Looking forward to spring and summer!

Hey friends! It’s been… a while 🙂

Spring has sprung in Denmark and I, along with the rest of the country, am SO happy to be getting outside as much as possible again. Summer is my favorite season in Denmark, and I’m looking forward to enjoying it with Noah this year!

Here are some things that I can’t wait to do in the warmer months ahead. No time to waste!!

Tivoli

Tivoli Gardens, a theme park in the center of Copenhagen, opens for its summer season on 8 April! I have a feeling we will be there a lot. I took Noah to Tivoli during the Halloween and Christmas seasons, but I expect he’ll be a lot more excited about it in the summer, especially if he can actually walk around (we’ll see!).

Beach days

I was extremely naive last year when I was pregnant with Noah. I 100% thought that after I had a baby in May, that we would spend all of June and July outside, at the beach near where we live. Well!!! The reality is that I spent pretty much all of June on the couch, and even once I could move around again, it turns out that newborn babies can’t even wear sunscreen (that’s reserved for 6 months and up). So yeah, we didn’t have the beachy summer that I imagined. So I am definitely excited to get a little beach tent, a swimsuit for Noah, and of course some baby sunscreen, and head out to the beach as often as we can. Maybe we’ll even take a trip to one of the other beaches in Denmark? Gilleleje, anyone?

Celebrate birthdays!

All of our family birthdays fall in April, May, and June, so we have a lot of celebrating to do in the spring and early summer! Of course, I’m most excited to celebrate Noah’s first birthday.

Eat Danish strawberries

Danes are obsessed with Danish strawberries, and for good reason. They are little tiny, juicy gems, and they are only in season for a month or two. A big bowl of Danish strawberries sliced up in a pool of piskefløde (whipping cream) = perfection. (I’ll eat some koldskål, too.)

Dyrehaven/Bakken

Dyrehaven is a huge park (literally “Deer Garden”) a short drive or train ride north of Copenhagen. We have taken Noah in the stroller, before he could even sit up, and he was fascinated by all the trees above him. This is another one that we think will be even better when he can run around and enjoy it. And of course, we’ll probably have to go to Bakken (another theme park connected to Dyrehaven, which also opens 8 April) while we’re there!

Ismageriet

Ismageriet is my favorite ice cream shop in Copenhagen. It’s really high quality and has great flavors. It’s open year round, but nothing says summer like ice cream on a hot day, right? I don’t necessarily want to load Noah up with sugar when he’s only just turned one, but… he can have some ice cream.

Take Noah to playgrounds!

Right now, Noah is crawling like it’s his job and working on standing. It’s a weird in-between phase where he needs to be constantly moving, but we are still mostly inside, because he can’t really play on a playground yet, and the weather hasn’t quiiiiite been so nice that I want to sit around on the grass picnic-style and have him play on a blanket. But! Those days are coming. I hope that he’ll be up and walking at some point in the summer so he can walk around outside and maybe even get a taste of playground life while the weather is nice.

Eat alllll the meals outside

Eating outside is one of the most hyggeligt summer activities, IMO. I love an outdoor brunch, of course, and dinners outside are one of the best ways to take advantage of the endless summer days, when it might not get dark until 11:00 pm. (Let’s just hope Noah will sleep while we have our 4 hour long dinners.)

Take a short trip or two

We are taking a short trip to the UK in June to go to a wedding, and I am really excited! We went to the US to visit my family in December, but aside from that, we have not traveled with Noah at all. And let’s be honest– now that we’ve survived the Denmark-US trip (and resulting jet lag), a quick trip within Europe is going to be a piece of cake. If it goes well, I might see if I can squeeze one more European getaway with Noah before I go back to work in August!

Go out on a boat!

Aside from that, we are planning to stay in Copenhagen for the summer. And Copenhagen on land is wonderful, but Copenhagen from a boat on a beautiful day is even better. Also, how cute would Noah be in a tiny life jacket? Last year we rented a FriendShip and had a great experience, so we would definitely do that again.

Is this going to be the best spring/summer ever???? I think so! What are you looking forward to in the next couple of months?