Time in Switzerland by Aidan

Here is a little something Aidan, 6 years old, about the family's time in Switzerland.

I watched my sister and my brother play basketball at AMAC. The first game that my sister played was Falcons vs Lions. Then my brother Ethan played the Eagles and they won.  My mom broke her ankle and my brother Noah ate hazelnuts. They went to the hospital. We saw the alps. We got to our apartment. Me and my mom played UNO.  Me and my brother watched the Olympics and Canada won 4 medals.  We went to coop to buy pasta for supper.  Next stop is the desert.

Christmas in Scandinavia

Click here to view photos from our trip!

Considering our long Christmas vacation, we decided to pack our bags and fly from Tunis, to Paris, to Copenhagen Airport, where we landed on the evening of the 20th of December; the exact same day we finished school. Unfortunately, our connection from Paris to Copenhagen was very tight, so we had to run through the airport to get to our gate. We just made it the shuttle, as we realized that our bags would not make it in time. Fortunately, we received our lost luggage a few days later, with the exception of one that contained Noah, Hannah and Daddy's skates. After renting a vehicle, we drove to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, conveniently located near the airport... and a shopping centre. We spent two nights there before driving to our rented house in Langstrup, a small town 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen.

Jumping on the backyard trampoline at our house just outside of Copenhagen.

At our arrival, we were surprised to find that there was no snow! This trend continued throughout the trip to our disappointment, as the Scandinavian countries were having a very mild winter. The house was very warm and cozy, and had enough beds to host our family. It had a big yard, a very big yard, compared to our little courtyard here in Tunis. The house also reminded us of Bury, because it was surrounded with farmers' fields. We felt nostalgic hearing the faint tractor engines in the distance. During our stay in Copenhagen, we visited a two Christmas themed venues that got us into the Holiday spirit that we were missing in Tunis. We also visited castles, many castles, much to Mommy's delight. (*Chuckles from Mommy as I write this.*) Finally the big day arrived, and Santa Claus did not disappoint. He brought us lots of goodies in our stockings and decorated the floor around our small Christmas tree with presents.

Decorating our small Christmas tree.

After a week and a half stay in Denmark, we crossed the ever so expensive bridge over to Malmö, Sweden, where we would be watching the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championships. We watched three games at the Malmö Ice Stadium, Canada winning all of them against Slovakia, the USA and Switzerland. The ambiance at the games was familiar, as thousands of Canadian hockey fans just like us cheered on the nation's best. Canadian fans outnumbered any other countries', even at non-Canadian games. Unfortunately, Canada lost to underdogs Finland, who would go on and win gold in overtime against tournaments hosts and favourites Sweden.

Canadian fans at the Malmö Ice Stadium.

By that time, we had driven 6 hours from our hotel in Malmö to Stockholm, where we stayed in an apartment. It was located close to a refrigerated outdoor skating rink, where the locals played bandy, a sport resembling soccer, but with skates and sticks. Fortunately, we got the rink all to ourselves one morning. We made the most of this unforgettable opportunity. The rink was the size of a soccer field, so 115 yards by 74 yards. In Stockholm, we visited, yet again, a castle and an interesting museum. The Vasa Museum featured a boat that had sunk over 500 years ago just off the coast of Stockholm, and had been pulled out in the 1960s. It still had many of its ornaments, making for a very impressive visit.

The kids posing at the Stockholm City Hall.

After a week in Stockholm, we drove all the way back to Copenhagen, where we flew back to Tunis the next morning. We all appreciated our stay in Scandinavia, even though there was no snow to be seen anywhere.

Click here to view photos from our trip!

Next stop: Switzerland!