To Scandinavia we go...

We spent a long weekend last weekend MOSTLY driving to-and-from Denmark & Sweden...and a little time in each of these countries :o)  We had been wanting to make a trip north for awhile now and decided a Christmas market in Copenhagen sounded like the perfect excuse (that and the fact that we are seriously running out of time!)  So we split the drive there and back and headed out last Thursday evening.  The total trip was supposed to take approximately 10 hours, but due to heavy traffic on the way out of Brussels and a serious snow storm in Denmark on our way home, it was extended by several hours on each end...ugh!  And poor Jacob had to drive the whole way! He said he's tracking all these miles and is going to have me pay him back when we're back in the states and have a car I can drive...guess we should start planning some road trips :o)

In Copenhagen we stayed in an awesome little hotel just around the corner from Tivoli Gardens.  It was called Ascot Apartments and we loved it mostly because it had a separate sitting room and bedroom...which meant we didn't have to go to bed at 8 PM with Autumn for a change.  We got there just before dark (4 PM) on Friday and walked around the area exploring what we could in the dark.  There was an awesome shopping street just around the corner from us that had street musicians, a Christmas market, street vendors, and lots and lots of shops!  It was awesome! And went on forever...

There were lots of Lego shops...since Legos were created in Denmark

It was fun window shopping, but the whole getting dark at 4 PM thing was really throwing me off. It felt like it should be dinner time/bed time way earlier than it was...and between that and the chilly temperatures we didn't venture too terribly far from our hotel.

The next morning we were on a mission!  Sweden was only about a 30 minute drive away so we figured we might as well venture over so we could add another country to our checklist...I think we are up to 20 now.  So we found a landmark in Southern Sweden, The Malmohus Slott Castle in Malmo, Sweden...said to be the oldest standing Renaissance castle in all of Scandinavia...and headed out.  The castle itself was honestly kind of a let down...it doesn't even look that old...

And since we had paid a ridiculously high sum of money to cross the bridge to get over here (over $100 roundtrip in tolls...ya, wish we had known that ahead of time) we decided to continue on to the town of Lund.  We walked around, checked out the cathedral at the center of town, watched a performance of baton twirlers as a band played Christmas carols, and had some lunch.  It was a cute little town and had a lot more charm than we found in Malmo...so the extra bit of time in the car was definitely worth it!

After lunch we headed back to Copenhagen to visit the famous Tivoli Gardens before it got too dark.  Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world and is a great place for a family visit.  We didn't ride any of the rides because it was freezing...and also because you had to purchase separate tickets for the rides in addition to your admission to the park...um, no thank you!  We walked around, took it all in and then headed back to our hotel to try and warm up! Autumn's favorite part was definitely the playground...mine was definitely the Christmas market :o)  I wish we had more time there, but we didn't want to pay to be able to come back later, so it was short and sweet.

The next morning it was time to head home, but not without a quick visit to The Little Mermaid...a famous tourist attraction in Copenhagen.  It was freezing so I literally jumped out of the car, snapped a few shots of it and jumped back in.

As I mentioned before, our drive home was extended by a snow storm which made for an extra long trip!!  I know we were all super excited to be pulling in to the garage Christmas Eve afternoon...just in time to get ready for Santa to visit.

One Big Nativity!!

Last week for our weekly outing we went back to the Basilica as they had what they called "The Biggest Crib in the World."  I'm not sure if that is just what they call it, or if it is just the biggest registered Nativity in the world, because I'm pretty sure the live Nativity in little ole St. Charles, Missouri is actually bigger than this one was, but oh well, it was still cool.  Especially because it had llamas...

 and the cutest little horses I have EVER seen!

The live animal part was really cool...

Those two little specks are Autumn & Brooklyn

We weren't really sure what the point of these lovely ladies was, but they sure were fancy!

But the absolute best part were all the "Baby Jesuses"!!  They had tons of small Nativity's from all over the world on display.  It was fun having Autumn try and find baby Jesus in all of them.

It was another fun outing in Brussels!  And one of the last couple we get to do before our big move next month!

I Love Christmas Markets!

We got to go to two markets this week.  For our Wednesday outing this week we visited the Brussels Christmas Market and it was a blast!  We didn't make it to the main section under Saint Catherine's last year so I was determined to see it this year.  There were lots of things for the kids to do...including an awesome carousel (I've never seen one this cool...a rocket, a plane, a hot air balloon...oh my!), a toboggan slide, a ferris wheel, and an ice skating rink!  We only made it on to the carousel this time, but it all looked like a lot of fun!

And then Friday, Jacob was able to take the day off and we took a road trip to Monschau, Germany.  Our friend had recommended this market as it is set in a charming little town in a valley just across the German border.  And she was right, it was a great little town and would be a great day trip even without a Christmas market.  We strolled around the town, ate some delicious German sausages and then headed home.  The snow made it feel all the more Christmas-y :o)

I loved this lantern with the mini nativity in it.  

I totally want to recreate it!

Christmas markets are so much fun!  And I'm glad we get this second chance to experience them before our time here is over!

A Dog Show & A Christmas Party

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by...Christmas will be here in only a few short weeks...and then only one more month here...it's just crazy!  We're still enjoying every second possible...except for the freezing weather, but the little bit of snow we've had is quite lovely.

This past weekend we had two super fun activities, especially if you're a cute 2 year old named Autumn.  The first was the Brussels Dog show!  I saw this on the Brussels event calendar a few months back and with a daughter that loves dogs I knew we just had to go!  So we headed down to the Brussels expo building, not exactly sure what to expect, but pleasantly surprised!  I was totally expecting a big arena where we sit up in the rafters and watch the dogs and their owners parade around competing for the top honors (I mean...I've seen "Best In Show").  It wasn't like that at all though...it was basically a big open forum where you just walk around, find the dogs you want to watch, and sit on benches around the judging area while they do their stuff.  And there were dogs everywhere!  Getting their hair done, hanging out in cages, practicing their routines.  It was great...you were right down in the action!  Autumn loved it...when we first got there she was just giggling away!  She couldn't control herself she was so excited!  Here are some pictures from the event...

Sporting her doggy shirt

And the winners are...

That's some hair-do!

Patiently waiting her turn

I love shelties...this one was so sweet!

On Sunday, we went to the American Women's Club annual Christmas party hosted by the Mother's of Young Children.  We made some cute Christmas crafts (Autumn mostly just liked glueing everything within reach (her two new favorite things are cutting and glueing...there are little scraps of paper all over the house all the time).  

 Yum...our first candy cane!

And then the big man himself showed up!!  Autumn was a little scared so Daddy had to carry her up to get her present.

 She loved her new microphone!

And we finished the night by making frosted trees...

the best part was licking the icing off!  Yum!

It was a great weekend.  And for next weekend...more Christmas markets!