Fabulous Copenhagen

After leaving Milan in the evening, we arrived in Copenhagen very late at night so caught a taxi to our apartment. Then there was the trial of getting several suitcases up two flights of very narrow, very steep, wooden stairs (which I did while S-i-L got the kids into bed).

Our first priority of the day was finding somewhere to do laundry (isn't it exciting travelling with kids?). S-i-L found a very cool laundromat cafe, so we were able to get the laundry done while we drank good coffee and ate good food. (The coffee was a pleasant surprise because I have found good coffees in most of Europe to be few and far between! It is not something that they do well.)

The Laundromat Café

Refuelled, we headed backed over the canal to Torvehallerne Markets and bought some fabulous pre-made fresh meals that only needed 20 minutes in the oven and tasted like you had slaved in the kitchen for hours. And focaccia that was cooked from dough and came out with the other food.

So many choices for dinner!

Back to the apartment to drop off shopping, and then I went for a wander alone to look around and pick up some things to make some lunch.

After lunch we dragged the kids back out and went to the National Museum of Denmark. Master J has been studying Vikings at school so it was very interesting for him. We started off in a really good Children's Museum section that was very interactive. After that we went through all the exhibits on the ground floor, including the Viking section, but didn't venture up to the 2nd or 3rd floors.

School room in the Children's Museum

Our young convict

Viking regalia

We had been told that Tivoli Gardens was well worth a visit, but weren't sure if there was anything in there other than an amusement park. We deliberated and eventually paid the entry fee and went in, and we were so glad that we did! The kids had a ball, despite Miss L being a bit off-colour with a fever and both of them being very tired. We were standing in the right spot when a parade came past as well, celebrating the Gardens' 175th Anniversary this year. What a magical place!

Tivoli Gardens

Roller coaster (No, we didn't)

Parade

Parade

Then it was time to head home for dinner and showers and bed.

Because we had had to spend a night in Milan, we had lost most of a day in Copenhagen, so we only had one full day there. It was a shame because we found it to be a very lovely, welcoming city and would have loved to spend longer there.

In the morning we rose early (Thanks Miss L!) and wandered along to Nyhavn, a canal-side cafe district. It was quite lovely, with old boats lining the canal and some gorgeous coloured buildings.

Nyhavn

We were pleasantly surprised by another good coffee with brunch! Then it was time to pack up and head back to the airport for our short flight to Amsterdam. I will definitely return to Copenhagen for a longer stay when I get the chance...

A quiet look at Milan

Our flight from Milan to Copenhagen wasn't until the afternoon so we went out and saw as much of Milan as we could in a morning. Miss L hadn't quite adjusted to the new time zone so we were all up before 5am.

We caught the Metro to Milan Cathedral, or Duomo di Milano. It is stunning! We got coffee and pastries and watched the sun come up behind it.

Duomo di Milano

Duomo di Milano

We were unable to go in as it was too early, but there's plenty of other cathedrals in our future travels.

After that we went for a wander through a fashion arcade and gazed upon things we can't afford... I wasn't particularly interested in the clothes, but the chocolate shoes and handbags were another story!

Prada etc...

Chocolate!

The grand finale to that part of town was the best macaroon I have ever tasted! Strawberry and rose. I am never eating an Australian macaroon again so that I can savour the memory of this one.

After that we took the Metro further into the centre of Milan and walked around. We found a playground to entertain the kids for a while, then a carousel and some bumper cars. By then it was time to head back to the apartment and pack up our things to get to the airport. We went along Via della Spiga, supposedly the elite shopping avenue of Milan, which was completely underwhelming (and smelled like a sewer!).

Via della Spiga

Then another airport and another flight. Copenhagen, here we come!

Accidentally in Italy

Milan... We hadn't planned on visiting Italy, but this is where we ended up in order to avoid Typhoon Mangkhut (or waiting another week to leave).

I've been to several places in Italy, but never Milan. It's not a destination that was on my list... But here we were!

We arrived in Milan at 7:30am after travelling for about 36 hours with 2 kids. Blurrrgh... Italian airports have to be among the worst I've seen for organisation and keeping queues moving. The queue stretched from the immigration counter right back to the gate. It took almost an hour of tired misery for us to even get through to the baggage collection carousels.

Despite being exhausted, we had decided that we would utilise public transport as much as possible, both for price and the glimpse of real life that it gives. So we jumped (or crawled) onto the Malpenza Express train and made our way to Milan Centrale Station. Very crowded and noisy, but gorgeous!

Milan Centrale Station

Then we had to find the Metro Station (Subway) at Centrale... easier said than done. Even less easy with many suitcases and a baby stroller, so we had to find the elevators everywhere we went.

Once on the Metro we stood the whole way and managed our luggage (and baby) for the half hour ride to the Lodi Tibb stop. Then a 15-minute walk on and off cobblestones to our apartment. And poor Master J has a dodgy wheel on his suitcase and it doesn't wheel easily, which frayed tempers a little more.

We finally got there around lunchtime. I have never been so happy to arrive somewhere! The staff must have thought we were mad because as soon as the door closed behind them we all let out a Whoop! and collapsed on the floor.

We needed to go out and get some groceries for dinner, so after an hour or two of rest we decided to go for a gentle stroll around the neighbourhood before heading home and locking out the world for the rest of the day. Despite a pretty mammoth 48 hours, the kids had done extremely well with only a few meltdowns. Picked up some gelatos  ('when in Italy...') and went for a wander. We were all super-tired so didn't stay out long. Then picked up some groceries and headed home for a much needed home-cooked meal of meat skewers, veal rolls, and stir-fried veggies.

Strolling around the neighbourhood

Then bed!!!

Outrunning the typhoon...

This trip is a very different one for me. I am usually a solo traveller, and I love the freedom of that. But on this trip to Europe I am travelling with my sister-in-law, & my niece (1-year-old) and nephew (10-years-old). It will be at an entirely different pace and will include activities quite different to what I would normally do. I'll be challenged, but it'll be good for me!

We were scheduled to leave Cairns (headed for Copenhagen) on Sunday afternoon... and then Typhoon Mangkhut happened! Cathay Pacific were recommending that anyone leaving on or after Sunday either cancel or reschedule, but then told us that if we chose to reschedule they couldn't get us on another flight for a week! So we hung on to our tickets and waited... Then on Friday afternoon they informed us that if we were able to leave a day early they could get us as far as Milan, but Not all the way to Copenhagen.

It meant we had 24 hours to get ready instead of 48 and we would have to find our own way from Milan to Copenhagen, but we had to do it or not leave for another week! PANIC STATIONS!

We got packed on time and headed to the airport early expecting queues and chaos due to the typhoon but there was no chaos, no pandemonium, very few people in fact... And then we were in the air...

Long haul flights with an infant were destined to be difficult, But Miss L actually did very well with only a few grizzles. My S-i-L had intentionally not weaned her completely off the breast in order to help Miss L cope with these flights, & it worked. She slept for a few hours, but as we got closer to Hong Kong (and the typhoon) things got bumpy and the seatbelt light came on a few times which meant getting her out of the basinet and onto the lap.

After 7 hours in the air we made it to Hong Kong (a little bleary-eyed) and enjoyed the hospitality of the Amex Centurion Lounge, but both kids were getting a bit frazzled so it was a good thing to get moving towards the gate. Our flight was the second-to-last to leave Hong Kong before it shut down because of Typhoon Mangkhut.

The second flight was eleven hours long (and felt like 24!). With a little help from a dose of Phenergan the kids slept well for a while. But S-i-L and I only had a couple of hours of patchy sleep between meals and kids and toilet stops and turbulence/seatbelt warnings etc. The last two hours were HARD with Miss L awake and swinging between happy, restless, hungry, grumpy... all those things that toddlers do so well. Three dirty nappies later we touched down in Milan on Sunday morning!