It’s been a while since our last blog. That’s because since mid June we haven’t really stopped and we’re vagabonds once again. We are without a permanent residence until our house is finished mid September. This blog is the calm before the chaos. Dave’s mom came to Lucca to take us on one last trip, a Disney Cruise to Norway. This was special because the girls got to learn a little bit about where their ancestors came from. Dorothy is 1/4 Norwegian, making Dave 1/8th, and the girls 1/16th. What does that make me? A girl who loves a lot of Norwegians!!!
From Lucca we made a quick stop in Billund, Denmark at Legoland! We even stayed in a Lego Friends room which was very cleverly themed. The park is not too unlike it’s San Diego companion (if you’ve made it there), having rides suited for our kids ages, a lot of lego creations to admire, and tons of lego to play with!
From Billund, we flew to Copenhagen where we met up with the Disney Magic. We were all excited to get on the ship to explore and see all our favorite characters, but even more than that, everyone was looking forward to a little bit of independence after a year of 24/7 togetherness. On the ship they have a fantastic lineup of kids spaces and activities as well as adult entertainment. We are so thankful to Grandma for her generosity! Coming from AirBNB’s, train schedules, and city map reading, it was such a treat to sit back and not worry about the details!
The ship made six ports of call along the Norwegian Fjords: Stavanger, Alesund, Geiranger, Molde, Olden, and Bergen.
In Stavanger we took a 3 hour boat tour of the Lyse Fjord, stopping along the way to catch some drinking water off a waterfall using a bucket, and tasting delicious waffles with jam and cream.
In Alesund we visited a village where a large crowd of locals dressed in traditional costumes helped us learn how to dance, make lefse (flatbread), play simple games, and build boats. It was a very sweet experience where we were even visited by Elsa, Anna, Hans, and Sven (it is a Disney trip after all)!
Geiranger was the most breathtaking for me. It is a town with a huge waterfall flowing right through the center. We spent the morning visiting a family farm, then Dave and I enjoyed a nice afternoon walk through town and stopped in a cafe where I devoured a moist piece of carrot cake. Cruising out of this fjord was one waterfall after another. We had the perfect vantage point from the front of the ship to view the Seven Sisters - seven waterfalls on one cliff! Baby Anna was even there to photobomb us!
In Molde, the five of us took a morning hike down the Varden mountainside, and in Olden we grabbed the last helicopter ride to get a bird’s eye view of the Briksdal Glacier.
Bergen was our last port. We had nothing planned here but to explore. We did a bit of shopping and then took the Fløibanen Funicular to the Fløyen mountain where we found a really cool playground. In true European style, it challenged the kids to be courageous and forced them to use new muscle groups. It was awesome! Once back in town, we even found a tight rope to play on (very tricky) and decided that we need to find one to put in our new yard!
After nine days of fun, we were all sad to get off the ship, but anticipating what the next few days would bring… lots of hugs and smiles from people we love back in the US. First, a quick stop in Lucca to pack up! Stay tuned!
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