We're In Norway!

Wow! We've got four days here in Oslo, and it's not enough! This place is beautiful. But first, the journey here. The husband and I slept a hair over 3 hours on the flight out of the 'Middle East' into Amsterdam. We couldn't sleep the rest of it, so we enjoyed the in flight movies. The munchkins slept a good bit longer.

We landed hungry and tired in Amsterdam. The restaurants were not open in the airport when we landed, so the husband and I made an attempt to teach the kids how to sleep in an airport across the seats by wedging one's self in under the armrests. The kids, however, seemed happier with their video games. The husband and I got almost an hour of sleep. Uncle B - it was WAY more comfortable than the floor in Moscow was!

The flight from Amsterdam to Kristiansand, Norway was short and easy. The view out the window flying towards the Norwegian coast was spectacular. The husband had to make a brief stop in Kristiansand to do some work/business. With the business complete, we headed for the train station. We had about 3 hours to blow before our train, so we loaded ALL the luggage minus the laptops into train station lockers and went walking downtown. It's cute town - reminded me of Estes Park, Colorado but a bit grittier. The husband knew of a lovely pizza place where we ordered pizza absolutely loaded with various 'pork products.' Yummy!

We boarded the train and watched scenery, too spectacular for words, for about an hour. Once it got dark, we all totally crashed out. Sleeping on the train was much easier than sleeping on the airplanes.

Once in Oslo, we had a 5 block walk to our hotel from the train stop. Nobody seemed to think it was odd to see a family pulling luggage and loaded with backpacks walking through the theater district. Very nice hotel. The breakfast this morning was yummers; the buffet was loaded with pork products. Smile. And, true to Norway, loads of whole grain breads, fresh fruits, and cheeses.

Today we went to the 'Natural History Museum' which is actually several decent sized buildings in a lovely park (see the snap above). The Museum is part of/run by the University of Oslo. The museum was really nice, but we spent more time just running around in the park and sitting in the grass. At one point, we all got on our hands and knees, put our noses to grass and smelled deeply. Glorious. We also had WAY too much fun with a teeter totter/seesaw that we came across.

As we've roamed around so far, we have used the subway system here. Fairly easy going, but not as clean as some I've seen. People here walk, use the subway, and ride bikes. Outside each subway station is a large bike rack filled to capacity with bicycles. Roaming around this city reminds me of roaming Moscow.

Tonight we walked the approximately 10 blocks from our hotel down to the waterfront. Most of the restaurants were pricey and inside seating was not available. The outside seating offered heat lamps and blankets while you ate. Really different. We walked a touch off the beaten path and found a really local pizza place where our whole meal was the price of one plate at the waterfront.

Food here, even in the grocery stores, is really expensive. At the grocery tonight, I bought 4 large rolls, the husband grabbed a small package of local cookies/biscuits, and the bill came to 50 kroners which is around $8 U.S. There appears to be a 25% tax on restaurant food, and there may be tax on groceries as well. This is not a cheap place. But, it is a glorious place to roam around especially with all the parks, grass and trees. Yippeee! Our 'toast' tonight at dinner was, "Thank God for places without sand." We enjoy the middle east, but it is lovely to see trees and grass in abundance again.

I almost forgot the funniest bit: twice today we were stopped by people asking us for directions! They thought we were locals! It is lovely to be able to blend in so well.

A special note for "Twisti": Please note the hanging thing on my backpack. Look familiar? Love ya!