Thank goodness the package my parents sent me, which included my winter coat, arrived before I went to Norway. It was very cold there! The trip there was very long. We took an overnight bus from Granada to Madrid (5 hours) and then flew from Madrid to Oslo. We were able to exchange our Euros into NOKS when we arrived. 1 Euro is approximately 8 Norwegian Kroner (NOK). We thought Norway was off to a great start when I found this giant tiger in the square near the bus station! We were mistaken...
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| Rajah! :) |
By the time we wandered around and found our hostel, my friend Elise mentioned she saw a change in the excellent reviews we had read about the hostel. Apparently within the last two days people had posted concerns about bed bugs on our hostel review site. I wish I had a picture of our faces as we opened the door to our hostel rooms. Nothing looked clean and we were afraid to even touch the furniture. We all agreed to take the loss on our down payment and go find another place to stay. This whole process could have been tedious but we were lucky enough to turn the corner, find another hostel, inspect the rooms and settle in! We agreed it was probably the best decision we had made abroad. Nothing is better than sleeping in a clean and comfortable bed. :)
After we were settled we headed off to find food. We were desperate! I am very used to seeing street performers in all kinds of crazy costumes hoping to make a few euros. A popular choice is to spray yourself all one color and pose as a statue. Some are decent, but this is the best I have every seen!!
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| Actually thought this was a real statue |
We found food but shortly realized why Oslo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. After I finished my meal I washed my hands. Then Elise offered us her last chicken wing. I didn't want to get my hands all dirty again, but I really wanted a chicken wing... What was a girl to do? Good thing I have found such great friends in Granada! :)
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| Molly feeding me a chicken wing :) haha |
The one thing we were most excited about Oslo was the Ice Bar. Yes, it is exactly how it sounds, a bar made of ice. They are only in a few cities around the world. You have to where lots of warm clothes, they supply you with a cloak and you are only allowed to stay inside for like 45 minutes. Little did we know, the ice bar is actually remodeled two weeks out of the year in order to redecorate and create a new theme. Sadly, we happened to visit Norway right in the middle of those two weeks. When the man working gave us the news, I don't think we could have been any more disappointed. We were able to laugh (a lot) about it later though. :)
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| The outfit I could have worn |
The guy was able to suggest a bar where we could try a bunch of Norwegian beers so we headed off. By this time the sun was going down and we started to get pretty chilly.
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| Hoods up! |
The menu they handed us pretty much meant nothing. None of us were beer experts so we just decided to all choice 5 random and different beers so we could try each others. Mine was called Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood. I don't know why I was surprised when it legitimately tasted and smelled like firewood...
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| Molly, Me, Susan, Chelsea and Alex |
The next morning we had a pretty early start so we could catch a boat leaving for an island with a few museums we wanted to see. Of course I had to stop and take a picture of my Dad's favorite Addam's Family character.
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| Thing |
We got to the boarding dock a little early just to be safe. Unfortunately, I got back to excited to go take a picture at the end of the dock. Apparently there was a little black ice because all of a sudden I was flat on my back! Although a little painful, the tears were a combination of the cold wind and how hard I was laughing. :) We actually never saw the boat arrive because we were waiting on the wrong side with a small building blocking our view. Luckily, one of the tour guides circled the dock before taking off and we were able to hop on. The boat tour was appropriately named, "Hop-on, hop-off."
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| Freezing on a boat tour of the fjords |
We visited a ton of boat/viking museums that morning. A lot of interesting stuff... but we mostly just had fun taking weird pictures. We were able to go on, in, around and above the FRAM - ship used to sail the Arctic and Anarctic regions. Supposedly the FRAM has sailed further north and further south than any other wooden boat.
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| Captain Kelsey |
When we got back to the main part of the city stood on the dock trying to decide what to do next. My friend Molly saw a sign and exclaimed, "Look!! It says 'LAUGHTER,' let's go there!" I quickly glanced in the direction she was running off in and I yelled towards her, "Molly, that says 'SLAUGHTER!' " I don't think I have ever seen a more disappointed face. We all of course could not stop laughing. And we still are not totally sure why that sign was there. There was some sort of music radio broadcast going on, but the sign was directly in front of the Nobel Peace Center!
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| "Let's go there!" |
Once we figured out the bus/train system we were able to go up to the Olympic ski jump. We were not allowed to go very closed because the jump is under construction for the 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships. Since the jump itself is located on a large hill, we were able to get a great view of the whole city.
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| Easy as pie :) |
Next was my absolute favorite part of the trip. Vigeland Sculpture Park contains over 200 sculptures designed by Gustav Vigeland. I enjoy studying and learning to appreciate art, but imitating nude sculptures in funny positions is way more fun. :)
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| Angry Baby by Kelsey and Chelsea |
We couldn't do this one without laughing.
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| Intense Gaze (with flat foreheads) by Kelsey and Molly |
The park itself was absolutely gorgeous - especially this time of year with the leaves changing colors.
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| Being normal for once in Vigeland Park |
On the last morning, Susan, Elise and I got up earlier than every else so we could see the Nobel Peace Center and City Hall - where the prize is given every year on December 10th. The center had a very modern of the South African Nobel Peace Prize laureates called Strengths and Convictions. After that we were shopping (mostly trying on and not buying) for winter hats and gloves, when we got a call from Chelsea, Molly and Alex saying the only bus that would get us to the airport in time was leaving in less than 5 minutes. We took of sprinting for the bus/train station (they were connected and both had buses) but failed miserably. We were exhausted and extremely anxious because we thought we were going to miss our flight. However, after we checked the bus schedules we found out that there was a bus specifically for people taking our exact flight to Madrid. We had another 1.5 hours before it left. Feeling extremely relieved, we decided to reward ourselves with McDonald's. :) I have still never had a Big Mac in America, but I have tried it in China and now Norway. Good thing I am so cultured now! :)
