Day 12: Ferry to Norway and Driving home to The Lupoli House

Written by Carrie B.


We woke on Day 12 to a bittersweet feeling lingering in our hotel room.  Are we happy to travel back to Norway today?  Of course!  The Lupoli girls are missing their Daddy and Carrie L was eager to be back with her husband.  But are we a little sad that our journey is coming to an end?  Absolutely!

Tying shoes for the last time

Carrie L put on the kettle in preparation for our final mugs of freeze dried instant coffee (yeah!) and we began packing for the last time.  We had this packing thing down to a science!  Every item we brought in to the hotel room had a specific place and the girls   knew their routine by heart.  After waking in the morning they were expected to: brush teeth, get dressed (their clothes were pre-picked by us and laid out the evening before), brush hair, complete travel journals, put on shoes (coat if needed) and gather their blankets/stuffed animals.  There was no time for complaining, whining or laying around...on this trip they were expected to behave like young adults, which surprisingly, they did very well with most of the time.  

Leaving the hotel

   

The girls expressions

We zipped the last suitcase and stuffed the last bag full of hotel freebies (I was collecting all the hair products and lotions to make a basket full of goodies for my guest bathroom) then quickly went downstairs to check out.  While Carrie L was chatting with the lady at the front desk, I asked the girls to pose for a picture since it was the final morning of our trip.  As they started to smile I said, “Make a face showing me how you feel about this being the last day of the trip.”  Elise and Ellie both made sad faces by sticking out their bottom lips and frowning.  Grace, well, she happily smiled as big as she could!  I asked Elise and Ellie why they were sad and they quickly answered, in sync, that they knew it meant they would be apart again very soon and they would miss each other.  When I asked Grace why she was happy she exclaimed, “I get to see my Daddy!”       

After a quick stop at McDonald's for a fast food breakfast, we began driving towards the ferry.  A couple uneventful hours later, we arrived...and with time to spare!  This time we didn’t have to drive in to the deep dark bowels of the ferry and park with the tractor trailers!  When Carrie L booked our tickets online, she signed us up for Business Class for the return trip.  I asked her what that meant and she replied, “I have no idea”.  We both agreed that if it was anything like Business Class on an airplane than the upgrade was well worth it whether we knew what was included or not.  

Business Class

The ferry from Denmark to Norway was three very quick hours.  As we sat in our upgraded seats, I realized that there wasn’t much of a difference between Business Class and the Main Cabin.  If we would have been traveling without (1) children or (2) the man sitting behind us that sounded a lot like Darth Vader while he snored, then I think the difference would have been peace and quiet.  But again, children and Darth didn’t help bring serenity to our ferry experience so we may as well been with the rowdy pre-teen boys in the Main Cabin watching them run around and scare each other.  At least then I wouldn’t have had to constantly tell our children to be quiet because people are working!  

Enjoying the view

Carrie and I were working to get pictures uploaded and a blog entry submitted but as you can imagine, the Internet at sea was about as good as having a dial-up connection in your home.  While I was waiting for my pictures to upload at the rate of one every 15 minutes, I decided it would be best to curb my boredom by perusing the cafeteria.  Another Business Class perk I found was free coffee, soda, cookies and fruit but I had already exhausted those options and not one of them satisfied my hunger...or boredom for that matter.  After discussing with Carrie L, she agreed that we needed real food and opened her wallet to find her debit card was missing.  We made it this far and lost the debit card?!?  Good thing we had a little cash to spare.          

Trying to blog

After filling up on ferry junk food, we packed up our things and went down to the car.  For people traveling with children, you must be organized and punctual when leaving the ferry.  Once the ferry docks, each car drives off so if you aren’t in your car, you will hold up all the people that are parked behind you.  We were a bit behind schedule since we stopped for the girls to have a bathroom break but luckily, we ended up getting to the car on time and not having to deal with our fellow ferry friends being angry with us.  In the car we discussed how once again our plan to make good use of our time was shot down due to Internet issues.  Unfortunately, the only work I accomplished during those three Business Class hours was taking my daughter to the bathroom twice, cleaning up spilled slush, filling up on junk food and coffee, and watching as my Internet connection mocked me by spinning in circles.

We drove off of the ferry and put our last destination in to TomTom.  Carrie L had decided that we would drive through Norway on our way back so Elise and I would be able to see a little more of the country than we were able to see when we first arrived.  Let me tell you, I am so glad she did!  I drove during the last few hours of the trip and am really surprised I didn’t wreck the car.  I don’t think I can ever put in to words what I saw as I was driving through Norway on that clear, sunny day.  As we were driving, I said to Carrie, “This is God’s country.”  I have never been to a place that is more beautiful than Norway.  It is the natural and untouched beauty of this country that leaves you awestruck! 

We drove for over three hours through ruggedly beautiful mountains, fjords and carefully constructed road tunnels.  We passed by the glistening blue water of the North Sea and the surrounding beaches of white sand.  Streams of water running over rocks were around every corner and I so badly wanted to step outside the car to hear the peaceful sound of nature (a sound I can only get close to with my sound machine in Singapore!).  Although I only witnessed one or two waterfalls during our drive, I read that Norway has been referred to as the Land of a Thousand Waterfalls.  The magnificent country has waterfalls every bit as tall, powerful, and majestic as the best that Yosemite has to offer!  Even though I wasn’t lucky enough to see all that Norway is, I hope to go back one day with Justin and Elise to see the glaciers, midnight sun, the offshore islands, and, my travel dream, the Northern Lights.  I have shared some pictures with you from the four days Elise and I were in Norway before we set off on our European road-trip.  Pictures cannot come close to seeing the beauty of this country with your own eyes.  If you ever have a chance to go, I recommend that you don’t think twice!

The North Sea

We blared the car horn as we pulled up to Carrie L’s house forewarning Peter that we would soon be walking in the door.  Before I put the car in park, the Lupoli girls jumped out and raced inside to hug their Dad that they missed so badly.  Carrie and I thanked TomTom with a kiss and peeled ourselves out of the car that we had come to know so well.  We started unloading the luggage and came face-to-face with the mess that the children had made.  Pretzels, cashews, pencils, erasers, crayons, paper, candy, juice boxes and more covered the floorboards and seats.  We laughed as we uncovered more and more with every piece of luggage we pulled from the car.  

We walked inside and the dinner table was set with two pizzas ready to eat and a decanter full of wine.  Thank God for good husbands...and for friends who have good husbands!  After dinner, the girls ran upstairs to play as if they hadn’t seen each other in months, Carrie and Peter caught up with each other, and I sat back with my computer and glass of wine.                

Back in Norway!

The past 12 days have been filled with the ups and downs of "backpacking" around Northern Europe with two Kindergartners and a First Grader.  The results of the road-trip have been positive with the girls, and the adults, learning more than we could have predicted.  Even though this is the last entry of our trip, we will be following up with what we have learned, travel tips, recommended places, quotes we didn’t post, a Q&A with all members, and much more including video footage!  Please continue to follow us and recommend our Facebook page and Blog to your friends.  Thank you for your support and we hope that you enjoyed Are We There Yet? The European Road-Trip!