Denmark - a visit with our cousins

G&G, the kids and I took a 5.5 hour train to Copenhagen to visit mom's cousins and see some family history.  We had a great time!  I studied in Copenhagen during the summer of 2000 and mom came to visit for a couple of weeks during my stay.  It was so nice to be back and see some of the same people and places again.

First up was a day with Anna & Jan.  This picture was taken along a creek that my mom's grandfather played in during his youth.  It was right down a path from where his house used to stand - we were a little disappointed to show up and see that it was torn down :-(  Anna's grandfather and mom's grandfather were brothers.  (Right mom??) 

Seriously, Ben...when are you going to give us that cheesy smile again??

Anna's daughter, Rie.  It was so fun catching up with her!  We both decided that it was easy to pick up where we left off nearly 11 years ago...

Rie's kids with Sophia.  It's amazing that Sophia and Ben always seem to have a great time with kids their age, even when they don't speak a common language.  The same hold true here in Sweden with our neighbor kids and children at the park.

We had such a great day with Anna and her family - I look forward to their visit to the US next year!

The next day, we visited with Kirsten and Anders and had another wonderful day.

Smelling the tulips at a market in Koge.

This is called a monkey tree.

Ben test-driving a bike behind The Little Green House, the place that Kirsten works.

The garden behind her work is amazing.

We checked out a replica of the town - super cute!

Kirsten & Anders live on a farm outside of Koge.  They have horses, chickens and a great dog.  This horse's name is Benjamin - so we had to get a picture with Ben!

Sophia LOVED throwing the ball to Liva and got quite good at it.

A view of their beautiful farm.

The kids got to go for a ride on the pony, Musaffah (sp?).  A great time!

The last day, we spent in Copenhagen touring around the city and seeing some of the major sites.

Here we are at The Little Mermaid. 

Hans Christian Andersen lived in this house in Nyhavn, the cutest harbor I have ever seen!

Note a great picture of Nyhavn, but you can see the colorful houses that surround the water - love it!

It took just a little bit of searching, but we found the dorm that I lived in while studying in Copenhagen!

We went to an Irish Pub for lunch.  Dad had to experience both the Irish and Danish culture, so he had a Guinness and Tuborg with lunch!

We ended the day at Tivoli, a small amusement park with gorgeous gardens and fun rides.

And their first time experiencing cotton candy!

We stopped by a fun playground with a sinking ship and all!