Juleaften (Christmas Eve)!

In Denmark, Christmas Eve is THE BIG DAY and mostly everything is closed (including restaurants!).  Lucky for us, the zoo was open to explore and we were able to walk to the metro, take a quick ride to the nearest metro stop, and then walk a good 5 km to get to our final destination.  Ha!  Emily and Suhaila were with us at the start of this journey, but had to return to the hotel shortly after due to Gem's random foot injury.  (Side note:  Dad - Em claims she will have one "DOUG SIZE" calf by the end of the trip thanks to her current walking regimen).  It's a real shame they couldn't participate in our zoo fun because this zoo is, I believe, THE BEST ZOO we have ever been to.  It's not the biggest one ever.  It's not the most diverse ever.  But there's this charm about it that draws you in and makes you want MORE.  Truly, we could have returned for another visit yesterday or today!

Here are some pictures of how our family spent Christmas Eve in Copenhagen:

We all agree that this outfit is ADORABLE.  She's wearing her first turtleneck ever and the sweetest wintery leggings!

A skating rink we passed on our walk to the zoo.  It was so fun to watch the little ones learn how to skate!

A random maze - also on the way to the zoo.  Placed beside a pub, too, of all things!  HA!  Can you find Phillip?!

Finally - we made it to the zoo!  And we had the BEST LUCK while we were there.  People had been waiting HOURS to catch a glimpse of the polar bears.  We walk by and a polar bear swam right beside us!  Too bad Nory was sleeping!

Polar bears rock.  How COOL is this?!

I love how child-friendly the city of Copenhagen is.  Everywhere you go, you see families.  And everywhere you go, there are activities FOR families.  Nobody seems thrown off by little ones.  They welcome all ages with open arms - offering strollers, high chairs, baby spoons, changing stations, WHATEVER YOU NEED!  Here is an arts and crafts station by the polar bear enclosure!

Our luck continued at the ape house.  The zookeepers stuffed Santa hats with oranges, threw them around the ape enclosure, and then unleashed the apes for playtime!  We walked in just in time to get front row seats!

We weren't the only ones SMOOCHING at the zoo.  Hippo LOVE!

Just us three - out for Christmas Eve dinner.  We were craving Chinese and were especially pleased with our choice of restaurant.  In addition to giving us our own private room, the owner came out and told us that he had lots of experience with babies and he would love to watch Nory as we ate our meals.  We kept her with us, but the offer was UNREAL!

6:30 p.m. - time for bed!  Nory's in her magical Christmas Eve pajamas, left by the elves a few weeks ago.  This is one of the best shots I could get.....you win some, you lose some ;)  I really hope the elves come again next year and make this tradition an annual one!