Legoland!

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So, we have returned from the land of legos! On Wednesday morning we took off on a ferry from Gothenburg to Frederikshavn, Denmark, which is a 3 1/2 hour trip. It was a bit of a rocky trip, so it was funny to walk around in a zig-zag pattern! Once in Denmark, we had a 3 hour drive to the vacation apartment where we were to stay on the south side of Jutland in Denmark. Here there was a swimming pool, trampoline, play area, a beach...a wonderful family destination place. Nolan was the only English speaking kid in the swimming pool, but was quick to make friends with several other kids...some from Germany and some from Denmark. They all had the funniest way of communicating with each other, but had a wonderful time. On Thursday, we headed off to Billund, home of Legoland. Nolan kept proclaiming "I can't believe we're in Legoland!", a slight shift from his proclamation of disbelief for being in Sweden. Berndt, Elisabeth and I kept laughing at his absolute joy and the look on his face at every turn. Kelsie and Courtney will be so happy to hear that he went on every rollercoaster, and we have the photos to prove it! Bapa Andy will be so proud to hear that Nolan earned his Legoland drivers license and only took out one little Danish girl when he mistakenly got too close in his little red hot rod legocar. We have been plagued by rain every time we drive somewhere, but miraculously, the rain stops whenever we get out of the car, and sometimes, even the sun comes out! The same was true in Legoland, except for the very end of the day when Nolan and I had to make a mad dash for the car in a sudden rainstorm. We had a wonderful meal that evening at the little cafe near our apartment, and the beer has never tasted so good. Nolan made yet another good friend of the chef there, and the two of them had us all laughing - a wonderful memory. On Friday,we drove north again to the northern-most town of Skagen...I think every farmer in all of Denmark was out driving on the two lane road! Skagen is a lovely little town with craft and clothing shops. It had been a popular artist community at the turn of the century due to the quality of the light there. We then headed back to the ferry via Frederikshavn. Nolan made some new friends on the ferry thanks to the language of lego and the Seattle Mariner t-shirt the other boy was wearing. They exhanged addresses, so we will see if we have a future pen pal. We arrived back in Gothenburg last night at 11:30 PM. Needless to say, we have laid low today. Elisabeth and I took a wonderful walk along the shore just a while ago, and soon we will have our last dinner here...Nolan, of course, has chosen korv och potatis, but the adults will have some wonderful salmon we bought at the fish market in Kungälv this morning. So, tomorrow we are off on the train from Gothenburg to Copenhagen, then overnight to Munich, and by day on Monday to Venice where we will stay for a day. Then we are off to Florence for a couple of days, and off again to Rome. On the following Monday, we will travel by bus to Milena's family's home in Rotonda. We have had a wonderful time here in Sweden, and Nolan is already talking about "when we come back to Sweden". I am talking to Berndt and Elisabeth about "when they will come to Portland". I don't know about our computer availability through Italy - hopefully we will find an internet cafe. If not, we promise to post upon our return home!

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Photos

Trampoline
Nolan and his new friends on the trampoline

Legoland
"I can't believe we're in Legoland!"

Driving boy
Berndt says Nolan is ready to hop in the car and drive himself down to McDonalds!

drivers license
...and he has the driver's license to prove it...

testing the water
Nolan and Uncle Berndt brave the waves to skip a few stones

happy day
We were so happy to be on the beach at Skagen, looking for beautiful rocks on the shore