Scandinavia with Kids: Aarhus, Denmark
We recently returned from a trip to Denmark and Norway with a stop in Sweden. Travelling with a 2 year old and 6 year old has it's challenges but is also very rewarding.
Day 1: Travel and Copenhagen Zoo
We had an overnight flight direct from Toronto to Copenhagen. Andrew and I steal ourselves to the possibility that we will be awake all night as our boys who travel "well" in terms of happiness do not sleep anywhere other than a bed. Lots of food, a few toys, and a show right before we landed help us all to survive.
We landed in the morning, got a rental car (lost our carry-on suitcase), and made it to the Copenhagen Zoo to meet our friend.
We then drove a few hours including over a long suspension bridge (for 10 minutes) to our first Airbnb in Aarhus, stopping for dinner and some playtime on the way.
Day 2: Aarhus, Denmark
This was my eldest's 6th birthday and we had hoped for a more kid-oriented day but the weather did not cooperate. Instead we recovered from our long travel day, explored the wooded area nearby and ate some delicious pizza. We also made some important travel plans to get to and from Norway in the coming weeks.
Day 3: Legoland, Billund
Our six year old, E, had decided to spend his life's savings on going to Legoland. Since we knew we would be going on or near E's birthday, Andrew and I decided to let him keep half his savings and paid the other half. It was fun, seeing how proud he was at having saved and now spending his money on something he was really looking forward to.
Note the Happy Birthday pin from Legoland on E's sweater. It was also Ollie, their dragon mascot's birthday. E charmed a pin from one of the ride attendants.
Day 4: ARoS Art Museum, Dokk1 Playground, North Sea Oceanarium
This was one of our busiest days. We started our day at the ARoS Art Museum on their rainbow panorama. It wasn't very busy on the bridge yet so the boys enjoyed running in circles and we could relax and watch them.
We had planned to skip the rest of the museum and head to our next destination but Andrew wanted to find the "giant boy" and on our quest to find him stopped at a few other compelling exhibits.
Our next stop was Dokk1, a public library building that had a really cool parking garage and five outdoor playground structures on the patio of the second floor (which is called the first floor there, as they have floor 0). We had our picnic lunch here and then drove a few hours from Aarhus to Hirtshals on the northern coast of Denmark.
We got to Hirtshals early enough to successfully get a cancellation spot on the sold-out overnight ferry to Bergen, Norway. Since we were there so early we had a bit of time and didn't want to just sit in our car so we visited the North Sea Oceanarium. I was able to convince E to actually touch animals in the touch pool and T loved the seals and rays.
You might be surprised to learn that Andrew's favourite animal at aquariums is the sun fish. Certainly not the prettiest but he loves it.
Overnight Ferry to Norway
We got a very spacious room and put E to bed on the big bed and T in a pack n play at the end of the bed. Andrew and I were able to play games and look out on the ocean in the evening. We then moved E over to the pull out couch to sleep for the night. He really loved the novelty of sleeping on a ship, though was disappointed he didn't get to sleep on a bunk bed / berth. T loved looking at the seagulls out the window.
Scandinavia with Kids: Bergen, Norway
Scandinavia with Kids: Stavanger, Norway
Scandinavia with Kids: Oslo, Norway
Scandinavia with Kids: Sweden Pit Stop
Scandinavia with Kids: Copenhagen, Denmark
Day 1: Travel and Copenhagen Zoo
We had an overnight flight direct from Toronto to Copenhagen. Andrew and I steal ourselves to the possibility that we will be awake all night as our boys who travel "well" in terms of happiness do not sleep anywhere other than a bed. Lots of food, a few toys, and a show right before we landed help us all to survive.
We landed in the morning, got a rental car (lost our carry-on suitcase), and made it to the Copenhagen Zoo to meet our friend.
We then drove a few hours including over a long suspension bridge (for 10 minutes) to our first Airbnb in Aarhus, stopping for dinner and some playtime on the way.
Day 2: Aarhus, Denmark
Day 3: Legoland, Billund
Our six year old, E, had decided to spend his life's savings on going to Legoland. Since we knew we would be going on or near E's birthday, Andrew and I decided to let him keep half his savings and paid the other half. It was fun, seeing how proud he was at having saved and now spending his money on something he was really looking forward to.
Note the Happy Birthday pin from Legoland on E's sweater. It was also Ollie, their dragon mascot's birthday. E charmed a pin from one of the ride attendants.
Day 4: ARoS Art Museum, Dokk1 Playground, North Sea Oceanarium
This was one of our busiest days. We started our day at the ARoS Art Museum on their rainbow panorama. It wasn't very busy on the bridge yet so the boys enjoyed running in circles and we could relax and watch them.
We had planned to skip the rest of the museum and head to our next destination but Andrew wanted to find the "giant boy" and on our quest to find him stopped at a few other compelling exhibits.
Our next stop was Dokk1, a public library building that had a really cool parking garage and five outdoor playground structures on the patio of the second floor (which is called the first floor there, as they have floor 0). We had our picnic lunch here and then drove a few hours from Aarhus to Hirtshals on the northern coast of Denmark.
We got to Hirtshals early enough to successfully get a cancellation spot on the sold-out overnight ferry to Bergen, Norway. Since we were there so early we had a bit of time and didn't want to just sit in our car so we visited the North Sea Oceanarium. I was able to convince E to actually touch animals in the touch pool and T loved the seals and rays.
You might be surprised to learn that Andrew's favourite animal at aquariums is the sun fish. Certainly not the prettiest but he loves it.
Overnight Ferry to Norway
We got a very spacious room and put E to bed on the big bed and T in a pack n play at the end of the bed. Andrew and I were able to play games and look out on the ocean in the evening. We then moved E over to the pull out couch to sleep for the night. He really loved the novelty of sleeping on a ship, though was disappointed he didn't get to sleep on a bunk bed / berth. T loved looking at the seagulls out the window.
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Scandinavia with Kids: Aarhus, DenmarkScandinavia with Kids: Bergen, Norway
Scandinavia with Kids: Stavanger, Norway
Scandinavia with Kids: Oslo, Norway
Scandinavia with Kids: Sweden Pit Stop
Scandinavia with Kids: Copenhagen, Denmark
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