gone fishing!

so we may not be the beatles fishing out of the hotel window over the sound--but we could, if we wanted to, dangle out of our windows and catch a few. or, hang out by the docks and reel in a cod on our first throw! of course i panicked and held my breath until michael tossed the fish back in the water. next time we'll get a bucket and watch him swim around a bit or bring him into the kitchen.

scandanavian sundays

i'm writing this half hanging out of the hotel lobby window while connected to the thon hotel across the street--the internet's been down in the hotel all week and of course it's a matter of ordering a part from denmark which i'm sure will come in one of those large container ships that docks outside of our window in a barge that must then be passed through five norwegian tech support guys. it's just how things are aroudn here. but they're also like this--full of salty sea spray and shadows of ships painted in the distance--and this is why we are here: to have sundays together. the rocks and fish and boats are just the icing on the chocolate cake ;) besides, doesn't owen look super in an orange wool cap? and of course, doesn't he look so so so big. . .

owen's aquarium pictures

daddy holding a lobster

cod fish

atlanterhavsparken

seaweed

friday five: along the water, past the boats, over the bridge, down the street and to the café!

rain, rain. . .

when the clouds return it's always good to remember the sunshine (was just here yesterday); or perhaps he's just taking a nap ;)

an orange-socks kind of weekend

we enjoyed a quiet weekend here in alesund, watching the cruise ships and fishing boats dock outside our window and revisiting our favorite spots. saturday we joined the crew for xl's signature bacalo dinner and then enjoyed some mojitos at the newly refurbished hotel atlantica.

sunday we had planned to go down to the atlanterhavsparken--the aquarium--and walk along the coast but realized when we got to the deserted bus stop that the buses, of course, don't run on sunday. so we headed up to the park, for a quiet family afternoon. we ended the evening with pizza up at pepe's and then all watched bug's life and went to sleep. . .

cruise ships spotted

In Alesund today. First is a German cruise ship:

On the other side of town, the famous MS Queen Victoria:

community victory!

wellhead and sdg&e are revoking their permit request to build a "sneaker" plant in our neighborhood!

here's info from ladera hope
and the oc register

owen adds new life to the café scene

here are a couple of snaps from one of our favorite cafés here in alesund (here's owen last spring standing out front)--invit espresso cafe. the top is from the barstools upstairs, which was a major mark of how much owen has grown since last we were here. he was very proud and assured me that he was "very big" to be sitting on the "tall chairs." they make the best fresh fruit smoothies and a proper cappuccino. the second is taken from the very fun downstairs basement--attached to a scandanavian design shop. i confess it does make me want to refurnish our house in magenta and black and white.

this view is made possible by. . .

here's a shot of our boat room--complete with the orange begonias owen picked for the windowsill and cozy writing desk. we've been abroad now over a week and our home away from home is starting to feel, well, like home. but i wanted to thank the "behind the scenes" people who have helped make the settling in possible. like nana for gathering and sorting all our mail, papa who went back and set up sprinklers so our roses would continue to bloom, grandma who shipped the small black bag of essentials that was left behind in the car, and grandpa who scanned no less than thirtysix pages of teaching evals so i could complete an application due back on the west coast. and that's just in the last week. and then my neighbors who keep an eye on number seventeen. and our wednesday friends who had stamped love waiting for us when we got here. and then of course just being out here in blogspace connected somehow to the wider world of fidfam. so thank you all for making hte view possible. we promise, in turn, to stop and smell the croissants, to count ships, and to dance in the cobblestone streets.

"look! a pirate ship"

it's been a busy day outside our window--right now the norland and the nordfisk are busy loading/unloading freight at the docks. this morning we watched the hurtigurten trollfjord (the same ship we rode from bergen) unload passengers and owen got this great snapshot of the "pirate ship" (he took the picture and positioned the hat all on his own!):

"train hotdog" and "SAS YES": owen's post and pictures

gdm vnmm./bv

the flip side of five

so if there are five things that are storybook and sexy about travel there are certainly five (if i can say so on a tuesday) that are not. and since owen is finally sleeping after being up since two am it seems a good time as any to unwind the other five.

5. well, sleep certainly. we're on day six of owen's commimtment to california time--which means wake up calls between 2 and 4 am that sound something like: "but WHY can't we go down to breakfast now?!"

4. cold soft boiled eggs. the allure of breakfast buffet quickly loses its appeal with runny cold eggs.

3. running out of diapers. this goes something like the walking five miles up the hill in the snow at the crack of dawn--only it was sometime before stores opened, in the rain, through muddy cobblestone.

2. trying to unpack six suitcases in something like two hundred square feet of space. although i have to say i did have some wonderful mary poppins moments--if only i had packed that hat rack.

1. explaining to owen that despite the fact that he sang a lovely song for his best friend west at four am he was not going to be at breakfast and neither will nana, papa, grandma or grandpa meet us for cake later today.

of course writing all of this is restorative in itself, and as the rain clouds literally clear, yes i can see them moving outside of the spectacular ocean view windows in our teeny room, i know it'll be ok. i'm tired, anxious and irritated with myself for all of the little things back home i'm still trying to manage. and then that's why we're here really--so we can manage it all together. i had this teary moment at the h&k dinner bar with michael while owen was konked out and explained that i knew we could do this because i've read mrs. dalloway and believe in it, believe in her. and i really think i explained it like that, but i believe in this moment as definining all moments and that one must walk down busy streets and eat brie sandwiches. yes, something like that. oh, and if you're blessed enough to have a room with a view (couldn't help that reference) it's even better than a room of one's own (or this one--but a desk will do with a napping child and your loved one coming back on the four o clock ferry).

friday five

as we took our walk through town this morning i was reminded of all the things i love about travel--here are five that are at the top of my list.

5. hand painted artisan buildings-- i love the unassuming shop front of this glass shop (and the woman sneaking up to her loft above). it just seems like part of a novelistic version of what belongs on a city street.

4. owen's ability to literally stop and smell the flowers--we stopped to check the map on our way out to the iconic mermaid statue and owen literally jumped out of his stroller and sat on the asphalt to pick dandelions.

3. architectural details--i love the pattern in this ornate cobblestone outside of the four royal palaces of amalienborg. i'm also fond of wrought iron (i've got some gorgeous pictures of that outside of the frederikskirken--far more beautiful, i think, then the imposing popish statues) and statues in unexpected places.

2. this goes along with number five-- i love fun shop signs. this one was for a danish kids clothing boutique.

1. i confess, and this goes along with navigating my way through cities by following novelistic threads, eating a cafe lunch takes the cake. i had to put two pics up here--after a pretty intense walk across town with some jetlag wearieness i nearly cried when i came back to our cafe table after ordering and found owen intensely at work writing his postcards. it was just a perfect serene moment. and then our cappuccinos and cafe brunch came and i knew we found my corner of heaven.

beautiful sunny copenhagen morning

Owen had us up at 4am this morning - just enough time to get showered up and ready for breakfast that opened at 6:30. We were ready to hit the town and explore. We decided to walk to the other end of town (where the little mermaid statue is) and back.
Along the way we walked through the Royal Gardens (the Amalie gargen) and the four Royal palaces of Amalienborg - home of the Danish royal family. We also walked by the Frederikskirken (the Marble church).
We're taking a break after a big brunch near the Kongens Nytorv (King's New) square and at least two of us are trying to get a nap (Owen is too busy bouncing off the walls still) before checking out the Tivoli gardens amusement park across the street.

Buildings lining Nyhavn (new harbor):


Cara and Owen in the square of the Royal palaces of Amalienborg with no one around:


Michael and Owen down by the Little Mermaid bronze statue:


View from hotel room of the Tivoli gardens: