Scandinavian Adventure Part II: Do you know the way to Norway?

Not an actual Norwegian

            When last we left our thrilling narrative my family and I had arrived in Norway. If you recall this was a big plus after being in Iceland, which isn’t very icy (in July anyway). Walking around the Oslo airport it was very obvious we were in a different country, because the signs were in at least 3, if not 4, different languages. One thing we were certain of, there was construction going on. Turns out that in every country summer is construction season, and Norway was using it to overhaul their train station. So instead of taking a train the whole way we also had to go by bus.

Peacock Fountain...IN NORWAY!

            Once we got off our plain/train/bus/Pegasus we were at Johannsgate. Which is not pronounced like door kind of gate (by the way), but it means street so, there you go. My sister Kari was our guide because she had been to Norway before and spoke some of the language. Somehow we all decided that since Kari had been to Norway before, she knew everything about every town and would be able to intrinsically lead us wherever we needed to go. Leading the pack of rouge Americans Kari brought us to our very Norwegian hotel, the Best Western. Toting our luggage behind us we travelled up hill and down, past old stone buildings, Game Stop, and the occasional store with a very Norwegian name that sounded funny when you said it aloud. Being the very vocal clan that we are, we voiced our displeasure at being forced to walk such a long way. Which in hindsight wasn’t too far, but we had been travelling for a good 24 hours at this point and our luggage was heavy.

            We reached the hotel and made use of the elevator, which was really tiny. I am assuming it is so small because Europeans prefer to take the stairs, which is why they can get away with wearing such skinny jeans…because they are skinny, and European. At any rate we opened the door to our hotel room and I was astounded at how high the ceilings were, and how big the window was, and how efficient the bathroom looked. The shower was AMAZING! It sat in the corner with a glass door that opened inward, and it didn’t have its own shower floor, it was just the regular floor, but inside the shower. The toilet had two buttons you could push to flush, one for a large amount of water, and one for a small amount of water. Oh, and you had to go up two small steps to get into the bathroom, which made it cooler for some reason. Even though we were all tired, it was mid-morning and time to hit the town.

A dress made entirely of Freia  wrappers!

            Right next to our hotel was a convenience store called Deli de Luca. Armed with Norwegian kroner and an American appetite we stormed the aisles. Kari was pointing out the candy and food she had previously enjoyed, as we tried to decipher some of the Norwegian. After finally selecting some sandwiches, sparkling juice, and Norwegian chocolate we sat down to enjoy the spread. Biting into my sandwich I swear I heard an angelic chorus. The fresh baked bread caressed my senses as the meat and cheese followed in a tasty duet. Taking a sip of my juice I was surprised by how tart it was, and it was the most pleasant surprise. The lack of sugar was a real treat, but the best treat was the Norwegian candy. Freia is the best brand of candy in the whole world. The world of pure imagination would’ve been so much better if it had happened in, Charlie and the Freia Factory.

Capturing the art

            After the most amazing foreign lunch I had ever had (my first trip out of the country, so it was my only foreign lunch thus far), we set out for a place called Vigeland’s park. The entire park is comprised of statues made by one man, and since it was Europe they were all naked statues. Don’t let that worry you, some of them were really funny, others were thoughtful, and some were just…interesting. Kari and I posed in front of a statue and mimicked what it was doing. Then we made our way up to the huge tower of naked people. My dad and sisters stayed there while my mom and I journeyed to the “Circle of Life”. Sadly, Simba wasn’t there, but it was still very cool. After climbing more steps than Rocky, my mom and I made our way back to the entrance where we assumed we would find the rest of the family. We didn’t find them there, and after walking and searching and cursing the lack of cell phones we somehow found each other. It wasn’t so much a joyous reunion as it was tired Americans feeling out of their element, and then getting mad at each other for not being where we were supposed to be.

Tower...OF LIFE!

            Once we finished at the park of naked statues, it was time to head on over to the pier. From the pier we could see mountains, which was super awesome because I live in Moorhead, where the highest point is a very puny man-made hill. Trees completely covered the mountains in a massive clump of green. Ships bobbed in the harbor, flying Norwegian flags from their masts. Kari pointed out that there was a WWII fortress that we could visit. After more complaints about the extreme uphill climb, we got to see an amazing view of the harbor in Oslo. Once we had our fill we traveled back to Johannsgate where we saw the parliament building, as well as the King and Queen’s palace. We went back to Deli de Luca and had gelato (yes, I realize that is an Italian ice cream) to celebrate our first day in Norway.

COMING SOON! Scandinavian Adventure Part III: Norway, Origin of “Uphill both Ways”