Time is Drawing Near

Now that our sister's cruise has come and gone, time is drawing near for us to depart on our next adventure. Our 2012 Trip of a Lifetime! On June 30th, we will be boarding a plane in Wichita, KS, having a couple hour layover in Chicago, then heading across the ocean blue where we'll make our next stop in Zurich, Switzerland. Hopefully we'll have enough time to buy some Swiss Chocolate, Swiss Cheese, Swiss Watches and a Swiss Army Knife... okay, Swiss Army Knives will most likely NOT be sold in the airport. Then back on a plane and on to Oslo, Norway, where we'll arrive on July 1 at 9:20 a.m., which is 2:20 a.m. our time. Needless to say, we will be exhausted. But, we must carry on as we have so much to see and do in Norway within the next 27 hours. 

Radisson Blu Hotel Nydalen, Oslo
 

We have a one night reservation at the Radisson Blu Hotel Nydalen in Oslo. Among the many things we'd like to see are:

Palace Park

Oslo City Hall--huge murals, a 'must see'

Det Kongelige Slott---King Harald V palace

Vikingskipshuset

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Akershus Fortress

Oslofjord sight seeing boat tour

I'm not sure how much of this we'll actually get done, considering we will not have slept in over 24 hours. Unless we get a restful slumber on the plane... Ha!

On July 2nd, our cousin, Ingela will be driving to Oslo to pick us up and take us to the homeland of Slämtegen, Årjäng, Värmland County, Sweden where my great-grandfather was born. For the next 3-4 days, we'll meet more of our family members, tour the local sites and eat delicious Swedish food and drink extremely strong Swedish coffee. Our accommodations during this stay will no doubt provide many interesting stories, since it's a cabin by a lake replete with history and limited amenities. Some of us sisters are more "outdoorsy" than the others, so this should prove to deliver amusing tales to regale our family and friends with for years to come. Did I mention there is no indoor plumbing, but a mere outhouse located 300 feet away, behind the barn? And did I mention that there is an abundant supply of Moose in Sweden. And did I mention that the sun rises at 3:30 a.m.? Let the adventure begin!

On July 5th, Ingela will take us to her home in another part of Sweden, around Örebro, which is located in central Sweden. After sight seeing in her home town, including the beautifully historic Örebro Castle (left), we will spend the night at her house. On July 6th, we will say goodbye to our Swedish relatives and hop on a train to Stockholm (I think I might actually "hop" onto the train... I've always wanted to do that!) Once again, we are on our own. Four Americans from the Midwest are about to step off a train at Stockholm Central Station and prepare to find our way to our hotel.

Hotel Birger Jarl

The internet says it's just two Metro stops from central station. All we have to do is find a stop named "Rådmansgatan". Our travel agent has booked us in a lovely hotel in the heart of Stockholm, close to many tourist attractions. We will stay there for two nights.

Some sites we'd like to see are:

Old Town

Vasa Ship

Royal Swedish Opera

Stockholm Royal Palace

... to name a few... But, before we leave, we will further research our Stockholm adventure so we can form some sort of a plan of action.

On July 8th, we will board a plane in Stockholm and fly to Düsseldorf, Germany. There, my sister Rhonda's former foreign exchange student, Naemi will greet us and serve as our tour guide for the next 10 days! Tentatively our tour schedule is as follows, but is subject to change.

July 8 - Tour Düsseldorf, then drive back to Aachen, Germany where Naemi currently lives while she's going to school.

July 9th - Tour Brussels and Brugge. Spend the night in Brugge.

July 10th - Drive to Paris, France. Our travel agent has booked two nights for us in the Hotel Choiseul Opera and we hope to see many sites, including:

Hotel Choiseul Opera

 Eiffel Tower
 Louvre
 Arc de Triomphe
 Cruise of the Seine
 Notre Dame
 Les Invalides
 Musee d'Orsay (would like to but it would probably take too long)
 Sainte Chapelle
 Les Catacombes
 Sacre-Couer Basilic
 Luxembourg Palace and Gardens
 Pantheon

 Paris Opera House

July 12th - After an exhausting sight-seeing whirlwind trip to Paris, we will drive back to Aachen to spend the night once again. 

Schloss-hotel, Braunfels

July 13th - Tour Aachen in the morning, then drive to Braunfels, Germany to visit my sister's other exchange student, Fabian and his family. Fabian's father has already reserved our rooms at the Schloss-hotel, Braunfels (left) where we will stay two nights. This hotel is located at the foot of the Braunfels Castle (see image below). 

Braunfels Castle

July 15th - We will drive from Braunfels to Witten, Germany, where Naemi's mom and dad live. 

July 16th - Amsterdam, then back to Witten.

July 17th - Cologne, then back to Witten.

July 18th - We board the plane in  Düsseldorf and fly to Chicago, then return to Wichita at 10:15 p.m. (our time) but our bodies will think it is only 3:15 p.m. 

It will definitely be a wonderful trip full of funny stories, happy moments, and good old fashioned family fun. We wish mom could be here to join us in this experience, but we know she would love the fact that our dad is taking us on this amazing adventure!

As we travel, and if time/internet connections allow, I will write about some of our adventures, in an attempt to share our journey with all of you. 

Adjö, Farvel, Auf Wiedersehen, Au revoir