We are thankful for our flat that was able to accommodate all seven of us and though it was a little cramped, and though only one small bathroom we made the best of the situation and it seemed to work out. Josiah and Anthony slept in our living room, which, unfortunately for them, is where the city street noise is the loudest all night long on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Ear plugs are a wonderful thing in such noisy situations, along with a blowing fan to drown out the nightlife noise! At the end of Anthony's stay, before he left to go back to Chicago he said that while he would miss many things about being in Copenhagen, the night noise was would NOT one of them! (I have to agree with that statement!)
After a few days of the kids shaking off jet lag, waiting for Josiah and Sami's lost luggage to arrive, and me just basking in the comfort of having all the kids at home, we were ready to go out and do some sight-seeing. Being so centrally located in the city, it was very convenient to step out the door and take a walk to many, many attractions close by. Leah and Sophia were excited to take the boys and Sami one block over from our flat to Stroget, the walking street that is the longest shopping street in all of Europe. The girls do love that street and I seriously think they could walk to H&M (their favorite store) blind-folded! The Stroget street was adorned with greenery swags with red hearts, Christmas displays in the windows, an occasional street performer playing music, the smell of roasted candied almonds and Nutella crepes wafting through the cold, brisk air as you walk by the food stands---are you getting the picture? It's pretty awesome.
One day we took the kids to experience Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world and opened in 1843 and actually was the inspiration for Walt Disney when he designed Disneyland! Mike and I had not yet been there ourselves so we were really looking forward to seeing the park. We heard many a time how beautifully decorated Tivoli is at Christmas and after seeing it, we wholeheartedly agree. It really was a beautiful sight to see----all the lights, the European feel of the park, lots of restaurants and as it got dark (by 3:30 pm) the Christmas lights EVERYWHERE were breath taking! The kids went on rides and took in an amazing laser light show that they do each night over the lake in the middle of the park. There were also fireworks each night between Christmas and New Years and because our flat is not very far away from Tivoli, we could just stay in the warmth of our home and watch from the windows. :)
The days passed by so quickly since their arrival to Copenhagen and before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. We spent the afternoon and evening playing games including the traditional dice game (as we call it). We usually play it with 'homemade' instructions and didn't ever know it was an actual game, until I happened to see it in a bookstore while Christmas shopping one day. Come to find out the dice game originated in Denmark! It goes to show Danes are very fun people!! In Danish, the game is called Pakkeleg (pronounce pack-el-lie). We decided to play the Danish version of the game, after all we are in Denmark. I have to say the highlight of the game was listening to Josiah snort like a pig for 15 seconds straight!
Of course we also enjoyed sharing a family Christmas Eve meal. Sitting down for meals together is one of the highlights for me of our extended time together---having a FULL table every day reminded me of the blessing of family. We later watched a Christmas movie and opened our gifts. The kids came from the states bearing gifts of peanut butter, vanilla, tomato sauce, chocolate chips, garlic powder, measuring cups, etc., I was giddy with excitement over these kitchen treasures! (Thank you to Mel (Anthony's girlfriend) and the whole Lee family for their contribution as well!) Oh, and I forgot to mention red licorice! My favorite, but we can't get it here. My guess would be because the Danes seem to have a hankering for all things black licorice. Then there is the salted black licorice. Ewww. There is black licorice tea, cheesecake, ice cream, throat lozenges, gum, gummy type candy, even black licorice spice in the spice section of the store--quite the variety!
Being that we are in close proximity to many other European countries, we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity for the kids to expand their horizons a bit. So the day after Christmas we went to Germany! We took a train and then a short ferry to Lubeck for a day trip excursion to see the German Christmas market. Since Sophia had been there with her school earlier in the month, she was able to help us know where to find the markets within the city. We spent the day browsing the many markets, finding some favourite German keepsakes such as candle holders, ornaments and honey. . .from Finland (it was a great find since Samantha is part Finnish.) :) I think one of the highlights of our trip to Germany was having a bratwurst with mustard. I swear it tasted better because were eating it in Germany!
On December 28th, Leah's good friend from high school, Bianca Bui came to visit! Leah had been anticipating Bianca's arrival for some time---it was so nice to see her again and for the girls to have a chance to do some sight-seeing together, go out to the café, shop, etc. She rolled with the punches in putting up with a house full of Emersons, our weird ways and family game playing and our one bathroom.
On New Year's Eve, we took another day trip---this time to Sweden. It is only about a 30 minute train ride from Copenhagen to Malmo, Sweden--basically just have to go over a very large bridge that connects the two cities. We spent a little time walking through parts of the city, stopping for coffee in an old, historical section of town. Being Minnesota hockey fans that we are (I will include myself in that as I am beginning to appreciate the sport more and more), the highlight of the day trip was going to the Jr. International Hockey Championship which was being held in Malmo! It so happened that we were able to see the USA vs. Canada game--exciting!! Extra fun because a number of the players on team USA actually play for the Minnesota Gophers, and the head coach of team USA happens to also be the Gophers head coach. Josiah and Sami are avid Gopher hockey fans/season ticket holders and so they were decked out in their maroon and gold (along with some red, white and blue)to show their support. It was a very exciting game, even though 95% of the people there were crazy Canadian fans! Unfortunately, Canada won by a goal. :( We had some fun though,as we exited the arena after the game. With just tons of people all jostling their way to the exits of the arena some Canadians spontaneously started chanting 'CA-NA-DA!' to which spirited Josiah out of nowhere, and all by his lonesome yelled back 'U-S-A!' Again the crowd would yell, 'CA-NA-DA! Now we all joined Josiah and yelled, 'U-S-A!' Back and forth the chanting went with more and more USA fans joining in! It was all in good fun for everyone. . .Josiah really knows how to rile up a crowd!
We took the l-o-n-g walk back to the train after the game and headed back to Copenhagen to get ready for celebrating New Year's Eve. Let's just say ringing in the new year Copenhagen style is a celebration like we had never seen or experienced before!!!! Oh. My. Gosh. As the clock struck midnight the sky was ablaze with fireworks, people on all the streets and most definitely in the nearby square lighting off fireworks and firecrackers in rapid succession, fireworks going every which way, people yelling in celebration, major fireworks way up in the sky. . . it was crazy!!! We were so thankful to be up in our flat, to view it all from a safe distance. (Maybe that sounds boring to you but people were randomly shooting off fireworks/throwing firecrackers on all the streets---chaotic fun I guess you could call it?) We flung open the windows to watch in amazement at the scene before us. Snap, crackle, pop---Happy 2014 everyone!!
Our last trip in Scandinavia with the kids was to Oslo, Norway. We went on a large ferry, more like a mini-cruise ship leaving Copenhagen in the late afternoon and traveling overnight, arriving in Oslo the next morning. The sun doesn't rise until 8:30 a.m. (a nice perk with the combination of getting to sleep in, yet still getting to see the sunrise!) Daylight came just as we were going through some of Norway's infamous Fjord's. A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs that are caused by glacial erosion. It was a beautiful sight as we watched from the outside deck of the ship. There were several islands, mountainous areas, beautiful trees. Seeing the sunrise along with the natural beauty of the fjords was simply spectacular! We eventually docked in Oslo and had only about six hours of sight-seeing before we had to be back on the boat for our trek back to Copenhagen. We decided to go to a living, outdoor museum up in the nearby hills of Oslo. It was a fascinating place---seeing how people lived throughout the history of Norway with over 150 buildings from different areas and regions of Norway. Following our time at the museum we headed back to Oslo in time to do a little souvenir shopping as well as stopping to see the magnificent Oslo Opera House which is situated right on the water, close to where our ship was located. It is an architectural masterpiece---incredible how they built it to where visitors can 'climb' all around the structure, up the sides, on the roof---it made for great photo opportunities overlooking the bay as well as the city. Too soon it was time to get back on the ship for another overnight trip back to Copenhagen.
The remainder of the time with the kids here was filled with showing them more of Copenhagen with highlights of bike riding through the city, taking the train up the coast to the town of Helsingor to visit King Christian IV's castle, going to Roskilde to the Viking ship museum, visiting the Royal Library called 'The Black Diamond', watching the changing of the guard at the royal family palace, just to name a few. We also were able to celebrate Anthony's 23rd birthday the day before he left to go back to Chicago which was really nice. It was hard to see him go but we are hanging on to the many memories made as a family. Josiah and Sami were able to stay an additional week as classes didn't start as early as Anthony's did. It was nice that they all didn't leave at the same time. I don't think my heart could take that! As it was, it was hard to say good-bye but we were so happy and thankful for the extended time as a family and Sami joining us for 'Christmas in Copenhagen'. We definitely were busy making lasting memories that we can always keep with us!!
The brothers reunited in Denmark!
Anthony, Josiah and Sami at Nyhavn area of
Copenhagen.
All together again! :)
Josiah and Sami whizzing around on the swings on a cold winter night.
Proof that they are hearty (or crazy) Minnesotans that didn't seem to mind the wind chill!
B-r-r-ing on the heat, it's cold out here!
Laser light show at Tivoli.
Christmas lights on a weeping willow tree.
How do they do that?!
Danish Christmas specialties:
Glogg--Scandinavian Christmas drink of warm mulled wine.
Ris a l'amande (Danish rice pudding with cherry sauce---soooo good!).
Waiting to eat Aebliskiver!! (served with powdered sugar and jam)
GERMANY: Sunrise while on ferry to Lubeck.
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Where better to eat a bratwurst than in Germany!
USA scored to tie 2-2!!
OSLO, NORWAY!!
Going through some Fjords on the way to Oslo.
Norwegian Outdoor Museum
A very old Norwegian church.
Oslo Opera House
Looking at the cruise ship from the opera house.
Josiah - Daring to be different.
