Bun and Bud's Excellent Adventure!

Mama: Finland holds the number one spot for world’s happiest country. I have to admit I was expecting a lot of Santa Claus-esque happiness emminating from every which way, but it’s pretty chill here. From the “Discover Helsinki” pamphlet on the boat, Finns enjoy such things as quiet saunas and whispering on public transit, and apparently there is no such thing as an “awkward” silence in conversation. Maybe I’ll need to look a little closer to see where all the happiness is coming from! 🤔 Or maybe it’s as simple as every bed in Finland being a top bunk?? Bun: We woke up on the boat this morning. And tonight we get to sleep in the TOP BUNK! I’m so excited. This is going to be great.  Bud: We went to a playground after dinner. We get to sleep in the top bunk tonight and mommy won’t move us. This will be my first WHOLE night in a top bunk.  I had zero (ZERO?!) pictures from the day. The most eventful part of the day may have been loading nine backpacks into this ...

Mama: All the money Dada’s spent on luxurious hotels for us and all the kids have ever wanted was a 10 x 8 box with bunk beds! (Note to parents...) We are on the Viking Cruise ship to Helsinki. Good buffet and a cold and windy top deck. But we’re excited for a sleep in a windowless room!!  Bud: We get to sleep in a room with bunk beds! I slept in a top bunk once, but mommy moved me. We don’t usually travel to countries in rooms like this. I’m excited! Bun: It was so windy at the top of the boat! We got to see an island and there was only one house on it! I love our new room. It has bunk beds! Anyone know what this means?? It’s above the stairs on the cruise ship and I can’t help but think it means “Go downstairs and think about what you’ve done!”

Mama: Big last day in Stockholm! We spent quite a while in the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a war ship built for the king of Sweden in the 1600s. The main purpose of the ship was to be flossy and after 1300 m sank to the bottom of the harbour. It’s the largest intact ship salvaged in history. It was pretty cool! Then for something completely different, we went to the ABBA Museum. I loved it and Bun love love loved it!! She was a dancing queen! We went for a little canal tour and finished the day at the Alfred Nobel Museum - a small but impactful place. The kids were wiped, so they’ll have to add their two cents tomorrow! Bun: We got to dance with famous stars! But they were just pretend. And we went to a ship museum and read a book about a boat that was sinking because they built it too high. After two wind blows, it fell over. We got to figure out questions (at the Nobel Museum) and get chocolates. I liked the molecules. It was a good day.  Bud: I got to go to the ABBA museu...

Bud: We got to go to a really really fun area that had a zoo and a diorama. I’m really good at rolling a wheel with a stick. You bang the stick on the wheel. And I’m better than I thought on stilts. And we had a yummy dinner.  Bun: I love our BnB. I really really love the pictures on the wall. We got to see a fairy land. And I even got to see how you actually hold stilts. It was so awesome.  Mama: We went to Skansen Island which is a zoo/heritage park island. It was a lot of fun for the kids and I think we saw the original Old Dutch Potato Chip windmill! 

Mama: A travel day into Sweden! A good but tiring day. We were all kept up until 3:00 am last night being tortured by the neighbors drunkenly singing along to their blaring 1990s American music. I was thinking about calling the Danish police, but there was a lot of Jon Bon Jovi. So... 🤷‍♀️ After getting settled, Grandma and I took a walk through our new neighborhood. The vibe here is really festive and lighthearted. It may be because we are in a tourist district, but I really like Stockholm!! Definitely a happier people than the Danes, who are the bronze medal holders for the happiest country in the world. I can’t wait to meet the gold medal Finns! Bud: We just travelled from wherever we were at to Sweden. We got to invent with pipe cleaners and beads and string. I saw out the window at windmills in the ocean. They were really really cool. I made a paper crane for the first time without any help.  Bun: We got to do lots and lots of things. It was so fun. So fun.  ...

Bud: We got to go to a playground and it was super super fun. I got brambles on me. We went to a museum and there was a kids part and we were allowed to touch everything and there was a horse and fruit and stilts.  Bun: We got to go to a museum and a park. There was an awesome seesaw. We went really high on the swings. I love love love my new dress! Mama: Longest stay in a country for awhile! It was nice to see a few things and do a little shopping. Swap out a couple pieces. Washing clothes in hotel sinks is not super efficient!

Mama: More touring through Copenhagen. We went out to the aquarium and then wondered through a castle. It was HOT. Copenhagen is having a heat wave and we are definitely feeling it. Aunty and Uncle went down to the anarchist commune Christiania for a little date night! Weird and wild stuff.   Bun: We went to the aquarium. We saw turtles and fishes and a crocodile! Bud: And we saw an octopus! Finally!! There was no where for the octopus to hide. We played in the playground and I can climb up the pole. And we went through a castle. 

Mama: Another zoo! But the first time we saw a Tazmanian Devil! Pretty cool. And they had a sand sculpture exhibition, which was awesome! Then a tour through some museums and a canal ride to the little mermaid statue. She just wanted to be part of our world.  Bud: Today was great. I caught a butterfly! I just swooped it out of the air. We went to the zoo. It was great. There were lots of babies. They had two baby hippos and zebras. We also got to go on a boat.  Bun: We got to go on a boat. We even got to race grandpa at the zoo. Me and Indy beated him! We also went to a sand sculpture contest. And we beated grandpa. 

Mama: We made it to Copenhagen and met with some very darling people! Aunty, Uncle, Cousin and Grandma and Grandpa. And just in time for Grandpa’s birthday!! Happy Birthday Grandpa! We are glad for the new company. And some bigger accommodations. Bun and Bud were missing having a yard. We bussed into town and walked through Tivoli Gardens and checked out the Hans Christian Anderson Museum and Ripley’s believe it or not. Dean Cane used to host the show - Believe it or Not!! Bud: My helicopter was a great success (purchased in the Amsterdam Museum of Modern Art)! We went to an amusement park and got candy floss. We also went through a crazy museum. And my cousin came to meet us!! Today was great.  Bun: I love love love our new house! It has so many beautiful flowers and we have our own room for crafts. 

Mama: A big day in Amsterdam! I think? I’m pretty sure we were high for a most of it. After walking behind some gentlemen smoking, Bun got ravenously hungry, ate a whole noodle bowl, then passed out on the tram. Fun times. Anyway! We are off to Scandinavia tomorrow!! Our summary so far is 18 days, 8 countries, dozens of trains and a whopping 203 km walked!! Totally cray.  Bun: We got chocolate ice cream today. It was so yummy yummy yummy. And I got a tulip, but really it’s a pencil.  Bud: We went to a kids science centre. It was amazing! We got to do an experiment and make a baking soda rocket. We also tried to invent a grabber. There was a restaurant on the roof. We ate carrots. I learned that with one pulley it’s hard to lift yourself up, but with three pulleys it’s easy!