VIVA EUROPE!!!

After months of planning and waiting, the time had actually come and we found ourselves at the Gatwick Airport in South London. We were excited and looked forward to our once in a lifetime whirlwind trip of England, Denmark, Germany and Norway. Our intentions were to visit the areas that our ancestors lived. We rented two vans and headed out to the countryside to find Ravenstone, where Isaac John Wardle, made the decision to join the church, come across the ocean and give us a better life. (Nice purse Cliff).


One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the church in Ravenstone where Great-grandpa Isaac was baptized as an infant and where his parents were married. The church was originally built in the 1700's and is absolutely beautiful. Kerri, Dad, Brad and myself standing outside on the grounds, which was also a cemetery. It was amazing to actually view the book where the records were kept, and their "X's" were scratched, because they couldn't write their names.


England was absolutely beautiful. We stayed in a wonderful little B&B in Ravenstone. We loved the elderly couple, John and Ann, who ran the house and helped us find our way around the area. They were a great resource to help us locate information about Isaac and his life there. They actually helped us find the house he lived in during the early 1800's. There is much to be said about the beautiful English gardens. Here is dad and the kids in the garden at the B&B.


Okay, when we said we wanted to rent "vans" we were thinking American sized vans. This is actually one of the largest vehicles we saw the whole time we were there. Ask Brad and Cliff about driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and the steering wheel being on the "wrong" side of the car. I knew we were in trouble when they we laughing uncontrollably as we pulled out of the parking lot at the airport. Brad had a hard time with that outside curb.


One of the most interesting days was our visit to Warwick Castle in London. Amazing. I think it was Craig's turn to keep track of Grandpa. How did he do?

There was so much to see in London that we opted for the double-decker bus tour. Great call other than we looked like typical tourists. So much to see, so little time to see it. Nice hat Eileen.
One of the funnest things was watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was wonderfully ceremonial and was a great day to visit. They Queens birthday was coming up so they were practicing for her celebration. Cliff is still annoyed that the Queen wouldn't "receive" him. Here we are resting on the steps of the Palace Gardens. One of my favorite pictures, hanging with the fam!
Then it was off to Denmark. Thank heavens Teri needed a coke and we had to go their version of the Maverick. While we were scoping the danish pastries we met and became friends with Niels Larsen, a member of the church in Aalborg, Denmark. Absolutely one of the highlights of the trip. Niels invited us to his home to meet his wife Lottie, and hear his testimony of being a member in Denmark. What a great connection to a great family. Hopefully next year he will be visiting our homes here.
Another highlight in Denmark was visiting the Church of the Lady where the original statue of the Christis stands. It was absolutely beautiful. This is the church President Packer spoke of in the last conference session. Amazing and humbling.

Welcome to Copenhagen where nobody drives and everybody rides an old beater bike. I'm talking 1000's of bikes. Cliff came home with a new commitment to ride, aired up the tires, and I haven't moved mine since.

After we ran ourselves ragged around England and Denmark we set sail on an amazing Norwegian Cruise. We visited Germany (where Cliff and Raymond got to have sauerkraut) and then cruised the Norwegian Fjords. They were really quite breathtaking. Not a bad looking bunch, do ya think? We clean up pretty good. Ask Cliff about the white shirt sometime....

Here we are at the top of the Garrienger Fjord. The snow was 18 feet deep in May. The ride up the canyon was one of the scariest things I've done. We were on a tour bus, on hair pin turns, with a grade of 18%. Cliff, trying to ease my anxiety, suggested I just close my eyes and take a nap. Like I could fall asleep!!! We did engage in a little snowball fight. As you can see I'm loosing.

Here's a picture looking down the fjord to our ship. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It helps that you are with people you love too.

After the cruise we had one more day in Copenhagen before we flew home. We choose as a group to stay at the Church Guest House and do baptisms in the Copenhagen Temple. It was a wonderful way to end an amazing adventure for our family. We'll always be grateful to dad for the opportunity and the memories. We love you dad! Viva Europe!!! (Desi)