Oslo

We arrived safely in Oslo. We boarded a train at the central station but started leaving the wrong way. It turns out we had boarded the wrong train. We arrived at the next stop and got off in the few inches of freshly fallen snow that was still falling. We dragged our bags up a ramp, over a bridge, and down another ramp to board the train. The sky made it look like it was midnight but it was only 6 pm. After being confused by the northern latitudes we enjoyed the rest of our train ride. At the station, we called a taxi that pulled up and said “No you have too much luggage”. We decided to take the tram to our apartment. We arrived late at night and had some great frozen Swedish Meatballs for dinner before going to bed

This morning we all slept in because of our late night. When we got going we took the tram downtown and went to the Christmas market by the Parliament building. We walked up to the front gate and found that there was a small cart that was giving out free Coke. We walked up and they gave us each a free mini can! It made us laugh really hard. We wandered the market trying all the free samples of meat, cheese, marzipan and more. We had a small bag of candied nuts that were very good. We saw two singing and talking moose heads that we think drank a bit too much Gluwine. Then I went ice skating in my boots on a fountain that I had played in in the summer. I had a great time until I fell and badly hurt my wrist. We left the market after a meal of hot dogs (still with the long meat short bun Norway) and pork chips which are bacon that is deep friend. We went back to the Oslo Opera House having been there in the summer and hiked up. We saw boat saunas which are boats with saunas in them. When you are very hot you go out and jump in the ocean. It looked very cold. We went back to the apartment because my hand was really hurting. We thought it might be broken but fortunately, it is just sprained.

Today we went to the Christmas market at the Norwegian folk museum. When we got there we started exploring immediately. First, we saw a stave church built in 1200. It was really cold so we moved on to a hut with a bunch of people singing we sat and listening for a few. After one of the songs, they started coming around asking for donations in exchange for what looked like a handful of popsicle sticks. We decided it was a good time to leave. We went outside and had a sort of holiday pancake They were really good. Then we went into another building to see a lady using a sort of mechanical weaver to make pieces of knitting. She let us try and keep the small piece we made. We then went outside and were puzzled by the fact that in Norway Santa has a spoon. We continued on and watched a traditional folk dancing group. They were really good. A couple kids (probably 10 -13 year olds) had been hired to be troublemakers. They would run around throwing snowballs and pulling peoples hats down. After the show, we continued to walk and got some traditional Lefse. It is so good and even more so when it is warm. We next went to the candle shop where we watched them color the candles in different colored wax. We walked on to the old Pharmacy but didn’t stay long before moving on. We walked on and saw more of the amazing Christmas crafts. Everything from cheese and sausage to holly and pine wreaths. We were getting tired and cold as the sun was setting and so we got on a bus and rode it to near the opera house to finish watching the sunset with brilliant colors over the harbor. We were now getting really cold so we went home for hot tea by the heater.

Today we explored Oslo. We tried to go see our old family farm but the trains were messed up so we could not make it. We went and took the train to Sandefjord with our friend Asle. For dinner we had Grot but you must read my next blog to find out what that is!