The Gantzel family poses for a photo during Eclipse Over Ennis on April 8 in Ennis, Texas. Some members of the family traveled from Denmark and others came from Colorado to watch the eclipse together as a family.
ENNIS, Texas — In 2008, the Gantzel family of five stood in the Gobi Desert in China as they experienced their first total solar eclipse. This year, they added two significant others to the group and ended up in Ennis, Texas, to prepare for their second total solar eclipse experience.
The Gantzels live outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, in Roskilde and traveled over 5,000 miles to Texas. They flew to Paris, France, then Dallas to get to the Eclipse Over Ennis event Monday.
During the four minutes and 23 seconds of totality — the longest duration of totality in the state — the family hugged each other, cried and laughed in awe of the spectacle.
Frederik Gantzel was 12 years old during the 2008 eclipse. This year, he was one of the reasons parts of the family traveled over 15 hours to watch the event in Texas, because he hadn’t seen his dad in nearly two years.
Gitte Gantzel, 58, left, embraces Mathilde Gantzel, 27, during the Eclipse Over Ennis event April 8 in Ennis, Texas. The Gantzel family chose Ennis to watch the total solar eclipse since it had the longest totality time in Texas.
Along with his wife Samantha, Frederik now lives in Denver, Colorado. His mother, Gitte, first mentioned traveling to watch the eclipse after realizing how close Frederik lived to the path of totality.
Frederik’s father, Peder, served as the main coordinator of the trip. He began planning about six months ago and bought the plane tickets in December.
“Since we were in China and saw the solar eclipse, we were like, ‘Oh, we need to be a family that travels to see the total solar eclipses,’” Frederik’s sister Mathilde said.
Peder, Gitte, their daughters Mathilde and Caroline, and Caroline’s boyfriend Emil Rasmussen, flew into Dallas on March 31. Frederik and Sam arrived on April 3.
Since then, the family has spent the past week enjoying their vacation ahead of the eclipse. From riding horses to visiting the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza, the Gantzels have been making the most of Texas.
Gitte Gantzel, 58, left, Peder Gantzel, 59, center, and Mathilde Gantzel, 27, watch the total solar eclipse during Eclipse Over Ennis on April 8 in Ennis, Texas. The Gantzel family saw their first eclipse in 2008 in China.
On the morning of the eclipse, the family nearly decided to stay at their Duncanville, Texas, hotel rather than travel to Ennis because of potential bad weather. However, they made the drive and the clouds split just in time for the total solar eclipse.
At 1:40 p.m. downtown Ennis was filled with cheers as everyone’s eyes pointed toward the sky. The eyes of the Gantzel family filled with tears as totality began.
“Even alone it would be a great experience,” Frederik said. “But like my mom always says, ‘It’s not about the eclipse, it’s about being together.’”
It was not just another event for them; this represented months of preparation, hours of travel, the highlight of their family vacation and a bonding experience witnessing the phenomenon together for a second time, 16 years after the first.
@ellascott02