Our First Visit from Family!

In November, we got our first family visitors! Wade and Lisa came with Jack, Katie, and little Lucas for a whole week of catching up and exploring the city. They rented an Airbnb in Copenhagen as their home base, so we decided to stay in Copenhagen for the weekend, too.

Friday, our little family grabbed our suitcases after work and school and took the train into the city. We checked into our penthouse, which was next door to the Barber base, then walked to a grocery store to buy some staples to seed their kitchen for the week. At Føtex, we turned around to see Jack and Lisa walking in the door! It was a lovely reunion and a favorite moment for all involved.

When we finished the shopping, we walked back to their apartment together and reunited with everyone else. It was so nice to see everyone! We ordered pizza and sandwiches from a nearby shop, and Zac, Wade, and I walked to pick them up. We chatted over dinner and then split up to get some rest.

Our penthouse was a fun little place. The rooms were beautiful, it was big and open, it had all the amenities, and there was a lovely gathering table, which we took full advantage of Saturday morning! Zac and I were excited to share Danish morgenbrød with everyone. We got up early to go to the bakery and laid out a very typical spread with butter, mild cheese, jams, fresh-baked bread, pålægschokolade, and my personal favorite, the wienerstang.

And Kaden couldn't help climbing on the exposed beams...

We only had that penthouse for one night, so after breakfast, we cleaned up and moved our things over to the Barber base. Our plan was to do the canal tour from Nyhavn since it was such a nice (albeit cold) day. Also, it was Zac's birthday!! As we left the apartment, I insisted on taking a picture of Zac with his parents because I was sure we would forget to do that later. I was right. :)

It was a pretty brisk day, but we were mostly prepared for it. We missed the boat we were trying for, but it was only a 30-minute wait for the next one, and it ended up working out great because we got first pick of our seats on that boat. In the winter, the canal tours are in closed boats, but there are a few seats outside, and we wanted those so we could see clearly.

Lucas was adorable as heck in his little puffy coat, and he was a total trooper during the tour. The canal tour passes Amelienborg castle, which is where the royal family lives. The guide mentioned that the changing of the guard occurs each day and that we could catch it if we hustled there after the tour concluded. We made it there in time and had a nice place to stand, but as the crowd came in, they filled in tightly in front of us and it was almost impossible to see. We waited quite a while, too, so Jack and Katie took Lucas back for nap time, but the rest of us stayed and finally saw the guard arrive from Rosenborg and change over. Our view was pretty obstructed though.

On the way back to the apartment, we stopped for coffee, pastries, hot cocoa, and chai lattes in a kitschy little coffeehouse. It was pretty cozy and totally packed, but it was a nice break and we were able to get warmed up before the walk back.

We actually got to see the guard marching back to Rosenborg from one of the street corners, and it was a much better view than the one we had at the palace. Haha!

During nap time, Wade, Lisa, Zac, and I walked over to Kastellet, which is the kind of star-shaped fort grounds. There is a military museum and there are walking paths that are on the high ground above the moat. You can enter the paths from two points, so we walked through the grounds, past the old military barracks, and then up around the path.

It was a really pretty day for being out and about, especially given the amount of rain we had been experiencing, so we tried to make the most out of it. When we left Kastellet, we walked to the famous Little Mermaid statue. Hans Christian Anderson, who wrote the story of the Little Mermaid, was Danish, and the statue is a huge (if not slightly unimpressive) tourist spot.

We still had some time to kill, so we walked toward the lesser-known statue of a genetically modified little mermaid. It was a little farther than I thought it would be, but half of us made it there!

On the walk back, we watched the swans, gazed out at Copenhill across the water, and saw one of the Danish navy's remotely controlled minesweeper boats.

This is "Hirsholm," launched in 2007.

We also passed by the very beautiful St. Alban's Church, which was built in the late 1800s. We didn't get super close, but it was still very nice to see.

For Zac's birthday dinner, we went to WarPigs in the meatpacking district. It was very crowded and we struggled to find seating. We had to split into two groups, but at least we all got to sit down. :) We stopped at Hija de Sanchez to get some churros-to-go for dessert. Mmm.

We were all pretty beat after such a big walking-around day, but it was Zac's birthday, so Jack and Katie wanted to go have a beer somewhere with us. Wade and Lisa stayed at the apartment with the four kiddos and we went into Vesterport. Zac and I had rented a super cool penthouse there for Saturday night with a private rooftop terrace and hot tub, and it was close to the Zeppelin Rock Bar and Left Hand Path metal bar. We dropped off our things in the room and then walked toward our drinking destination. As we got closer, we saw a ton of flashing lights and the police were roping off a whole block of the street with caution tape. Literally right in front of the bar.

This was the "after" picture...I didn't get one when we first saw it and everything was closed off.

We turned a corner to kind of re-group and make a new plan, and we ended up standing right next to a cozy looking beer bar, Dia'legd.

It ended up being a fantastic little place! There was a nice table for us near the window. The atmosphere was very hygge and the beer was good. The bar was a half step below the street, so we had a nice view of the street for people-watching. At one point, a woman stood up from her table and quieted everyone. She pointed to a man at the table with her and explained to everyone, in English, that it was his birthday and we should all sing Happy Birthday to him. I took the opportunity to say it was Zac's birthday too, so the entire bar sang Happy Birthday to Zac and his birthday buddy. It was really fun.

When Jack and Katie left us, we walked back to our penthouse and had a lovely evening on our private rooftop terrace. We looked out over the city, drank Carlsbergs in the hot tub, and tried to ID all the plants. It was a really fun night!

In the morning, we packed our bags and went back to the apartment to meet up with everyone else again. Lisa went to browse a few stores and took Harrison out with her. They were a pretty cute duo.

Zac and I had to get some winter coats for the older two kids while we were in Copenhagen, so we went in shifts to get their coats while Katie, Jack, and Lisa took Harrison and Lucas to the children's museum at the National Museum. We made a plan to meet at Tivoli so we could walk through and look at the lights and have dinner.

Unfortunately, when we finally met up at Tivoli, Lucas was pretty done for the day, and we were struggling to find a place to eat that could accommodate all of us without a reservation. Everyone but our immediate family ended up leaving again, but since we had paid to get in, we figured we should eat dinner and get Zac a birthday treat, so we found a restaurant to accommodate five, at a nice dinner, and then went to Cakenhagen for fancy treats.

We had to get our things and begin the trip home after we got back from Tivoli. The kids had school, and I couldn't get out of work (I'm bitter), so only Zac would be joining them during their daytime adventures the rest of the week.

We also had to pick up Han from Vibe's house, where he had spent the weekend playing with Blaze and being spoiled. His poor claw had been ripped out partially when it got stuck in a hole on the metal staircase just before we picked him up, so Monday, Zac had to take him to the vet for surgical removal of the claw.

I started dinner, then when Zac got home, everyone joined us back at the house. We made potatoes and frikadellers and showed everyone around our new home. Han was just sedated in the corner most of the evening.

Tuesday, Zac drove Wade and Lisa around Birkerød and Hørsholm to give them a little taste of the area and where we work while Lucas napped at our house. Zac made grilled cheese for dinner. Jack and Katie wanted a date night, so Zac and I drove into Copenhagen to hang out with Wade and Lisa and Lucas while they had a nice dinner.

Wednesday, Zac met up with everyone as they tried Round 2 of Tivoli. We decided he and I would just meet in Hellerup for Danish class that evening so that he could spend as much time with his family as possible.

I was sad I didn't get out of work in time to see everyone one more time. On Thursday, they pretty much had to pack things up and get to the airport - we didn't really get to say a proper goodbye, but that made it less sad maybe.

It was so nice to see everyone, and even though it was a bummer that so much was going on in addition to the visit, we really enjoyed the time we did spend together. We are so grateful they made the trip, and it was nice to have visitors around Thanksgiving time!