This sentence completely changed the way I travel. I felt myself relax, and my desperation to see.it.all fade a little bit. It’s hard to completely let go of the fomo-mentality, but it’s really made me enjoy my travels so much more.

This point was driven home when, recently, planning a trip to Europe in November, E and I began to reminisce about our trip to Europe last November.

(November, by and by, is a totally underrated month to hit the road!)

As we talked about the highlights of that trip, where we visited Finland, Estonia & Denmark, I realized most of my favorite moments from this trip were the simple ones, the ones where it was just the three of us–me, E and baby A–hanging out and exploring.

Our first lunch in Copenhagen at a random “activity church” we stumbled upon–it was one of our best meals, and I still don’t know even know what we ate. Just that it was crazy delicious.

There was dinner with our Danish friends, watching our little girls run around together.

Taking long naps with baby A, thanks to jet lag.

The ferry ride between Tallinn and Helsinki.

Running out in the dark, cold evening, to watch them light up the Christmas tree in Tallinn.

The three of us getting coffee in an atmospheric, cellar coffee shop.

Baby A passing out and sleeping on the window sill of a restaurant while we got in a lunch date.

Strapping baby A to my chest and finding our way to a local coffee shop in Copenhagen.

Baby A saying “Mmmm!”, to the delight of the entire café, at her first taste of a Finnish butter-eye bun, voisilmäpulla.

Stumbling upon a beautiful trail to Helsinki’s train station from our rental flat.

The sauna at our flat in Helsinki.

Baby taking her first steps in Helsinki.

Getting cute hand-me-downs from baby A’s little friend in Copenhagen.

E riding the moving sidewalks in the Munich airport with our tired baby, trying to keep both of them awake and entertained.

The list goes on and on.

It made me realize that sometimes the most special moments of a trip are the little ones, the ones that didn’t seem very significant at the time.

And, really, isn’t that what life is all about, too?

The post Little Moments appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

We were flying back to the States via Norway last summer, and I didn’t realize until after we booked the flight that it included a nearly 24-hour layover in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Oops. #detailoriented

Not that I was too sad about this. I’d always wanted to go, of course, to the happiest city in the world. And Scandinavia is a world-wide obsession for good reason.

I fell madly in love right away. In fact, after we left, we researched ways to move there–we loved it so much. It gained one of the top spots on our distinguished and rarefied we-could-maybe-even-settle-here list.

When I told people this, they wanted to know why (of course).

Well, that’s a hard one. I can’t really explain why I love Copenhagen so much. I was only there for 20 hours, after all.

It could be the fact that even in the summer, there were blankets and even some heaters on the patios, lending everything a cozy air (dare I throw out the word hygge??). It could be the sunlight that lit up the canals late into the evening. It could be the friendly, ridiculously beautiful people. It could be the bikes and the efficient bike lanes. It could be the maritime-feel to the city that I found irresistible. It could be the fact that I visited in summer. It could be the cool vibe of the city, viewed in the hip cafés, the sleek Danish design, the gorgeous citizens, the adorable storefronts.

(It definitely wasn’t the prices, especially after Romania. Ouch).

Either way, I loved that city and hope to visit again one day.

A few things we did with 20 hours in Copenhagen:

Visited Nyhavn, the famous area on the water.

Took a boat tour on the canals (and got a from-the-water view of the famous Little Mermaid statue).

Walked by The Round Tour.

Tried smørrebrød (the Danish version of open-faced sandwiches) at Torvehallerne (a food market).

Ate delicious and expensive burgers here.

Found a few cool coffee shops, like this one.

Wandered the streets and took some photos of the beautiful buildings.

Oh, and we slept some too, at Wakeup Copenhagen. Not even Copenhagen made me want to stay awake for 20 hours straight.

But I can see how it might.

Linking up with Wanderful Wednesday. 

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