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Packing up and getting the house ready for visitors
Amy has been cleaning and dejunking for a couple weeks, but she really kicked it into high gear today. Her friend Julie brought over Starbucks and the two of them cleaned the whole house. It looks awesome! I can see the chair that normally acts as a wardrobe :-)
Now I just have to fit 5 weeks worth of stuff, plus Amy's mom Ann, into the Sequoia for the trip to San Francisco. On the plane tomorrow at 6 AM. Yay!!
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First few days...
June 5-7, 2013
We left Sacramento after the kids last day of school, swim party at Rio Del Oro, Nathan's TOC baseball game, and Ryan's Cub Scout Bridging ceremony from Bear Scout to Webelos at 9pm...and...Well...Our 3:00am wake-up call came pretty quick at the El Rancho Hotel in San Francisco
...but we all rallied and made it to the airport for our 6 AM flight to Denmark from SFO. The Kids did remarkably well on the flight...we were surprised! We arrived Copenhagen time 7:15 AM and hit the ground running. Uncle John helped some of us find our new home while Dave and Mette's sister Bridget drove the route with all our luggage...Thanks John and Bridget!!!! We actually got to meet our "house swap " family and visit with them for about an hour. We found the grocery store and the near by lake just in time for a dinner picnic.
June 8, 2013
After a pretty good night sleep...we met my Uncle John for a day at the beach...the weather was amazing... sailboats were out and we could see Sweden in the background. The kids had a playful time in the sand, while the adults relaxed and visited. Uncle John had to get home by 5 PM....but the Witte 6+ carried on...We wandered through a nearby nature area to find a 400 year old amusement park, Bakken. Now, This is where the locals hang out! There is no entrance fee...so we walked right in...there were restaurants, free entertainment, great people watching...and amusement rides for a small fee. The kids played a carnival game and won 2 kg of Toblerone chocolate ...on the first try!!! The kids were thrilled to carry their Toblerone all around the park and then home on the bus! We had a blast and returned home around 10pm.
June 9, 2013
Today, we decided to attend church in Copenhagen...we found an International church that I attended as a child in 1976...and it was great...our children attended Sunday school...and we stayed for coffee and snacks after the service to talk with members of the congregation. We met some very interesting and friendly folks.
We walked through the Botanical gardens on the way to downtown and some walking shopping streets, and eventually we found a canal boat tour...we all loved the tour (sand castle competition, Opera House, Royal Library...The Black Diamond, Royal Yacht, The Prince's Palace).
June 10, 2013
This is the day that we decided to get the "Copenhagen Card" which covers all public transportation and many museums and activities in the city...First, we decided that we would climb 386 steps to the top of "Church of the Savior" church where the spiral stairs wind around the outside steeple of a church.
The weather was clear and beautiful and we could see the entire city. Across the street was a famous " Hipppie Commune" called Christiana...we were not sure what this was about, but we look a quick look around. Next, we went to Tivoli... where we had a nice dinner and let the kids ride as many rides as they could before closing time. Including 11 straight rides in the same seats on the Gold Tower.
June 11, 2013
Copenhagen Zoo- We met my Cousin and my Uncle at the Zoo today. It was an amazing Zoo and we seem to see all the highlights including: feeding Baboons, mating lions, active polar bears, Ryan feeding camels ,and a 4 month old elephant with her parents. Visiting with my cousin Anna and my Uncle was, of course, priceless. They provided a traditional Danish lunch and we all loved it!After the Zoo, Witte 6 headed downtown again, where we hiked up the "Round Tower", walked Nyhavn ( a famous Harbor), and had a lovely Greek dinner out on one of the walking/shopping streets of downtown Copenhagen...the men working at the restaurant were so nice...they gave the kids FREE ice cream cones after dinner:)
June 12, 2013
Well...we still had the Copenhagen Card...and we were determined to get our $$ worth so we got up and went to the Experimentarium...Copenhagen's version of the Exploritorium...it was super...the kids had sooo much fun with all the hands on science learning...they are begging to go back...we left a little early to meet my Uncle John in his neighborhood...the kids had a lot of fun playing on all the different play structures that Uncle John's neighborhood had to offer...after a quick lunch, we went swimming at Uncle John's neighborhood recreation center...the pool had 3 different pools, a cool " light up" water slide...kiddie pool...huge pool toys...fun was had by all!
June 13, 2013
Today we had planned to go to a Viking Museum out of town but we woke up late and it was raining...so we decided to go to Sweden on the train. We were able to visit the small town of Lund where I lived 38 years ago. We found my old house and school...we walked through a famous Cathedral in the center of town....
in the town center, there was a concert to celebrate the beginning of summer...we were able to purchase food from a vendor...smoked salmon & roasted potatoes, beer and listen to some local music...this was a special surprise...It was fantastic!!!
We left Sacramento after the kids last day of school, swim party at Rio Del Oro, Nathan's TOC baseball game, and Ryan's Cub Scout Bridging ceremony from Bear Scout to Webelos at 9pm...and...Well...Our 3:00am wake-up call came pretty quick at the El Rancho Hotel in San Francisco
...but we all rallied and made it to the airport for our 6 AM flight to Denmark from SFO. The Kids did remarkably well on the flight...we were surprised! We arrived Copenhagen time 7:15 AM and hit the ground running. Uncle John helped some of us find our new home while Dave and Mette's sister Bridget drove the route with all our luggage...Thanks John and Bridget!!!! We actually got to meet our "house swap " family and visit with them for about an hour. We found the grocery store and the near by lake just in time for a dinner picnic.
June 8, 2013
After a pretty good night sleep...we met my Uncle John for a day at the beach...the weather was amazing... sailboats were out and we could see Sweden in the background. The kids had a playful time in the sand, while the adults relaxed and visited. Uncle John had to get home by 5 PM....but the Witte 6+ carried on...We wandered through a nearby nature area to find a 400 year old amusement park, Bakken. Now, This is where the locals hang out! There is no entrance fee...so we walked right in...there were restaurants, free entertainment, great people watching...and amusement rides for a small fee. The kids played a carnival game and won 2 kg of Toblerone chocolate ...on the first try!!! The kids were thrilled to carry their Toblerone all around the park and then home on the bus! We had a blast and returned home around 10pm.
June 9, 2013
Today, we decided to attend church in Copenhagen...we found an International church that I attended as a child in 1976...and it was great...our children attended Sunday school...and we stayed for coffee and snacks after the service to talk with members of the congregation. We met some very interesting and friendly folks.
We walked through the Botanical gardens on the way to downtown and some walking shopping streets, and eventually we found a canal boat tour...we all loved the tour (sand castle competition, Opera House, Royal Library...The Black Diamond, Royal Yacht, The Prince's Palace).
June 10, 2013
This is the day that we decided to get the "Copenhagen Card" which covers all public transportation and many museums and activities in the city...First, we decided that we would climb 386 steps to the top of "Church of the Savior" church where the spiral stairs wind around the outside steeple of a church.
The weather was clear and beautiful and we could see the entire city. Across the street was a famous " Hipppie Commune" called Christiana...we were not sure what this was about, but we look a quick look around. Next, we went to Tivoli... where we had a nice dinner and let the kids ride as many rides as they could before closing time. Including 11 straight rides in the same seats on the Gold Tower.
June 11, 2013
Copenhagen Zoo- We met my Cousin and my Uncle at the Zoo today. It was an amazing Zoo and we seem to see all the highlights including: feeding Baboons, mating lions, active polar bears, Ryan feeding camels ,and a 4 month old elephant with her parents. Visiting with my cousin Anna and my Uncle was, of course, priceless. They provided a traditional Danish lunch and we all loved it!After the Zoo, Witte 6 headed downtown again, where we hiked up the "Round Tower", walked Nyhavn ( a famous Harbor), and had a lovely Greek dinner out on one of the walking/shopping streets of downtown Copenhagen...the men working at the restaurant were so nice...they gave the kids FREE ice cream cones after dinner:)
June 12, 2013
Well...we still had the Copenhagen Card...and we were determined to get our $$ worth so we got up and went to the Experimentarium...Copenhagen's version of the Exploritorium...it was super...the kids had sooo much fun with all the hands on science learning...they are begging to go back...we left a little early to meet my Uncle John in his neighborhood...the kids had a lot of fun playing on all the different play structures that Uncle John's neighborhood had to offer...after a quick lunch, we went swimming at Uncle John's neighborhood recreation center...the pool had 3 different pools, a cool " light up" water slide...kiddie pool...huge pool toys...fun was had by all!
June 13, 2013
Today we had planned to go to a Viking Museum out of town but we woke up late and it was raining...so we decided to go to Sweden on the train. We were able to visit the small town of Lund where I lived 38 years ago. We found my old house and school...we walked through a famous Cathedral in the center of town....
in the town center, there was a concert to celebrate the beginning of summer...we were able to purchase food from a vendor...smoked salmon & roasted potatoes, beer and listen to some local music...this was a special surprise...It was fantastic!!!
Stroller Repair Report #1
This is unfortunately our first stroller repair report. Ever since we read of our friend's stroller's nasty demise in Venice, we are worried ours may not survive the whole crazy road trip. The kids are starting to guess what week Faith's trusty ride might meet it's maker. Today's repair was only reattaching the seat to it's support. However the wheels no longer appear as sturdy as they did in the States.
June 14th, 2013
Yesterday, we had an amazing day at Egeskov castle. Our hosts - Uncle John, Cousin Anna and her husband Allan - once again showed us a great time. They presented us with a picnic lunch that we enjoyed at a fantastic playground.
The owner of the castle is said to be a big kid so there were all sorts of activities for all 10 of us kids big and small - medieval games, hundreds of motorcycles, sky high tree top to tree top bridges, Segway rides, beautiful gardens, a car and plane museum, several mazes and of course the castle!!
June 15th, 2013
We slept in, cleaned and didn't get out of this awesome house until early afternoon. Everybody needed the rest after the go go go week we have had so far. We opted to walk to the local Open Air Living History Museum (Frilandsmuseet). Unbelievable! And free. Yay! If I was paying for film it would have cost me a fortune.
Then right when we started to decide it was dinner time, a downpour erupted in about 5 seconds flat. We realized we were sheltering right outside a beautiful restaurant. They bent the rules and allowed our sleeping Faith's stroller inside and dinner was delicious!! A little fancier than our normal place with all the kids. As soon as the bill came, the rain stopped and we strolled home while it was still light out for once. The boys are enjoying their new favorite food, Frikadeller - Danish Meatballs.
June 14th, 2013
Yesterday, we had an amazing day at Egeskov castle. Our hosts - Uncle John, Cousin Anna and her husband Allan - once again showed us a great time. They presented us with a picnic lunch that we enjoyed at a fantastic playground.
The owner of the castle is said to be a big kid so there were all sorts of activities for all 10 of us kids big and small - medieval games, hundreds of motorcycles, sky high tree top to tree top bridges, Segway rides, beautiful gardens, a car and plane museum, several mazes and of course the castle!!
June 15th, 2013
We slept in, cleaned and didn't get out of this awesome house until early afternoon. Everybody needed the rest after the go go go week we have had so far. We opted to walk to the local Open Air Living History Museum (Frilandsmuseet). Unbelievable! And free. Yay! If I was paying for film it would have cost me a fortune.
Then right when we started to decide it was dinner time, a downpour erupted in about 5 seconds flat. We realized we were sheltering right outside a beautiful restaurant. They bent the rules and allowed our sleeping Faith's stroller inside and dinner was delicious!! A little fancier than our normal place with all the kids. As soon as the bill came, the rain stopped and we strolled home while it was still light out for once. The boys are enjoying their new favorite food, Frikadeller - Danish Meatballs.
Transition from Copenhagen house to RV
June 17, 2013
We returned to the International Church of Copenhagen because we had so much fun the first week...and they told us they were having a picnic today...coincidentally, we met again with an American that we had met at the beach one of our first days...small world... After church, we decided to relax because our host family's sister had invited us over for a traditional Danish dinner at their house this evening. We had a great time with Birgitte, Phillip and their 3 lovely sons...what great hosts!!!
June 18, 2013
On our last day in Copenhagen, we promised the kids a "kid day"...We went and saw the changing of the guards at the Queen's Palace...
Sierra and I enjoyed "Fish Kiss"...this is where you put your feet in tanks of water filled with fish and they clean your feet...it was soooo ticklish!!!
Finally, we went to four different toy stores in downtown Copenhagen...hey...that's what they wanted to do!!
June 19, 2013
Last day in Denmark :-( Uncle John came to see our pictures and have lunch.
Then, we took a local boat tour of the lake next to our house. The tour is called the "Badfarten" and the kids have been joking about this tour since we first saw the signs.
We returned to the International Church of Copenhagen because we had so much fun the first week...and they told us they were having a picnic today...coincidentally, we met again with an American that we had met at the beach one of our first days...small world... After church, we decided to relax because our host family's sister had invited us over for a traditional Danish dinner at their house this evening. We had a great time with Birgitte, Phillip and their 3 lovely sons...what great hosts!!!
June 18, 2013
On our last day in Copenhagen, we promised the kids a "kid day"...We went and saw the changing of the guards at the Queen's Palace...
Sierra and I enjoyed "Fish Kiss"...this is where you put your feet in tanks of water filled with fish and they clean your feet...it was soooo ticklish!!!
June 19, 2013
Last day in Denmark :-( Uncle John came to see our pictures and have lunch.
Then, we took a local boat tour of the lake next to our house. The tour is called the "Badfarten" and the kids have been joking about this tour since we first saw the signs.
June 20, 2013
Once again the amazing Danish hospitality reared it's beautiful head and our host family's parents took us all the way to Copenhagen main train station with our 7 suitcases + 5 backpacks + 6 people + stroller + car seat. From there, the journey to Hamburg included 3 trains a ferry and a 2 taxis. Nobody ever said the Witte 6 travel light! Upon arrival at DRM we were greeted with a brand new RV with less than 300 km on it. We fit all our stuff inside, started the AC and hit the road. 15 km later we parked next to Ikea in a beautiful campground. We made sure everything worked and then walked to the meatball store (the kids name for Ikea) for dinner. After some free, warm showers we went to bed and then experienced a thunder and lightning storm to rival anything the mid-west would throw at you.
Hitting the road
June 20, 2013
In the morning, we drove to a German grocery store where we had to relearn all the names for basic food items & discovered...the German's don't take our credit cards :-( We ended up in a really nice mall where we ate and got cash, so it all worked out in the end and we drove to Holland.
It was raining, so we found a huge indoor playground for the kids to burn off some steam.
Dave found a really nice campground in Sneek (pronounced Snake)...this area is famous for sailing and watersports. The campground was 1/2 yachts and 1/2 campers...we met a nice Dutch family with kids all the same ages as ours...the kids played on the playground until 9:30 pm
June 21, 2013
Our shopping trip this morning made us feel very at home:
Then we decided to check out a small town called Giethoorn that doesn't have any streets, only canals. The town was very quaint with bridges, flower boxes, stained glass windows, and natural stone walkways...every house had a boat...It was recommended by our "Europe for Kids" book...the boys didn't seem impressed, but Sierra and I thought it was cool. After a boat tour, we drove to a campground just outside of Amsterdam.
When Arriving at our campground in Amsterdam...we found it was really nice...it had a restaurant were we had a delicious steak dinner, did some laundry and prepared for our big day in Amsterdam.
June 22, 2013
After a 5 minute walk to the train...we traveled to Amsterdam...it was a wet day
but we still had a great time...we visited the Van Gogh Museum (where they had a scavenger hunt for the kids) and the Heineken Brewery (where Dave and I actually got 3 beers as part of the tour...the kids got soda).At Heineken there was a lot of interactive things to do...design your own beer bottle or t-shirt, games, and at one point, we went on a virtual ride of what it would be like to get turned into beer...the kids loved this part.
Then,we took a canal tour, and had a nice dinner along the canal and walked through just a corner of the famous "Red Light District" to get back to the train (hey...don't judge...we just wanted to look..no harm was done:)
June 23, 2013
Today...we packed up and left Amsterdam...we headed south West to a very small town called Kinderdiijk. This is an area famous for a concentrated amount of windmills...the windmills are very cool with thatched roofs...we took a walk out to several of the windmills and even got to climb up inside one...we also saw a very interesting movie about the history of the area and the use of the windmills. We give this site an "A"!!
June 24, 2013
"Bonjour Madame!!!" Is what I woke up to when I went to get breakfast food in the campground store... the woman working the cash register was very friendly and offered us fresh bread and croissants for our 1st morning.After a relaxed morning, we headed into Paris by bus/train. We saw the Eiffel tower in all its glory...
We rode a nearby carousel and watched some amazing fountains across the Seine from the Tower.
We then toured the Paris Underground Sewers (again, a recommendation from our "Europe with Kids "book...not sure what I was expecting but, I know I wasn't expecting to actually smell raw sewage!!! The main thing is...we made it out alive and I made everyone wash their hands sereral times!!! Next, we meandered the streets of Paris only to find...The Arch De Triumph!!! We all decided that we had to go to the top and we could see all of Paris...too cool....below us, in the Arch was a ceremony for "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier". The boys favorite part was watching the traffic circle below us where 12 very busy streets come together. No lane markings and lots of chaos! Finally, we headed back to camp for some rest as tomorrow is our BIG Disney day:-)
In the morning, we drove to a German grocery store where we had to relearn all the names for basic food items & discovered...the German's don't take our credit cards :-( We ended up in a really nice mall where we ate and got cash, so it all worked out in the end and we drove to Holland.
June 21, 2013
Our shopping trip this morning made us feel very at home:
Then we decided to check out a small town called Giethoorn that doesn't have any streets, only canals. The town was very quaint with bridges, flower boxes, stained glass windows, and natural stone walkways...every house had a boat...It was recommended by our "Europe for Kids" book...the boys didn't seem impressed, but Sierra and I thought it was cool. After a boat tour, we drove to a campground just outside of Amsterdam.
When Arriving at our campground in Amsterdam...we found it was really nice...it had a restaurant were we had a delicious steak dinner, did some laundry and prepared for our big day in Amsterdam.
June 22, 2013
After a 5 minute walk to the train...we traveled to Amsterdam...it was a wet day
but we still had a great time...we visited the Van Gogh Museum (where they had a scavenger hunt for the kids) and the Heineken Brewery (where Dave and I actually got 3 beers as part of the tour...the kids got soda).At Heineken there was a lot of interactive things to do...design your own beer bottle or t-shirt, games, and at one point, we went on a virtual ride of what it would be like to get turned into beer...the kids loved this part.
Then,we took a canal tour, and had a nice dinner along the canal and walked through just a corner of the famous "Red Light District" to get back to the train (hey...don't judge...we just wanted to look..no harm was done:)
June 23, 2013
Today...we packed up and left Amsterdam...we headed south West to a very small town called Kinderdiijk. This is an area famous for a concentrated amount of windmills...the windmills are very cool with thatched roofs...we took a walk out to several of the windmills and even got to climb up inside one...we also saw a very interesting movie about the history of the area and the use of the windmills. We give this site an "A"!!
After saying good bye to the windmills, we headed for France, where we checked into our campground late.
June 24, 2013
"Bonjour Madame!!!" Is what I woke up to when I went to get breakfast food in the campground store... the woman working the cash register was very friendly and offered us fresh bread and croissants for our 1st morning.After a relaxed morning, we headed into Paris by bus/train. We saw the Eiffel tower in all its glory...
We rode a nearby carousel and watched some amazing fountains across the Seine from the Tower.
We then toured the Paris Underground Sewers (again, a recommendation from our "Europe with Kids "book...not sure what I was expecting but, I know I wasn't expecting to actually smell raw sewage!!! The main thing is...we made it out alive and I made everyone wash their hands sereral times!!! Next, we meandered the streets of Paris only to find...The Arch De Triumph!!! We all decided that we had to go to the top and we could see all of Paris...too cool....below us, in the Arch was a ceremony for "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier". The boys favorite part was watching the traffic circle below us where 12 very busy streets come together. No lane markings and lots of chaos! Finally, we headed back to camp for some rest as tomorrow is our BIG Disney day:-)
From Paris to Switzerland...
After a fabulous day at Euro Disney...we went back to Paris to see some more sites...
We went to Notre Dame,
walked around the city, and ended our day with a wild cab ride and a nice dinner
looking out on the Eiffle Tower.
The next morning, we drove across France...beautiful scenery...
We went to Notre Dame,
walked around the city, and ended our day with a wild cab ride and a nice dinner
looking out on the Eiffle Tower.
The next morning, we drove across France...beautiful scenery...
...ended up in Lucerne, Switzerland. First stop...the Swiss Transportation Museum to learn about Trains, planes, and Automobiles!!
The kids took a traffic class on these peddle cars.
They even had a life size planes!
Dinner in old town Lucerne.
From Lucerne...into the heart of the Alps!!
After two nights in Lucerne, we drove in Lauterbrunnen.This is a very small town nestled in a valley in the Alps. We found a campground that was at the base of a very large waterfall. This was our home for the next few days. One night I went outside the camper, and noticed that the waterfall is illuminated with lights at night!!! I had to wake up Dave...we sat outside & had a beer. We couldn't believe how beautiful it was!
Our view in the morning.
Going up...we took two trains and a tram to get to the top of the Schilthorn.
While hiking down, we found amazing playgrounds.
Is this for real?
Oh!!! Hello!!!
Dude... Are you crazy?!!! There were people base jumping....everywhere!
Getting ready to leave this paradise!
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