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.

Beautiful Bergen - Day 3

After two days in Oslo, it was time for us to hit the road yet again to visit Bergen.  We had been told that after a few days in Oslo, you have basically seen it all as Oslo is a smaller capital.  I don’t necessarily agree, but none the less we wanted to see more of Norway!  We had been told that Bergen was one of the best places to go as the city is wonderful and the train ride there is known in Europe as being gorgeous.  So, on Wednesday of our Norwegian trip, we headed to the train station, bought some food at the station and grabbed our seats for our 7 hour train ride to Norway’s second largest city.

I had been warned that the first two hours aren’t that spectacular and the person who told us this was right.  It was pretty, but reminded me of any other train ride, so I cracked open my fish salad.  Yep, I said it, fish salad.  Noah thought I had a death wish buying fish salad from a 7-11 type place, but it was the only thing that didn’t have beef or pork which I don’t like.  It was okay, but the mayonnaise was a bit much and I didn’t recognize the fish.  We checked our Norwegian dictionary to find it was Crayfish…hmm… nothing like bottom feeder.  So, I set the salad aside and began to work on my carrots and candy bar instead.

I took nap as I was still jet lagged and was woken up about an hour later by the sounds of cameras snapping.  I turned and to the window to see a beautiful hillside surrounded by lush green lawns and quaint houses.  Now this is what I came for!  As the hours passed the views became more amazing.  If you are into nature, you will love this train ride.  It is a photographer’s paradise.  I was snapping like a maniac and ended up with about 250 photos by the end of my Bergen adventure and some of them are the best photos of my life. 

The train makes a several stops, but it is better to stay in your seat as they will blow a quick whistle and then leave.  The train goes through the mountains and it is snowy and cold, so trust me, you don’t want to be stranded at any of the stops. 

Towards the end of the train ride it got a little rainy which apparently is not unusual for Bergen.  Bergen is known to drop buckets of rain and usually sideways just to make your life hell.  We had no idea and were concerned as my umbrella was pretty flimsy, but even so, it isn’t great for sideways rain at 40 MPH.  Looking at the sky from the train window, we hoped that it wouldn’t stay rainy the whole time and began to question our choice.  That soon changed as the dark clouds broke open exposing the sunlight in a golden stream that danced on the river.  Seriously, it was amazing and a moment that I will not soon forget it was that beautiful.

The sad part was when this scene was unfolding, Noah was in the restroom having a moment of his own and it wasn’t pretty.  Everyone knows the restrooms get scary towards the end of a train trip.  When he came back, he knew he had missed a moment as he said there were at least 30 cameras facing the window right when he was returning.  He did get to see the final part of the cloud break, but it wasn’t the same.

 

When we arrived in Bergen it was overcast, but not horrible.  That soon changed as we tried to find our hotel.  The rain was coming at us from every which way and not in sprinkles.  This was a full on downpour.  My umbrella would prove to be as useless as I thought it would be.  I offered part of it to Noah, but he is one who likes to brave the elements and shrugged it off.  I kind of feel sorry for the guy as we walked a half a mile in the wrong direction.  It took us about 40 minutes to find out hotel.  The good news was that that would be the end of the rain for the rest of the trip.  But at that time Noah didn’t know that and he was a little bit of a hater as he was soaked.  I didn’t laugh as that would be cruel, but Noah has bad luck with things like that while traveling internationally.  Example, he got pooped on in Buenos Aires by a hit and run bird.  I learned that laughing at his misfortunes is not the best thing to do.  I can’t help it. I am the youngest child, I mean well!

WTF?!?

I have to say the hotel was quite nice and we even got a really small view of the water between buildings.  The cool thing was that when you walk into the room the TV welcomes you with your names on the screen, a little creepy, but still cool!  The second thing I noticed was that the twin beds were the half the size of an American Twin bed.  Thankfully we are both thin.

Speaking of scary, this hotel had the most frightening and disturbing painting I have ever seen!  I don’t even know how to describe it except that it is reminiscent of Frankenstein and his baby monster.  At least he appears to love the thing, but how they expect anyone to sleep with that thing in the hallway is beyond me.  Seriously, I slept with one eye open. 

We were both a little tired, but decided we were not going to waste the night as we arrived around 6PM.  So, we decided to walk along the waterfront before heading to the tram that would take us to Mount Fløyen.  The walk along the waterfront was beautiful as the sky was peach with a kiss of pink.  There are a lot of houses along across the water and several fishing boats.  It looked like a page straight out of a calendar.  Though the view was lovely, I quickly became distracted by the sight of a duck running from a flock of his brethren.  I found it odd at first until I realized the little guy had a starfish in his mouth.

Half of it was in his mouth and the other part was hanging out.  I didn’t think he would be able to eat it and feared he would choke.  As the duck posse got closer, the little guy swallowed it whole.  It was the oddest thing I had seen in at least two days as I had been out of NYC.  The water looked pretty deep.  Where would he get a starfish and would it taste any good?  I for one have decided to never find out…

Starfish...Yum

By the time we got to the tram it was almost 8PM but surprisingly still light outside which I found strange for that time of night in the beginning of September.  Still who was I to complain, more time to explore Bergen.  The tram was pretty sweet except for you are tilted at a noticeable angle and it made me a little wary as it doesn’t seem natural to be at an angle like that.  But here I am writing this Blog, so you know the tram was pretty safe. 

When you finally get to the top, you are officially 1050 feet above sea level and also treated to one of the loveliest views of your life.  That night, the clouds where an amazing blue and the sky was a light pink; the contrast of the colors was so beautiful.  We were there an hour, but I kept snapping photos as the evening progressed because though the changes were slight, they were still noticeable and changed the whole image.  We finally left about a half an hour before closing because it was getting very chilly and I didn’t bring a lot of warm clothes as I thought it would be warmer as it is in NYC in September. Yeah, because NYC and Norway are so similar…

View From Floyen

After we got off the tram, we decided to grab dinner.  We learned quickly that many places are closed by 10PM and the ones that are not are spendy.  I suggested Friday’s as it was half the price of anywhere else and I was starving.  I am not going to lie, I hate going to American chains while traveling, but we were getting very desperate as we hadn’t had a real meal all day.  Noah fought me on this as he has worked at there before and felt dirty about going there.  I can’t really blame him, but when I explained my reasoning he finally agreed.  He would hate me later.

I ordered the chicken fingers and I have to say it appeared as if they had been under the hot light a long time and I use the word hot light loosely.  For the love of God, I don’t know why, but Noah ordered nachos.  Not just any nachos, but the Asian-Mexican infused ones from Norway.  Huh?  Exactly!  This had failure written all over it and he confirmed it.  Noah will eat anything, I mean anything, but he was picking at these things.  Finally, I told him they couldn’t be that bad, so he offered one up.  So, I took a nacho and took a careful bit.  All I have to say is that cheese and soy sauce don’t mix.  It was really, really disgusting!  I don’t think these babies will be making an appearance in the US anytime soon. 

Fridays in Bergen really left us cold.  It took forever to get the check and when we did, they didn’t give us our change and you don’t really tip in Norway.  Well, this tip was 35%.  When we tracked down our waiter 15 minutes later, he seemed confused then disappointed even though we asked for change.  We don’t even tip that much in the US and there is no tipping in Norway, though that is changing.

Dejectedly, we left Friday’s and took a walk around the city to try to digest that mess we had eaten.  Bergen is very beautiful lit up at night and it helped ease our digestion.  By 12:30 we were ready for bed as we had to be up early to catch a boat to see a Fjord.  Even though the beds were very small they were very comfy so we were sad to hear the alarm go off at 7:30.

We were not about sleep this trip and it was catching up with us.  So, we both got ready and headed downstairs to breakfast.  The breakfast was interesting.  There was a lot of fish and cheese.  I like cheese, I like fish.  I don’t like strong cheese or herring or raw salmon; I didn’t eat much, though Noah did.   As I said, he will eat anything.  I did try everything though, but I won’t lie, I am a picky eater and ended up eating a lot of fruit and bread.

After breakfast, we grabbed our bags and headed out to the ship we would be taking that day to the fjord.  I am not a water person, but I was told that when in Norway, you have to see a fjord or never come back.  Okay, nobody said never come back, but you get the point.

The ship was a decent size but not big enough to calm me down.  I wouldn’t go up on deck until I heard every last detail about safety precautions.  You can never be too careful.  I saw Titanic, though I didn’t see any icebergs so I felt pretty confident.  Only a few of us were on the top deck; the reason being it was really cold and a little rainy.  We had thick wool blankets to keep us somewhat warm, so it wasn’t that bad, but unfortunately we were stuck with these three people who were really loud and laughed at things that were not funny in anyway.

 “Look an ant!  Ha ha!” 

“Here comes a bridge!  Ha ha!” 

“Want to get a coffee downstairs?  Ha ha!”  

I am not exaggerating, I wish I was, but I am not.  A few people went downstairs because they couldn’t take it anymore.  I can’t blame them, but I wanted to see the fjord!  After about an hour and half, I did.

In case you don’t know a fjord is, it is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.  Sweet!  I really didn’t know what to expect as this was my first experience with a fjord, but I am happy to report it was a positive one.

First off, it was very quiet and peaceful in the fjord.  We were told that there was a lot of wild life within the fjord, but we didn’t see anything the captain mentioned though we saw a few birds here and there.  It was very overcast but the beauty couldn’t be hidden.

As we moved further along, I had to say I felt a little sorry for the people who lived there. Yes, there were houses in the fjord.  I was kind of surprised too, but to tell you the truth it really is an amazing view and flat in parts so it is very livable.  The down side is you have a bunch of tourists on a boat taking photos of your house and yard everyday.  Still, I have to say they were some great photos and if they would like them, I would share.

I think we were in the fjord for maybe 30 minutes.  We chose a shorter boat ride as we had to catch a train out of Bergen at around 5:30PM.  Yep, only 24 hours.  After we left the fjord, (how many times did I use the word fjord in this blog?!?) there really wasn’t anything else to do for the hour ride back, so I put my face on a table downstairs and took a nap.  An hour and 15 minutes later I had my coats design on my face and a stiff neck, but I felt surprisingly refreshed!

After we got off of the boat we decided to walk around Bergen before going to our train.

It really is a beautiful city and one you must visit if in Norway.  I am a little disappointed that we didn’t get to stay longer, but we had made plans with the host family we were staying with in Oslo and had to get back.  I would have liked to have done more while there, but it just wasn’t in the cards.  Just to let you know, there is a lot to do in Bergen including museums, fishing, hiking, kayaking and they even have an indoor sand hall!  I am sorry I missed that and for once there was no sarcasm in that statement.  

All and all, I would have to say that Bergen was definitely one of the highlights of my trip, even for just the train ride.  It really is as beautiful as they claim it is.  On the way back to Oslo we took a few photos, but it began to rain and got dark earlier so we basically slept.  Even though it was a quick 24 hours in Bergen, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Bergen really is that beautiful!

Oslo, Norway - Day 2

The next morning, I had no idea what time zone I was in!  My head was swimming!  All I know was it was early in Oslo and I got about 7 hours of sleep, but something was just off.  It didn't matter, I had to shake it off as we had a full day ahead of us as we would be purchasing the Oslo pass and needed to hit several things to make it worth the price.  So, I know I needed to visit my old friend caffeine. 

Noah and I grabbed a piece of fruit and headed towards the subway.  It took us a few minutes to understand what ticket we should buy as the instructions were in Norwegian, but we finally got our tickets and just in time as the subway appeared as soon as we hit the bottom steps.  The subway in Oslo is open and very clean unlike the NYC subway.  Usually, in NYC you have to check around your seat as they are dirty and you can sit in nasty things!  In fact, I have seen things I hope never to see again, not so in Oslo; just a bright clean inviting experience.  Thanks, Oslo!

Street Scene

My first view of downtown Oslo was that it wasn't as crazy as other city centers which made it easy to maneuver.  I also soon realized that this was a biking city.  I have never seen so many people on bikes.  It's a good thing though as you get your exercise while helping out the environment.  I wonder how people deal with this in winter though.  I would think your butt would freeze to the seat in about 5 minutes after leaving the house. 

Besides not being crowded, downtown was very clean, though you would see graffiti here and there.  I don't understand the whole graffiti thing.  Let me deface my city with a tag nobody understands or cares to understand.  Why?  I hate seeing that it is becoming more common in Europe, still, Oslo was cleaner than NYC would ever be.

After we found the tourist information building, we bought our tickets and headed out to out first stop the Munch Museum.  I have to say I didn't know a lot about Munch except for his most famous piece The Scream or Skrik as it is known in Norway.  The Munch Museum is a throwback to the 1970's.  The building is a little outdated, but apparently they are building a new one.  There have been some arguments over the new space because the Munch estate wants every painting done by Munch put into the new space, even the ones in the National Gallery.  The National Gallery is not thrilled as they feel it brings in people and it may hurt their tourism.  Hopefully, it gets resolved soon and everyone gets a little chunk of the Munch, I know I would like one.  Apparently, so do other people as the painting keeps getting stolen!

We've All Had Days Like This!

I have to say after seeing the museum; I have a new appreciation for Munch.  Munch used a lot of the same themes and revisited many of his same pieces over and over which I found interesting.  A lot of his themes verged on the dark side dealing with death, sickness and loneliness but the different variations were interesting. 

After the Munch Museum, we decided it was time to visit the Nobel Peace Prize Center which was relatively new as it opened in 2005.  I didn't quite know what to expect from the Center as I would think it would be a difficult topic to cover.

The first room after you enter the center is a rotating exhibit.  During the time we were in Oslo, the exhibit was about poverty in four major areas of the world.  The exhibit was created by Jonas Bendiksen a photographer and was brought to life through his photographs.  Four different 10x10 rooms were constructed there the people whose stories were being told were displayed on the walls as the individuals spoke about their lives in poverty.  The four regions were Kibera, Africa, Caracas, Venezuela, Jakarta, Indonesia and Mumbai, India.

This exhibit is very powerful.  The 16 different stories are sad, shocking and at times infuriating.  These interviews were not easy to listen to.  Listening to these people's daily struggle to survive was unreal.  It isn't about gaining more material items, or fancy clothing, or the latest gadget.  It's about trying to find clean water, food and shelter.  One woman in Indonesian talks about her living space being a bench near the market of the neighborhood where she was raised.  There she is bringing up her son and during the day she leaves her son with various stall owners as she tries to make money to feed him.  You get the point.  These stories are brutal.  It is nearly impossible to not walk away from this exhibit with a new appreciation for your life.  Life is such a lottery.  Anyone of us could have been born into these circumstances.

Nobel Peace Center

To get through all the rooms and stories will take over an hour, but it is so worth it.  I really recommend watching all of the videos and really listening to the stories closely.  This was one of the most powerful and touching exhibits I have ever seen.  This alone was worth the admission.

The rest of the center is located on the second floor of the museum.   I have to be honest with you, without the exhibit downstairs, I don't know if this would be worth the $15.00 it was to get in.  There really isn't all that much to see or do within the center.   There is a wall with the history of the Nobel Peace prize, but I found it to be confusing and poorly executed.

There were two things that stood out on the 2nd floor and that was the magic book in the children's room and the room with the Nobel Peace Prize winners.  The room with the winners was really cool actually and the only room I really spent time in.  All of the winners' pictures are displayed on screens.  The screens are surrounded by colorful lights and ethereal sounds.  When you stand in front of one pf the displays, the screen of the person you are interested in learning more about changes and the history of the individual comes onto the screen, when you step away, their photo comes back.  Very clever and very well done!

Pretty much after that room, there wasn't anything else that really caught our attention.  So, we decided that it was time to hit the Norwegian Folk Museum (Norsk Folkenmuseum).  The Folk Museum is basically a set up of an old Norwegian village.

Choppy Seas on the Ferry Ride

Too get to the Folk Museum you have to take a bus which takes forever or brave the ferry.  The ferry in the long run is the quickest way as it is right by the Nobel Peace Center.  I hate deep water, I really do.  I also get seasick, I really do!  The idea of getting onto a ferry freaked me out!  But Noah told me I would be fine.  I had been on the Staten Island Ferry a few times and it wasn't so bad.  This was true, it was very big and after a while it seems as if you were riding a big subway.  I could do this.  My confidence left me as I spied a small dingy pulling up.  Okay, maybe a dingy is a little bit of an exaggeration, but this was the smallest ferry I had ever seen.  Doesn't Oslo have a rush hour? 

Noah told me it would be fine.  I doubted him, but the bus would take forever and we were meeting our host family for dinner that night and didn't have much time.  So, I stepped onto the dingy and we were on our way.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  The water looked choppy, but didn't toss us around too much.  Still, I couldn't wait to get off and ran to the front as soon as land was discovered.

Be prepared for a small hike as the museum is a distance away and mostly uphill.  When we got to the gate we were surprised to see that the place was rather empty.  It was an overcast day and there had been sprinkles here and there, but it wasn't bad weather.  Also, we were at the end of tourist season.  I didn't mind, I kind of enjoyed it being empty as it made it a little more authentic.

Grass on the Roof!!!

The Folk museum is a great idea.  The set up is pretty realistic except for a modern garbage can here or there.  There were even farm animals and people dressed up as villagers.  The first place we went into was a house where there was a women tending to a fire.  Noah wanted to know more about the history and asked if she spoke English in Norwegian.  She said of course.  Her English was spot on, in fact, she didn't sound Norwegian at all.  She confirmed this as she was from Minnesota.  It was a little odd walking through a Norwegian village only to meet one of the locals who happened to be American.  She had lived in Norway for 20 years, so I figured she had earned a spot to work there and she was a complete sweetheart, so I let it slide.

The highlight of the museum is the Stave (church).  It was pretty cool actually and apparently there is an exact replica in South Dakota in the Black Hills.  It really was very beautiful and the woodwork was amazing.  There we met a few "villagers" and again found them to be very friendly and accommodating.  They had no problem having their photos taken; they are probably used to it.  They even gave us genuine smiles, which surprised me.  Working at a place like that is sort of like being in a zoo and you would think they would be tired of the whole tourist thing by now.  Maybe they were new or maybe they are just less jaded then I would be.  I have done things like this in theatre.  Some I am not proud of; mostly children's theatre and there are photos that defiantly come back to haunt you.  

For me the Folk Museum was a success.  I would definitely recommend it if you are in Oslo.  The houses are pretty cool and I especially enjoyed the grass growing on the roofs of the houses, it never got old.  That and I am a sucker for animals which they had plenty of.  I especially liked the pigs, though they were tired and warm that day and were burrowed deep in the mud.

Taking a Breather

After the Folk Museum, we got onto the bus to spend the rest of the evening with our host family.  An interesting side note, the people in Norway are very interested in Americans and our view on our politics.  Every country I have visited has been this way and the people tend to like to ask a lot of questions.  It may have been magnified in Norway as we were staying with a Norwegian family.  It is always fascinating to me just how much other countries know about America. Originally, they had wanted us to speak at a local high school so that the students could ask questions about the US.  I almost wished it had happened as it would have been nice to clarify certain things and show that stereotypes do not represent a complete country. 

In all my travels, I have never been seen as an American.  I usually am asked if I am British, Irish or Canadian.  When I tell them I am American the response is either they are surprised as I don't seem "American" or that it is good thing that I am seen as British.  I don't agree, no offense to the Brits.  I am very proud to be American and am in no way ashamed of my nationality, though I am not happy with the things that are happening in the US at this time.  I see a great country that is at a pivotal point in its history.  We need to reevaluate many things that are happening within this country and strive to change them.  Though, there is so much wrong within the US at this time, there is also so much that is right as well; we just need to find a healthy balance.  Another point; if I don't seem like a stereotypical American I guarantee there are others who also pass as Non-Americans who are.  If you are looking for the stereotypes of any culture you will find them. 

Anyway, sorry for the tangent, but it was a huge part of the trip and I actually enjoyed these conversations as I learned more about the Norwegians and I hope they learned more about us as well.