Kolmården
Birthdays galore!
This post is long overdue. Let’s get to it.
This fall, our oldest Cinnamon Stick turned 13! I can hardly believe it. Since it was a milestone birthday, we offered to go on a weekend trip (Paris or London) or have one of her typical invite-everyone-that-she-knows birthday parties (a gift maximization strategy). Somehow, she convinced us to have a “local” trip and a small birthday party! Yes, we are suckers. Or she is a good negotiator. Or both. She took us to Kolmården, which she visited on a school trip.
Kolmården is an animal park and amusement park. It has both Safaris and roller coasters. We got there with a quick two-hour train + bus ride (isn’t public transportation wonderful?). The park is located south of Stockholm on the Baltic Sea. It is in a beautiful natural location:
We stayed at the Vildmarkshotellet, which is next to the park. It was super convenient and a lovely, family-friendly hotel.
I feel like this is one of the more Swedish trips we’ve taken lately. The hotel and park have a very local feel. Many places we visit have a strong tourist draw, and you see many foreigners. But Kolmården seemed distinctly Swedish. There was not a lot of English spoken, and it seemed populated mostly by Swedish families. It was a nice atmosphere.
We were there in early October, so they were all decked out for Halloween, which made the trip extra special.
Dragons were a central theme:
As were pumpkins:
We safaried via gondola:
We saw many fascinating animals:
There were also many adventurous rides:
One of the highlights of the park is a roller coaster called Wildfire. I rode it to see if it was Cinnamon Stick-approved. Let’s say it was not. But I enjoyed it:
Our trip was over too soon, and we headed back home.
The fun wasn’t over. Cinnamon Stick #1 had her “small” birthday party just a few weeks later. Complete with a Paris-themed photo booth!
It was a smashing success!
Not to be outdone, just over a month later, Cinnamon Stick the Youngest celebrated her birthday! She started with an escape room, which was so secret that there weren’t even any pictures!
They proceed back to our apartment for more celebrating:
Our youngest is into magic. So they made potions. It was incredibly creative, and she curated all the potion ingredients herself. She created all the ingredients necessary for the finest spells, from ground-up fizzy powder (vitamin C tablets) to crushed spices. One of her party guests informed me that she was making a potion, that if you took it and she didn’t like you, you would burst into flames. We agreed that maybe it would be better to just give the recipient an upset stomach.
They also got to decorate special homemade cupcakes, courtesy of Mrs. Cinnamon Bun!
It was a crazy couple of months of Birthday celebrations! We can’t wait for next year!
To be continued…