The Minnesota Noices

Category: Travel

  • Danmark: Bornholm og København

    One of our favorite stops on Bornholm was the town of Svaneke, in the eastern-most part of Denmark. This is where we met up with the Westall family. After our mini family reunion we walked around and did a bit of shopping. I’m already planning another visit as a few hours wasn’t enough to do…

  • Sunshine Island

    The Danish island of Bornholm, called the sunshine island because it has, on average, more sunny days than the rest of Denmark, lies in the Baltic Sea near Sweden’s southern coast. We’ve been planning a visit since we first arrived since it’s an easy ferry ride away, but somehow it didn’t happen. With our first…

  • We visit a Micronation

    The day of our pilgrimage finally arrived, thanks entirely to our friend’s initiative and invitation. Here’s a link to her blog…Our three families met at the Kullaberg lighthouse, which I posted about previously. Then we made our way through the forest to the unmarked, controversial micronation of The Royal Republic of Ladonia. Ladonia’s fascinating history…

  • København

    …the Danish name for Copenhagen. It’s so close but we haven’t spent much time there yet! Now it’s the end of Sportlov (sports leave/permission) winter break. Many families go skiing this week, though it was originally implemented after WWII as a way to save energy by closing schools for a week during the coldest part…

  • Roma

    Bryant and I coordinated on our posts about the latest family trip and found it challenging to summarize, but here’s what we’ve got so far! We wanted to go someplace warmer for winter break, and chose Rome. It was an easy 2+ hour flight from CPH, and we had never been there before. We thought…

  • Amalfi

    After 4 days, we had plenty of Rome, and wanted to see something a bit different. So we booked a hotel on the Amalfi coast in the town of Amalfi. The town was full of tunnels and hidden staircases and passageways carved out of or through the hillside. Hotel Luna was a 13th century convent founded…

  • Nordic-light Duo/ Elsa Beskow concert

    This week marks the start of Jul market season, beginning with Bosjökloster (Cloister by the lake) in the town of Höör. Carole, Beata and I arrived in time for the musical prelude and were surprised to find ourselves enjoying much more than just a few holiday songs. The concert was based on original (some never…

  • Archeology Museum & The Agora

    On our second day with Johanna, she guided us through the highlights of the National Museum of Archeology, Downtown Athens, and The Roman Agora, the ancient market place which includes many structures meant for gathering, the covered walkway, temples, churches, library, baths etc. We explored sections of the original Dromos or Panathenaic Way, the route…

  • The Acropolis -The Temple of Olympian Zeus

    Bryant added his favorites to my post about Athens. Here are some photos from our tour with Johanna, which he described in the previous post. One of the most interesting aspects for me was revisiting the connections to mythology in history and science, as with the ancient Greek roots of modern medicine. The healing temples…

  • Athens

    Our first European travel since moving to Sweden (other than Copenhagen) finally came together this week as we spent 3 days exploring Athens. The trip was short and sweet, focused on the historic sites of the ancient city. The flight was an easy 3 hour non-stop hop from CPH. We started strong with a food…