Is It Copenhagen or Kobenhvan?

I read that Oslo wasn't all that interesting of a city unless if you're a viking history enthusiast which we were not so instead of staying in Norway after our fjords exploration, we hopped a flight to a new country: Denmark! 

We had 2.5 days and 3 nights in this very livable city. We chose a hotel that was walking distance to the infamous Nyhavn which we would do again should we come back. We spent our days walking the town and the weather mostly cooperated but we did get dark overcast mist for a day or so which wasn't terrible. The thing about traveling with an infant is that wherever you go, you try to create a routine of sorts because you can't really be 100% off the cuff with a little one in tow. To that point, we had a little bakery we frequented in the mornings which served delicious drinks and muffins before starting out day. Although we were walking distance to Nyhavn, we never had a meal there because majority of them were burger joints Yes, you read that right, burger joints. An overabundance of burger joints. If Copenhagen can improve, this would be one area to improve upon.

True to form, like any town we traveled to abroad, my hubs is always on a lookout for a cycling shop to visit. In Copenhagen, it was Rapha which we have back home but of course it's a little difference abroad. When we walked into Rapha, there was a gentleman who gave me a stink eye for a quick second because Isla was hungry and crying but he hid it well soon after. Shortly after we got comfortable, he started conversation with us by asking about Isla as he also had little ones. He told us about how parents in Copenhagen often leave their sleepy infants in the stroller outside of the shop and that's just part of the culture there. I was shocked as that could never happen in the US. He also made some solid suggestions for restaurants and areas to visit which we did obliged in. 

And now to the serendipity part of our trip. We took a taxi to a more residential part of Copenhagen to a restaurant for lunch. Neighborhood street shown (right) above. We were seated and shortly after, this gal came to our table and said, "no way!" It was my former colleague and friend Alyson who I hadn't seen in over 15 years but lives in the Bay Area! 

We spent the rest of our time walking all the streets we could with a stroller and an afternoon at Tivoli which if you have a kid, this is the place to go! It's a clean theme park of sorts that has something for everyone! Carnival games, entertainment shows, restaurants and my favorite: shops. Where else would I spent $45 on a music toy for Isla without really thinking twice?! All in all, Isla was a dream to travel with. She didn't fuss much and seem to go with the flow, much like her parents! Our next destination on this leg now is to Northern England where she'll meet Steve's family. Until next time!

Party Of Three In the Norwegian Fjords!

Norway had long been on my list with the beauty of ature that the country offers. I gave birth to Isla back inMarch and wanted to fit a trip in during my maternity leave. Steve and I had Maui booked but as I had thought about it more and more, breastfeeding in the heat did not appeal to be at all so we cancelled Maui and booked Europe! I had received all the packing with an infant tips from my friend Allan who I had met in 2004 while in passport control in Prague.

We flew KLM, a very kid friendly airline to Amsterdam then continuing on to Bergen. It's known to rain over 270 days of the year in this part of the region but we were blessed with two days of sunshine during our visit. Norway has two populated cities/towns: Bergen and Oslo. With the time we had, we chose to skip Oslo and chose Bergen, a beautiful harbor town as our base. We spent our first couple of days getting over the fatigue of travel and exploring all that Bergen had to offer.

Bergen is a cute and charming harbor town. Some would say it's too touristy but I like it. I like the cheerful crowds, seeing people take advantage of the sunny days we had by enjoying meals and drinks outside and just the culture of it all. We spent out time in Bergen walking the infamous harbor, the small narrow lanes up the hills and even took the funicular to Mount Floyen. Bergen would also be the town where I had my first sushi meal since pre-pregnancy and it was delicious minus the whale sashimi on our platter. We gave a hard no on that one! 

Next up: the fjords! For convenience without a car, I chose to base out of Balestrand for our fjord adventure. Balestrand is a sleepy town and probably one of the bigger village alongthe fjords in this area. While this town has a handful of restaurants, the gem is called the Cider Hurst. We spent our arrival day taking in the town. The next day, we hopped on a smaller boat to tour the fjord. 

After two nights in Balestrand, we took on an epic day of transfers to cruise the Naeroyfjord. We departed Balestrand to catch the 830am boat to Flam then from Flam, we caughtthe premium carbon fiber boat cruise to Gundvagen. The carbon fiber boat did not disappoint. You might see fliers trying to sell you to the "classic" boat.. resist the nostalgia and go for the new and sleek carbon fiber one especially if you're traveling with an infant! From Gundvagen, we took the bus to the town of Voss (as in Voss water except I never saw any in Norway) before boarding a train back to Bergen.

The quiet and picturesque beauty of the fjords was a nice break from the town of Bergen. It's not easy to get to if you want to stay overnight but it is well worth the logistic inconvenience. 

Next up: Copenhagen!