I have been to a lot of countries. Croatia is not like any of them.

We have spent time in Dubrovnik, Split, and now Vis, and all three feel completely different from each other while being unmistakably the same place. That does not happen everywhere. Most countries feel consistent. Croatia feels like it contains multitudes.

This trip is just Avilene and me. We met up with my friend Jenifer, forty years of friendship, we met when we were six years old, and her two daughters. Full girls trip. No agenda. Just us and the sea.

Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is extraordinary and it knows it. The old city is enclosed by medieval walls that you can walk the full perimeter of, and the Dubrovnik City Pass is worth getting because it covers the wall walk, several museums, and the cable car up to Mount Srđ where the whole city and the Adriatic spread out below you in a view that stops you completely.

What I was not prepared for was the history sitting just underneath the surface of all of that beauty. The Croatian War of Independence happened between 1991 and 1995, within my own lifetime. Dubrovnik was besieged and shelled by Serbian and Montenegrin forces. Approximately two thirds of the old city sustained damage. The reconstruction is so thorough and so beautiful that you can walk through it and not know unless you go looking. But it is there. These are people my own age who lived through all of it firsthand. I never learned about this war in school and I cannot tell you why. Standing inside those walls knowing what happened here in the early 1990s is something I am still processing.

Croatia as a whole has a layered and often painful history. The region spent centuries under Venetian, Ottoman, and Habsburg rule, shifting between empires based on who had enough power to hold it. The 20th century brought Yugoslavia, first the Kingdom, then Tito’s socialist federation after World War II, which held together a complex patchwork of ethnicities and republics under a single state until that state began to fracture in the late 1980s. Croatia declared independence in 1991 and the war that followed was brutal and largely invisible to the Western world. By the time it was over in 1995, thousands of people had died and much of the country had to rebuild itself from the ground up. The country you are walking through right now, these cities, these walls, these people, all of it was transformed within the last thirty years. That is not ancient history. That is recent memory.

The Dubrovnik Synagogue.

On the narrow street called Zudioska, Jewish Street, in the heart of Dubrovnik’s old city sits the second oldest synagogue in Europe and the oldest Sephardic synagogue in continuous use in the world. It was established in 1352, centuries before Columbus sailed. The Jewish community here grew significantly after 1492 when Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition and came to this tolerant trading republic on the Adriatic. The synagogue has survived an earthquake in 1667 that destroyed much of Dubrovnik. It survived World War II, during which 85% of the Jews in Croatia were killed in the Holocaust. It survived the 1990s war, when an artillery shell hit through the roof and the congregation packed up over 80 of the most precious artifacts, including a 13th century Torah, and sent them abroad for safekeeping. They were returned in 1998 after a court battle. Today there are approximately 30 Jewish people in Dubrovnik. The synagogue holds services on holy days, led by visiting rabbis, because the community is too small to have a rabbi of its own. You need a minyan of ten people to hold a service. Sometimes tourists help form it.

Split.

Split’s old city is built inside a Roman emperor’s palace. That sentence sounds impossible and it is completely true. Diocletian built his retirement palace on the Dalmatian coast in the fourth century AD, one of the largest and best-preserved Roman ruins in the world, and over the following centuries people just moved in. Built homes and churches and shops inside the walls. The palace became a city and the city kept growing. You walk through what looks like an apartment building doorway and land in a Roman colonnaded courtyard. It is more surreal than anything I saw in Italy, and I saw a lot in Italy. The layers of history are right there in every stone and you can so easily imagine being transported back in time.

And yes, if those stone corridors and underground chambers look familiar to Game of Thrones fans, they should. The basement of Diocletian’s Palace served as Daenerys’s throne room and dragon hold in the show. Nearby Klis Fortress, a medieval castle about twenty minutes north of Split that Croatian soldiers used to hold off Ottoman invaders in the 16th century, stood in for the city of Meereen. On Monday we are driving back down to Dubrovnik and planning to stop at the Game of Thrones filming locations along the way. Dubrovnik’s old city walls served as King’s Landing across all seven Croatian seasons of the show. The Jesuit Staircase is where Cersei’s walk of shame was filmed. The fortress of Lovrijenac stood in as the Red Keep. That visit gets its own blog post.

And Vis, where we are now, is where Mamma Mia Here We Go Again was filmed in 2018, the whole island standing in for a Greek island. You can see exactly why they chose it.

The Split Synagogue.

We also visited the Split Synagogue, built around 1507 on a small street called Židovski Prolaz, Jewish Lane, built into the western wall of Diocletian’s Palace by Jews escaping the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. It is the third oldest synagogue still in operation in the world. Prague is the oldest. Dubrovnik is the second. Split is the third. We had now seen two of the three.

The Jewish community in Split today numbers approximately 100 people. One hundred. The synagogue stands inside one of the most visited Roman ruins on earth, tucked into a side street most tourists walk right past, and it has been in continuous use for over 500 years. I stood in there and could not say anything for a few minutes.

To my friends from the JCC, I am completely serious about this. What if we organized a trip through the three oldest operational synagogues in Europe? Prague, Dubrovnik, Split. Three extraordinary cities, three monuments to survival and resilience that span 700 years. I would plan that trip without hesitation. Someone message me.

Vis.

Vis is where I fell the hardest.

It is an island about two hours by ferry from Split and it has a completely different energy from the first two cities. It does not exist primarily for international tourists. The visitors here seem to be mostly Croatians from the mainland who come over on their boats on weekends, park in the harbor, and live on the water. I keep wondering what it looks like on a weekday when the boats go home.

Vis has its own remarkable history. For nearly fifty years, from 1944 until the early 1990s, the island was a closed Yugoslav military base. No foreign visitors. No tourism. No outside contact. The rest of the Dalmatian coast was slowly opening to the world while Vis stayed sealed. When Croatia gained independence and the military left, the island had to figure out what it was again. What it turned out to be was one of the most beautiful and least overrun places in the Adriatic, with an authenticity that other islands spent decades losing.

The island’s signature grape is Vugava, a white that is produced nowhere else in the world. I have had a glass or two sitting in the square at night and it is exactly right for where you are, light, mineral, a little wild. It tastes like this island. And at three euros a glass it is less expensive than a Sprite or a bottle of water, which tells you something about the priorities here and I am fully on board with them.

The square in our town is about 100 meters from our front door. You walk out through the maze of old buildings and you are there, a few restaurants, a tiny bakery with things in the window that I have been stopping at every morning, a small market with fruit and snacks, a gelato spot. Everything you need in one small square. We sit there at night playing cards and Imposter with the girls and it is the kind of evening I want to stay in.

Our Airbnb host in Split was a woman who called us Daahling, which I say with complete affection because it was exactly right for her. She used to host a television show about tea and opened the first tea house in Croatia. Her apartment is filled with tea tins, floor to ceiling, hundreds of them. She walked us through every room, reminded us of the house rules approximately fifteen times, and then sat down and had welcome drinks with us. All Airbnb hosts in Croatia are required to meet you on arrival and photograph your passports. Anya’s version of that turned into a whole visit and I was glad for it.

Jenifer’s Airbnb here in Vis is separate from ours since most places only host a few people. Her bathroom is a door outside connected by a deck. It is absolutely adorable and something out of a movie.

The thing about the old cities here is that they are dense and inward-facing in the way of very old places built before the sea was something you looked at rather than worked on. You can be fifty meters from the Adriatic and have no view of it at all. The sea is literally right there and invisible. It is a strange and charming dissonance.

The water.

Croatia’s coast is not sandy. It is rocky, white limestone smoothed by the sea, little coves cut into the shore, the water coming right up to the edge so you step in directly. Yesterday Jenifer and I rented a car for 80 euros and drove to the other side of Vis to Diamond Beach and the cove right next to it. I have never seen water that color in my life. I do not have the right word for it. Blue is not right. Clear is not right. It is both and neither and something in between that I have not found a name for yet.

Jenifer says the water feels thick. I think it feels like air. You glide through it. The salt holds you up almost without effort. We were treading water easily twenty feet deep and could see straight to the bottom without goggles. Harper has been teaching the girls to free dive. Avilene has not stopped swimming since we arrived. She spends her days looking for crabs on the sea floor. She has come out of her shell in a way that is specific to this trip and this water and this company and I am watching it happen every single day.

The beach culture.

Jenifer and I appear to be the only two people in Croatia wearing one-piece swimsuits. I am not exaggerating. Regardless of age or body type, this country is fully committed to the bikini and the bottom half is very very small. I feel overdressed at the beach every single day.

And I am over here wondering if I can get up the courage to sport one of these suits. Part of me wants to. Part of me is still very much from Florida. I have not made a decision yet but I am watching these women of every shape and size walk around completely unbothered and thinking… maybe. Just maybe. I will report back.

The pizza.

Wood burning oven. The thinnest possible base with a puffy charred outer crust. Cheese melted entirely into the surface. And feta so soft it was almost the consistency of fresh goat cheese, not crumbled, not salty, just soft and creamy and completely perfect. Best pizza of my life.

What I keep thinking about.

Croatia without a boat is still beautiful. Croatia with a boat is something else entirely. So much of the most untouched water, the coves that do not appear on any map, the swimming spots with no roads, is boat access only. If you are planning a Croatia trip and have any flexibility, look into boat charters. Even a half day. The country makes a completely different kind of sense from the water.

And now I cannot stop thinking about how to get back here with all the boys. Adam and Jake and Gavin, all of us, a full month in shoulder season. A place with a view of the sea where we can jump in the water right off the rocks. School in the mornings. The square at night. Cards and gelato and nowhere to be. That is what I want. I am already working out how to make it happen on our route. This country got to me. It really did.

Avilene and I fly back to meet the rest of the family in a few days. She has crab-hunted and free-dived and played cards until midnight and eaten gelato every single day. When I asked her what her favorite part was she did not hesitate.

The water, she said. Obviously.

If Croatia is calling you and you want help building the trip, reach out at nicole@fgluxurytravel.com. I would love to help you plan it.

The post Croatia — Three Places, One Country, Nothing Like Anywhere Else appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

You all are probably getting a little sick of me saying this over and over again… but I am sitting here on a river cruise, and I am loving it. ABSOLUTELY loving it.

I will explain why in a paragraph or two. But first, let me tell you what I am seeing.

All around me are people in their 70s and 80s, and they are talking about their travels. My ears are wide open, and oh, their stories. They are of a whole different generation than I am. (After a little researching, I found out the average AmaWaterways guest is 59.) They are relaxed. They are enjoying their lives. They are out here seeing the world.

…but guys. What if we don’t live that long? What if we get ill? What if we need a double knee replacement before we ever get the chance?

I get so emotional when I say this. My eyes tear up, the same way they always do when I talk about this. Because I don’t want to wait for someday. And I don’t want you to wait either.

So let me tell you why I am loving this river cruise, at 46, with my 13 year old son right beside me.

1. Boredom

There are no shows. No bumper cars. No game rooms, no concerts, no roller coasters, no arcades.

And you know what we have done instead? We have sat in the lounge together and just talked. We have borrowed board games and played and laughed. We have had our own quiet time, sitting and reading side by side.

LET THEM be bored. Let us be bored. Because it turns out the bored time is where the memories sneak in.

2. The long meals

There is one seating. There is no rush. You are almost gently forced to sit, and eat, and drink (the wine and the drinks are included, right there at the table).

It is open seating, so you can eat on your own, or pull up a chair next to a group of people you met on that morning’s tour. And the food. Everything comes out fresh and hot, because the chef is not cooking for thousands. It is more like 120 to 170 of us. You can taste the difference.

3. Tours for everyone

Every tour is included in your sailing rate. Gentle walks, hikes, food tours, history tours, and so much more. There is something for everyone, and the groups are small.

No one is rushing you off the ship by 8am to make your excursion. You move at a pace that feels human.

4. The staff

I know the staff on the bigger lines get to know you too. Your room steward, your dining team. But this is different.

On this ship there are 41 staff for 72 rooms and 174 people when we are full. EVERYONE knew us before we even stepped on board. By the second day, you know them and they know you. It stops feeling like service and starts feeling like family. Everyone kept saying, Where’s Gavin…where’s your brother? ha! Flattery – got them everywhere

5. It is all included

This might be my favorite part of all. The all inclusiveness of a river cruise is the real deal.

Beverages at breakfast, lunch and dinner, alcohol included. Drinks in the hour before dinner too. Every tour and every excursion. Bathrobes and slippers. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap AND lotion. Even a nice metal water bottle that is ours to keep and refill at the machine (I know it sounds small, but it is such a thoughtful little touch).

And depending on what you book, it can stretch so much further. Pre cruise tours and hotel stays. Post cruise tours and stays. Your arrival and departure transfers. Even your flights. There is a small gym, included. Fitness classes too, dance fitness, yoga, circuit training, body weight. All of it, included.

So who is a river cruise really for?

While it might sound like something “for the older crowd,” I am here to tell you there is so much we younger travelers can learn from it. One gentleman told me that anyone under 60 was young to him… so that is the crowd I am talking to.

You unpack one time. You get treated like a specialty guest, even if you haven’t booked the suite. You sail down a river with the most beautiful views out every single window. There are no “at sea” days, just slow afternoons of sightseeing from the water while the ship quietly moves you along. You walk right off into a town, and other times, you hop on a bus and off they sweep you, straight to where you wanted to be. No paying $100+ per person just to get bussed to your own excursion.

Yes, the sticker price up front can look like a little more than an ocean sailing. But in the end, you know exactly what you are going to get.

…but then again, maybe you don’t. Maybe you get so much more than you ever bargained for.

If a river cruise has been tugging at the back of your mind, let this be your nudge. I would love to help you find the one that fits your family. It is exactly what I do.

***If you decide to place a deposit on an Amawaterways sailing before I get off the ship on the 16th, I can offer you a reduced rate deposit of 50% making it only $200 per person instead of $400.***

Message me soon!

Want to follow along on our European adventure? Check us out at adventuresweseek.com!

Nicole

The post Don’t Wait for the Double Knee Replacement appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

Today’s the big 2 5 0. Two hundred fifty years since a group of guys who probably didn’t floss or use deoderant enough decided kings were overrated and maybe, just maybe, people could run the show themselves.

I’m writing this from Germany, in a country that’s had a whole lot of governments since our founding, and I still feel it. And while Im watching my kids experience the greatness of all these new places we are seeing together, I’m proud to be an American. Not because we nailed it every time. We didn’t. We’ve stumbled, been flat out wrong, and had chapters nobody wants to reread (side note…we should re-read them). If someone tells you it’s been smooth sailing for two and a half centuries, they’re either lying or trying to sell you a timeshare (a Marriott one).

But that’s the deal with an experiment. You test it, you break it, you fix it, you run it again…and you learn. That’s us. Every generation has pushed to get more people a real seat at the table, usually while somebody yelled that the sky was falling. Spoiler, it wasn’t. It got better.

Here’s the honest truth 250 years has taught me (as I’m very old now ). We’re at our best when everybody’s actually included. Not some of us. Not just the folks who think, vote, or pray a certain way. All of us. Every time we’ve widened that circle, we’ve gotten stronger. Every time we’ve tried to shrink it, we’ve paid for it.

So today, somewhere between a schnitzel stand and trying not to stall the Skoda in an empty parking lot with Poppy judging me hard, I’m raising a glass. Not because we’re done. Because we’re not, and that was never the point. The point was to keep showing up, keep welcoming, and keep building something worth another 250.

Happy birthday, America. Still proud to call it home.

Adam

The post 250 and still Very Proud 🇺🇸 appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

A museum full of tanks, for my kids? No question. This was somewhere I knew the kids would love, we had to go.

The museum is Scandinavia’s largest private collection of military vehicles and artifacts from the Warsaw Pact era, focusing on the Cold War (1945–1991) Allan Michael Pedersen has developed this collection. It was his plan to create a space where it would feature military history for if Denmark hadn’t surrendered to Germany just hours after they invaded. The invasion began at 4:15am on April 9, 1940 and they surrendered at 8:43am the same morning. It wasn’t worth the casualties to them and they had no defensive barriers since the land was flat. They wanted to protect their civilians.

So, Mr. Pedersen began collecting pieces of what would have invaded Denmark. All of his vehicles are in working condition, he has even recently sold two of them to the Ukraine.

Row after row of tanks and armored machines, from the earliest clumsy ones through the Cold War, each one bigger and heavier and stranger than the kids expected. Jake and Gavin moved through it like they had found treasure, reading every plaque, asking how fast, how heavy, how many people inside.

But the Panzermuseum East does not let you treat it as a toy show, and I was grateful for that. It sets these machines inside their real history, the wars they fought, the people they killed, the cost of all of it. And at some point Gavin got quiet and asked me why people built such terrible things. We stood there for a while. I did not have a clean answer, and I did not pretend to.

There are stories of soldiers and history all throughout the museum. Tons of mannequins are used to portray realism. There is an incredible uniform depot that feels like you are literally on the movie scene of Stripes. (Anyone else love that movie besides me?)

There is a scavenger hunt for kids where you have to find info cards around the museum…with a prize at the end. You can climb in some of the vehicles. There is even a military obsticle course for kids where you can receive a diploma of completion.

We came for the cool tanks and we left having talked, really talked, about war and history and the weight of what humans do to each other. Heavy for a Sunday. But these are the conversations I want to be having with them, out here, where it is real and not abstract.

If you go, know your kids. Mine are old enough to hold some of the harder history, and the museum does not soften it. It is large and indoor and outdoor, so it is a solid rainy day for machine loving kids. Give it a couple of hours at least, the boys could have stayed all day.

Nicole@FGLuxuryTravel.com
adventuresweseek.com

The post The Panzermuseum East With the Kids, Awe and Weight in the Same Room appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

I charge a professional planning fee. Not a favor, not a formality. It is the same arrangement you have with anyone who gets paid for their skill and their time, and it is how I do this as my actual job instead of a hobby.

Here is what it buys.

The hours you do not spend

The research. The comparing. The forty tabs open at eleven at night. Building an itinerary that fits your actual family instead of a template built for a family that does not exist.

Things you cannot Google

I have been to these places. I have made the mistakes already. Which side of the ship. Which hotel is a ten minute walk from the thing everybody swears it is next to. Which tour is worth the money in July and worthless in October. That is not sitting on a review site. It is in my head from being there.

Somebody in your corner when it goes sideways

The train is cancelled. The hotel loses your reservation. You text me and I handle it, instead of losing a vacation day standing at a counter in a country where you do not speak the language.

I have been the mom in a hotel lobby at midnight with three exhausted kids and a dog, being told the reservation we were counting on did not exist. I know how fast a good trip turns into a meltdown. That is a lot of why I do this.

Protection for the work itself

I will be straight with you. The fee also means I can pour everything I have into your trip without holding back. The hours I spend building it are mine to spend.

The honest bottom line

The honest version is this. You are paying a professional for professional work, the same as you would anyone else you hire because they are good at something you are not. What you get back is the time, the judgment, and someone who picks up when it matters.

If that sounds like what you want for your next trip, tell me who is coming and roughly when. That is usually enough for me to tell you what is possible.

The post What a Travel Advisor Actually Does For You appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

We planned a few days and ended up staying longer. That is usually a good sign.

Copenhagen.

Start here. Copenhagen is very walkable and very manageable, even with four kids. The Nyhavn canal with the colorful buildings is exactly what you picture and it is just as pretty in person. We walked it, found a spot to sit, ate lunch, watched the boats. Nobody was in a hurry. That set the tone for the whole city.

Bikes are everywhere and people use them the way you would use a car at home. The lanes are real infrastructure, not an afterthought. We did not rent bikes but you feel the whole culture of it just walking around.

Tivoli Gardens is worth going to. It has been open since 1843 and it still has its character. Real rides, real flowers, real energy. Gavin rode everything he was tall enough for. Avilene wanted to look at the flower beds. Jake found the fastest ride and stayed on it. All three of them were happy the whole time, which is not a given with four kids and one ticket price.

Torvehallerne is the covered market near Nørreport station. Two glass halls full of fresh food, cheese, smoked fish, open sandwiches, coffee, and pastries. We went twice. The Danish pastry is better than what gets exported under that name everywhere else. That is not an exaggeration.

One thing to know going in — Copenhagen is expensive. Meals add up fast. We ate at a sit-down restaurant once and used markets and bakeries for everything else. The quality at a good bakery is high so you are not missing anything.

Billund and the Lego House.

We drove to Billund for the Lego House and I wrote a full review of that visit separately because it deserves its own post. Short version: we stayed from open to close. Nobody wanted to leave. Gavin asked if we could come back the next day. We could not. I have a small regret about that.

Billund is a small town built around Lego. It exists because Lego exists. The Lego House is extraordinary and Legoland Billund is right next door — a traditional theme park suited to roughly ages six to twelve. We did not get to Legoland because the weather turned and we were full from the robot restaurant. If you can give Billund two days, do it. One for each.

The day trip to Malmö, Sweden.

This one I want to make sure you know about because it is so easy and so worth doing. Malmö is in Sweden, forty minutes from Copenhagen across the Øresund Bridge. The bridge is impressive — long, flat, crossing open water between two countries. The kids went quiet when we got on it, which meant it registered.

Malmö is smaller and quieter than Copenhagen. The old town is beautiful and very walkable. We had Swedish meatballs, walked around, found a park for Poppy, and were back in Copenhagen by late afternoon. The drive back across the bridge in the evening light was genuinely one of the nicer moments of the trip.

You do not need a full day there. We were in and out in about five hours and it felt like exactly the right amount of time.

A few practical things.

Denmark uses the Danish krone, not the euro. Sweden uses the Swedish krona. Different currencies, both countries are almost entirely cashless, so a card with no foreign transaction fees and you are fine.

Driving in Denmark is easy. Clear speed limits, good roads, no surprises. Parking in Copenhagen is the usual European city situation — doable but plan ahead. People speak excellent English everywhere.

Danes are warm with families and with dogs. Poppy was very well received everywhere we went, which matters more to our daily logistics than I would have expected before we started traveling with her.

We would go back to Denmark. That is the simplest way I know to say it was worth the trip.

If you are planning a trip to Denmark and want help building the itinerary, that is exactly what I do. Reach out at nicole@fgluxurytravel.com and we can put something together.

Super Cool Places to Take Kids in Denmark, City by City

If you are planning your own Denmark trip, here are the family stops worth building your days around. These are the ones we loved and the ones high on every family’s do not miss list.

Copenhagen

• Tivoli Gardens, the dreamy old amusement park right in the heart of the city
• Den Blaa Planet, the largest aquarium in Northern Europe
• Nyhavn, the rainbow harbor, ideally with a canal boat ride
• Nationalmuseet, the national museum, with a wonderful hands on children’s section
• The Little Mermaid, quick to see but the kids love hunting her down
• Harbor swimming. If the weather is nice, head to where the locals hang out along the harbor and the river, find a ladder, and jump in. Jake did and it was the highlight of his week. Just stay near a ladder so you can climb back out.

Billund

• LEGO House, the home of the brick and worth every single minute
• Legoland Billund, the original, where it all began

Hidden Gems the Kids Loved (You Have to Know About These)

• Trelleborg Viking Fortress, a real Viking ring fortress you can walk right into. Hardly any tourists make it here, and my kids did not want to leave.
• Panzermuseum East, a tank museum that completely captivated the kids, history and machines up close. One of those places you only find if you know to look. panzermuseumeast.dk

If You Have More Time

• Odense, the storybook hometown of Hans Christian Andersen, plus the Funen Village open air museum
• Aarhus, with Den Gamle By living history town and the rainbow walkway atop the ARoS art museum

Planning your own Denmark trip with kids? That is what I do. Here is how working with me actually works, or come plan your trip with me.

The post Denmark With Kids — Everything We Know From Someone Who Stayed Longer Than Planned appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

I sat down with each of the kids separately and asked them the same questions. I did not clean up their words. I did not help them find better phrasing. What you are reading is exactly what came out when I asked.

Q. Before we left for Norway, what did you think it was going to be like? And what was the biggest thing you got wrong?

Avilene: I thought that it was gonna be quite cold. I thought that they would have much different food and much different weather and I got that wrong because they had so many things that we had back in America.

Gavin: Very rural. Very, very rural. But also urban, and how close everyone is to one another. There is a lot of population separation but everyone is really close.

Jake: I was thinking that it was gonna be very cold or it would have a lot more snow for most of the seasons but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. And how many forests they have in the mountains — there’s a lot more than what I thought. And there are more cities and buildings than I thought there would be.

Q. What is the one thing about Norway that you would go home and tell your friends about first?

Avilene: I will tell them about all the really fun animals and the really pretty nature that was around the lakes and around in the forest.

Gavin: The nature. It was just… it didn’t feel like the cities and everything was the most important thing or the most special thing. It was just being outside and experiencing everything out there.

Jake: How much it is like some places in America. Like the subways or the trams like New York. Or the forests like the forests that are in Seattle. And the rivers that come through Kansas.

Q. We have been doing school differently here. What is the best part about learning this way and what is the hardest part?

Avilene: The best part is probably I got to see how people put stuff into sentences and how they just say stuff differently. Also the different buildings and I get to learn how it really is and it is definitely not what I expected. The hardest part would probably be the fact that not many people speak as much English so I would have to try to say it for them to try to get what they mean and if I don’t then I can’t understand the question.

Gavin: I think the best part was probably just the different perspectives that I got. The different pace of life. The different lifestyle that I saw in the people. The hardest thing was mostly that change from how I live and how difficult it was for me to adjust, especially how quickly we moved and how early we had to get up. I don’t adjust to those things very easily.

Jake: The language that people speak and the visual language and all of the culture is hard to learn.

Q. Tell me about a day that surprised you. Not something we planned — just a regular day that turned into something unexpected.

Avilene: Probably when we went into Oslo. I noticed how different it looked from Arendal and how different the architecture was and also how not many buildings are as old.

Gavin: Puppy, our friends dog. Jake took her out to go to the bathroom and she just ran herself away from us and went down into the valley and we had to run down there. It was maybe a fifteen minute full full sprint to get that dog back. I will admit that was probably the most shockingly exhausting and surprising event that has happened. Jake told me to grab the leash and come back down with it. I did not come back with the leash so we had to end up directing her back by blocking the different ways she could move.

Jake: All of the ferries we took to other places from Norway were bigger than I had expected and much nicer and much comfier than I expected, which was nice.

Q. What do you miss most from home? You are allowed to say something small and silly.

Avilene: Probably my friends. Since we have different time zones I can’t call them when I wake up because they’re tired. So that’s probably what I miss.

Gavin: Probably just the comfortable nature of all that we were doing. It didn’t feel great but it felt really good to know that no matter what would happen my days would always seem very similar. We don’t have that anymore and that’s kind of hard because I do not adjust to those things very easily.

Jake: The new school that I was gonna go to. And all of my friends I’ve met online.

Q. Norway has a law called Allemansretten that says you can walk, run, or ride through any land even if someone owns it. What would you do differently at home if that was a rule there too?

Avilene: Well the pro about that is that I could get home faster because I wouldn’t have to go around people’s houses. I could go through their lawn. And the con about that is that people can mess up your lawn or mess up your property.

Gavin: I wouldn’t have to sprint from the woods to the neighbor’s yard because I was afraid of their dogs. I wouldn’t have to be concerned about the dogs or the cameras because no one has a right to stop me from moving through it. That hasn’t been a very consistent threat to me but when it happened it’s been very annoying and concerning.

Jake: I would go to a ton of different areas in my neighborhood that I haven’t been able to go to because I didn’t wanna invade on anybody’s property.

Q. What is something you have seen kids here in Norway doing that kids back home don’t do?

Avilene: I see many kids walking around by themselves without their parents and you don’t see that a lot back in Kansas.

Gavin: They’re much louder in public spaces. They think they’re on top of everything and to be honest by the way everyone else acts about it they really are. At the end of their school day all I could hear was them out by the water and it was really loud and no one else really did anything about it. But to be honest they just act so much more freely in the way they speak and the way they act. They’re not constrained by fear, which is something that we always have when we’re in public places.

Jake: There aren’t as many people traveling or coming back from somewhere as I’ve seen in Kansas or any other place. People here are either playing outside most of the time or just being with their family.

Q. If you could bring one thing from Norway back to our life at home — not a souvenir, a real thing, a way of doing something — what would it be?

Avilene: Let’s say you’re a kid walking around trying to get somewhere fast. There are usually electric scooters or bikes that you can rent and hop on and get there a lot faster and they don’t have those in Kansas.

Gavin: The tap water. I am so done with American tap water. It feels grimy. It makes me think there’s something in it. But while we were here at worst it tasted like honey water and at best it tasted like nothing. Just bring back the tap water.

Jake: I like how they don’t have much to do with the war. I’d like to bring that back — where there isn’t as much conflict or hating anybody. I would like to bring back the kindness. All the people here are very kind to each other and I haven’t seen any fighting.

Q. What is the difference between traveling somewhere and actually living there?

Avilene: Usually when you’re just traveling you go to so much in one day trying to rush it and not really getting the full experience. And when you live here you can do it whenever you want. You can come back any day. Let’s say you did something in a museum and you wanted to do something else and you didn’t get to — you can always go back.

Gavin: When you’re just visiting the only decisions you have to make are where you’re staying, what you’re wearing, where you’re eating, and where you’re going. When you live somewhere you have to make all the decisions throughout the day. You have to be a lot more conscious about what you’re doing and aware that you could upset somebody. Also we get to see both the good sides and the bad sides of where we are. An example of that is yeah all the people are super nice but then we walked down the streets and all we can smell is cigarettes.

Jake: When you live somewhere you should be able to do something without worrying about time or doing too much or missing out on something. Whereas if you don’t live there you would have to do as many things as you could in the limited time that you have.

Q. What is something that felt weird or wrong at first that you now think is actually a good idea?

Avilene: There are many ways to recycle in Norway. Europe alone is very passionate about recycling and pollution so I thought it was just crazy that there are like five different trash cans when we only have two. But now that I’m thinking of it it’s actually really good because they put it into different dump sites.

Gavin: Beans on toast. I never tried beans on toast before I got here and originally I was gonna be like that’s way too much savory for a savory thing. But now that I have tried it it’s really really nice. I just know that we never have as much access to baked beans back home.

Jake: Tap water. From the sinks, just drinking tap water in general. But this comes straight from glaciers and they’re melting and making freshwater out of that instead of drinking straight from filtered lake water. So instead of wasting it they’re using it.

Q. What do you still want to do or see before we leave Norway?

Avilene: I really wanted to go into one of the older buildings to see how Norway was a long time ago and what it looked like and how people lived here.

Gavin: I would have really liked to see Narvik. It’s a port city in the north and it was kind of the deciding point of Norway’s World War II occupation. It would have been really nice to see that.

Jake: I would like to ski down an actual mountain. Not an indoor ski place. A real mountain.

Q. If another family asked you whether they should move their kids to Norway for a year, what would you tell them?

Avilene: I would say yes definitely. Norway is a kid-safe place where I see many kids with their friends just going around and walking by themselves. And if they were to move there for a year it is very easy to make friends. If you go to any sort of kid place or a playground usually there will be a kid that says do you wanna be my friend.

Gavin: For me the idea that we were going to be here for a month, which we were, was a lot more comforting than if it had been a year. Because when you start off with the perception that you’re going to be there for that much time you think differently about it. From my perspective as a kid it would be very difficult for me to live here longer than I already have because it’s a very different way.

Jake: I would say that a year is probably not enough time to really experience all the things that Norway has to offer or to stay comfortable for a while. So I would say it wouldn’t be a great idea because of that limited amount of time that you would have.

One month in Norway. The first country of many. I cannot wait to ask them these exact same questions again in six months and see how different the answers are. Or how much the same.

Your Questions Answered

Thinking about a trip like this for your own family? Here is how working with a travel advisor actually works, or come plan your trip with me.

The post We Asked the Kids — One Month in Norway Through Their Eyes appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

We stayed from open to close. All six of us. Nobody asked to leave and nobody was ready to go when it was time.

Within twenty minutes of walking in we all split up and went our own way. I would walk past Jake bent over a race track. I would catch Avilene deep in something, not looking up. Gavin moved through the whole place touching everything, always building. And Adam kept coming back to the same thing — the parents. Not parents following their kids around or sitting somewhere waiting. Parents who were off doing things on their own, away from their kids, building, having just as much fun. Maybe more. He said it is because it is Lego. And he is right. You cannot hand someone a pile of Lego bricks and have nothing happen.

Before you even get to the zones.

The first thing you see when you walk in is the Tree of Creativity. It is fifteen meters tall and made from more than six million standard Lego bricks. It took 24,000 hours to build. You walk in and you just stop and look at it for a minute. Then you look around and realize your kids are already gone.

The Masterpiece Gallery is on the top floor. Lego fans from all over the world are chosen to have their builds displayed here and they are incredible. Gavin and I walked through it together and kept talking about how old the builders might be, what it must feel like to have something you made shown here, how long it took. We took our time in there.

The Red Zone — Creative Competence.

This is free building. No instructions, no theme, no right answer. There is a waterfall made from two million bricks that runs the length of the zone and enormous bins of bricks you can take from and build whatever you want. The Creative Lab is here, and the Art Machine, and the Lego House Zoo where younger kids build animals. You stay as long as you want and build whatever comes out.

The Yellow Zone — Emotional Competence.

This is where I spent most of my day. You build a fish out of bricks, scan it, and it swims into a giant digital aquarium on the screens around you alongside everyone else’s fish. I built a fish. It was not a good fish. It swam around looking very pleased with itself and I loved it. There is also a digital dance stage where you build a character and it dances with everyone else’s characters on the screen, and you find yourself watching it for longer than you expected to.

The Mini Chef — book this before you book anything else.

You sit down at a table, build your meal order out of Lego bricks using the pieces in front of you, scan it, and two robots named Robert and Roberta bring your food out on a track in little Lego bowls. Avilene took the ordering part very seriously. She studied the bricks and built her order carefully and then watched the door for the robots. The food is real food — not the version of food you expect at a place like this. She ate everything and asked if she could order again. Book this the moment you get your tickets because it fills up and you do not want to miss it.

The Green Zone — Social Competence.

The Story Lab is inside the Green Zone — a stop-motion filmmaking experience where you build a scene and animate it frame by frame. There is also a minifigure builder and space to build out characters and the worlds they live in. If you have a kid who is into storytelling this is where they disappear.

The Blue Zone — Cognitive Competence.

Jake found the Test Driver in the first hour and that was it for him. You build a car and race it on a track and then figure out what made it faster or slower and build another one. He came out occasionally to confirm we were still there and then went back. The Robo Lab is also here where you code a robot through an arctic course, and the City Architect table where you build something and add it to a shared digital city that grows and changes all day as other people add their pieces.

The History Collection — in the basement.

This is the full history of Lego from Ole Kirk Christiansen’s carpentry workshop in Billund in the 1930s all the way through. There is a digital archive where you can pull up every set ever made by birth year. Adults stop here for a while. At the end is the Six Bricks Factory — a real injection-moulding machine that makes six red bricks right in front of you while you watch. You scan your wristband and get the six bricks plus a card showing one of the 915,103,765 possible combinations of those six bricks, with your name on it. Gavin read that number out loud twice.

The nine rooftop playgrounds are free and do not require a ticket so if anyone in your group needs air or a break they can go up and come back whenever.

Before you go.

Book your tickets in advance. Book the Mini Chef the moment you have your entry tickets — separately, it fills up fast. Give it a full day. Not a morning, a full day. You will use all of it.

Legoland Billund is a separate park right next door — more of a traditional theme park for roughly ages six to twelve. We did not make it there because the weather turned and we were full and nobody was moving fast. I do wish we had gone. If you can do two days in Billund, do it — one for each. The town is small and walkable and there is a hotel that connects directly to the Lego House if you want easy access for early mornings.

And stay for the store. The Lego Store stays open for a full hour after the rest of the House closes, and it has exclusive sets you cannot buy anywhere else in the world. Not online, not at any other Lego store. Only here. Budget for it if you have a Gavin.

We drove back to the hotel and Gavin asked if we could come back tomorrow. We could not. But I thought about it the whole drive back.

Lego House Billund — Your Questions Answered

Q. Is the Lego House worth visiting with kids?
A. Yes. We stayed from open to close with four kids and nobody was ready to leave. Every zone is built around a different kind of thinking so whether you have a builder, a storyteller, an engineer, or a kid who just needs to use their hands, there is something here that holds them for hours. Adults are just as absorbed and that is not something you can say about most family attractions.

Q. How long should you plan to spend at the Lego House?
A. A full day. Not a morning, not a half day. There are four color-coded experience zones, the Masterpiece Gallery, the History Collection museum in the basement, nine free rooftop playgrounds, and the Mini Chef restaurant. You will fill every hour.

Q. Do you need to book Lego House tickets in advance?
A. Yes, always book in advance especially during school holidays and peak summer season. The Mini Chef restaurant requires a completely separate reservation and fills up fast — book it the moment you have your entry tickets, not the day you arrive.

Q. What is the Mini Chef restaurant at the Lego House?
A. You build your meal order out of Lego bricks at your table, scan it, and two robots named Robert and Roberta deliver your food on a conveyor track in little Lego bowls. The food is real, not theme park food, and booking it is essential because it sells out well in advance.

Q. What are the four zones at the Lego House?
A. Each zone targets a different skill. The Red Zone is creative competence — free building with no rules, a two-million-brick waterfall, and the Creative Lab. The Yellow Zone is emotional competence — build a fish for a digital aquarium or characters for a digital dance stage. The Green Zone is social competence — stop-motion filmmaking in the Story Lab and minifigure building. The Blue Zone is cognitive competence — build and race cars in the Test Driver, code robots in the Robo Lab, and add your creation to the shared City Architect digital city.

Q. What is the Lego House store?
A. The Lego Store stays open for a full hour after the rest of the building closes. It sells exclusive sets you cannot buy anywhere else in the world — not online, not at any other Lego store. Only here in Billund. Budget extra time and money for this if you have a serious Lego fan with you.

Q. Should you visit the Lego House or Legoland Billund?
A. If you only have one day, choose the Lego House. There is only one in the world and it is in Billund. Legoland parks exist in multiple countries. If you can give Billund two full days, do both. The town is small and everything is walkable.

Q. What is the Tree of Creativity?
A. The Tree of Creativity is a 15-meter tall structure built from more than 6.3 million standard Lego bricks. It took 24,000 hours to build and greets you the moment you walk through the door. It is one of the largest Lego builds ever created.

Q. What is the Six Bricks Factory?
A. At the end of the History Collection in the basement a real injection-moulding machine makes six red 2×4 Lego bricks in front of you. You scan your wristband and receive the bricks plus a card showing one of the 915,103,765 possible combinations of those six bricks, printed with your name.

Q. What is the Masterpiece Gallery?
A. The Masterpiece Gallery is on the top floor and displays builds from Lego fans around the world who were selected to have their work shown here. The level of detail and creativity is impressive. Take your time in there.

The post The Lego House in Billund — We Stayed Until They Made Us Leave appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

We have been here one month. Thirty-one days of fjords and ferries and brown cheese and tunnels through the middle of actual mountains, and I have come to the conclusion that Norway has quietly figured out several things the rest of the world is still sitting in a conference room arguing about.

I did not expect to feel this way. I expected to be floored by the scenery, and I was, but what surprised me more was being floored by the systems. The small decisions someone made a long time ago that just… work. Every day. Without anyone having to think about it. I am going to try to explain what I mean.

Roundabouts instead of traffic lights.

Almost every intersection here is a roundabout, and once you have driven in Norway for a few weeks you start to understand why this matters more than it sounds. Traffic moves. It just keeps moving. Nobody is sitting at a red light at midnight staring at an empty road waiting for permission to go, and the flow of it — the way everyone naturally takes their turn and merges and continues on — feels less like a traffic system and more like a personality trait the whole country shares. Efficient. Unbothered. Keep moving.

BankID does everything, and I mean everything.

Your doctor. Your school enrollment. Your cell phone bill. Your tax records. Your kid’s after-school signup. Every document, every appointment, every form that would take an American three phone calls and a password reset — all of it lives under one number that every Norwegian carries with them on their phone. I will be honest with you though, because this blog is nothing if not honest: we do not have BankID. As foreigners we are not able to get it yet, and some days that is genuinely hard. Things that take our friend Stine about 45 seconds on her phone take us considerably longer, or they just do not happen at all, and we have had to learn to laugh about it a little. But watching the system work for the people it was built for — watching someone pull up a legal document, sign it, and close their phone while we are still trying to remember which email address we used — it is genuinely impressive. When it works it really works.

Parking has a small fee, and that is entirely the point.

It is not expensive, but it is not free either, and that tiny amount of friction is enough to make people think twice about whether they actually need to drive, because the bus system is so good that most of the time the answer is no. The whole parking system runs through an app or a sticker in your window and operates largely on the honor system, which in Norway seems to work just fine because people here tend to do what they said they were going to do.

The houses are made of windows.

Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, glass facing the trees and the water and the hills, and almost every home has some version of a greenhouse room or a sitting room attached to it where you can be inside and outside at the same time. I did not fully appreciate this until I understood what winter looks like here — the sun is precious and they built their entire domestic architecture around catching every minute of it. Sitting in a Norwegian home on a clear day with light pouring in from every direction feels like something a person could get used to very quickly, and I have.

The trash system is color coded and it actually works.

Four bins, clearly labeled, and recycling is not an afterthought or a suggestion here — it is just infrastructure, the same way roads and pipes are infrastructure. Every property has the same setup and you do not have to think very hard about it because someone already thought hard about it for you. That is a theme you will notice here.

The grocery stores are small and they are perfect.

This took me a minute to adjust to and now I cannot imagine going back. The stores here are not warehouses. They are not overwhelming. You go in, you find what you need, and you leave, and the whole experience takes about fifteen minutes if you are moving slowly. Everyone brings their own bags — not because there is a law about it but because that is just what you do — and the products themselves tend to come with minimal packaging, which means less to sort through when you get home and less going into those four recycling bins. Norway has thought about the full cycle of a thing, from the moment you buy it to the moment you throw it away, and the grocery store is part of that thinking. I used to spend an hour at the grocery store. Here I spend fifteen minutes and I leave with exactly what I came for.

Children under 16 receive all healthcare completely free.

Every doctor visit, every specialist, every dental appointment — zero cost until age 16, and costs are capped for adults after that too. I took myself to the doctor when I came down with shingles, and the first question she asked me was not about my insurance or my payment method. She asked whether I was employed, and she asked it because she wanted to know if she could issue me sick leave on the spot. She could not, because our situation here is complicated as foreigners, but the fact that it was her first instinct — that her immediate thought was how to keep a sick person out of the workplace rather than how to process the transaction — told me everything about how this system is designed. A sick person should not be at work. That is the starting assumption here, and they built a whole infrastructure around it.

Sick leave is treated like the serious thing that it is.

If you are too sick to work you stay home, and your employer pays your full salary for the first 16 days without question. After that the government covers it for up to 52 weeks, and mental health is treated with exactly the same weight as physical health — a doctor can issue sick leave for burnout, for grief, for anxiety, for any condition that is genuinely keeping a person from functioning, because the medical community here understands that a person who is broken on the inside cannot do their job any more than a person with a broken leg can. What this does to workplace culture is hard to explain unless you have lived inside it, but people show up differently when they are not performing wellness they do not have.

Parental leave that actually gives parents time to be parents.

When a baby is born in Norway, parents receive 49 weeks of paid leave at full salary — or up to 61 weeks if they choose 80 percent pay — and that leave is divided into three parts: 15 weeks specifically for the mother, 15 weeks specifically for the father, and 16 weeks that can be shared however the family decides. The father’s weeks are use it or lose it, meaning if he does not take them the family simply loses that time, which is Norway’s way of making it clear that being present in the early months of a child’s life is not optional for fathers — it is expected. The whole country made that decision together and then wrote it into law.

Five weeks of vacation is the legal minimum.

Not a benefit. Not a perk that gets negotiated into a contract. Five weeks of paid vacation per year is the floor that every single employee in the country stands on, and most people take all of it, because the culture here actually supports the idea that a rested person is a better person, and a better person does better work.

School is shorter and somehow that seems to be fine.

The school days here are not the long exhausting stretches that have become normal in so many other places — kids go to school, they learn, and then they go outside, and somehow the sky has not fallen. Both things are true at the same time: learning matters here, and so does having a childhood, and nobody seems to be in the middle of a heated debate about whether those two ideas can coexist.

Business hours are posted on the outside of buildings large enough to read from the road.

Not a small sign near the door that you have to park and walk up to squint at — on the building itself, visible from the highway, because why would you design it any other way. I noticed this weeks ago and I am still thinking about it. It is the kind of obvious that makes you feel a little embarrassed on behalf of everywhere that has not done it yet.

They built tunnels through the mountains instead of roads over them.

Norway is full of mountains that have no interest in moving out of the way, and the Norwegian answer to this was simply to go through them — tunnels that stretch for kilometers in the dark, carved straight through solid rock, some of them long enough that you genuinely forget there is a mountain above your head. A few of them have roundabouts inside, which means there are intersections happening in the middle of a mountain and somehow that feels exactly right for this country.

The right to roam is written into law.

Allemansretten — the right of all people to move freely through nature — means that even privately owned land is open to you if you want to walk through it, run across it, ride your horse over it, or simply sit in it for a while. The outdoors here belongs to everyone, not just the people who own the deed, and that single legal principle changes the entire relationship between people and the landscape they live in. I cannot adequately describe what it feels like to know that you can go anywhere.

There are free rope courses built into the forests.

All over the country, tucked into the trees of public forests, there are rope courses and climbing structures that anyone can use at any time for free. No entry fee, no waiver, no attendant checking your ticket. Just there in the woods, because children should be able to climb things and the country decided to make that easy. Kids here grow up in the trees and I think about what that does to a person over time.

Most houses have robotic lawnmowers, and the window boxes are always full of flowers.

The little robot mowers just handle the lawn on their own while their owners are doing something else entirely, and the result is that every yard is tidy and every windowsill is bursting with color and nobody sacrificed their Saturday morning to make that happen. I realize this sounds like a small thing but it is representative of something bigger — the sense that time here belongs to the people living their lives, not to the maintenance of appearances.

When you buy a car in Norway it comes with two sets of tires.

Winter tires and summer tires, both of them, included with the purchase, because the roads change completely with the seasons and Norway long ago decided that everyone should simply be equipped for both rather than making it an optional extra. There is no upsell. There is no “would you like to add winter tires for an additional fee.” There is just here is your car and here are the tires you are going to need, and that is the end of the conversation.

Nearly 96 percent of new car sales in 2025 were fully electric.

Charging stations are everywhere, woven into the infrastructure the way gas stations are everywhere else, because Norway did not wait for the technology to catch up with the ideals — they built the systems first and the behavior followed. That is a pattern you start to notice here.

Electric scooters are everywhere too, and every single person is wearing a helmet.

Not most people, not the cautious ones, not the ones who read the safety pamphlet — everyone. Every person on a scooter, every person on a bike, every motorcyclist going 80 kilometers an hour on the highway is wearing a helmet without exception, and after a month here I have stopped being surprised by it because it just feels like the obvious thing. In America we debate helmet laws the way we debate everything else, endlessly and loudly, while people get hurt. Here the culture simply decided that if you are getting on something that moves you put a helmet on, and that was that. It is one of those things that sounds small until you sit with it for a minute and realize what it says about a place.

People’s High Schools exist and I think about them constantly.

The folkehøgskole — people’s high schools — are schools for young adults where the typical student is between 16 and 25, and you spend a year living and learning with other people, choosing a theme that interests you, in a place with no grades and no exams and no performance being measured at the end. You can study outdoor life or film or music or travel or any number of other things, and the government subsidizes it because Norway decided that a year of growing up without being evaluated is worth paying for. Many young Norwegians do this every year and I think it produces a certain kind of person — curious, self-directed, comfortable in their own skin — and I think that matters more than most countries are willing to admit. We have been eying a “Checkpoint Charlie” school for Gavin where you travel around Europe and learn and live the history

Everyone zippers in traffic and nobody makes a thing of it.

When two lanes merge into one, drivers from both sides take turns in perfect alternating sequence all the way to the merge point, without anyone accelerating to block the other lane or laying on the horn or making it a competition, and after a few weeks of driving here you start to feel almost emotional about it because it is such a clear demonstration that a group of people can agree on something and simply do it. The zipper works because everyone decided it would work. That is Norway in a sentence.

Retirement here is something people actually get to enjoy.

The standard retirement age is 67, with the option to begin drawing your pension as early as 62 if you have built sufficient rights, and once you start receiving it the pension is paid for the rest of your life — not depleted, not gambled, not dependent on the market having a good decade. If you worked, you are taken care of. The second half of your life belongs to you, not to the anxiety of whether you saved enough, and you can still work if you want to because the system allows it, but the difference is that you are choosing it rather than having no other option. I think about what that does to a person psychologically — how differently you move through your working years when you know what is waiting on the other side — and it seems important.

You cannot just fire someone here, and that changes everything.

Norway does not recognize at-will employment and the process of dismissing someone is so protected, so procedurally involved, so weighted in favor of the employee, that it simply does not happen casually. An employer needs a legitimate and documented reason, they are required to meet with the employee formally before any decision is made, and if the employee disputes the dismissal they have the legal right to remain in their position while the case is resolved — which can take months, sometimes longer. Courts here typically look for another solution before allowing a termination to stand, which means reassignment or coaching or a restructured role, and the result of all of this is that people are not scared at work. They are not performing loyalty or managing upward or calculating how to survive the next round of cuts. They are just doing their jobs because their jobs are genuinely secure, and I think that quiet security produces a kind of confidence and presence that is hard to replicate any other way.

The flip side of this, which I did not expect to appreciate as much as I do, is that there is very little litigation culture here. If you make a decision and something goes wrong, that is largely your situation to deal with. Adults are expected to be adults. The legal system is not something people reach for every time life disappoints them, and there is something deeply clarifying about living in a place where personal responsibility is not just a talking point but an actual operating principle.

Talking about politics here is completely normal.

In America most people learn pretty early not to ask someone how they voted unless you are ready for it to become a thing, but in Norway people will tell you before you ask — where they stand, what they are worried about, what they think the country is getting right and getting wrong — and it never feels like an ambush or a test. It feels like conversation. Like the kind of conversation adults can have with each other when they are not afraid of disagreeing, because disagreeing here is just part of thinking out loud together. I have talked about Norwegian politics with strangers more in one month than I have in years at home, and I have liked almost all of those conversations.

And Norwegians are direct in a way that took us a while to understand.

If something needs to happen it needs to happen and there is not a lot of space between identifying that and saying it out loud, which can feel abrupt if you are not used to it. Adam and I most recently are from Kansas, and if you know anything about Kansas you know that they will sit with you for a good twenty minutes before we get anywhere near the actual point. We will ask about your people and your drive and whether you need anything and we mean all of it, genuinely, because where we come from that is just how you treat a person. Walking into Norwegian interactions and getting straight to the matter at hand felt strange at first, a little cold even, and we kept offering pleasantries that nobody was waiting for and adding softening phrases that landed in the silence like something dropped.

But it is not cold. Once you understand it you start to see it as a form of respect — they are not performing warmth they do not feel and they are not wasting your time, they mean exactly what they say and they trust you to do the same. And then you put one of these same direct, efficient, no-nonsense Norwegians in an informal setting with friends and they are completely different people. Loud and funny and interesting and full of opinions they share freely and hobbies that would impress you, and the directness turns out to just be the door. Once you are through it the room is warm.

And then there is the cheese slicer. And the brown cheese. My personal favorite.

In 1925 a Norwegian cabinetmaker named Thor Bjørklund looked at the way people were cutting cheese and decided it was wrong, and he built a tool specifically to fix it — a thin metal blade with a slit in it that shaves cheese into perfect uniform slices and has been in every Norwegian kitchen drawer ever since. You will not find a home here without one. Guests are handed it without explanation because explanation is not necessary, everyone just knows, and what you slice with it is brunost — brown cheese, a soft caramelized block that is somewhere between cheese and fudge and something completely its own, sweet and slightly tangy and deeply Norwegian in a way I cannot fully explain. You slice it thin and lay it on bread and that is breakfast, that is snack time, that is Tuesday, that is life here, and I will be honest that it has become one of my favorite parts of the day.

But beyond the cheese itself — and I do love the cheese — I think about what the cheese slicer represents, which is that someone saw something that was not working, built something simple and better, and a hundred years later everyone is still using it without a second thought.

That is kind of the whole country.

I know I am forgetting things. I have been here a month and this country has more layers than I have had time to uncover, and I suspect that a year from now I will read this post and think of twelve things I left out.

But here is what I want you to know if you take nothing else from this. Norway is not just beautiful scenery. It is not a backdrop for Instagram photos or a bucket list checkbox. It is an entire culture of people who trace their roots back to the Vikings — a civilization that was navigating oceans and building communities when most of the world was still figuring out how — and that history lives in the way Norwegians carry themselves today. In the directness. In the self-sufficiency. In the quiet confidence that they know how to take care of each other and they always have.

They are wonderful people and this is a beautiful country and if you ever find yourself with the chance to come here, I want to ask you one favor. Skip the big cities, or at least do not stop there. Get yourself to the small towns. Sit somewhere with a cup of coffee and just watch how people move through their days. Talk to someone if they will let you, and most of them will. That is where you feel it — all of it, the people and the pace and the culture and the history — in a way that no fjord photo has ever been able to capture.

More From Norway

• Norway With Kids — The Complete Family Travel Guide
• Two Weeks In Norway — Here Is The Truth
• Kristiansand Day Trip
• Lillesand Day Trip
• Driving and Recycling in Norway — Things That Surprised Us
• How We Brought Poppy to Norway

Q: Is Norway a good country to live in?
A: Norway consistently ranks among the best countries in the world to live in, and after one month here with our family we understand why. The systems — healthcare, sick leave, parental leave, retirement, education — are built around the idea that people come first. The culture is direct, the outdoors is accessible to everyone, and the quality of life is unlike anywhere we have lived before.

Q: What is BankID in Norway and why does it matter?
A: BankID is Norway’s national digital identity system. It allows Norwegians to access virtually every government, medical, and personal document through a single secure login on their phone. From registering your children for school to signing legal documents to paying your phone bill, BankID handles it all. Foreigners living in Norway cannot access BankID immediately, which can make the early months of settling in significantly harder.

Q: How long is parental leave in Norway?
A: Norwegian parents receive either 49 weeks of paid leave at 100 percent of their salary, or 61 weeks at 80 percent pay. The leave is divided into three parts: 15 weeks reserved for the mother, 15 weeks reserved for the father (which are lost if not used), and 16 weeks that can be shared however the family chooses.

Q: Are electric vehicles really that common in Norway?
A: Yes. In 2025, nearly 96 percent of new car sales in Norway were fully electric vehicles, making Norway the global leader in EV adoption by a significant margin. Charging infrastructure is woven throughout the country, including in small towns and along mountain routes.

Q: What is brunost and why do Norwegians love it?
A: Brunost — brown cheese — is a uniquely Norwegian product made from whey that has been cooked down until the sugars caramelize, giving it a soft, slightly sweet, fudge-like flavor. It is sliced thin using the ostehøvel, the Norwegian cheese slicer invented in 1925 by cabinetmaker Thor Bjørklund. You will find both on every Norwegian breakfast table, in every Norwegian kitchen drawer, and in the heart of anyone who has spent real time in this country.

Q: Is Norway worth visiting beyond Oslo and the major fjords?
A: Absolutely — and honestly, the smaller towns are where Norway reveals itself most fully. Places like Arendal, Lillesand, and Kristiansand on the southern coast offer the culture, the pace, and the people without the tourist infrastructure of the larger cities. If you want to feel Norway rather than just see it, head south and slow down.

After Norway we drove south into Denmark — if that is on your radar too, here is everything we know about Denmark with kids, including the Lego House in Billund which deserves its own trip entirely.

Dreaming of a trip like this for your own family? Here is how working with a travel advisor actually works, or come plan your trip with me.

The post 31 Days in Norway — What This Country Just Gets Right appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

Hi, Nicole Damiano, VTA.

I smiled. Really big. By myself. At my kitchen table in Arendal, Norway with Poppy on my feet and the fjord, or really just the views, sitting outside the window.

I sat with it for a minute.

Then I screenshotted it.

Where this started

I was hired as a travel advisor in July 2024.

And if I am being completely honest with you, I did not take it that seriously at first. I traveled. I loved travel. I had been to over 50 countries. I knew how to plan a trip. It felt like a natural fit and a perfectly nice thing to do on the side.

Sure I can do this, I thought. I travel. Of course I can help others.

Part time. Low stakes. Let’s see how this goes.

Then came May 2025. Our company convention.

Something shifted. I walked in one person and walked out someone who finally understood what this actually was.

People were entrusting me with thousands of dollars. Sometimes tens of thousands. Their vacation. Their honeymoon. Their first time leaving the country. Their anniversary trip they had been saving for. Their memory in the making.

This was not a side gig.

This was a career. My career. The thing I wanted to build and pour myself into and be known for.

I went full time. I started treating it that way. And I started asking myself a harder question: do I actually have the credentials to match the responsibility?

The credentials I chased

I did the work.

CLIA training. Certifications through Sandals, Marriott, Royal Caribbean, AmaWaterways, Universal. Tourism training for destinations all over the world. Business education. Hours and hours of coursework.

And I still did not feel like a professional.

Not the way I wanted to. Not the way that made me feel like I could look a client in the eye and say I am the real thing, trust me with this.

People had watched me travel for years. They knew I loved it. But loving travel and being a trusted professional advisor are two very different things. I needed them to believe in me. And I needed to believe in me.

The moment everything clicked

In March 2026 I attended the ASTA River Cruise Expo in Amsterdam.

And I got hit like walking into a glass door I did not see coming.

They talked about the VTA. Verified Travel Advisor. What it meant. What ASTA stood for. That there are lawyers and lobbyists in Washington DC actively fighting for the rights of travel advisors and this industry. That since 1931 ASTA has been the world’s leading advocate for travel professionals, championing ethical practices and pushing for policies that protect both advisors and the traveling public. That they have taken on airlines. Pushed through legislation. Fought state by state for this industry’s right to exist and thrive.

I sat there and thought: this is where I want to be.

And then something happened that I will not forget.

I sat down with Zane Kerby, the President and CEO of ASTA. I told him about our family. About moving to a life on the road in Europe. About what this career was doing for us and what I believed it could become. He listened. Really listened. And when I told him about my dream of planning a family group river cruise education adventure, he looked at me and said that when I get that planned, he wants to sign up with his own family.

Zane Kerby. President of ASTA. Wants to travel with me someday.

I also had the privilege of sitting with Wayne Spector, Senior Vice President of NEST and Travelsavers, a few times over the last year. A network of more than 25,000 travel advisors. He took the time. He listened. He offered his support.

These are the people who lead this industry. And they spoke with me. They made me feel empowered. Heard. Like I belonged in the room.

Not every advisor pursues the VTA. But I knew immediately that I did.

What the VTA actually is

The ASTA Verified Travel Advisor certification is not a participation trophy.

It is a four-course program covering legal insights, ethical excellence, agency relationships, and federal regulatory compliance — the kind of foundational professional knowledge that makes an advisor not just capable but trustworthy.

ASTA’s president Zane Kerby has noted that since the program launched, they have never fielded a single complaint against an ASTA Verified Travel Advisor. Not one. That tells you everything about what earning those letters actually means.

It is a badge of honor that signals your commitment to being a conscientious and ethical travel advisor — a powerful statement to clients that you understand duty of care and your legal obligations when serving them.

I completed all four courses. I passed. And this morning I opened my laptop and my name had three new letters after it.

What it feels like

I think about the doctor who passes their boards. The lawyer who passes the bar. The CPA who finally gets those letters after their name and thinks: okay. I did it. I am the real thing.

That is what today feels like.

Not luck. Not a happy accident. My actions. My heart. My decision to stop treating this like something I was doing on the side and start treating it like the career it is.

I did not get here alone.

Michelle, Nikki, and Kirsten, my mentors. The kind of people who make you better just by being in your orbit.

My colleagues who show up every single day and make this industry worth being in.

My clients who trusted me long before I had the letters to back it up. You are why I do this.

Adam. My kids. My friends. The people who cheered for me through every late night study session while Poppy sat on my feet in Norway.

I am Nicole Damiano, VTA.

And I am just getting started.

If you are looking for a travel advisor who takes this profession as seriously as you take your trip — I would love to work with you.

Nicole Damiano, VTA | Travel Advisor, FG Luxury Travel
Nicole@FGLuxuryTravel.com
AdventuresWeSeek.com

What is an ASTA Verified Travel Advisor?
An ASTA Verified Travel Advisor, or VTA, is a travel professional who has completed a rigorous four-course certification program through the American Society of Travel Advisors. The program covers legal knowledge, ethical standards, agency relationships, and federal regulatory compliance. It is one of the most respected designations in the travel industry.

What is ASTA and why does it matter?
ASTA — the American Society of Travel Advisors — has been the world’s leading advocate for travel professionals since 1931. They have lawyers and lobbyists in Washington DC actively fighting for the rights of travel advisors and the traveling public. They push for legislation, fight unfair airline policies, and set the ethical standards that define what a trustworthy travel advisor looks like.

Why should I care if my travel advisor is a VTA?
Because it means your advisor has done more than collect supplier certificates. They have been trained in the legal and ethical responsibilities that come with handling your money, your documents, and your trip. Since the VTA program launched, ASTA has never received a single complaint against a Verified Travel Advisor. That track record matters.

Is a travel advisor the same as a booking agent?
No. A travel advisor is closer to a consultant than a transaction processor. I am not clicking buttons on your behalf. I am building something — a trip designed specifically around your family, your pace, your budget, and what you actually want from the experience. That is a fundamentally different service.

How do I work with Nicole?
Reach out at Nicole@FGLuxuryTravel.com or through AdventuresWeSeek.com. We start with a conversation. You tell me what you are dreaming about and I take it from there.

The post I Am Nicole Damiano, VTA. Here Is What That Actually Means. appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

Let’s start with my proudest moment so far. The dog.

This was Poppy’s first experience flying and she absolutely crushed it. 3 planes, zero complaints…1 small #2 in the airport in Amsterdam (they asked for it, not having a pup place)…and just like that she’s in the car, in her carseat, locked in and completely at home in Norway. Favorite child, no contest...no suprise.

The rest of us arrived slightly less gracefully. Five people, one dog, and what I can only describe as an optimistic amount of bags. All of it somehow making it into our (new to us)Skoda Superb.

Quick note on the Skoda by the way. It’s a manual. I am not. There’s a whole blog coming on that one because honestly the car has been a story in itself so far. What it means practically though is that Nicole is our pilot on this adventure which honestly tracks. She’s been navigating us since Costa Rica in 2007 so this is just her in her natural habitat with a gear stick.

The drive from the airport was eventful in the quietest way possible. Nicole made the call to stop every 30 minutes or so and none of us argued. The kids were gone within the first 20 minutes. I held on slightly longer. Poppy didn’t even flinch. Completely at home in a way that made the rest of us look a little pathetic.

Three weeks in and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. The moment where the novelty wears off and the reality of living out of bags in a foreign country starts to grind. It hasn’t happened. If anything it keeps going the other way.

Everything still feels relaxed. Calm. Oddly natural for all of us. Everyone’s adapting so well to each new moment, place, smell, taste and sound and I genuinely didn’t see that coming.

till the next…Kaja

Adam

Poppy in Kristianstand, Norway

The post Finally Showed Up (Adam). So Did Poppy. appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

I explained to her that it may be hard to understand but my closest friends are the ones that live far away. We talked about Jenifer in California, Aimee in England, Stine in Norway, Kaisa in Oregon, and now my friends I have said goodbye for now to in Kansas. But the good news is, it is so easy to call and text and to video chat. I told her how we can start sending post cards from the places we go. But that they will be so excited to hear about her adventures.

I tried to help her focus on just today and what is up next for us in our days and adventures. We have no idea what will come and have to just enjoy what we have. I know it is hard for kids to understand the decisions we make sometimes as parents.

I can’t remember my parents ever asking my opinion of what big decisions they made for us in our lives – moving across town, going to three middle schools etc. I don’t recall my input truly having any effect on my parents decisions as we were growing up. I think now we do spend so much time trying to rationalize and help our kids understand our decisions. I think our kids have forgotten just what the difference is sometimes between adults and kids and how sometimes we just make these decisions and they really don’t warrent an explination… and when we do explain, it isn’t up for negotiation – it is more of just that – an explination.

Gavin is having growing pains of his own. His are always hardest for Adam and I, I think anyway. He is so factual and works things through in his own head. He is so good at explaining his feelings but has a hard time absorbing anything beyond his interest and his own direction.

He wants more space and we are trying to give it to him, but we have reversed our life in a way. We want the kids to wake up at normal times and get out of the house right away. Since we do not start work untli 3ish, we have all day to just be together. Then, when we start work, we want them to do things together- still off of the electronics… then, after dinner they can go their own direction. We have also been doing a crappy job of getting everyone to bed at a decent time since it is sunny out until almost 11pm… we are all wide awake and just existing I guess. We have been trying to keep electronics away for most of the day… but once we start work, both Adam and I are on our computers so it is hard to say do as I say, not as I do when in reality they have also already spent their entire day off their screens with us.

He is at an age where he doesn’t want his siblings parenting him or telling him what to do. He also doesn’t see the value or amazingness that is each of them and their interests… for instance – how can Avilene watch all those tiktok artists and dancers and find enjoyment. She is wasting her brain and life by just being entertained by garbage – his words not mine. While I can somewhat agree about wasting brain cells – she is an artsy creative girl. She learns how to do different art pieces and will use those skills. She sings and dances and just uses the other side of her brain than him. Jake watches pilots and architecture and fun facts. He laughs and finds so much humor in things.

Adam and I sat down with Gavin last night and tried so hard to explain to him that the value of mankind and the billions of people on this earth is that each person has their own interests and contributes differently. All of these different thoughts and brains and enjoyment and entertainment are what makes the world better. How boring, stale and collapsible the world would be if we all throught the same. Nothing would ever improve or change. We explained that our siblings, all raised in the same houses are so extremely different. We explained how even if we don’t or didn’t want to support or enjoy some of the things our friends or family did or do, if it is what makes them happy then we should encourage it. We need to love each other for who they are.

It seems so simple, doesn’t it?

Yet it can be so difficult. We explained how even in our adult years we still face this. We do have to “check” ourselves when thoughts or judgement comes out.

I’m not sure if we got anywhere with this conversation or when it may surface again, but what more can we do?

Family and human dynamics are just so complicated and layered and selfish and selfless… its a lot to navigate for anyone.

And the most emotional part for me, is last night looking at Gavin standing there upset and talking to us, I just kept looking at him. He is so tall, his face is so grown up. His features are just so handsome. Even his hands, his little baby hands are gone. I know he is only 13, or already 13 – but I see glimpses of the man he is becoming and I am just not ready for it. (as I tear up typing this)

It once again solidly supports one of the main reasons Adam and I made the decision to jump into this crazy overseas adventure… to learn, grow and make this limited time together as meaningful as we can.

Q: How do kids handle long-term family travel emotionally? Every kid is different. Some take it harder than others. In our house Avilene processed it thoughtfully and Gavin works through things in his own factual way. What helps most is not pretending it is easy. Letting them have the feelings. And then redirecting to what is right in front of us today.

Q: What do you say to kids who miss their friends when traveling long-term? We talked about the fact that my closest friends are the ones who live far away. Jenifer in California. Aimee in England. Stine in Norway. Distance does not end real friendships. Postcards help. Video calls help. Knowing their adventures will be worth telling is the biggest thing.

Q: How do you handle screen time when both parents work remotely? This one is hard. We want the kids off screens all day when we are all together. Then we start work at 3pm and we are both on computers. It is hard to say do as I say and not as I do. We are figuring it out. We do not have a perfect answer.

Q: Is long-term family travel worth it when the kids are struggling? Yes. That is the short answer. The harder days are part of why we came. We wanted this limited time together to mean something. The growing pains, the conversations, the moments where we have to actually talk to each other — that is the point.

Q: How do you help siblings appreciate each other when they have different interests? We sat down with Gavin and talked about the value of different kinds of minds. Jake watches pilots and architecture. Avilene learns art from TikTok and dances and creates. Gavin thinks in systems. The world needs all of it. How boring and stale it would be if we all thought the same.

More Like This

• Two Weeks In — Here Is The Truth
• Norway With Kids — The Complete Family Guide

The post Parenting is hard appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

Greece is next on our list.

We are worldschooling our family across Europe and Greece has been calling us for months now. The islands. The history. The food. The color of the water. We are planning it actively right now and this guide is everything we know so far, everything we are excited about, and everything we are still figuring out.

I will update this guide after we actually go. That is the deal.

Why Greece Works for Families

Greece has a warmth to it that goes beyond the weather.

The people genuinely love children. You will not feel like your kids are in the way in Greece. You will feel like they belong there. That matters more than most things when you are traveling with a family.

The history is layered in a way that is accessible to kids at every age. Ancient ruins. Mythology that comes alive when you are standing in front of it. The Parthenon means something different when your seven year old just finished Percy Jackson.

And Greece is significantly more affordable than most of Western Europe. Accommodation, food, and transportation all come in under what you would spend in France or Italy for the same experience level.

Where to Go

Athens. Start here. The Acropolis. The Parthenon. The Ancient Agora. The National Archaeological Museum. Athens is a living city wrapped around an ancient one and families who lean into the history are completely blown away.

Santorini. The iconic one. Blue domed churches. White buildings draped over a caldera. Stunning views that are genuinely as beautiful as the photos. Best for families with older kids who can handle the steps and the heat.

Mykonos. Chic and vibrant. Known for nightlife but also genuinely beautiful. For families who want a mix of beach and style.

Crete. The largest Greek island and arguably the best for families. Beaches for every preference. Samaria Gorge for hiking families. Ancient Minoan ruins. Great local food. You could spend two weeks on Crete and not run out of things to do.

Rhodes. Medieval old town that looks like something out of a fairy tale. The Palace of the Grand Master. Long sandy beaches. Rhodes works incredibly well for families who want history and beach in one place.

Corfu. Lush and green. Venetian architecture. Calm clear water. Corfu is one of the most beautiful islands in Greece and it has excellent infrastructure for families.

Getting Around

Fly into Athens. Almost every international route to Greece comes through Athens International Airport. From there you can connect to any island by domestic flight or ferry.

Island hopping by ferry is one of the great joys of Greek travel. Fast ferries connect the major islands. Overnight ferries exist for longer routes. With kids the fast ferry is usually the better call. Two hours of excitement beats twelve hours of exhaustion.

On the islands, renting a car or a quad bike is standard. Most islands are small enough that you can see the whole thing in a few days.

What to Eat with Kids

Greek food is one of the most family-friendly cuisines in the world.

Fresh bread. Hummus. Tzatziki. Grilled fish. Souvlaki. Greek salad. Spanakopita. Fresh fruit. Everything is simple and clean and deeply flavorful. Kids who are even slightly adventurous eaters will thrive in Greece.

And the portions are generous. Greeks feed people generously. You will not leave a table hungry.

What We Are Planning

We are planning to hit Athens first for three to four days, then take a fast ferry to Crete for about a week, then hop to Santorini for two to three days before heading north. That is our rough plan and it is subject to everything that comes with actually traveling with kids.

I will update this guide with real notes, real photos, and real recommendations after we go. Bookmark it and come back. The best part is still coming.

Ready to Start Planning Your Greece Trip?

Whether you want a quick Athens and one island trip or a full island hopping adventure, I can help you build it. Fill out the form and let’s talk.

Start planning your Greece family trip here.

We are building this Greece guide as we plan the trip ourselves. Check back as it grows. And if you want to plan Greece with us, start here.

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The post Greece With Kids — The Guide We Are Writing While We Plan Our Trip There appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

We drove an RV through Spain before we had kids.

I was not ready for it. The colors. The food. The way people actually live there. Not for tourists. For themselves. We pulled into small towns where nobody spoke English and somehow felt completely welcome.

Spain left a mark on me that never faded. And now I send families there every year and watch the same thing happen to them.

Here is what I know about Spain with kids.

Why Spain Works So Well for Families

Spain has something that not every European country has.

Kids are welcomed everywhere. Not just tolerated. Actually welcomed. Restaurants that would be intimidating with children in other parts of Europe are completely relaxed in Spain. Family is woven into the culture. You will feel it immediately.

The food is phenomenal and accessible. The history is layered and incredible. The weather is warm and the pace of life is something that recalibrates your entire family in about forty-eight hours. Spain slows you down in the best possible way.

Where to Go

Barcelona. Start here for most families. Gaudi architecture that genuinely blows kids’ minds. The beach. La Boqueria market. Gothic Quarter cobblestones. Easy to navigate. World class food. It earns every bit of its reputation.

Madrid. The Prado. The Reina Sofia. The Royal Palace. Retiro Park with its rowing boats and glass palace. Madrid is a real city with real culture and kids who are curious about history will love it.

Seville. Flamenco. The Alcazar palace. The orange trees lining every street. Seville is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and it is incredibly walkable with kids. The heat in summer is intense so time your visit accordingly.

San Sebastian. This is where you go for food. The highest concentration of Michelin stars per capita in the world. Pintxos bars that your whole family can walk through and try everything. Beautiful beaches. A sophisticated small city that families love.

Costa Brava. The wild coast north of Barcelona. Coves. Clear water. Charming fishing villages. Salvador Dali’s museum in Figueres. This is the Spain that families dream about.

The Balearic Islands. Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera. Each one is different. Mallorca is the most family friendly with excellent beaches and great infrastructure. Menorca is quieter and more natural. All are accessible from the mainland by short flight or ferry.

Getting Around

Fly into Madrid or Barcelona. Both are major international hubs with good connections from North America.

The high-speed train network in Spain is excellent. Madrid to Seville in two and a half hours. Madrid to Barcelona in about three. For families doing a multi-city trip the train is often easier and more enjoyable than flying between cities.

Renting a car makes sense if you want to explore rural Spain, the Costa Brava coastline, or get to smaller towns off the train routes. I drove an RV through Spain and I can tell you the roads are very driveable once you get outside the cities.

Where to Stay

Paradors are government-owned hotels in historic buildings. Castles. Monasteries. Palaces. Staying in a parador in Spain is one of those experiences that families remember forever and they are often more affordable than you would expect.

Apartments work brilliantly for families in Spanish cities. You get a kitchen, more space, and you can shop at local markets and eat like locals. For longer stays it is usually the best option.

Family hotels are everywhere. Spain has a strong tradition of family tourism and the hotel infrastructure reflects it.

What to Eat with Kids

Tapas culture is perfect for families. Small plates. Share everything. Kids can try things without committing to a full meal. Ham. Cheese. Patatas bravas. Pan con tomate. Croquetas. Gambas al ajillo. Most kids find at least five things they love immediately.

The late dining hours can be an adjustment. Dinner before nine is unusual in Spain. Before eight is almost unheard of. The way to handle it with kids is to have a substantial afternoon snack around four or five and let them eat something light early, then go out later when they are rested.

Or just embrace it. Spanish kids stay out late too. Your kids will adapt faster than you expect.

Ready to Start Planning?

Spain might be the best family trip you ever take. I genuinely believe that. Fill out the form below and let’s build the right Spain itinerary for your family.

Start planning your Spain family trip here.

Want to see more of Europe with your family? We also have guides to France, Italy, and Norway.

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The post Spain With Kids — The Guide From Someone Who Drove an RV Through It appeared first on Adventures We Seek.

We spent three months in Merida Mexico with our kids.

Not a week. Not two weeks. Three months. We rented a house in Centro, hired a tutor for the kids, figured out where the best tortillerias were, and genuinely lived there for a season.

We have also been to Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Mexico City, Oaxaca, and parts of the Yucatan that most tourists never find. Here is everything we actually know about Mexico with kids.

Why Mexico Works for Families

Mexico is one of the most family-friendly countries in the world and most American families have no idea how much depth it has beyond Cancun.

It is close. A two to four hour flight from most US cities. It is affordable. Your dollar goes very far once you leave the all-inclusive resort bubble. The food is extraordinary. Not hotel Mexican food. Real Mexican food. Tacos from a street cart for twenty pesos. Fresh agua fresca. Mole that takes three days to make. Tamales wrapped in banana leaves that change everything you thought you knew about tamales.

And the history is deep and layered and genuinely fascinating for kids who are paying attention. Mayan ruins. Colonial architecture. Living indigenous traditions that are still being practiced in the same ways they have been for centuries.

Where to Go

Merida. The capital of Yucatan state and one of the most underrated cities in Mexico. Gorgeous colonial architecture. Incredible food markets. A local culture that is warm and proud. Easy day trips to Mayan ruins and cenotes. We spent three months here and left wanting more.

Cancun and the Riviera Maya. The gateway for most families. Great beaches. Excellent all-inclusive resorts. Close to Chichen Itza and Tulum. If this is your first Mexico trip with kids it is a completely valid starting point. Just do not stop there.

Mexico City. One of the great cities of the world. The anthropology museum is one of the best museums anywhere. Teotihuacan is thirty minutes away. The food is extraordinary. Mexico City with kids who are nine and up is an incredible cultural experience.

Oaxaca. The food and craft capital of Mexico. Mole negro. Tlayudas. Mezcal. Alebrijes. Monte Alban. Hierve el Agua. Oaxaca rewards families who slow down and stay for a week or more.

San Miguel de Allende. Colonial. Artsy. Expat community. Excellent Spanish language schools for families doing longer stays. The rooftop views are stunning and the streets are made for wandering.

What We Loved About Merida

The colonial architecture in Centro is some of the most beautiful I have seen anywhere in Latin America. Walking the streets in the morning before the heat sets in with coffee and a pan dulce is one of my favorite travel memories.

The Lucas de Galvez market is a full sensory experience. Produce piled high. Smells you cannot describe. Women making tortillas by hand at tables they have probably been sitting at for decades. It is real and alive and nothing like a tourist market.

The cenotes around Merida are extraordinary. Ik Kil, Dzibilchaltun, Cenote Xlacah. Some are crowded. Some are completely quiet. We found a few that we never saw mentioned online and they became our family’s sacred swimming holes.

The pace of life three months in is completely different from the pace of a one-week trip. You stop rushing. You find your routines. Your kids make friends with kids from the neighborhood. Mexico becomes home for a while and that changes how you travel everywhere after.

Getting Around

Flying into different hubs makes Mexico easier than people think. Cancun, Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Merida all have international airports with good connections from the US. Pick the hub closest to where you want to start.

Renting a car makes sense for the Yucatan Peninsula where you want to visit cenotes and ruins on your own schedule. The roads are good and distances are manageable.

ADO buses are excellent for longer routes between Yucatan cities. Clean, air-conditioned, on time. Mexico City to Oaxaca is one of the classic ADO routes and very manageable with kids.

The Safety Conversation

I am going to be honest here because I think this is where most families get stuck.

Mexico is a big country with significant regional variation. Cancun, Merida, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca, and the Riviera Maya are all places I have taken my own children and where I send families regularly. They are not the same as the places in Mexico that I would not recommend. The US State Department travel advisories are useful. Read them. They are specific to state and region.

The short version is this. Merida has consistently been named one of the safest cities in Mexico. Mexico City is safer for tourists than the headlines suggest. The tourist corridor on the Caribbean coast is very well traveled and has excellent infrastructure.

I talk every family through this conversation specifically based on where they want to go. If safety is a concern, reach out. I will give you the real picture, not the headline version.

Ready to Start Planning?

Mexico is one of the most rewarding family travel destinations in the world. And I have been there enough times to help you find the version of Mexico that is right for your family. Fill out the form and let’s talk.

Start planning your Mexico family trip here.

Ready to plan your Mexico trip? Start here and we can build the right itinerary for your family.

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We have been to 16 Caribbean islands.

Each one is different. Each one has something that makes it worth going to. And each one has something that makes it not the right fit for every family.

Here is what sixteen islands actually looks like. The honest guide. Not the brochure.

Why the Caribbean Works for Families

Short flights from the East Coast. Warm water almost year round. All-inclusive options that make budgeting simple. Island hopping possibilities for families who want variety. And a range of experiences that works for every budget and every travel style.

The Caribbean is accessible in a way that Europe is not. You can be on a beach in the Bahamas in three hours from New York. That matters when you have kids with limited vacation days and parents who need to actually decompress.

The Islands We Have Been To

Antigua and Barbuda. 365 beaches. One for every day of the year they say. The water is extraordinary and the island is genuinely beautiful without being overcrowded.

Aruba. Consistently sunny. Almost no hurricanes. Calm water on the western coast. One of the safest and most reliable Caribbean islands for families.

Bahamas. Close to Florida. Great infrastructure. Nassau for city energy, Exumas for remote beauty, and Paradise Island for resort comfort. Lots of options within one destination.

Barbados. Sophisticated. Great food scene. Beautiful beaches on both coasts. Barbados has a polish that sets it apart from most Caribbean islands.

British Virgin Islands. Sailing. Clear water. Quiet coves. The BVI is one of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean and it rewards families who want something beyond the resort experience.

Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman is one of the most family-friendly islands in the Caribbean. Stingray City is a bucket list experience. Seven Mile Beach is stunning. Safe and easy to navigate.

Curacao. Colorful and quirky. Willemstad’s Dutch colonial architecture is unlike anything else in the Caribbean. Great diving and snorkeling. An underrated gem.

Dominica. The nature island. Rainforest. Waterfalls. Hot springs. For adventure families who want something completely different from the resort circuit.

Jamaica. Rum. Reggae. Blue Mountains. Luminous Lagoon. Dunn’s River Falls. Jamaica has incredible energy and there are genuinely excellent family experiences once you get beyond Negril and Montego Bay.

Saint Kitts and Nevis. Small. Uncrowded. Beautiful. A scenic railway that circles St. Kitts. Nevis Peak for hiking families. Two islands for the price of one.

Saint Lucia. The Pitons. Volcanic beaches. Lush rainforest. Chocolate farms. Saint Lucia is one of the most dramatically beautiful islands in the Caribbean.

Saint Martin. Half French, half Dutch. Two different cultures on one island. Orient Bay on the French side. Maho Beach where planes land right over your head. Kids love it.

Turks and Caicos. Grace Bay Beach is consistently ranked one of the best beaches in the world. The water color is impossible. If your budget allows it, TCI is extraordinary for families.

US Virgin Islands. No passport required for US citizens. St. John is two-thirds national park. St. Thomas has excellent shopping and great beaches. St. Croix is less crowded and deeply charming.

Puerto Rico. Also no passport required. Old San Juan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. El Yunque rainforest. Bioluminescent bays. Puerto Rico has more depth than most families realize and the food is exceptional.

Best Islands for First Timers

If your family is heading to the Caribbean for the first time I have three consistent recommendations.

Aruba for reliability. Consistently sunny, safe, calm water, great resorts, and easy logistics. It is the Caribbean trip that almost always delivers exactly what families expect.

Turks and Caicos for pure beauty. Grace Bay is an experience. If you can stretch the budget once, TCI is worth it.

Puerto Rico for value and depth. No passport, excellent food, incredible history, and a range of experiences from resort to adventure. It gives families the most to work with per dollar spent.

Cruising vs. Staying on One Island

Cruising gives you exposure to multiple islands in one trip. You see more. You experience more variety. You do not have to commit to one place. For families who are still figuring out what kind of Caribbean travelers they are, a cruise is a great way to explore before you invest in a longer stay anywhere.

Staying on one island gives you depth. You settle in. You find your favorite beach. You eat at the same place three nights in a row. You actually relax. For families who need to decompress rather than see new things, a stay on one island wins.

The honest answer is that both are great and the right choice depends entirely on your family. That is what I help figure out.

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Sixteen islands means I have strong opinions about what works for different families. Fill out the form and let’s talk through the right Caribbean trip for yours.

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Not sure which Caribbean island is right for your family? Reach out and we can narrow it down based on what your family actually wants.

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I lived in both Japan and Korea.

Japan first. Then Korea. Two separate chapters of my life that ended up shaping everything about how I travel and how I think about travel. I have taken my kids back to both countries multiple times since. And I have sent dozens of families to do Japan and Korea together in one trip.

Here is why Japan and Korea together is one of the best family travel itineraries in the world. And why doing just one of them feels like leaving half the meal on the table.

Why Do Both Together

The flights make sense first. Flying into Tokyo and out of Seoul or vice versa is one of the most efficient international itineraries you can build. You do not backtrack. You fly in on one side of the region and fly home from the other.

The cultures complement each other in a way that makes the comparison incredibly educational for kids. Both countries have ancient histories, rich food traditions, incredible public transportation, and a level of cleanliness and safety that makes traveling with kids genuinely easy. But they feel completely different from each other. Japan is quiet and precise and deeply respectful. Korea is loud and bold and incredibly generous. Your kids will notice this and they will talk about it for years.

And the food. The food alone is worth the trip. Twice over. Once for Japan and once for Korea.

Two weeks covers both properly. It is the sweet spot for families. Long enough to go deep. Short enough to stay energized.

Sample Two Week Itinerary

Tokyo — 4 nights. Shinjuku. Shibuya. Harajuku. Tsukiji fish market. teamLab digital art installations. Akihabara for the tech and anime crowd. Tokyo Disney for the families who need it. Tokyo rewards kids who are curious about absolutely anything.

Kyoto — 3 nights. Fushimi Inari shrine with its thousands of torii gates. Arashiyama bamboo grove. Traditional ryokan stay if your budget allows. The geisha district at dusk. Kyoto is the Japan your kids picture when they think Japan.

Seoul — 4 nights. Gyeongbokgung Palace. Bukchon Hanok Village. Myeongdong street food. Hongdae creative district. N Seoul Tower cable car. Noryangjin fish market. Seoul is one of the most energetic cities on earth and kids absolutely light up in it.

Busan — 2 nights. Gamcheon Culture Village. Haedong Yonggungsa temple on the sea. Jagalchi fish market. Haeundae Beach. Busan is the second city and it is spectacular. The contrast with Seoul is part of the experience.

Japan Highlights for Families

Tokyo. Everything above and more. Plan at least four nights here. You will wish you had more.

Kyoto. The cultural capital. Shrines. Temples. Traditional culture. Kids who take a tea ceremony class or try on a kimono in Kyoto carry that memory for a long time.

Osaka. The food city. Dotonbori street food. Takoyaki. Okonomiyaki. Osaka Castle. Universal Studios Japan for families who want a theme park day. Osaka is the fun counterbalance to Kyoto’s reverence.

Hiroshima. The Peace Memorial Museum is one of the most important places you can take older children. It is not easy. It is not supposed to be. It is the kind of experience that shapes how kids think about the world.

Mount Fuji. Day trip from Tokyo. For families with kids who love hiking and big landscapes, the Fuji Five Lakes area is incredible. You do not need to summit to have an extraordinary experience.

Korea Highlights for Families

Seoul. Already covered above but worth repeating. Seoul is one of the most family-friendly major cities in Asia. Clean, safe, navigable, and endlessly interesting.

Busan. Colorful. Coastal. A completely different energy from Seoul. The Gamcheon Culture Village is a hillside neighborhood painted in every color and it is one of the most photogenic places in Korea.

The food. Korean BBQ at a table where you cook your own meat. Bibimbap. Tteokbokki. Sundubu jjigae. Banchan spread with twenty small dishes. Korean food is bold and interactive and kids who are even slightly adventurous about food will fall in love immediately.

The palaces. Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung. Seoul has five major palaces and they are all remarkable. The changing of the guard ceremony at Gyeongbokgung is a highlight that even young kids respond to.

The markets. Gwangjang Market. Namdaemun Market. Noryangjin Fish Market. Korean markets are alive in a way that street markets rarely are elsewhere. Get in them.

Getting Between Japan and Korea

The most common routing is Tokyo to Seoul or Seoul to Tokyo. The flight is about two and a half hours and there are multiple daily flights on multiple carriers.

There is also a high-speed ferry from Osaka or Fukuoka to Busan if you want to cross by sea. This adds a travel day but it is an experience families remember.

Book the international segment first when you are planning the trip. The Tokyo-Seoul or Seoul-Tokyo flights do fill up, especially in spring and fall which are peak travel seasons for both countries.

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Japan and Korea together is the trip I recommend most enthusiastically to families who ask me what changed the way they see the world. Fill out the form and let’s build it.

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Planning an Asia trip? We have full guides to Japan With Kids and Korea With Kids on their own pages too.

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