Newcastle to Norway

From 10-15th of August we took an incredible trip to Stavanger, Norway. It has taken me this long to feel "recovered" from our travels and enter a post about it. Traveling with children (particularly a one-year old) is, in a word...EXHAUSTING. Now that the suitcases are unpacked, laundry is caught up, and kids are back into their regular routines I am finally able to blog again.

Now, I know Norway may not be at the top of many people's 'places they want to see before they die' list, so let me provide a little background on why we chose to go there. Way back in Jan/Feb when Chris and I were here house-hunting, we stayed with our friend's the Rudie's (refer to first post), and started tossing around places where we could travel together while we were all living in the UK. Scandinavia came up as a possibility, Norway in particular because of Brian's Norwegian heritage. And, I know Chris and I viewed going there as only feasible while living here...i.e., there's no way we would travel to Scandinavia from the U.S. - too far, too expensive, too cold!

Fast forward to earlier this summer when just before we arrived in England, we find out the Rudie's - our mentors, our travel buddies, our dear friends - have been told their "assignment" in the UK has been cut short by one year and they are headed home to Cincinnati. (agh - boo hoo for us) But, their early departure increased the momentum to go "somewhere" with them before they moved. So, after more deliberation and much consideration, AND the recruitment of another ex-Procter, now europe based family - the Sminetti's...we settled on Norway.

The three families met in Newcastle, England (a three-hour train ride from London; an overnight cruise from Amsterdam for the Smith's), and boarded a cruise ship for an overnight cruise to Stavanger, Norway. Between us, we have six children ages 6 to 1, and I think everyone will concur with me that the highlight of our cruise ship was the children's play area, where during any period of downtime, our kids could just run rampant, and the adults could sit back and have an adult beverage. After dinner, the men offered to babysit the kids, so the ladies could hit the piano bar and "disco." I won't go into detail here, but let's just say, we learned that the "daddies" weren't the most conscientious of babysitters - and in hindsight we can laugh at how lucky we are not to have become a dateline exclusive!

I should mention that this is not the first time these three families have traveled together. In early 2004, when I was pregnant with Caroline, Sarah was pregnant with Grace, and Canetti was pregnant with Carson, we did a long weekend in Gatlinburg, TN together. There was only one child at the time - 18-month old Aiden, so this trip was a little different! For one, it was so fun just to sit back and watch the kids interact. Caroline and Grace had already had two sleepovers together earlier in the summer, so picked up right where they last left off. They are both 4 and VERY girlie, and enjoyed applying their play make-up whenever there was a break in the action. Aiden and Carson Smith are the sweetest 6 and 4 year-old brothers I have ever encountered. They are SO polite, funny, and patient with Caroline specifically, who became quite smitten with Aiden and was a bit of a space invader! Max Rudie (2) is also very sweet, and completely went with the flow of the big kids. And then there was Sadie. Who, in all honestly, was a fantastic little traveler. She napped when necessary in the buggy, and slept very well at night. She too, is able to just "go with the flow" when necessary, we just end up paying for it later...:)

Stavanger, Norway is located in the southwest of the country in the fjord region. It is a small city of about 100,000 people and completely pedestrian friendly. Each day we were there we walked to the town centre, restaurants, old town, etc...from our hotel. The highlight of our trip was seeing the fjords. We took a 3.5 hour fjord cruise one day and saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever, and may ever see. It is simply breathtaking. Chris took 450 pictures, only a few I'm able to post here. If you are interested in seeing more, go to this site: http://gallery.me.com/jsyapp#100102

Obviously, my shout-out this time is to our travel companions. Vikings - Fjord Fjun 2008 is not a trip any of us will soon forget. I'm so glad to have experienced Norway, and more importantly to have experienced it with such good friends. Rudie's - we will miss you terribly, but look forward to reconnecting in the buckeye state. Sminetti's - our travel adventures have just begun. As Yapp would say "it's crazy that we're living in Europe at the SAME time!" Let's make the most of it - what do you say, a winter trip to Egypt?? In the meantime, come to Claygate!