Oslo, Norway - Day 4 & 5

City Hall

After our trip to Bergen, we were pretty tired and decided to sleep in the next day before venturing out into Oslo again.  We had been getting 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night and though the jetlag had disappeared, it wasn't enough sleep!

The next day, we decided to walk around Oslo and see whatever struck as interesting.  I am a big fan of walking around the streets of a city to get a feel for it.  While heading in the direction of the Palace, we were walking through a park with a fountain when we were accosted by a bunch of people handing out hot dogs.  Yep, that's right, hot dogs!  Now I have been handed many things on the street, but hot dogs?  How weird is that?  It isn't like gum or candy which you can keep around in your purse or bag.  These were hot dogs; they have a limited shelf life.  At least they were healthy dogs, though!

Dry Clean Duck

After debating about what to do with our new booty, we decided to check out the palace.  It isn't really anything extraordinary, so we took a few shots and were on our way.  We soon ran into the National Gallery and decided to check it out.  It is a smaller museum than I expected and they don't let you take photos inside.  Very odd!  The cool thing was there is a donation area and there is money from different countries there.  

The rest of the day was a hodgepodge of places.  We were meeting our host sister for dinner and clubbing so we had limited time and decided to see Vigeland park again.  Yeah, I had been there before, but I didn't care.  It was my favorite place in Oslo and I wanted to go back.  We decided to walk as it didn't seem that far on the map from the US Embassy.  Why had we stopped at the US Embassy?  I don't know, I wasn't missing home and I felt safe in Oslo, maybe it was sick curiosity, but we were there.  PS, the building is an eyesore, it really is so you can skip it, though I do recommend the walk to Vigeland Park from the Embassy row, it is long, but beautiful.

Eye Sore Embassy

Vigeland Park was just as wonderful the second time and it was nice to see that the locals were using it as well.  There was a wedding and a birthday party going on at the same time along with a soccer game.  It was a busy night! 

After Vigeland Park, we headed over to our host sisters apartment for dinner.  She had wanted us to meet a couple of her friends.  The dinner was a very tasty Mexican fish dish.  After dinner, we headed over to a favorite hot spot of theirs, which was a dance club.  I don't really remember the name as we were both still tired from our trip to Bergen and I am not great at remembering Norwegian.

Just a note, this Norwegian club was pretty much like any other club except smaller and the drinks were EXPENSIVE!  Liquor is highly taxed in Norway and kind of kills a night out dancing, especially when you need a little liquid courage to get out there and groove.  It also was odd to hear mostly 80's and 90's American music being blared from the speakers, I was hoping for a more local flavor.  The club was really lit up too which was odd.  I am used to dark clubs.  I think they make most clubs dark on purpose to help people with their beer goggle conquests. 

Vigeland Park

Anyway, the place was very popular as it was very crowded even though it had a cover charge.  I can't complain about that though, Noah,our local friends and I got in for free because the two of us were American and the guy up front loved NYC and hoped to live there one day.  Score!  Sadly, we couldn't stay out too long as there was only one bus back to our apartment and we didn't want to spend $50-$60 on a cab, Oslo, was expensive and we were going through cash fast!

The next day, would be our final day as we would be leaving early on Sunday morning. Saturday mostly consisted of the both of us shopping for souvenirs for family, friends and ourselves.  Originally, I was told I should get a sweater as it was what Norway was about, but after seeing them, I realized they were not really my style.  No offense to Norway, but they seemed bulky and I am not into bulky clothing though I am sure they are very warm.  In the end, I had to pass.  But I did get some traditional Norwegian pendant necklaces and a few pewter goblets for my family.  Noah ended up getting a sweater as he loved his old one, but went with a less bulky more sporty style.  It looked really good on him.  Why don't they make anything like that for women?  They were killing me!

Soccer and Boozing

After the Old Sweater Shop, we decided to check out the main shopping area.  It turned out this area of Oslo was crazy on Saturday.  Finally some life!  There were a lot of guys wandering around with Viking hats on their head.  This could mean only one thing, soccer!  The bars were filled and the crowds were rowdy.  Very strange, as most of the time the streets of Oslo had been quiet, but soccer brings out the rowdy in everyone I guess. 

As we winded in and out of the crowds, we spotted many street performers, musicians and people trying to sell their wares.  As we continued on, we passed a familiar site that we will see in NYC every so often.  On the street, we saw a table with books and a sign that said Stress Test.  Noah and I looked at each other; we knew what this was immediately.  They have scientologists in Norway!  How crazy was that!  I am sure they are everywhere, but I have never seen them on my travels before.  We had to document it and snapped a quick photo before scampering off.  Anyway, we were relaxed; we didn't need a stress test.

City Hall

Noah had suggested that we stop off at the City Hall.  Our host father had mentioned that if we were art lovers we would love the murals there.  City Hall is free after September 1^st as tourist season ends around that time.  If you go to Oslo, you will want to stop here.  It's two stories and you are free to explore both floors, though random rooms may be locked at certain times.  Most of the walls are covered with painted murals with various historical events being depicted on them.  Some of these rooms are just amazing!  We stayed here for over an hour and it was completely worth it.  The art work is just beautiful.

After our visit to City Hall, it was time to hit the grocery store before we headed to meet our host family for the last time for an early dinner.  We wanted to spend most of the day with them as they had done so much for us and had been so generous.  Why the grocery store you may ask?  I like to bring home goods from other countries.  I was especially ready to buy some cool items as it was decided there was no way I could take the hot dogs with me as the US may frown upon foreign wieners entering our country.  That and I don't think they would have held up well on an 8 hour flight! 

The grocery store was pretty tiny, but I was happy to see they had a nice selection of candy.  I always buy chocolate in Europe as the chocolate there is sweeter and creamier than in the US.  Once you have European chocolate, you will be swayed for life.  As I continued down the snack aisle, I was surprised and very excited to see they had Paprika chips!  For years I had heard of paprika chips but they had been as elusive as Bigfoot, but now, they were a reality!  This was a huge discovery and one I would enjoy for days to come.  They are really quite mild and very tasty!

Palace

That night, the family got together and we had our final dinner.  The food in Norway had been great as they eat a lot of fish.  The final night, the family decided to mix it up and decided to have a stew over rice.  I have to say, I am not big into stew and was a little concerned as I scooped up a portion and poured it over rice.  I didn't know what it was at first though it reminded me of beef.  A little side note, I only eat fish and chicken, but I did not want to insult anyone.

I have to be honest; it wasn't something I would go out of my way to eat again.  As I ate the dish, I tried not to question what I was eating as I wasn't sure I would be able to finish my meal if I knew.  Noah and his host father were having a conversation in Norwegian.  I couldn't understand most of it, but then, I heard the name Rudolph uttered.  Yep, that gave it away.  I was eating one of Santa's little helpers.  I have to be honest, that made it worse than it already was.  Though the last dinner wasn't the greatest success for me, I was glad I got to try something new.  Staying with our host family in a Norway had made the trip extra special as I feel as if I was submerged in the culture and not just a spectator.  By then end, I was even starting to pick up pieces of the language which I never expected.  I feel so lucky to have experienced Norway the way I did.