london

We didn't necessarily plan to go to London before heading home, but we actually were given limited available locations for departure (while using airline miles for a cheap flight) and thought a direct flight home from London sounded pretty good. Not to mention, celebrating Holden's fourth birthday in London sounded pretty good too. So we arrived in London on the morning of Holden's birthday.

birthday cake on the flight to London (thanks Maren!)

We told him this was his special birthday weekend and he could choose everything we did. We thought he was especially deserving of this form all the places he had patiently visited with us over the past six months. So we rode the underground into the city to Piccadilly Circus and Holden's first stop was Hamley's, this enormous toy store that Anna had told us about.

riding the underground

beautifully decorated streets of London

It was huge and crazy with about six levels filled with  toys and elves giving demonstrations and making announcements and showing the coolest and latest toys.  But it was also a little overwhelming with the hundreds of people crowding every floor and after the initial excitement wore off, Holden decided he actually wanted to leave and go to a guitar store instead. So he chose to buy a stuffed Paddington bear and then we headed to SoHo for cupcakes and flat whites and looking at guitars and drums.

Hamley's toy store

Hamley's toy store

birthday cupcakes at Hummingbird bakery in SoHo

guitar store in SoHo

Then we let Holden choose where to have dinner and he chose a wonderful Indian restaurant where they showered him with attention and brought him a cake (though he'd just eaten a cupcake a few hours earlier).

Holden's birthday dinner

surprise birthday cake

After dinner we headed to Hyde Park for Winter Wonderland. We passed the department store, Selfridges, on the way and stopped in for a short time. The plan was to go ice skating and possibly see Santa, but as soon as Holden saw the ferris wheel (the wonderwheel as he called it) he had his heart set on riding, so he did. Winter Wonderland closed at 10:00 and we stayed until it closed.  This actually worked great because we were attempting to slowly adjust back to US time by staying up a little later every night.

Paddington Bear in the window outside Selfridge's

Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

the wonderwheel

the wonderwheel

Holden and Dave riding the wonderwheel

view of London from the top

tired birthday boy

The next day we woke up to a true English breakfast, including pancakes for Holden, since it was Saturday. Then we took the underground to Notting Hill and walked around here and shopped a bit and made our way to the other side of Hyde Park to Kensington Palace. We were looking for the Christmas market here but ended up just strolling through the park, taking a quick visit to the Serpentine gallery, and then stopping in for afternoon tea.

trying to take a good Christmas photo  

Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace

lake in Hyde Park

Serpentine Gallery 

Serpentine Gallery

After tea, we went to visit the huge department store, Harrods, which was packed with crazy Christmas shoppers so we just left and headed on to SouthBank Centre for another Christmas fair and to see the London Eye (the huge ferris wheel). We warmed up with hot chocolate and coffee and then instead of skating or riding the London Eye, Holden chose to just ride the carousel and then go to eat dinner at Recipease, a Jamie Oliver restaurant where they hold cooking classes in the center of the restaurant. He was so excited as soon as I told him that I had looked it up and found a Jamie Oliver restaurant and he talked about it all day. Jamie Oliver is somewhat of a hero to Holden. He was really hoping to meet Jamie and I kept explaining to him how chefs can own restaurants but not actually be in there cooking, but he is still convinced that Jamie Oliver was just in the back cooking our food and never came out. It turned out to be delicious and we stayed watching the cooks, and Holden doing a little cooking of his own, until it closed. Then we walked around SoHo a little after dinner and headed back to the hotel on the underground, managing somehow to all stay awake until midnight.

Harrods

riding the carousel at SouthBank Centre

Holden watching the cooking class at Recipease, Jamie Oliver's restaurant

dinner at Jamie Oliver's restaurant

Holden cooking at Jamie Oliver's restaurant

more cooking at Jamie Oliver's restaurant

Then we woke the next morning and had another great English breakfast, no pancakes this time, and headed back to Heathrow to board our flight back to Charlotte.

Holden helping us through customs

hildesheim

Slowly beginning our journey home, we first boarded a train to Milano and then a plane at Malpensa airport bound for Hannover, Germany.  We wanted to stop over and visit with our friends, the Riekmanns, one last time before heading back to the states. So, Maren picked us up (in her new Mini) at the airport in Hannover and drove us to their apartment in Hildesheim. Lilli came running down the stairs to greet Holden with a huge hug.

We spent the afternoon talking and warming up with coffee and tea and freshly baked treats while the kids played. Then we decided to brave the cold and visit the Christmas market. I was quite excited to be in Germany near Christmas because I have always been fascinated by the German Christmas markets and was eager to visit one for myself. It was very nice but also very cold but we enjoyed getting to see the city and the Christmas market and Holden and Lilli really enjoyed it, especially riding the rocketship.

Even though Holden really wanted to try some bratwurst and I wanted to try some gluhwein, we waited because Maren and Thorsten had promised us a tradtional German meal, including gluhwein, when we returned to their apartment.  Gluwein is a very popular Christmas drink of spiced wine and tea and fruit that is sold at all of the Christmas markets in Germany. And it is very good and warm. That night we returned to the Riekmann's apartment for our traditional German meal of wiener schnitzel, potato salad, cucumber salad, and gluhwein to warm us up.

Then we awoke the next day and Holden and Lilli made Christmas cookies, painted, and rode around the apartment on Lilli's tricycle, alternating drivers, for the morning while we waited for the sleet and rain to pass. Then we braved the weather again and went back out to the Christmas market for a bratwurst and gluhwein lunch and some shopping and playing in the city.

Later in the afternoon we returned to their apartment for an early birthday party for Holden, followed by a bubble bath with Lilli and then another delicious dinner of salmon and potato dumplings and green beans and of course more gluhwein (actually I think they called the nonalcoholic version kinderpunch). Right before bed, it began snowing pretty hard and we watched it awhile and then we put the kids to bed and stayed up drinking kinderpunch and talking and wishing we could see each other more often.

Then Maren drove us back to the airport the next morning, after a very nice breakfast, and we boarded a plane to London Heathrow, our last stop before home.