous buildings. The Norwegian Parliament.The National Theater, founded in 1829.

One great thing about visiting Oslo in December is the Christmas Markets. We got to meet Swedish Santa, try some Swedish treats, and warm our hands by the smokey fire. I love the atmosphere in the Christmas markets.

In the middle of the aptly named Royal Palace Park is the Royal Place. The Palace was built in the 19th century and serves in both a residential and official capacity with reception rooms and offices. It has 173 rooms, and sadly for me is only open to the public during the summer.

I loved this sculptural chair and art installation. It did not photograph well though.

We visited a trifecta of churches- St. Edmund’s Church, Trinity Church, and St. Olav’s Catholic Cathedral. The children were thrilled.

Quick stop at one more Christmas market in Youngstorget. 

They do love their reindeers here.

We popped in to look around the Nobel Peace Center.

TheTown Hall/Rådhuset and a totally random sculpture of the Pied Piper to end our day.

xoxo-sk

ps. Everywhere was card only, which is fine by me. Less hassle, no exchanging money. It is very card friendly in the Nordic countries, but definitely not in other European countries (Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia come to mind.)