Andrew and I on the bus, repping the hometown. 
Katherine looking so grown up, in the Stones tee she “had to have.”
Busy weekend days. We make them play with us. Crazy Saturday nights. We make them read to us.
Sehrish and I checked out a new restaurant Glou Glou. So good. Butternut squash flatbread and the potatoes were my favorite.
The next week we went to see the Queen open the new panda exhibit at the Copenhagen Zoo.
Awaiting the the Queen and company on the red carpet.
Queen Margrethe II is 79, and has ruled for 47 years. Crown Princess Mary is married to her son, the heir apparent Crown Prince Frederik.
We were in the press pool (we help out with a Danish expat magazine.) 
The Queen, Crown Princess Mary, and all the VIPS.
The cute new pandas.
xoxo-sk
ps. Two excellent finds in April. Unicorn fruit loops for K. The cereal selection here is rather slim. And the Mikkeller brewery/Creature Comforts collab. Our favorite Athens, Georgia brewery and our favorite Danish brewery had a beer baby. Small world.
Adventurous Andrew smelled it all. He may not eat much of anything, but he smells everything.
I decided I would try everything, why not? When would I get another chance to try all this gross stuff again. I defiantly wouldn’t ever be ordering it off any menu. Andreas and his vomit bucket awaited me. Below are just some of the stuff I tried. Andreas kept pulling stuff from underneath the counter for me to sample.
Don’t let this fool you. They didn’t try anything really. I think they ate some of the dried bugs (which my kids have tried before), and this pic is of them trying root beer. 
Make that 28 days. Going in I didn’t think I was going to throw up, but after a couple….
We finished the day with dinner at the kid’s favorite Malmö restaurant, the Surf Shack. Burgers, fries, and all you can drink cokes and slushies. 
We got to play tour guide and show them around. First stop being coffee/tea/treats.
Everyone loves a good picture at Nyhavn.
We walked up the water to visit the Little Mermaid.
Right by the Little Mermaid (and our house) is Kastellet. It’s a pentagon shaped citadel that was in active use from 1624 to the 1830s. Some of the buildings are still in use today. It also serves as a public park. We call it the star park, because that’s what it looks like on the map. Matt, Andy, Katherine, and Melissa standing by the Rows, old soldier’s barracks. Andrew is on top of the ramparts.
Andrew exploring again, he wanted seaweed apparently. He almost fell in again, he might have… “Good thing we are close to home.” he said. 
Before they left, we managed an adult only dinner at Tight. Really good. Andy got his mussels frites again, Matt and I got ribs, and Melissa got cod. One of my favorites, apple crumble for dessert.
March begins with Fastelavn. It is kinda a mix between Halloween and Carnival. The kids wore their costumes to school. This year it was pretty much a repeat of when we celebrated (American) Halloween- a unicorn and a skeleton.
We went exploring in Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro.
A copy of the famous sculpture, Laocoon and his Sons. We saw the original in Rome. A copy of Michelangelo’s Moses is on the right.
Following our walk through the park, we went to get some treats. K got cheesecake and warm chocolate. Not hot chocolate, only warm. Danes are pretty literal. Also, the cheesecake isn’t what you are used to in America. It’s still good, but not real “cheesecake” good.
Some random food pics from this month. Far left- the Danish version of nachos from Vaca; middle pic- Andrew’s fav, Dorito Roulette, some are nacho flavor, some are spicy; far right- a yummy lunch Andy and I shared at Armandos.
The kids have been looking forward to the big third grade play since the got here. They are learning all about mythology and this year’s play was Perseus and Medusa. It was an impressive production, with the kids helping to write the play, make the costumes, and design the set. Katherine was Hera in her class’s production, while Andrew was a God/narrator.
They did a fantastic job. Such great work by everyone. So proud.
I will leave you with a short story by Katherine that she wrote in her after-school writing class.
We celebrated my Birthday on the 14th. I got sweet cards and gifts from the family. Andy sent me to get a massively expensive pedicure (seriously they are pricey here, and I would never go on my own.) It was lovely. Andy was still really sick, so we decided to celebrate properly the next weekend.
With Andy feeling better, we went to dinner at the French lalala for a belated birthday celebration.
Ending the night at our favorite neighborhood bar, The Black Swan.
The weather was beautiful (finally) so my friend, Sehrish and I decided to take advantage of it and walk around Copenhagen. We started the day with coffee (her) and tea (me).
We walked from Nørreport thru City Central to Christiania. We wanted to try the vegetarian restaurant there, Morgenstedet. I had vegetarian lasagna and a variety of their daily salads.
Ending a lovely day with another tea in Nyhavn.
We got there in the early evening, and the kids couldn’t wait to get in the water. Andy and I waited until the next day to go in. Andy’s still not feeling great, but he’s a team player. 
A half day in Vienna, a train ride, a bus ride, and playing in the water make for a very tired group.
The kids spent most of the morning wearing themselves out, going down every ride they could. After lunch, they went to the kids club (the babysitter), and Andy and I got to visit all the saunas. They had four different kinds and an ice cold plunge pool. I am not a huge sauna person, but Andy really likes them. I can only stand them for so long.
K loves lighting prayer candles. She says she prays for her family and world peace.
Another pretty Church that I can’t remember the name of (or that I couldn’t figure out from Google maps.)
This Art Nouveau clock, built in 1911 by Franz von Matsch, is tucked away between two Anker Insurance Company buildings. It performs a little parade of historic figures everyday at noon. Our timing didn’t work out to see the show, but the clock was really cool looking.
They do love their composers here. Although technically born in the town of Bonn, Beethoven spent most most of his adult life in Vienna (35 years.) He originally came to study under Mozart at 17, but circumstances took him back to Bonn, and Mozart died in the meantime. He returned at 22 to study under Haydn. The picture on the right is the Sebastian Kneipp Fountain. He was a Bavarian priest and the forefather of naturopathic medicine.
Monument to Austrian songwriter, composer, and conductor, Robert Stoltz. His career took him to Berlin often, and during WW2, he smuggled Jews from Germany in the trunk of his limo 21 times. The Nazi’s eventually came after him, and he had to leave Austria.
Vienna, our time together was too short. Hopefully, we will meet again. I still need to visit my favorite painting, The Kiss, at The Belvedere, visit Schonbrunn Palace, and see the Imperial jewels at the Schatzhammer.
xoxo-sk
After checking into the hotel, we headed past the Evangelical Church HB (Reformed City Church) for some lunch at the Wiener Küche. We shared some schnitzel, potatoes (both fried and creamy), and apple streusel. I also had some kind of squash soup, at least that’s what I think it was. Doesn’t really matter; it was a lunch special, and it was good.
We started our Viennese exploration at the Hofburg Palace. The Hofburg was the home of the Royal Habsburgs for 600 years. It was built in the 13th century as a medieval castle and expanded with each new emperor’s reign. The Hofburg is a massive complex, consisting of 18 wings, 2,600 rooms, and 19 courtyards. Presently, it is the home and workplace of the President of Austria, with 5,000 people living and working there.
The Amalienburg (above) was built in the 16th century, and it houses Empress Sisi’s apartments, part of the Imperial Apartments we toured.
Kids were pretty impressed with the massive (30m!) gold Milan Centerpiece. 
A plate collection selfie.
The end of my legally taken pictures in the Silver Collection.
A scale model of the Hofburg circa 1900.
I am usually very much a rule follower. But sometimes, I can’t help myself. I’ve found that with some Palaces/Castles you aren’t allowed to take pictures. Apparently, there is no photography permitted in the Imperial Apartments or the Sisi Museum. They don’t allow it because (the lady said) it slowed people down and (via the website) people were taking pictures with the flash on (big no no.) So, I didn’t feel too bad about sneaking some (quick and non flash) pics. Andy (of all people) didn’t like me misbehaving.
Walking from the Hofburg in Hero’s Square through the outer castle gate to the massive Maria-Theresien-Platz. We are standing in front of the Empress Maria Theresa Monument. She sits atop the monument, with her military commanders on horses below her. The Square is populated by various museums.
Kunsthistorisches Museum, I think… There were tons of very similar beautiful museums in the Square (which we did not have time to visit.) I absolutely loved the sculptured bushes.
The City Hall is the seat of the local Vienna government. It was built in the late 19th century. Atop the 98m tower is the 
The gorgeous Votive Church (my fav Vienna Church) was constructed in 1879 after an assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph (Empress Sisi’s husband) in 1853. The Church was built to give thanks to God for saving the Emperor’s life. It is built in the same Neo-Gothic style as the neighboring Rathaus. They look very similar.
As the afternoon went on, Andy started to not feel good (this does not bode well, sickness usually hits the kids and me, but rarely him.) With hopes tea may revive him, we stop at Aida Cafe. We have the usual, English Breakfast for me and Earl Gray for Andy, with Apple Cake and Aida Cake with cream. After the amazing cakes and pastries at Ruszwarn in Buda, these paled in comparison.
Church on the Court (or Church of the Nine Choirs of Angles) was built at the end of the 14th century. It is located in the Am Hof, one of the most historic Squares in Vienna. 
In the center of the square is the Marian Column, built the in thanks of Mary for helping defeat the Swedish during the Thirty Years’ War.
A quick stroll by the apartment Mozart and his family lived in from 1784 to 1787 when he was at his creative peak.
Dinner was a shared sausage the size of K’s head (and she has a big head.)
xoxo-sk
We passed this store on the first day here, and Katherine knew she couldn’t leave Budapest without having a unicorn doughnut. She loved looking at it, but did not love how it tasted. She is not a mascapone fan. Her Dad helped out.
In the 18th century, St. Stephan’s Basilica began it’s life as a theater. Plans and fundraising for a new church began in the early to mid 1800s, and the Basilica was consecrated in 1905.
After the Basilica, we strolled down Andrássy Avenue. There are beautiful homes and shops along the walk. The beautiful Hungarian State Opera House was covered in scaffolding. I’m sure it’s lovely, and they were nice enough to show us a picture of what we were missing. That’s the way it goes sometimes with old cities and old buildings.
Andrássy Avenue ends at the city’s largest square, Hero’s Square. It was built at the end of the 19th century, and it honors important people from Hungarian history. It is punctuated by the Millennium Monument. The 36m tall colonnade monument has the Archangel Gabriel atop it, holding the Hungarian Holy Crown of St. Stephen and a double cross. At the bottom of the monument are 7 Magyar Chieftains. Statues on the Left and Right include Hungarian kings, leaders, and military heros.
Vajdahunyad Castle was built in 1896. It was designed by Ignác Alpár to resemble various buildings in the Hungarian Kingdom, especially Hunyad Castle in Transylvania. It is said Bram Stoker’s Castle Dracula was based on Hunyad Castle. It is a hodgepodge of architectural styles.
The Ják Chapel. The inspiration for the Castle’s Chapel was a 13th century Abbey Church in Ják (western Hungary.)
The largest and one of the most popular thermal bath in Europe is the Széchenyi Thermal Bath. This medicinal bath is heated by underground thermal springs, with the water full of healing minerals. It was built in 1913.
The beautiful Dohány Street Synagogue. It was built in the mid 19th century and is the largest synagouge in Europe, holding 3,000 people. Unfortunately, since we scaled back on some of our outings, we weren’t able to get over to this side of town to visit during the day. It did look beautiful lit up at night. This Moorish influenced complex also houses the Hungarian Jewish Museum, a cemetery, Hero’s Temple, and a Holocaust Memorial Park. 
Beautiful ornamental details.
Yeah, we were those people with their kids and their ipads at the bar. We picked a popular touristy one, so there were all kinds of people there, no one cared. Kids thought all the decorations were crazy.
After our quick drink, we headed to dinner at kid friendly (and Scottish chain restaurant) BrewDog.
Andrew tried some of Andy’s hot wings. For a boy who is a super unadventurous eater, it’s always shocking to me he will try hot stuff.
Goodbye Budapest, you were great, wish we could have done more. Maybe an adults only visit is in the future…
xoxo-sk 