Pool

I don't believe I ever have done so little. In two consecutive days we have just been marinating in the pool. It must be those teenage vibes rubbing off.

No liquids on the plane

The kids didn't seem to mind their last morning in Rhodes feasting on leftover watermelon and sodas for breakfast.

Old town Rhodes

Typical tourists touring. We had a lot of fun with the shopkeepers inviting us to their stores to dell us "stories" and sell their goods. One was really impressed since I travelled with 4 children and left the wife at home. Another was certain he had seen Rita in a movie. The Greeks love a bargain nowhere is the price what it seems.

Warm day

A magnificent start on a hot day. Breakfast on our balcony with a view of the mountains on the Turkish coast. All day at the beach and red and sore shoulders despite plenty of suntan lotion. There is a lesson to be learned.

Butterfly valley

A canyon vits through the landscape in the center of Rhodes. It was a great experience walking upstream witnessing the thousands of butterflies resting on branches, rocks and what not oe just whirling around to find a new place of rest. We made it a sport to spot the crabs in the creek.
Magnificent traditional Greek lunch at a gaverne in a small village. I'll never tire of that tomato salad!

Thirteen

Another teenager in the house. Morning was broken with a full English Breakfast. The day spent at the pool - a who knows an evening swim in the Sea?

Wonderful

Up at 3 AM and an afternoon in the Mediterranean - ah life is wonderful and vacation even so!

Sending off Axel

We spent a good part of the morning in the airport sending off Axel. Check-in took 2 hours and then the plane was delayed for another 2 hours. Axel had been excited all morning and took it in good stride. But he did get a bit anxious when the steward/chaperone came to pick him up. However, he was not the only one travelling alone on the flight to Atlanta. He was part of a group of 4 12-14 year olds. And he gave us a big big smile when he was escorted through security - ready for adventure!

Summer vacation I

Seeing Alex and Erik off at the station. They will be gone for 5 days biking and camping. It was pure excitement. Besides their clothes they had stuffed those bags with dvds. I wonder if they'll be able to watch them at all. In just a few hours we will see Axel off at the airport and then we will be single child parents for a while.

Stöten 2009

It's a bit overdue but last week was just tremendously busy. We had a great week skiing in Sweden. It was super luck to have 2 feet of snow just before we arrived to the place. The temperatures were mostly ok. The last two days it did get a bit on the cold side. When Rita and I made it up to the hill in the morning it was -16 C. Made your hair freeze. It was pretty amazing because the temperature rose as we took the lift up the mountain. At the top it was -0,5 C. It was like walking into a living room!

More pictures will follow when I've emptied Ellens camera.

Checking the anchor

When anchoring you have to check the boat during the night to make sure the boat isn''t drifting. One evening we were on deck talking while watching the sun setting. It was a spectacular view. Axel and I had the pleasure doubled when we at 4.30 AM took care of the our anchor checking duty and saw the sun rise. Sunset and sunrise on the "same" day. It really was something to behold.

Expert navigators

Thursday, these two guys led us out of the harbor. Wouldn't you feel safe in their hands?



Axel was our look out. He loved to sit in the front of the boat and check out the sea. He is certain he saw a small dolphin one of the days.

Via con me

Last week was spent on the good ship "Via con me" a 39 feet long sailboat.

The entire crew consisted of David, Nadya, Marik and the entire Qvistgaard family.



David and the boys and I picked up the boat in Germany and sailed it to Funen where we were met by the rest of the crew.

Although experiencing som engine problems we had a great week. The weather was sunny and warm and perfect.

We did a bit of sailing with sails and a bit with engine.

All the boys had designated roles. David was Captain as he is the only experienced sailor. Erik handled sails. Axel did fenders and I was responsible for anchor and cooking!

Sailing is hard work and makes you ready to slumber almost anywhere - like the art museum in Faaborg.

The kids managed so well and enjoyed it all. I believe one of the hightlights was when we anchored up in Svendborg Sound and jumped in the water from the boat.

Hole in the ground

Ellen and I had planned several trips for when we stayed in the summerhouse in Höör but those plans were all changed when we returned from Taberg. The boys got so excited about a hole in the ground. It was obviously the place to make a hide away. It didn't take them long to find a lot of planks and plywood boards and make up a construction plan. I got a long shopping list with nails, screws and what not and was sent off to the city. Then they went to work....In 3 days we had a perfect shelter with room for all 5 of us. It was a perfect end to our vacation in Sweden.

Taberg Mine

I really like this picture. We were able to go on a tour of the mine in Taberg. The tour was all by torch light. The mine has quite a history. The rock in the hill contains a lot of magnetite. In the early 70's it was planned to break down all the rock, melt the magnetite out and make a new hill out of the slags. The oil crisis luckily put an end to those plans so we can enjoy the landmark of Småland today.

We had a wonderful visit Conny and Elly-Britt. As usual the kids were spoiled rotten with meatballs, grave, potatoes, cakes etc. They love it. Rita and Axel both stated that the wanted to move to Sweden when we came home.

Upskjutet

At Liseberg is this one attraction where you are shot up in the air (description here). Ellen had asked Axel if he wanted to try it. He didn't turn her down as expected. Now who was the most nervous.

Axel 11 years old

We had brought all Axel's gifts with us to Sweden. He was excited about it all. He couldn't wait to have his remote controlled car charged. The warhammer figures Erik brought with him from the US also had to wait to be assembled and painted until we got back home to Denmark. Quite a test of patience.

But we had planned a trip to Sweden's largest amusement park. We spent all day in the park. It was a thrill. Axel rode all the rides even the old wooden roller coaster "Balder" and enjoyed it. I believe he surprised both us and himself.

Visiting Lundsbrunn

The first stop on our vacation was Lundsbrunn where Åsa and her family lives. We spent 2 days together seeing the sights of the area. I enjoyed experiencing the area around Kinnekulla which among other things is where Christianity first was introduced to the Swedes.

Rita loved hanging around Anton. For ever fearless she found a ride on his bike the highest thrill.

The Erik is home

We had to wait him for a day extra due to bad weather in the south easter part of the US. But eventually Erik got back home. We almost missed him coming out of customs. I believe he must have grown or something while in the US. Erik was tired but in a good mood. "Far, you must realise I only slept for 2 hours!"

Well he did catch up on his sleep this afternoon.

One thing that was kind of funny was Erik behaving like a proud teenager. He grundgingly accepted both hugs and kisses.

Axel back home

Axel came back from camp. We had all looked forward to it. The night before Axel called at 23.30 just to make sure that we would come and pick him up at the station. It's my impression that Axel had had a good time but that he had been a bit homesick at times as well.

Well, his greatest narrative was of the day when he had 3 icecreams. He bought 2 himself and then Kisser (one of the teachers) gave him another. No, it was 4 icecreams because Dennis had given him one as well. Well, that wasn't quite right. He must have had 6 icecreams because... :-)

Away he went

Erik is now on his way - if not in the US already. We had to go to the airport very early this morning due to all the safety procedures. Then we weren't allowed to leave until the airplane was in the air - those are the rules when you have an unaccompanied minor on the plane.

Erik was so excited about going this morning. He woke up almost at before the alarm clock rang (and it was more than an hour before normal, not easy for a teenage boy). We had quite a wait at the airport after checking in, it was quite a torment for him.

There were 3 more children on the plane. Two of the kids were a 12 year old girl and her younger brother who was perhaps 7. Rita noticed this and made several comments that children could travel alone. "Even 7 year olds if they have a sibling accompanying them!"

There was no doubt about what she was hinting at :-)

Winter vacation in Sweden

Last week we had an awesome vacation in Northern Sweden. We had lots of snow and sun. We all had fun skiing and playing in the snow. Did some one say the Vikings enjoyed rolling in the snow after sitting in the sauna? We did it! Unfortunately Erik hit a pole when taking a lift to the top of the mountain. He had to five stitches. It took a couple of days for him to get on the skis again.

Meanwhile we compensated by going on a scooter safari - both Erik and I enjoyed it. Those machines have an amazing pick up and a top speed around 100 miles per hour. We only managed 50 but it was fast.