Our Family Adventure

Travelling to Belgium is, in many ways, a little like coming home for us. We lived in Bruges and Brussels for over 3 years; it’s where we started our married life together. We wanted to show the kids our old neighbourhoods and relive some of the experiences we’d had when we lived here.

Brussels

Pulling into the Gare du Midi was like any large train station in a big European city: crowded, noisy and a little confusing. Despite the major renovation work happening in the station, we found our way to the taxi stand, but not before walking past a large military vehicle and soldiers. This seemed, to us, like a larger military presence than in Paris (although there were many soldiers at the main tourists site there as well).

After driving along the 95 bus route to Watermael-Boitsfort, we arrived at our Airbnb in Trois Tilleuls. This was definitely a highlight of our stay. The home was one of hundreds of workers cottages built in the 1920s. We had often passed by these cottages and wondered about their history and interiors.

This cottage was very well renovated and even better, the neighbourhood was teeming with children! Our kids weren’t in the backyard for more than 10 minutes when a group of curious kids came by to introduce themselves. For the remainder of our time in Brussels, the kids were outside as much as possible playing with their new friends. It was the first time during our trip that our kids had friends their own age to play with. And there was an added bonus of the kids being able to speak (in French) with their new friends.

The rest of our time in Brussels was spent enjoying our old neighbourhood (including the amazing weekend market), visiting some of the main tourist sites, school work and catching up with a few friends (and we wished we had time to catch up with more!).

We enjoyed eating “moules et frites” (mussels with fries) for the first time at Chez Leon (only EUR 30 for the four of us, thanks to an online coupon!) and taking the kids through our old neighbourhood. One of the reasons we loved living in Boitsfort is that it doesn’t really feel like you are living in a big European capital.

Then it was off to Bruges.

Bruges

The “Venice of the North” was an opportunity to have a stretch of more concentrated academic time for the kids in a calm environment. We enjoyed our time walking around the city, walking beside and over canals.

We walked by our first home on West Gistelhof street — it is hard to believe homes can be so narrow!

We also cycled along the canals halfway to Sluis with friends which was good practice for our upcoming cycling trip in the Loire.

The kids were excited to find a EUR 2.00 copy of Monopoly but in Dutch! The kids enjoyed playing it and learning some Dutch words in the process.

Next stop: France!

Ah, Amsterdam…a quick Thalys (train) journey from the Gare du Nord to Amsterdam Centraal station. Unfortunately for us, the intensified security in Paris meant that we had to leave our newly purchased Opinel pocket knife (great for picnics!) behind, as the blade was just 5 mm too long. Sigh.

Our time in Amsterdam was great, with plenty of flowers, some family and lots of art. We stayed in central Amsterdam and made plenty of day trips to explore the city and Holland. Some highlights of the trip were:

The Kröller-Müller Museum:

This museum is set in a national park (De Hoge Veluwe) that provides bikes to visitors to cycle around an incredible landscape, complete with shifting sand dunes. The bikes are free and thousands of them are located at the park’s main entrances.

After cycling across the park on very well-maintained paths, the museum is the icing on the cake. It houses the second largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world, painstakingly collected over decades by the museum’s benefactors (the Kröller-Müllers). Not many people seem to know about the museum and we had free reign to explore the collection without the usual crowds. The sculpture garden, an outdoor extension of the museum, has a unique collection housed in a series of architectural pavilions, as well as among the plants and flowers.

The Mauritshuis

One of the best smaller museums we have ever been to! There was an incredible interactive “satchel” they had for kids with a mini-treasure hunt as well as activities that encouraged the kids (and their adult helpers!) to engage with the art in a unique and memorable way. Plus, it was refreshing to see a masterpiece like the Girl With A Pearl Earring in a much more relaxed and human(e) way than the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, for example.

We enjoyed exploring The Hague, as well which brought back many positive memories for A who took school groups there over the years for Model UN trips.

The Keukenhof

We were a little worried when we got off the bus from Amsterdam to the Keukenhof, as the weather had been unseasonably chilly and there wasn’t much blossoming in Amsterdam. However, once we arrived, the gardens were filled with an incredible number of tulips, hyacinths, lilies and more. Even more impressive were the inside gardens with hundreds of tulip varieties. They even had a database where you could search to see if your name matched with a registered variety.

Family

This was the first country on our trip where we were able to connect with family members. Two cousins (and their families) from D’s side of the family live in Holland, fortunately, not too far away from each other. Like many Greeks over the years (and especially more recently), the cousins have made careers and lives for themselves outside of Greece. It was wonderful to catch up over a shared meal and hear about life in Holland, trips back to Greece and extended family.

We were even able to take a day trip to Utrecht to enjoy some more time with one of the cousins and his adorable two year old son.

Next stop: Belgium!

There is a reason it’s a cliche to talk about Paris in the springtime — it is possibly the loveliest time of year to visit the French capital. While we had a few cloudy moments and even some rain, it was a  perfect visit which brought back many memories and where we were able to create some new ones.

Our highlights of Paris were:

Our “live like Parisians” Airbnb apartment — located in the 11eme arrondisment, a 10 minute walk from the Bastille, really lived up to its billing. The apartment was small, with original wooden floors, tiny kitchen and even smaller bathroom and on the fifth floor without any elevator. Oh – and the neighbours were VERY excited during the Paris Saint-Germain/Barcelona soccer match (at 11 pm!). But it was great to shop at the neighbourhood market (Marché Aligre) and we even visited the local library with an amazing kids’ section.

It was great to be in a new part of Paris which we had never really explored before. There was a park down the street for the kids to play (and meet some new friends) and we discovered the Promenade Plantée (an old train line converted into a green, elevated walkspace). It was along the Promenade we discovered the public water fountain that dispenses free sparkling water — very Parisian! You just need to bring your own water bottles to fill.

We were very lucky to find out about a walking tour company that was expanding from Italy into France, and they were offering free tours in their first week to refine their offering.

We had a free tour of the Louvre, which was the perfect way to visit with kids. Someone else guided us the whole way, provided running commentary about the key pieces of art and let us focus on the experience, rather than navigating and negotiating about our visit. We also took part in a free walking tour of the Marais, Notre-Dame and the Latin Quarter (with a free macaron tasting at the Place des Voges!).

Thanks to generous grandparents, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Despite travelling in the off-season, there were still line-ups for the elevator, so we walked up to the second level and then took the small elevator up to the top. What a view!

We spent a day at Versailles, exploring the Chateau and surrounding gardens. What an incredible spectacle of opulence and wealth. It’s hard not to be blinded by all the gilding, or to share a sense of solidarity with the peasants who revolted against the King. It was also unexpected to see the replica English village that Marie Anoinette created for herself.

We were also surprised at the security presence in stores. Given recent events, we expected an increased police presence in public places and tourist spots, but we didn’t expect to have to open our bags for inspection every time we walked into a Monoprix (grocery store) or other shop.

Overall, we had a wonderful visit to Paris and we are looking forward to spending more time in the rest of France in a few weeks.

Next stop: Amsterdam!

 

Our time in England was a wonderful mix of adventures. While we didn’t have time to do everything that we wanted (or see everyone we wanted!), we were able to accomplish quite a bit.

We asked the kids for their highlights and here is what they wrote:

T:  Moments marquants de notre séjour en Angleterre

1. Marcher dans le champ et trouver de la potterie et autres choses. J’imagine que ça aurait pu être un dépotoir ancien du village Chipping Campden ou  des restes des maisons historiques!
2. J’ai beaucoup aimé rester chez les amis de mes parents, pour m’en faire un de nouveau! On est restés chez nos amis S, J, J et D pour un week-end. J’était ravi de jouer avec J- jouer à Clash Royale, à Pokémon et j’ai aussi aimé parler avec lui! Dans le futur j’aimerais leur rendre visite de nouveau!
3. En Angleterre, il y a une série de livres que j’adore appellée Horrible Histories. Il y  en a plein que je n’ai pas lus encore. Quand même, j’en ai déjà acheté beaucoup pour une livre (argent britannique) chacun! Parlant de passe-temps britanniques, un autre ami m’a montré un jeu de cartes que j’ai beaucoup apprécié. Maintenant j’ai plusieures versions du jeu Top Trumps. Cela s’achète pour une livre aux magasins de charité.A: Les moments marquants

1. J’ai beacoup apprécié “tea time” et j’ai mangé une part gigantesque de gâteau au chocolat, des crumpets avec de la confiture aux fraises et du thé.
2. Nous avons bien aimé se promener dans les champs près de notre village de Chipping Campden. On a marché à travers des moutons (et à travers de leurs crottes!!) C’était comme si on jouait à un jeu vidéo où  il fallait naviguer afin d’éviter les crottes de moutons.
3. C’était très agréable de renouveler notre amitié avec S, J, J et D. J’ai particulièrement aimé jouer avec ma nouvelle amie, D.  Le samedi, on s’est promenées le long de la rivière de Guildford à Godalming.

For us, our highlights included:

The Cotswolds — this was high on the wish list and it was certainly worth it for such picturesque landscapes. We really enjoyed being based in Chipping Campden and a cute, little cottage just off the High Street. The town did a wonderful job of creating a brochure for children aimed at spotting the unique architectural features of the homes along the High Street (the “decrottoirs” to scrape off dirty boots just outside front doors, sundials on the south facing walls of many homes along the High Street, and the significance of the initials carved into the second floor masonry).  We enjoyed exploring the Cotswold Way and we spent several hours walking along the numerous public footpaths enjoying the beautiful scenery.

We were lucky to visit the workshop of Hart Silversmiths, one of the few remaining workshops that was started by Charles Ashbee. We even got to see Cotswolds Tourism filming a short video and we heard the current owner, David, talk about his craft.

Bath — this was on the recommendation of several friends and colleagues who praised the Roman Baths as a unique and fascinating place to visit. The city itself was also a pleasure to visit, although we had to contend with Storm Doris, which apparently blew off a slate shingle that decapitated someone! Fortunately, nothing so dramatic happened to us, but it was incredibly windy.

The Baths were an excellent experience and well worth the visit (although none of us particularly cared for the taste of the “healing waters”). The museum has been well-designed for families and the kids were fascinated learning about Roman times. The city itself was also full of beautiful Georgian buildings.

London — so many things to talk about here! We filled our time and filled it well, with trips to London Tower (and the Crown Jewels), the Globe Theatre (we had read a book about Shakespeare which really helped prepare the kids for the visit), Tower Bridge, walking along the Thames, attending the musical  “School of Rock” in a Covent Garden theatre, Greenwich and the Royal Observatory (straddling the Prime Meridian!), the Emirates Air Line cable car over the Thames, taking the Thames Clipper as well as a visit to Selfridges (we watched the entire series of Mr. Selfridge on Netflix so it was a must visit). We also got to see some (but not all) of our friends who live in the UK, so a repeat visit will be in order in the future.

Louth — where is Louth, you may ask? Good question! While it isn’t usually on the typical tourist itineraries, we added it to ours because of a family connection. It is near the east coast of the middle of the UK (in Lincolnshire). We rented a car in Stratford-upon-Avon and drove out for a few days. It gave us the chance to explore the coast (which we otherwise wouldn’t have seen) and it gave the kids a chance to see where their great grandfather (and great, great grandmother) lived. The house (“Rose Cottage”) is still there and hopefully the current residents didn’t mind us sneaking a surreptitious photo in their front yard.

It was a packed trip and we could have easily spend our whole six months just in the UK. But, the continent beckons….next stop: Paris!

Below is a post that our son wrote after we attended a Fulham FC game in London. Despite Fulham’s loss today, last week’s game was a smashing success. Here it is in his words:
 

Last week, my father and I went to a soccer game in England. It was Fulham FC vs Nottingham Forest FC. We took the DLR and the underground. Later we went to a café to get dinner before the match. As we were coming up to the stadium, there were dozens of police. Man, I was worried there was going to be a riot.

When we entered, people were so exited, the atmosphere was intense and there was a slight wind chill. The Fulham fans (us) got noise makers to encourage the team and the Nottingham fans were on the other side of the stadium all piled up in the corner.

Already two minutes in and Nottingham scores! The Fulham fans were devastated! On the other side of the stadium Nottingham were celebrating, while on our side swearing to the left, swearing to the right and so on. In the first quarter of the first half Fulham wasn’t doing so well. But later, in the 30TH minute Fulham finally scored! The Fulham fans were crazy! In a burst, everyone stood up and cheered. All I heard for the next five minutes was cheering. My ears were ringing and I was super excited.

Now that everyone was pumped up including me, Fulham was doing great! Two minutes later they scored again!!! This time the screams of joy were at their most! 2-1 for Fulham now and the Nottingham fans were speechless, all of them just watched in silence while the Fulham fans were chanting for the rest of the match until… Nottingham somehow equalized it? I don’t know how, they just whipped it in, just like that. Now, it was tied.

Let’s go to the 90+5 minutes of added time, where the anticipation was growing for both sides. I was shivering with excitement. There was an equal amount of possession and it was all a mater of time now. Fulham on the attack now, wonderful passing, headed for the goal. In the goalbox, they’re struggling to keep on to the ball, but some how one of the players makes it through. Headed for the goal now, he’s getting tackled but he still has the ball on the edge of his boot. There’s no going back now, he takes the shot it was like it was in slow motion. Everyone was depending on this moment. The ball whizzed through the air. The angle was wrong. Everyone lost hope in that moment, but it curved and somehow hit the post and went in!!!!!!!!!! The Fulham fans were overcome with joy and everyone was partying now! But Nottingham knew they weren’t winning with only one minute of added time. All hope was lost for the Nottingham fans, some were even leaving already.

A minute later the whistle blew and Fulham were the winners! Everyone was clapping for their favorite team. Let me tell you it was amazing! Almost the whole match my blood was rushing. Now it was late and everyone was tired and going home. When I got home I was so tired I fell on my bed like a rock, and just like that I was asleep.

Our time in Iceland has come to an end and it is safe to say we are fans. It’s hard not to be impressed by the dramatic environment  and otherworldly landscapes but we found people to be very friendly and (fortunately) great English speakers.

Some of our observations:

• Reykjavik felt very familiar to us

After almost seven years of living in Helsinki, Reykjavik seemed like a close cousin. The architecture is a mix of modern buildings, 1950s/60s brutalist architecture, early 20th century apartment blocks and quaint old cottages. The city is easily walkable and pedestrian friendly. And while Helsinki has many more trees than Reykjavik (or Iceland!), Reykjavik felt cleaner as we didn’t need to watch our step on the sidewalks.

• Iceland seems to be very cultural

There were art sculptures throughout the city and we even saw them in suburbs and along the highways. There were at least three branches of the main bookstore chain in a ten block radius of our hostel and they were generally busy with people. Even Icelandair offers audio books in their in-flight entertainment. There is a beautiful music hall as well as many other venues that promote theatre, live music, the symphony and other performing arts.

Even in the main church Hallgrimskirkja, we had the opportunity to listen to the church organist performing (practicing?) on the incredible organ.

• Iceland made it easy to travel with children

Many places do not charge for children under 11 (an age limit both our kids still fit under) and both kids were given free travel bags and meals with Icelandair. Both the hostel and the Blue Lagoon were generous in giving free towels to the kids.

• Iceland is expensive

While we were prepared for Iceland to be pricey, boy is it ever! With minimal manufacturing and local production, as well as the need to import most things, the prices are high for a reason. We tried to economize by buying most of our meals at the local grocery store and making them in the hostel’s shared guest kitchen.

The highlights for us were clearly  the spectacular natural beauty of Iceland. We really enjoyed the Blue Lagoon experience and if the weather had been nicer, we would have liked to explore the moonscape around the lagoon more.

The Blue Lagoon is expanding and will soon be opening a new section with additional hotel rooms. Perhaps on a future trip!

The kids even had the chance to taste Icelandic Krap. We found out a few months ago that Slurpees in Iceland were called Krap. Of course, the kids thought that was hilarious and begged us to buy them one when we got to Iceland. Their wish came true and while they enjoyed it, we thought it tasted like it said on the glass!

We also enjoyed the Golden Circle tour that we took. While we aren’t normally “tour people”, having someone else plan the route and drive in the inclement weather, leaving us to gaze out the window, doze and relax in relative comfort was well worth the tour price.

The Golden Circle tour covers:

• Thingvellir National Park with its rift created by the seismic activity between the American and Eurasian continental plates.

It is also an important locale for the Icelandic people as it is where the first Parliament met and many major decisions (e.g. the conversion to Christianity in AD1000) took place. It continues to be a meeting place for significant national events.

• Erupting geysers

While the original Geysír (the namesake of all geysers) has been dormant for many years, we were fortunate to see the one that still erupts. It was very cool!

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From there it was on to the famous Gullfoss waterfall which was truly spectacular. We couldn’t go on the lower level beside the falls due to the weather unfortunately.

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Finally, we stopped at a crater lake which was not frozen over as we had feared given the mild winter Iceland has had this year.

All in all, we are very happy to have made the stopover in Iceland on our way to Europe. Apart from some departure hassles, it was a very positive trip and would recommend it to anyone.

Next stop: the UK!

We never thought we would consider Iceland in February to be a departure for warmer weather, but with the thermometer hitting -27C in Calgary yesterday, it’s true. 

Hopefully, the balmy weather in Iceland (around +5C) continues for our visit. And it will certainly be better than the weather buffeting our Vancouver home which is undergoing another winter blast of snow followed by freezing rain. We picked a great time to leave!

This morning we packed up our rental car and packed the trunk with our gear for the next six months. Fortunately, it all fit but it was close. Many people have asked how we are able to bring everything we need for our trip. The simple answer is we can’t. 

Packing for six months, with a significant change in temperature and climate was a challenge. When you combine that with school materials for the kids (only so much is available in digital format), there wasn’t a lot of room left. 

We will likely be mailing some of our warmer winter gear home in the spring and donating any winter clothes that no longer fit. We also decided that we can always visit secondhand shops (a favourite pastime anyway) if we need to pick up anything else we need. 

A wise friend said to bring less than we thought we needed. I’m not sure if we heeded that advice but we still feel proud of how much we were able to squeeze into the bags we have without relying on giant suitcases for all of us. 

The journey to Edmonton was painless and the kids were happy with a lunch stop at the A&W in Red Deer. There were a few spots of blowing snow but nothing compared to the iced craziness of Highway 1 West to Banff. We sure timed our travel well. (Update: this Global News headline says it all – http://globalnews.ca/news/3239167/all-highways-between-the-coast-and-the-interior-are-closed/)

As we wait to board our Icelandair flight, we are very grateful to be embarking on this adventure. We have worked hard to save enough and we are very lucky to have supportive employers to make this a possibility. It seems surreal to be at the airport waiting to board. 

Next stop: Reykjavik!

We have officially started on our family adventure – and what a start! 

The final days of last week were spent in a frenzy of packing and cleaning. Oh, and installing a new kitchen faucet. On Friday morning, our kitchen faucet decided to give out leading to a small lake of water under the sink. After mopping up the mess, we called on the assistance of our trusty neighbour, The Plumber, who promptly dismantled the old one and accompanied us to Home Depot for a new one. A few hours later, the sink had a new faucet and we had a few more grey hairs.

That evening, friends were kind enough to let us stay at their place, feed us and take care of the kids while we continued to work. It was such a huge benefit to know we had a place to sleep that we wouldn’t have to clean again in the morning.

On Saturday morning, after a late Friday night cleaning, we took the last of our boxes to our storage facility. This is what putting most of your life in storage for six months looks like.

We are very glad we went for the bigger locker size, even if we didn’t fill it. 

We then handed over the keys to our lovely tenant and had a quick lunch before hitting the road. And what a road!

With the Lower Mainland in the grips of #snowpocalypse2017, the driving conditions were terrible. Our original plan to drive to Revelstoke was quickly cancelled (and getting charged for the unused room ☹️) and we decided to stay the night in Kamloops. We just had to get to Kamloops first!

Highway 1 was a mess with cars flipped over in the ditch and stuck in the median. The Coquahalla wasn’t much better and, as darkness fell, visibility sucked. In the end, we made it safely and had an excellent supper. Or maybe it was the stress of the drive that made everything taste better.

The drive in the morning wasn’t much better although the clear weather helped. After a pit stop in Revelstoke for lunch, we continued to Calgary. We had never been happier to see the twinkling tailights of skiers returning home!

We arrived in Calgary around 8 pm to a home cooked meal and a well-deserved glass of wine. The next morning revealed that Calgary is also trying its best to keep us here with a major cold snap and plenty of snow.

Hopefully, the next few days will clear up and we can make it to Edmonton for our flight to Iceland on Thursday.

Stay tuned!

This will be the place we update our family and friends about our progress over the next six months.