Oslo, Norway - August 4-8

(Bill)

We found another ridiculously cheap flight from Copenhagen to Oslo, Norway – $50 each on Norwegian Airlines – and jumped on it. Our flight was at 7:30am, so if you know Victoria you know that making this flight would be an accomplishment in itself. We made it but with minutes to spare – literally. Our closest near miss yet.

We broke through the clouds on our descent into Oslo and Victoria and I both got a glimpse of the Norwegian landscape. Mountains covered with pine trees, meadows covered with wild flowers, and lakes and rivers everywhere. We literally turned to each other and could say nothing more than, “Wow!” After landing and noticing that even the airport was surrounded by pine tree covered hills we knew that we had definitely found our element in Norway – “We’re going to love this place” was what I remember saying to Victoria as the pilot welcomed us to Oslo in Norwegian.

Oslo is a small, clean city that sits on the Oslo Fjord and is surrounded by yes, more pine tree covered mountains. One thing that we thought was amazing was the number of public transportation options the small city had to offer. If the train didn’t suit, you could opt for the metro. If the train or metro didn’t work, you could try the bus. If you weren’t up for the train, metro, or bus, you could always take the tram. The lack of cars in the city made it obvious that most people take full advantage of the system, as we did.

On our first full day in Oslo we took the train into the mountainous “suburbs” (where most well off Oslonians live) to Holmenkollen. Holmenkollen is known most for being the location of the world’s first ski jump and the world’s only skiing museum. The area also provides a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding areas below. After browsing through the ski museum we took an elevator up about 10 stories and then climbed a steep set of stairs to the top of the ski jump. It was high, I mean we were up there, but I was quick to let Victoria know that I would definitely do the jump if I had the chance (tough guy). Luckily – for me – there was no snow and the landing area WAY DOWN THERE was filled with water. I’m still convinced I’d be the best ski jumper in the world -- if I was given the chance. Anyway, we enjoyed the ski jump area and on our walk back down to the train station we stopped at a restaurant overlooking the city and had a “refreshment” on the balcony. The sun was out with beautiful wispy clouds dotting the sky above the fjord. It was a great way to end the day.

At breakfast one morning we met a Norwegian journalist that couldn’t stop raving about the strength of the recent U.S. economic data and Alan Greenspan. When we did get him off of the U.S. economy his next topic of choice was Timothy McVeigh (sp?). Yes, random indeed. He thought it was so “tragic” that such a “handsome” boy would do something like that and what a “crime” it was that such a “handsome” boy wouldn’t be able to “pro-create”. Interesting opinion!

On our third full day in Oslo we took the metro to the Edvard Munch Museum within the city limits. Before going to the museum I knew pretty much nothing about Munch or his paintings. From the outside the museum was nothing to write home about, but I definitely enjoyed seeing his work laid out in one setting. My favorites were “Scream” and “Starry Nights”. I am now a Munch fan.


(Victoria: A Few Additions)
Well, I don’t have much to add because Bill did a great update. I learned that Oslo was once called Christiana, but was changed in 1905 when it won back its Independence from Sweden. This was very interesting for me because my great-great-grandfather was born in Christiana, Norway in 1831. I kept looking around for my doppelganger, but have yet to find her. I did notice that Norwegians seem to be friendly, jovial, and self assured people. We had many random conversations with people just ready to talk…and I was hit on by several inebriated Norwegians when we went to the piano bar. (Side note: apparently it is perfectly acceptable to be drunk on the weekends – in fact, it is expected. And at weddings and special occasions it is considered insulting to the host if you do not show drunkenness.)

We spent a day visiting the Viking Ship Museum and a stave church on an island just outside of Oslo. We saw two amazingly perfect Viking ships that had once sailed in the 800s and were used as burial tombs in the 900s AD. They were really amazing to see -- so beautifully carved, strongly constructed, and well preserved in the Norwegian hills/bogs. Both ships were much like the Egyptian pyramids and were filled with treasures for the person to take into the afterlife with them: cattle, horses, gold jewelry, chests of grain, tools, cloth, and more. The medieval stave church was also really amazing to see. There are only a few in the world that remain because they are constructed of wood. The one we saw looked as if it could have been carved yesterday, until we went inside and saw the old paintings on the walls – very medieval, very one dimensional, very amazing.

Lastly, I want to mention the Nobel Peace Museum. The Nobel Peace Prize is given in Oslo every year and they recently built a phenomenal museum dedicated to the pursuit of peace. It is an interactive experience filled with global quotes, film clips, audio clips, photos, and statements by former Peace Prize winners. It was so inspiring and I recommend it to anyone.

Oddities or Things We Noticed

(Bill and Victoria)
The days are getting longer up here. The sun starts to set around 5:00pm and doesn’t completely slip away until around 11:00pm. The 6 hour sunset definitely gives a guy a generous window to make a sunset dinner occur.

TGI Friday’s and 7-Eleven’s are everywhere in Oslo. Most of you probably know that Victoria and I met at a TGI Friday’s in Woodland Hills. I can testify that we didn’t touch one in Oslo – but only because I wasn’t going to pay $100 for lunch at TGI Friday’s.

Prices are astronomically high, for everything. A beer will set you back about $12…each. A normal (e.g. TGI Friday’s, city café, etc.) meal for two is now up to $75-$100.

The weather in Oslo, for the most part, was chilly and drizzling. We are now armed with two very cheap umbrellas. Victoria’s pink. Mine purple (nice).

Norwegians love American cars.

The “Wine Monopoly” (a leftover from prohibition days of long ago) means the sale of alcohol in Norway is still tightly controlled by the government. Consumers go to “Vinmonopoly” stores, a privately held, publicly controlled company, to get all of their alcohol. It is very expensive and we found the wine selection less than desired. Cheap bottle of wine costs $15. 6 pack of Heineken will set you back $25.

Fish, fish and more fish. Victoria can have boiled salmon, grilled salmon, salmon lox, and more.

Pretzel bread. What a concept! It’s even an option for sandwiches. Yum!

Remember Pippi Longstocking? Well, she is Pippi Longstrompe here and there are dolls, books, and a play for her. We also caught the old Pippi series on television. Go Pippi Longstrompe!!!

The Norwegians have a thing with Trolls. Still figuring it out, but there are Troll statues, dolls, cards, posters, and more all over the place. Will do some investigating on this and report back later.