Ha det bra, Oslo!

Our last photo in Oslo...


We did not get to bed until close to 4 in the morning and woke up at 7. We ate our last free delicious breakfast at Kaffistova, checked out of the hotel and began our last walk up Karl Johans gate to Oslo's Central Station. Our flights back were not bad at all, but a couple of sleep aides, wine and jack and cokes will help out any day. I almost peed my pants when I saw Espen at the end of the terminal. Jeremy and I both grabbed for him and smothered him with hugs and kisses. We saw Alec Baldwin at the baggage claim. I made eye contact with him and made a little gesture like I was taking his picture, he nodded yes and pointed outside. He then walked up to me, my mom and epen and asked if this was my son and when i told him yes, he said he was the cutest kid in the world. He asked what Espen's name was and said hello to him...he was very very nice! He said he would take a picture with us outside where it's less crowded after he finds his bag that was lost...but alas, he left before we got a chance to grab him. I told my mom, he may think his own daughter is a snot nosed pig but he thinks Espen is cute. hahah!

As for our vacation, I think it was the most fun i have ever had! Oslo was an amazing city with the perfect combination of that big city feeling and small town charm. There was so much stuff for us to do and so many things to explore. The girls were fantastic, the beers were expensive, the streets were confusing, the public transit system is perfect, the kebabs were plentiful, the 7-11's and McDonalds had great looking people working the cash registers, the Russ kids were hilarious, Vidar was an amazing tour guide, the Jugend were tons of fun, the 17th of may was incredible, the babies in buggies were the cutest, the sleeper car from Bergen was heavenly, Jeremy was the BEST traveling companion a girl could ask for, the Best Western Bondeheimen was like a hotel in Ikea, Karl Johans gate was always bustling exept for at 8am on a Sunday when there was maybe 2 or 3 people out, the Sun that never set was indescribable, the weather was all over the place, forrests were green and lush and peaceful, the kids hollaring at 4 am almost everynight after the bars closed down were annoying and funny at the same time. I can't wait to go back. I can't wait to see this city in the winter, I can't wait to take Espen to this peaceful, busy, laid back, clean, beautiful, old mixed with new, all around good time city!

Thank you to Vidar for all of your gracious hospitality, to the Jugends for coming out for our last night in town, to the boy who sold me a $160 flat iron, and to everyone else that we met, even the cab driver who charged us $20 to go a block and a half to our hotel our first day in town.

It's been fun!

Our Last Full Day

I know these aren't the best photos, they are on the blurry side. But you get the point!

Duke of Puke, Jeremy, Me

He-Man, Jeremy, Me

Duke of Puke

Vidar, Jeremy, Heidi's Jacket

Jeremy and Vidar

My hot dog stand man in the background

My Last Meal. YUM!

Saturday was our last full day in Oslo. We woke up early, had some free breakfast at Kaffistova and headed back up to bed. We finally woke up around 9 or so...it was a nice lazy day. Jeremy went out record shopping again, I stayed behind to update the blog, drink cappuccinos and sit in bed and watch tv. At 1 or 2 we decided to take a train to Kolboton to find Pamparius Pizza but the train to Kolboton only ran every hour so we decided we'll save that for our next trip. ; ) We were in the mood for pizza still so we headed out of the central station, down Karl Johans and stopped off at Pepe's Pizza. We finished off our $40, medium sized pizza and went back to the Hotel for one last nap. Jeremy had posted on the Turbojugend message board that we would be at Elm Street at 8 and that people should come hang out. Apparently 8pm is early to go out, since beers are around $8 most people drink at their homes before they finally head out around 11pm. We got to Elm Street and were greeted by Stian aka Mike Love aka Herman aka He-man and his two friends, one girls name I cannot pronounce so I won't attempt to spell it and the other girls name, if I remember correctly was Ann Marie...we met quite a few people and unless your name was Vidar or the Duke of Puke, chances are I won't remember your name. We also met a young man named Lars, and although he was not into Turbonegro he and Jeremy still had tons to talk about regarding other bands. The bar started to get pretty crowded as the night went on and by the time the other Jugend members arrived the bar was at capacity so we left and headed to the Rock In. By the way, I sat by the door at Elm Street and watched everyone come in and I must say that nearly every girl I saw in there was absolutely adorable. I just had to mention it.
On our way to the Rock In we walked up with Alan aka the Duke of Puke, who was very loud, very drunk and very funny! Once we got to the Rock In we met Heidi and Twin-Tubo who are in Turbojugend Oslo and yet another Vidar from some city I can't remember but I do know one thing, he was Jeremy's long lost twin. I was dead tired, and my mind was all ready home with Espen so I just wanted to get the heck back to our hotel, pack and go to sleep. So around 2 when we left. We stopped off for our last meal at my favorite hot dog stand. I ordered my usual, et pølse and pommes frite with hamburger dressing, Jeremy had a couple of hot dogs and that was it. We walked back to our hotel for the last time...it was very sad.

Rest and Relaxation

We spent the majority of the last 2 days in Oslo relaxing at the hotel, watching Dawsons Creek and Norwegian News programs. We did take a long walk to visit the Munch Museum. We saw a rad exhibit on Egon Schiele. If you have not heard of him look him up. And if you think he looks like Matt Hibbard you are not alone. Jeremy and I thought he could be Matt's twin. When we were done with the Munch Museum we were pretty hungry but did not want to pay museum prices for food. On our way up to find the museum we walked by store after store that sold Kebab so we figured we would head towards the record store that Jeremy wanted to go to and find something on the way. That did not happen. We did not see a single place to eat. So we passed the record store, turned the corner and walked another block or 2. Finally on either side of the street there was a tiny grocery type store that had take out kebab or there was a sit down place on the other side. It was raining at the time so we decided to head into the sit down restaurant. Okay, fish out of water does not even begin to describe how I felt in this restaurant. There were at least 40 people in there...all men, all muslims. I was THE only girl in their and when I first walked in you could hear the change in their voices. I even asked Jeremy if he thought I was allowed in there. In the end the service was great, the food was fantastic and the men there minded there business, they were too busy enjoying their cappuccinos to care about some tourists. After lunch we headed back to the record store, thumbing through metal records is not really my thing, I know, shocking, so I grabbed our little map of Oslo from Jeremy and attempted to get back to the Hotel on my own. Off I went, I took a left on Jens Bjelkes and then a right on Trondheimsvein till I found the bus stop I thought I was looking for. I felt confident that I knew what I was doing till I decided to check with this model chick who spoke only a bit of English. She confused me so I left the bus station and took a right at the next street I came to, Thorvald Meyers Gate and saw a tiny tram stop. I knew we had taken the 11 tram before and it was the next up at that stop so, without paying, I jumped on, crossed my fingers and headed down the street. After passing a few streets that I couldn't pronounce to save my life I saw the stop at Brugata. That name rang a bell and I was starting to feel bad about not paying so I jumped off and decided to hoof it the rest of the way. Oslo seems like a big city but really you can walk anywhere in what seems like less than 30 minutes. Things started to look familar again, I found my way home!
After a nap at the hotel, jeremy was back and we headed out to Vidar's again. We spent the rest of the evening there drinking some beers, eating all of his Chilinotter (DELISH!!) took a break and ran to Narvesen for Hot Dogs and then back to Vidar's. We called it a night around 12:30, jumped on the sub, got off a stop early so that we could walk the rest of the way and people watch, then off to bed.

Russ 2007!

In Bergen, asking for Russ Cards!

Some Russ Cards I got!







Some Russies in the Park on 17 Mai





Up to no good!

So in the US, or at least in AZ we got, what, Prom night, Senior Breakfast, Graduation and a school sponsored Grad Night Party. Well compared to Norwegians we must be BORING! These kids in Oslo have been making the entire last month of school a party. The tradition started in the 1940's, I think. The outfits the students wore to set them apart included little red caps and red colored clothing. As the years went on the outfits went from dressed up clothing to red slacks to overalls. When I first saw these kids running around town I thought they were part of a high school ski team or involved in some sort of sport. When Jeremy and I saw a little girl run up to one of the kids in the overalls and get a little trading card I thought maybe they were professional or semi professional athletes. We asked Vidar what the heck was up with these kids and he explained to us that they were graduating seniors. The cards they hand out are called Russ cards and when I was feeling confident enough I would ask for one. The kids peer pressure each other to do random stunts around the city. We saw some girls in Bergen walk on their hands and knees while one girl pushed a tricycle. According to Vidar's daughter Vilde, each time that they finish a stunt they get to tie little knots in their caps. If a kid drank a set amount of beers in a certain amount of time they would tie a bottle cap on their cap to signify that they completed the drinking stunt. Certain schools have certain stunts as well. Like, kids from a certain school would have to run through taxis at stop lights or even walking naked with just their shoes and cap on from one part of the city to another. These Russ kids were running around town all day and night having a good time. They were in the bars at night and driving their Russ Buss (Roose Boose) around. The first night here we saw a party buss drive by with kids on it drinking and playing super loud music. Vilde told us that the students work for 2 or 3 years leading up to graduation and pitch in and by these busses! The rich kids parents help out too hence the Tour Busses with fancy paint jobs and even fancier sound systems. Hmmmm, what am I leaving out. These kids camp out in the middle of Norway, park their Russ Buss and party all night long. It's amazing. I want to be a Russ, or I at least want Espen to be a Russ, even if it is in the U.S.

17 Mai

Goodnight, from Oslo!

Can you spot me in this photo? There are some Russ kids too!

Adorable little girls!

Jeremy + Me + Palace

Me, near the Palace, looking back down Karl Johans Gate

Jeremy, near the Palace, looking back down Karl Johans Gate

A view over looking just one of the many streets filled with people

A crowd of people gathered around to listen to a men's choir perform

A view of Karl Johans Gate, the parade was to the left of the photo, the Palace is straight ahead

A fun site to see on Mai 17, people dressed in traditional Bunad, people dressed in their everyday clothes and of course, someone eating ice cream

Another one of my favorite sites to see, the children that were dressed up really were too cute for words!

Can you find me in this picture?

You can see the King and Queen at the Palace in this photo

Holy Moly! What a day. I had seen a ton of pictures of Oslo on the 17th of Mai but to be here and experience was amazing. We finally left the hotel around noon and headed over to Karl Johhans Gate to watch the childrens parade. This is the largest Constitution Day Parade in Norway, 100 schools participate and 100,000 people attend the all day events! All the schools march up the street till they reach the palace where the King and Queen wave hello to them then they loop around and head to the City Hall Square. We got stuck in the crowd of people walking up the sidewalk towards the palace so we ducked back a couple of streets and headed up a back way. Everywhere you look there are people of all ages dress up. They were dressed up in traditional Bunad costumes or dressed up like it was a Saturday night and the Graduating students, the Russ, of course were running around in there red and blue overalls. The view from the palace was crazy, people crowded Karl Johans Gate and then just spread through out the city like ants that got off of their trail. We tried to get some good pictures that could capture how impressive it was. We headed away from from the main street and ended up at an Italian restaurant that became PACKED right after we were seated. After some delicious pasta, pizza, espresso and beer we were off. I was a little bummend out because the whole time we have been here I have been obsessed with the graduating students here. They are called Russ and they are amazingly funny! On the 1st of May, to start the celebration of finally finishing years and years of school, they throw on Red...Blue...and sometimes black overalls and start right in with the hi-jinx. They were supposed to of had a parade but we either could not find it or they did not have it, I was very sad. : ( We walked around town for a bit and just people watched. To say there were people everywhere just doesn't really explain what was going on around Oslo. We stopped in at Elm Street and had a beer, it was pretty quite in their, which was nice. We were feeling a bit tired from lunch so we went back to the hotel for a nap and by the time we went out later there were still people dressed in their Bunad and still eating ice cream, drinking and eating hot dogs. We were on the hunt for cheap hot dogs so we headed towards Aker Brygge. The street performers were out in full force. There was a man signing Johnny Cash playing a guitar, there was a girl with a terrible voice playing some tiny guitar with a crappy little amp and then there was just a man, holding a Norwegian flag, singing acappella, belting out traditional Norwegians songs. FUN! There were no cheap hot dogs at Aker Brygge so we made our way back to Karl Johans to find my favorite hot dog stand that has yummy hamburger dressing for their french fries. We sat outside and finished our delicious dinner and decided to call it a night. Unfortunately we were the only ones who felt that way...there were drunk people on the street below till at least 4:30am. Once again I have to compare Oslo to either Disney Land or a land of Magic. This time it's becuase, well, one, the outfits we saw. Everyone was in character although to them it really meant something...the other reason is because how filthy the city became on the 17th from all the silly string, candy wrappers, and garbage all around, but the city workers worked through out the night and the next morning the city was spotless again. Hooray for the 17th of May!

Holmenkollen Day

Holmenkollen behind us!

A view of the ski jump looking down from the top

A view of Oslo from the top of the ski jump

Jeremy at Holmenkollen Ski Jump

Me in front of Holmenkollen Ski Jump


Me contemplating the leap up!

After the hoist!

Jeremy nestled in with the Trolls.

Me with a Stave Church

Climbing back down the steps in Holmenkollen

Pretty Flowers!

Dinner at Vidar's

After some beers at Vidar's

On Wednesday we traveled about 20 minutes away from our hotel to see the Holmenkollen Ski Jump where they held the Winter Olympic games in 1952. You can see the ski jump from all over the city and it is quite a site to see. They have a museum at the base of the jump and once you reach the end of the exhibit you stop at an elevator. This elevator takes you about 3/4 of the way up and then you must climb steep steps the rest of the way to the top. Once at the top you get another spectacular view of Oslo. You could feel the ski jump sway a bit every time a gust of wind came too, scary...and it didn't help my case of vertigo that i have been dealing with this entire trip. (That is a story in itself) Once we were done at the jump we did something that I love to do in Oslo...wander around...we took a left and found another old church and then walked across a street to this hilarious Troll statue! It's huge and sits across the way from the ski jump, the two trolls watch the ski jump from the forrest, so cute, so Norwegian! I wanted to jump up on the statue to take a picture but it was too high and too smooth so there was no traction for my shoes. Jeremy had to hoist me up and half way up I thought I would slide right off into the rocks, but I managed to do it! We had a dinner date with Vidar at 6:30 so we hopped on the tram back to our hotel with a quick detour to the National Gallery where we saw Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' and other amazing paintings! We did the usual, back to the hotel for a nap, woke up late, got to Vidar's house around 7pm and settled in for the evening. Vidar made us Bacalao! It was fantastic! We will defintitely be making that for dinner soon. Vidar's 15 year old daughter Vilde was with us through dinner. She was adorable. She had tons of great stories about the graduating students called "Russ" and teenage life in Oslo. Once dinner was over Vidar played DJ and put on record after record of groovy old 60's rock/garage bands! We stayed until 2 a.m. it was perfect. We took a cab back to the hotel and then grabbed some kebab at a super busy kebab shop up the street. Ate, saw that the sun was starting to creep up and decided to hit the hay.

P.s. I am really homesick for Espen... : (

Shamalamalam

I can't tell if this is a frozen pizza commercial or a music video. I hear this song at least 8 times a day, it's catchy!