Denmark and the Disney Dream

 Part 2 of 3 sabbatical

This was our first big international trip with the kids and was definitely a lot of work AND a lot of fun.  Our flight from SF to Copenhagen was 12 hours.  The kids did great all things considered and Tori’s new favorite movies are Coco, Finding Nemo, and Finding Dory. 

(Packing: How It Started - 12 years ago.  How It’s Going - today)

We spent a few days in Copenhagen ahead of the cruise to work through the jet lag.  Copenhagen was such a fun city to visit - biking around, lots of parks, and easy to navigate.  We’d love to come back sometime.  

(Royal Palace)

(Biking around Copenhagen)

All aboard on the Disney Dream. 

I’ve always loved Disney and traveling, so was excited to take a cruise as our way to visit multiple places while keeping some consistency of “routine” for the kids.  We went on a 7-night cruise around Northern Europe (Kiel-Germany, Stockholm-Sweden, Fredericia-Denmark, and Oslo-Norway).  I never thought of us as cruise people, but we definitely are when traveling with a toddler and grandparents.  There’s something for everyone.  The adults enjoyed our short visits to these ports - rain or shine!

Here are some highlights from the kids: 

• Lexi: Disney characters and Mickey bars
• Ellie: Disney characters and arts & crafts
• Tori: so much screen time (from what I can tell pre-talking)

One of my favorite parts of this trip was being able to travel with both sets of living grandparents.  We know these memories can’t be taken for granted.  They were able to spend time watching the shows on the ship, doing arts and crafts together, and of course, eating a lot of ice cream.  Even my dad ended up ordering a Mickey bar! 

W & I often talk about how much Nai Nai (Warren’s mom) missed out with the girls.  She was the ultimate cruiser and maximizer of all things fun.  We tell the kids that Nai-Nai loved traveling, playing card games, going on cruises, and exploring Tahoe. Our hope is that while we know we can’t be together, we’re able to share her memory, the things she enjoyed, and her adventurous spirit.

Well… the Disney cruise was definitely a success since the kids asked which Disney cruise we were going to take next year.  Haha.  We’re eyeing Alaska at some point, so would love for anyone to join us to make some magical memories.

Polar Nights

We decided to boycott the holidays this year as a way to say good riddance to a pretty gnarly year.

Three weeks in Europe and Boston were just what we needed to have some time as a couple to get away and retool for the coming year.  First stop on our  trip was something on our "life-bucket-list" - to see the Northern Lights.  It did not disappoint.

It took us 24 hours of traveling to arrive in Tromso, Norway.  It's a nifty little town of about 75,000 inhabitants.  It's located completely within the arctic circle in the northern Norway at 69.6 degrees latitude (SF is at 37).

The main attraction is the Northern Lights, a natural phenomenon caused by the interaction between solar particles and the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere.  Depending on the night, and the type of interaction, the sky appears shades of greens, blues, purples, and reds.

It was quite a chilly 20ish degrees throughout the "day".  I put "day" in quotes because in December, at this latitude, the sun actually does not rise above the horizon.  It's called a Polar Night.  It sounds cool, but it's super-disorienting.  You're never quite sure what time it is.  It's always dim and dark outside.

We both really like it, though.  It's an apt way for us to end our horrific year with a few polar nights. The juxtaposition of the endless night with the beauty in the sky is how we have felt all year.  Points of light and beauty amidst all the pain and seeming injustice.  For a moment we got to lay down on the ice, look up, and see God's creativity in the sky.  It was magical.