Edinburgh

Is Mara mad?, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

We took a long weekend in Edinburgh. Experienced all things Scottish...bagpipes, Scotch, St. Andrews, funny accents, and wonderful people.

There are many difficult and frustrating things about living in a foreign country...meeting all new friends, not knowing the customs, no peanut butter or dill pickles, banking, and being half a world from family.

The positives are wonderful though...lots of new learning experiences, tremendous opportunities for travel, becoming comfortable as a tourist, and reliying even more on each other as an immediate family.

Our girls are becoming good travellers and pretty comfortable going just about anywhere. We probably walked about five miles today, and Jeryn handled it like a champ. Probably much better than I did to be honest:). Mara made it most of the way without being carried. Not bad for being almost 3.

We miss you friends and family.  Here are a few picture highlights from our trip.

Roar!!!

Roar!!!, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Mr. Scottish Bagpipe Man

Mr. Scottish Bagpipe Man, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Trip 9: Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Trip 8: London

Buckingham Palace is So Funny, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Buckingham Palace is So Funny...at least if you are a toddler.

Jeryn and Mara got their first trip to London this weekend. We saw some dinosaurs, butterflies, and whales at the Natural Museum of History and Science.

We also found a Chipotle, and took a stroll by the Buckingham Palace before it started to "chuck down" on us as the English say.

Via Flickr:
The girls at the palace

More English Oddities...

Untitled, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Our hotel scale measures weight in stones...

Trip 7: Norway

Most Europeans take 1-2 full weeks of consecutive vacation every summer.  We had our first 'proper' holiday with a week in Norway.

Here are a few things we found quite interesting:

• Norwegians are really friendly, and more than willing to help you out - especially if you are looking lost:)
• Almost everyone speaks English as a second language.  In all the touristy spots, the signs are in English.
• Norway is very expensive as a country.  It is quite common to pay $10 or more for a beer.
• The scenery is incredible.  It reminds us of Yosemite, only there are no crowds and half the country looks like Yosemite valley.
• It rains almost every day.
• Since we all have blonde hair, everyone assumed we were Norwegian.
• We spotted several Minnesotans.  It turns out that we are relatively easy to pick out of a crowd.
• Norwegians find it unusual to pay with cash.  Everything is by card.  Even to use the public toilet, is a 10 NOK credit card only fee (about $1.50).

Here are a few picture highlights...

Norway Fjords, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Norway Fjords, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Mara's Hats, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Sisters on a Norwegian Fish, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Bergen Fisherman's Wharf, originally uploaded by josh77anderson.

Bergen, Norway

As with many popular tourist areas, there are a lot of street performers.  These guys caught our ear and put on a traditional Norwegian show.  Jeryn and Mara seemed to like them too.