...trust me - its quite an interesting experience....
The weekend started early Friday morning when Katja and I met up with Christoffer, Ulrike at BI and were soon met by Karin and Nina who had gone and picked up our rental car. We loaded up the car and set off for Western Norway. The loading itself was an interesting operation - 6 people in a 7 passengar car - apparenlty 7 very short and skinny passengers, but luckily we had a ski compartment on the luggage rack and we were able to put all our bags and stuff up there. Nina was first to drive and Christoffer navigated...and 45 minutes later, we had successfully left Oslo, and had returned again...but we were able to figure out where we went wrong and then we set off again. Once we got out of the Oslo area, we really got to see "true" Norwegian countryside - mountains, wild animals, snow, and just wide-open space.
We pulled off the road for lunch, which we had packed and brought from Oslo. THIS was the first ADVENTURE of the trip! First off, there are 6 of us, 2 loaves of bread, a block of cheese, orange juice, and COLD hot dogs (I don't care if they Europeans call them sausages- they were HOT DOGs!)
After lunch we drove and drove and drove until we got to Geiranger, which is in a valley accessible only by very steep and windy roads, and found our cabin *pretty* easily (just right down the hill!). While we were getting settled, Christoffer and I roamed around the cabin (hytter) area and took some pictures but it started raining so we went back in and helped with dinner. After dinner (spaghetti- nothing too out of the ordinary for me!) we sat around talking, drinking boxed wine and eating ice cream.
Early Saturday morning we decided a *hike* would be a good idea. Let me just say something about this- Europeans and I have a DIFFERENT idea on what a *hike* is! First off, I REALLY need to figure out exactly how far a kilometer is! "Oh, it's just a few kilometers..." And it was cold, and it was rainy, it was steep, and we were using spray painted rocks as our guide posts! Many times during the hike the only thought that crossed my mind was that I'd better see a damn cool waterfall at the end of this! And, well, I didn't! And when we got to the end, I was SO convinced that I should be at the foot of a beautiful waterfall that I left the group and walked into the woods to find something! I did find a small little, peaceful waterfall, and thought this would be a good spot for Dad :) Then it was time to walk back to the cabin, this time the hike felt shorter and less dangerous- no one tripped and fell that I know of going back.
After checking out of the cabin we went down into the center of the town - to the 4 touristy shops. Katja and Christoffer found a coffee shop and we all migrated towards it. After everyone enjoyed their hot beverages (Nina and Karin found hot - actually semi-warm- chocolate), we piled into the car and drove up the twisty road to an overlook of the fjord for some pictures. But this apparently wasn't the focal point Karin had read about so we decided to go even further up the road, but being with Europeans, we walked! (Forcing me to rename the "Oslo Diet" to the "Norway Diet"!) The view was worth the uphill climb and I took MANY pictures!
Next we drove back into Geiranger and caught our ferry/fjord cruise. We saw many beautiful waterfalls (including the one we DIDN'T see that morning!), cliffs and old farms. Then it got too cold and too windy to sit out of top (when the chairs started flying we took it as a hint to move inside). We sat inside next to the heaters only to warm up a little then it was time to pile back into the car and drive again. Soon we found ourselves waiting for yet another ferry, this time only a 15 minute ride, and then we came to then driving again, and waiting for TWO more ferries!
In between the driving and the waiting for ferries, we did come across Trollstigen; one of the most visited attractions in Norway - also known as a "very steep and windy road". The mountains which encircle the Trollstigen road are enormous. The Stigfossen waterfall gushes down the mountainside towards the luscious Isterdalen valley. In the middle of all this, Trollstigen road winds it's way up the mountainside... We hopped out of the car to take pictures and to switch drivers...a 10% grade road with hairpin turns? Sounds like a job for our resident Swiss driver!
Several hours later, we finally made it to Krisitansund. Found our hotel *fairly* easily, had some dinner and then it was bed time for us all. After our complimentary breakfast, we wandered around the city for a bit, but on a Sunday, during the off season, it was boring and dead. So we piled back into the car and started yet another long day of driving...
We drove along the scenic roads on our way to Geiranger and decided to take the *highway* back to Oslo. Problem is- even the highway had a speed limit of 90 km (56 mph)- so it was VERY slow! Felt bad for Nina and Uli due to them being Germans and accustomed to autobahn driving!
We stopped for a few minutes in Lillehammer just to stretch our legs and see the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. Then it was back in the car for the remainder of the journey to Oslo. We arrived back at the Europcar place around 10ish and after orientating ourselves we found the subway and went home.
It was a LONG, fun, exciting, enjoyable, funny, adventurous, tiring, educational journey across Norway. Made all the better by the wonderful group of friends I had with me!
Be sure to check out my photo gallery for pictures from the trip!
10.9.06
Exactly HOW MANY classes did I sign up for?
I barely made it back from Gøteborg in time for my Norwegian class. Since I'll be living in Oslo for the next few months and I would like to avoid situations where I'm not sure what I'm eating or where I'm going, I thought it would be helpful to take a Norwegian Language course. After my first class on Monday, I did not think it was "helpful". First off, in a class of 40 people, 38 are from Germanic speaking countries, one guy from the UK, and me. Its going to be a challenge for me - luckily I have some experience with German, but nothing in comparison...
Bright and early Tuesday morning I had Corporate Responsibility. I like Tuesdays, I'm done with school by 11 am so I have the whole rest of the day free to do whatever I want. Since Tuesday was a beautiful day I decided on a walk and Christoffer needed to train for his running so we decided to exercise together. Since he runs and I just walk, I told him to go ahead and we'd meet at the "lake". His definition of a lake and mine are completely different...and we had some differences in how far away the lake was - he was thinking km, I was thinking miles. So needless to say when I got to the "lake" I didn't think I had gone far enough so I kept walking, and got lost, so I had to keep walking. About an hour later I finally found Christoffer - looking for me! Oh well- it was nice outside and the walk was good :) After the walk, I met with my friends to finalize our weekend plans for Geiranger.
Wednesday, I woke up SORE - too much walking on Tuesday! I didn't have to get up too early, class stated at 11 am; The International Firm. The teacher was pretty funny- she actually quoted Friends! This is my kind of class! Then I went shopping with Katja downtown so she could buy a jacket for our trip, then back to school for my second Norwegian class. This one was much better- I wouldn't say "good" but better.
On Thursday I had classes ALL day! Started off early at 8 am: International Business Context and Development. Our teacher was a little off, and again I'm the lone American, but I met a girl from Vancouver :). Immediately following, I had Global Politics at 11 am. This is NOT the class to have and be the lone American! It was actually a pretty decent class- the teacher is British and has so much passion and energy about global political history. I think it'll be a lot of work, but I definitely will learn something! I was supposed to go to Corporate Responsibility in the evening, but I skipped and headed downtown with Karin to see Joseph Nye - an American professor at Harvard, founder of Neoliberalism, who happened to be giving a free speech in Oslo that evening. I guess it was kinda interesting (although I DID fall asleep), but for being a Kerry supporter in 2004, I didn't get that he was a Democrat at all! Karin seemed to enjoy it and even asked a question. I felt he was just too complimentary to current government stances on several hot-button topics. Anyway :) I had to get home to pack for our weekend trip!
I'm looking forward to the weekend, but a little nervous about going on an 8-hour drive with 5 Europeans...Should be a fun and crazy weekend!
Bright and early Tuesday morning I had Corporate Responsibility. I like Tuesdays, I'm done with school by 11 am so I have the whole rest of the day free to do whatever I want. Since Tuesday was a beautiful day I decided on a walk and Christoffer needed to train for his running so we decided to exercise together. Since he runs and I just walk, I told him to go ahead and we'd meet at the "lake". His definition of a lake and mine are completely different...and we had some differences in how far away the lake was - he was thinking km, I was thinking miles. So needless to say when I got to the "lake" I didn't think I had gone far enough so I kept walking, and got lost, so I had to keep walking. About an hour later I finally found Christoffer - looking for me! Oh well- it was nice outside and the walk was good :) After the walk, I met with my friends to finalize our weekend plans for Geiranger.
Wednesday, I woke up SORE - too much walking on Tuesday! I didn't have to get up too early, class stated at 11 am; The International Firm. The teacher was pretty funny- she actually quoted Friends! This is my kind of class! Then I went shopping with Katja downtown so she could buy a jacket for our trip, then back to school for my second Norwegian class. This one was much better- I wouldn't say "good" but better.
On Thursday I had classes ALL day! Started off early at 8 am: International Business Context and Development. Our teacher was a little off, and again I'm the lone American, but I met a girl from Vancouver :). Immediately following, I had Global Politics at 11 am. This is NOT the class to have and be the lone American! It was actually a pretty decent class- the teacher is British and has so much passion and energy about global political history. I think it'll be a lot of work, but I definitely will learn something! I was supposed to go to Corporate Responsibility in the evening, but I skipped and headed downtown with Karin to see Joseph Nye - an American professor at Harvard, founder of Neoliberalism, who happened to be giving a free speech in Oslo that evening. I guess it was kinda interesting (although I DID fall asleep), but for being a Kerry supporter in 2004, I didn't get that he was a Democrat at all! Karin seemed to enjoy it and even asked a question. I felt he was just too complimentary to current government stances on several hot-button topics. Anyway :) I had to get home to pack for our weekend trip!
I'm looking forward to the weekend, but a little nervous about going on an 8-hour drive with 5 Europeans...Should be a fun and crazy weekend!
4.9.06
FINALLY bought myself a Swedish magnet!
As many of you know, I collect magnets - from which every country, state, and even sometimes, city I visit. For some reason, which still escapes me today, I forgot to buy one last year when I was in Stockholm, Sweden. I've been on a mission to return to Sweden since, to buy myself a magnet if for nothing else, and this weekend, I FINALLY got back and promptly purchased several magnets (for myself as well as other magnet collecting friends)! Had a FABULOUS time for such an impromptu trip!
The weekend didn't start off so great, by Thursday night I still didn't know what to do with myself for the weekend. I was thinking about taking the train to Trondheim, but I wouldn't have had enough time to trek out to Fosnes, so I started brainstorming again. I went to bed Thursday night frustrated because I couldn't figure out where to go. On Friday, a friend (Katja- from Finland) called to see if I wanted to go for a picnic in Frogner Park; of course! So we took the t-bane to Majorstuen to meet two other friends (Christoffer - Finland, Karin- Switzerland). On our walk to the park, Katja asked me if I'd figured out what I wanted to do yet, and randomly I blurted out- Gøteburg (Gothenberg), Sweden. Asking if anyone wanted to join me- Christoffer said yes and after our quick picnic lunch, we headed to the train station to check out ticket prices. Because we're students (thank you student id card!) we got a great deal and Christoffer and I were set to go to Sweden when Katja and Karin showed up at the train station, and we were able to convince Katja to come along too.
The three of us left early Saturday morning, and the train took 4 hours. Not a bad ride- Scandinavia is VERY scenic and picturesque. Best part of the train ride? I learned that Finland has a 50+% Swedish speaking population- and both my travel companions are FLUENT - Katja's second language, Christoffer's native language. HORRAY! Unfortunately when we got there, it was raining, but with two Swedish speakers by my side, we found our hostel and the System Bolaget (liquor store) (which was strange cause it was in the MALL!). We purchased some wine and cider and then went for a walk down Kungsportsavenyn (the main avenue), and found the Hard Rock Cafe (for a t-shirt for Nicole) and while I was off buying the shirt, Katja and Christoffer decided this was someplace they wanted to eat. After lunch (which was a really early dinner) we wandered around town and did some shopping. Soon it was dark so we went back to the hostel to get ready to go out for the night. We made it back downtown and as soon as we stepped off the tram, the rain REALLY started to come down. We ran to an overhang (where about 10 other people were) and attempted to figure out where to go next - being the "bold-American" I asked the group of guys under the overhang with us where to go. The bar we ended up at was straight out the 80', but I don't think it was a theme, it just happened by accident. Oh well- we had a blast- hung out with some native Gotheburg-ers(?) and had a great time! Sunday morning Katja and I left a hung-over Christoffer at the hostel, and we went shopping. One of the points I used to convince Katja to come with us was how cheap Sweden is in comparison to Oslo- she'd save money by shopping in Sweden! After a long day in the malls, we returned back to the hostel and met up with Christoffer and went out for dinner and then to a coffee shop and spent the whole evening talking and I learned all sorts of interesting facts about Finland (Finland has a woman president, something about Easter witches, and the true home of Santa Claus; Lapland Finland).
Monday morning we started out early since I had a train to catch at noon - Christoffer and Katja were taking a train at 17, but I had to be back in Oslo by 18 for my first Norwegian Language course. One last stop at a "cheaper" H&M and then back to System Bolaget to grab some supplies for next weekend's fjord trip. :-) It was a fabulous trip with wonderful travel companions - we didn't really see much in Gothenburg- for being Sweden's second largest city, there wasn't much there touristy to see.
Tomorrow its back to school for me. This week I have class on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. LONG week for me, but we're planning on leaving early Friday. Hopefully the week passes quickly and I can get back to traveling! I'll post pictures (link from my website: wheresjill.com) from our trip this last weekend- I'll see if I can get Katja and Christoffer's pictures too!
The weekend didn't start off so great, by Thursday night I still didn't know what to do with myself for the weekend. I was thinking about taking the train to Trondheim, but I wouldn't have had enough time to trek out to Fosnes, so I started brainstorming again. I went to bed Thursday night frustrated because I couldn't figure out where to go. On Friday, a friend (Katja- from Finland) called to see if I wanted to go for a picnic in Frogner Park; of course! So we took the t-bane to Majorstuen to meet two other friends (Christoffer - Finland, Karin- Switzerland). On our walk to the park, Katja asked me if I'd figured out what I wanted to do yet, and randomly I blurted out- Gøteburg (Gothenberg), Sweden. Asking if anyone wanted to join me- Christoffer said yes and after our quick picnic lunch, we headed to the train station to check out ticket prices. Because we're students (thank you student id card!) we got a great deal and Christoffer and I were set to go to Sweden when Katja and Karin showed up at the train station, and we were able to convince Katja to come along too.
The three of us left early Saturday morning, and the train took 4 hours. Not a bad ride- Scandinavia is VERY scenic and picturesque. Best part of the train ride? I learned that Finland has a 50+% Swedish speaking population- and both my travel companions are FLUENT - Katja's second language, Christoffer's native language. HORRAY! Unfortunately when we got there, it was raining, but with two Swedish speakers by my side, we found our hostel and the System Bolaget (liquor store) (which was strange cause it was in the MALL!). We purchased some wine and cider and then went for a walk down Kungsportsavenyn (the main avenue), and found the Hard Rock Cafe (for a t-shirt for Nicole) and while I was off buying the shirt, Katja and Christoffer decided this was someplace they wanted to eat. After lunch (which was a really early dinner) we wandered around town and did some shopping. Soon it was dark so we went back to the hostel to get ready to go out for the night. We made it back downtown and as soon as we stepped off the tram, the rain REALLY started to come down. We ran to an overhang (where about 10 other people were) and attempted to figure out where to go next - being the "bold-American" I asked the group of guys under the overhang with us where to go. The bar we ended up at was straight out the 80', but I don't think it was a theme, it just happened by accident. Oh well- we had a blast- hung out with some native Gotheburg-ers(?) and had a great time! Sunday morning Katja and I left a hung-over Christoffer at the hostel, and we went shopping. One of the points I used to convince Katja to come with us was how cheap Sweden is in comparison to Oslo- she'd save money by shopping in Sweden! After a long day in the malls, we returned back to the hostel and met up with Christoffer and went out for dinner and then to a coffee shop and spent the whole evening talking and I learned all sorts of interesting facts about Finland (Finland has a woman president, something about Easter witches, and the true home of Santa Claus; Lapland Finland).
Monday morning we started out early since I had a train to catch at noon - Christoffer and Katja were taking a train at 17, but I had to be back in Oslo by 18 for my first Norwegian Language course. One last stop at a "cheaper" H&M and then back to System Bolaget to grab some supplies for next weekend's fjord trip. :-) It was a fabulous trip with wonderful travel companions - we didn't really see much in Gothenburg- for being Sweden's second largest city, there wasn't much there touristy to see.
Tomorrow its back to school for me. This week I have class on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. LONG week for me, but we're planning on leaving early Friday. Hopefully the week passes quickly and I can get back to traveling! I'll post pictures (link from my website: wheresjill.com) from our trip this last weekend- I'll see if I can get Katja and Christoffer's pictures too!
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