We left Denver at 6pm on Wednesday, April 29, arrived in Trondheim about 6pm (local time) on April 30. With the 8 hour time difference, that was a 16 hour trip: Denver to Frankfurt (10 hrs), Frankfurt to Oslo (2 hrs) and Oslo to Trondheim (1 hr), with some layovers between. For extra entertainment Ethan had at least one meltdown at every airport.
Overall the trip went very well given then circumstances and lack of sleep. Judy & Ed dropped us off at the airport (thanks J & E!) a little early which turned out to be helpful as the Lufthansa attendent took about 1/2 an hour and had to ask another attendent 3 times for help while checking us in. Nic likened the man to some "old man" character that Tim Conway used to do on the Carol Burnett show. I can't quite remember but perhaps you can?
Ethan's first meltdown occured at the DIA security line as he wanted to do everything himself and he wasn't moving quickly enough. Nic had to pick him up and then the tantrum followed. He seemed to quickly get over it and the lufthansa flight from Denver to Frankfurt was wonderful! Each seat had its own indidvual TV with programming (movies and such) that could be started and paused any time. Ethan watched Bolt 2 times. We were fed 2 meals and the beer/wine were free flowing! We managed some sleep, the kids more than the adults but it still was not enough. The kids were still sleeping when we arrived in Frankfurt.
In Frankfurt we went though customs - Gwyneth was excited about her first passport stamp! We only had an hour and so we walked briskly and directly to the gate to get on the next plane to Oslo. We flew on SAS airlines and Gwyneth was immediately enamoured as they handed both Gwyneth and Ethan a little box with a toy, paper, colored pencils, and candy for the flight. Otherwise it was uneventful.
We arrived in Olso and had to go through a brief passport check (no stamp this time) and retreive our luggage. The airport was hectic and lines looked long but things moved quickly. We had to recheck our bags and go through security. We were at the gate about an hour early - enough time for 2 pieces of pizza, 2 hot dogs (one wrapped in bacon -yum!), and another Ethan melt down. By this time he was tired and he really didn't like being told what to do (hmm.... wonder where he gets this from) and he clearly had his own adgenda. After a piece of pizza he was better, so perhaps it was the hunger.
Upon arrival in Tronheim Christian Skau (Nic's host/colleague) was waiting for us and it was nice to see a familiar face! (Chris had been in Denver a year ago). The luggage came out right a way and we are all in the car (with one suitcase strapped to the roof) about 15 minutes after landing I think. Christian then drove us to our apartment (the airport was about 30 miles out of town). Alnong the way Nic and I couldn't help but laugh at a rode sign that said "Fartsmuilling" or something like that. I was way too tempting to pronounce it "Fart Smelling". We learned that "Fart" means speed in Norwegian, so I am sure that this will be an endless sort of entertainment.
We arrived at the apartment which is nice (2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom with shower and sink, a toliet room, and a large entryway. We are on the ground floor with a nice yard and it looks like there are tons of kids around. We met the Swedish family who is staying across from us and they have a 3 year old and a 6 year old boy. We only met the mother and luckily (for us) she speaks english. We got a lesson on the washing machine that is in the basement. Oh, and we learned there is no dryer, so it looks like we will be line drying our clothes. I hope it doesn't rain too much!
Christian took us on a quick trip to the grocery store as tomorrow is a holiday and things will be closed. We all went and Ethan was not really into to listening so it made the trip a bit stressful. We got enough food to get us through the day and we really couldn't digest the prices of everything. We spent about 1000NOK which is roughly $150 US. This included the $20 6-pack of beer that Nic couldn't resist. The local beer is called "Dahls" and Nic's mom's maiden name is Dahl. We made some quesadillas for dinner and snacked on salami and cheese and then it was off to bed.
Overall the trip went very well given then circumstances and lack of sleep. Judy & Ed dropped us off at the airport (thanks J & E!) a little early which turned out to be helpful as the Lufthansa attendent took about 1/2 an hour and had to ask another attendent 3 times for help while checking us in. Nic likened the man to some "old man" character that Tim Conway used to do on the Carol Burnett show. I can't quite remember but perhaps you can?
Ethan's first meltdown occured at the DIA security line as he wanted to do everything himself and he wasn't moving quickly enough. Nic had to pick him up and then the tantrum followed. He seemed to quickly get over it and the lufthansa flight from Denver to Frankfurt was wonderful! Each seat had its own indidvual TV with programming (movies and such) that could be started and paused any time. Ethan watched Bolt 2 times. We were fed 2 meals and the beer/wine were free flowing! We managed some sleep, the kids more than the adults but it still was not enough. The kids were still sleeping when we arrived in Frankfurt.
In Frankfurt we went though customs - Gwyneth was excited about her first passport stamp! We only had an hour and so we walked briskly and directly to the gate to get on the next plane to Oslo. We flew on SAS airlines and Gwyneth was immediately enamoured as they handed both Gwyneth and Ethan a little box with a toy, paper, colored pencils, and candy for the flight. Otherwise it was uneventful.
We arrived in Olso and had to go through a brief passport check (no stamp this time) and retreive our luggage. The airport was hectic and lines looked long but things moved quickly. We had to recheck our bags and go through security. We were at the gate about an hour early - enough time for 2 pieces of pizza, 2 hot dogs (one wrapped in bacon -yum!), and another Ethan melt down. By this time he was tired and he really didn't like being told what to do (hmm.... wonder where he gets this from) and he clearly had his own adgenda. After a piece of pizza he was better, so perhaps it was the hunger.
Upon arrival in Tronheim Christian Skau (Nic's host/colleague) was waiting for us and it was nice to see a familiar face! (Chris had been in Denver a year ago). The luggage came out right a way and we are all in the car (with one suitcase strapped to the roof) about 15 minutes after landing I think. Christian then drove us to our apartment (the airport was about 30 miles out of town). Alnong the way Nic and I couldn't help but laugh at a rode sign that said "Fartsmuilling" or something like that. I was way too tempting to pronounce it "Fart Smelling". We learned that "Fart" means speed in Norwegian, so I am sure that this will be an endless sort of entertainment.
We arrived at the apartment which is nice (2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom with shower and sink, a toliet room, and a large entryway. We are on the ground floor with a nice yard and it looks like there are tons of kids around. We met the Swedish family who is staying across from us and they have a 3 year old and a 6 year old boy. We only met the mother and luckily (for us) she speaks english. We got a lesson on the washing machine that is in the basement. Oh, and we learned there is no dryer, so it looks like we will be line drying our clothes. I hope it doesn't rain too much!
Christian took us on a quick trip to the grocery store as tomorrow is a holiday and things will be closed. We all went and Ethan was not really into to listening so it made the trip a bit stressful. We got enough food to get us through the day and we really couldn't digest the prices of everything. We spent about 1000NOK which is roughly $150 US. This included the $20 6-pack of beer that Nic couldn't resist. The local beer is called "Dahls" and Nic's mom's maiden name is Dahl. We made some quesadillas for dinner and snacked on salami and cheese and then it was off to bed.
