Double up on Christmas Joy

December and January were very eventful – not only because of the holiday season, but because we had a visit from Danish friends whom we traveled with in South Australia, and following that we went to Denmark for two weeks. As you can probably imagine it was a time of big experiences and big emotions.
Even though it is our choice to live on the other side of the world, I will never learn to say goodbye to my parents in a non-dramatic way! But just as sad as it is leaving, just as great it is to see everyone again, and we had an amazing (although very busy) time with both friends and family in Denmark.

Just before Christmas Bjørn and Sofie arrived. They spent a couple of days with us in Sydney before we all flew to Adelaide together. It was in the middle of flight attendants striking and bush fires burning throughout the country. But thankfully this had no major impact on our trip. We got to have an amazing vacation with only one change due to the fires. As we were meant to go to Adelaide Hills a big part of the area was on fire, and we had to re-book in the morning. Instead we got to see Victor Harbour and surroundings – and we now have a really good reason to go back to South Australia for another visit!

None of us had been to SA before, and after a week I’m definitely not done. I absolutely loved the beautiful landscape, the beaches, the wine regions and their little towns full of character. Most of all I loved Kangaroo Island. It was the perfect combination of dirt roads, remoteness and nature. And we didn’t even see the main beaches and main towns – again something to come back to!

Our first stop in SA was Adelaide in +45 degrees C. It was sweltering hot, and time felt best swimming in the ocean.

One of the trip’s highlights was visiting Mollydooker winery, which has been one of our favourite wineries for many years. We had booked wine tasting and lunch and enjoyed a perfect day at the estate.

Our next stop would have been Adelaide Hills, but because of the fires we had to change plans. We did however go to the German town of Hahndorf, which was just on the boarder of the fires. We didn’t meet any Germans, but there were plenty of German food options to go for, and the atmosphere was very German.

In Victor Harbour we went to the local zoo, and it was a pretty big experience for everyone. Especially feeding the kangaroos, or trying to fight them (hint hint Bjørn).

After petting kangaroos, we went to Granite Island just off Victor Harbour. Famous for two things – penguins and being taken there by a horse cart. The island itself was not very exciting, and as much as I thought I spotted penguins, all the photos we had when we got home, were not of penguins… (I will still argue that some of them were penguins though :))

The main highlight of the trip for me was Kangaroo Island, and not least spending Christmas there. We had an amazing Airbnb cottage for 3 nights with views over the bush to the ocean. It was in a quite remote area of the island, and the road there was stunning. We had kangaroos coming to drink water by the house, all in all it was very idyllic.

On Christmas Eve we made traditional Danish food and had a not so traditional dance around the Christmas tree – on the porch outside in the heat of the afternoon sun 🙂

We spent one day exploring the south coast of Kangaroo Island (much of which has now burnt).
From one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen at Hanson Bay to the most extraordinarily rocks in Flinders Chase National Park. There is definitely a lot to come back for again, not to mention the whole part of the island we never saw.

From Kangaroo Island we said goodbye to Bjørn and Sofie and flew to Denmark. It was the best flight imaginable. I think Carla and Gustav laughed for 30 minutes straight when they sat down in the plane. It was the first time they both could really enjoy the screen and shows. Then they slept for 9 hours…!

My dad picked us up in the airport and the kids didn’t let go of him until they were in their car seats. They were so happy to be reunited with their granddad.

Denmark was all about quality time with family and friends. At times it felt like speed dating, but mainly it was full of love and energy.

The kids got to spend two full weeks with their grandparents. Two full weeks where they got loaded with hugs and kisses – and chocolate. It was amazing seeing them together. There was absolutely no reservedness from being away from each other for almost a year. It was just like they see each other all the time. Except for the language. Carla and Gustav only speak English and have done that for a very long time now, but after three weeks surrounded by Danish speakers, the kids finally picked up some Danish words. Just about when we were leaving Denmark, the kids started calling me Mor again. There is something special about being called Mum in your mother tongue that I didn’t know I missed. I am enjoying the sound as long as its there – I’ve got a feeling that it will soon be over again, honestly after a couple of weeks back in AU all the Danish words are almost all gone again.
Traveling with children who speak a different language than their parents is quite funny, mainly to the very interested passersby who probably found it very strange that we would talk in one language and get replies in English.

I love my life in Australia, but there is something very special about being around people you have known for a long time. The connection I felt with all my friends reminded me of just how lucky I am to have such good and close friends that even though I haven’t seen most of them for almost two years it felt like we saw each other yesterday.
It was so easy to sit down and just talk about anything and everything, and I guess that’s the beauty of friendships that no matter where you live, you will always be part of each others hearts.

One of the first things we did in Denmark was celebrating a late Christmas with my parents and my brother and his family. There is nothing like my Mums Christmas cooking and the excitement of the kids when they see the tree with all the presents under. It was a great day!

This year Gustav was introduced to the Danish Christmas dessert Risalamande, and he soon found out that finding a whole almond in there releases a bonus present 🙂

New Years Eve followed quite quickly, and we spent it at my parents.
The day after we had a big family lunch, and it was so amazing to see some of our beloved family members gathered at my parents house.

While in Denmark Søren and I also spent some time in Copenhagen. Having lived there half of my life, most of my friends also live there. We left the kids with their grandparents and went to see friends. Søren mainly met with one group of friends and spent all his time with them. In the meantime I did what a very wise friend told me not to do. She had told me ‘don’t make too many plans, you will feel like you don’t have enough time with anyone’. I started out that way, but the closer we got to our Copenhagen trip, the more I wanted to fit as many as possible into the visit. I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted, and none for as long as I wanted. But I don’t think it could have been any better! I managed to see so many friends. I had lunches, coffees, dinners, drinks. And I was sooo filled with energy and love when we came back (and very tired). Thanks everyone – I loved spending time with you all!

Back at my parents we did all we could to squeeze as much quality time out of the visit as possible. It was so good to just sit around the dinner table in the kitchen and talk. We had a lot of good nights, including the never-to-miss game night where we play pool for hours.

Now we are back in Sydney, and a couple of things I have realised/rediscovered.

Denmark is not far away – it’s just a flight and then you are there. Anyone who says the opposite is not right 😉
But jet lag sucks, and it lasted for a very long time. I think it took us all more than a week to adjust back to AU time.
It’s not very wise to plan to come back Sunday night for a Monday morning work start (but we will most likely do it again next time).
It is especially stupid when it rains in Dubai and you get a surprise layover together with thousands of other travelers.
Nothing beats friendships! And good friends who know you really well are priceless! I feel very grateful for all of mine.
And I understand my parents’ grief over us living so far away, but I love them for respecting and coping so well with our choices!

That’s all from me this time. I promise I will be back on the blog a bit sooner, I do realise I’ve been away for awhile, but life has happened, and I’ve got a few posts to catch up on.

BTW I didn’t write this myself, but it’s a pretty good indication of what I feel like (except for the engineering degree and son details ;-))

Morning sky views from my parents house to end on!