Oslo 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 - Oslo

30-31 March 2001 - Friday was the last day of term at the university {University of Wales Swansea}, setting us free for a full month of break. My flatmate Madeline (from Iowa State) and I planned for the past few months how we were going to spend April. We decided to kick off our tour in Oslo, Norway. So, after spending Friday at class, doing last-minute packing and waiting impatiently, it was time to leave. We were going to take the 6:30 pm train from Swansea to Paddington, then make our way to Stansted airport. The bus we were going to take never showed up, so we called a cab and made it on the train with a few minutes to spare. It seemed like a really long train ride. Once we got to Paddington, we tried catching the Tube to Liverpool St Sta, where we’d catch the train to Stansted. We waited forever, which made us a little nervous about whether or not we would make the last train at 2300. Luckily, we did manage to get both the Tube and the train. It was also lucky that the conductor accepted our BritRail passes. He stared at Madeline’s for so long we didn’t think he was going to. Finally got to the airport. We found ourselves a row of seats and settled in for an extremely uncomfortable night. I know I didn’t get any sleep. Life in the airport began to pick up as people started checking in. Our flight was at 7:45 and we finally got all our stuff in. We were flying Ryanair, because it was so cheap {~$20 from “London” to “Oslo”}. We killed some time looking around the airport shops before going to our gate. Boarding time came and went, as there was something up with the plane or servicing. We finally were allowed on and took seats in the first available row (there’s no assigned seating). I tried to sleep on the 2-hour flight. It turned out Oslo Torp was fogged in, so we were in a holding pattern for 45 minutes before we landed. {we couldn’t see the ground until we were nearly on it ourselves}. They made us disinfect our shoes, so we didn’t accidentally spread foot-and-mouth disease here. Argh! It’s snow-covered, cold and quite foggy. Not the first choice of places to go for spring break. There was a bus at the terminal that would take us to Oslo, so we quick ran to get cash out. We had no clue what we were doing and ended up with Danish money! Fortunately, the driver let us pay with pounds. The ride from the airport to Oslo was pretty long, so it gave us a chance to look at the scenery. It was gray and foggy, so I’m sure it wasn’t done justice, but it looks a lot like Wisconsin in some areas (rolling snow-covered hills topped with pine), Colorado in others (shear rocky cliffs on the side of the road) and then there was the fjord we’d run alongside. Didn’t really know where we were going once we got here, so we ended up at the railway station. Took advantage of this to turn our Dutch money to Norwegian, and to get our EuroRail passes validated, and the trip from Göteborg to Copenhagen on Wednesday reserved. We bought some food for dinner, then got information on how to get to our hostel. Took the tram up here. We met a Dutch girl who was also staying at the place (Haraldsheim) and she showed u how to get up here. We check in – there are only 4 people in our room, and it’s clean and cozy. We settled in and relaxed for a while. We made spaghetti for dinner. I called home and talked to Cassie, and also called Mom at work to get some information and to let her know I was here okay. I stayed up for a little while after that, but both Madeline and I went to bed around 7:30.

1 April – Note to self for future reference: NOTHING is open on Sundays in Norway. We ate breakfast at the hotel – cereal, bread, cheese and drinks. I tried a little of the brown cheese – it’s the same color and similar taste to caramel. Odd, sweet cheese. We headed out around 10. Got to the city center, then started walking to this sweater/souvenir shop, but, alas, it was closed like everything else. We walked a little further and saw the Royal Palace. Then we went to the National Gallery. I really just wanted to see Eduard Munch’s “Scream”. Then we went towards the Akershus Fortress (nice views of the fjord – especially because it’s such a nice, sunny day), then we went to the Theater Museum. Basically, just one room, but they had pictures, costumes and other things from Oslo Theater. We then went to the train station, bought some fruit and sweets, and ate our lunch there. Then we walked towards the Nobel Institute and circled around in a high-scale residential area. We bought day passes for public transportation, then headed back to the hostel. I’m very close to falling asleep, but I don’t want t. The weather actually got up towards the 50s today, and it was sunny… lovely! Madeline and I got hit on during dinner by some delinquents. We played scrabble after dinner and went to bed early.

My view of Karl Johans gate

2 April – This morning after breakfast, we took the tram into town and the T-bahn (subway) up to the Holmenkollen ski jump hill on the other side of Oslo. Pretty long ride, and a nice hike up the hill. We went to the ski-museum, then we climbed up the ski jump to the top. Fortunately, the stairs weren’t out in the open and the tower was enclosed. I have to give ski jumpers a lot of credit. I wouldn’t be throwing myself down that high and steep of a hill. The view from the tower were great. We could see all of Oslo and the surrounding hill and fjord. It was a little hazy and overcast, but it wasn’t too bad. At the gift shop, I bought Cassie and both Grandmas hand-painted wooden boxes as gifts. We set back off towards the city center. We went to a gift store that sold sweaters and other souvenirs. I got myself a navy-blue pullover and a cardigan for Mom, a moose and a smaller painted box for myself and some smaller trinkets. Thank goodness for credit cards! Madeline and I walked to the station to see about getting our VAT back. Luckily, we were able to. I went straight over to the post office to see about mailing all the stuff back home. That took a heck of a long time, but it was a lot cheaper than I expected. After that, I split up from Madeline, who was going to check her email. I walked around a department store, then went to buy food. I bought pizza, salad and some fruit. Caught a tram back. I waited in the lobby for Madeline to come back, then we went up to our room for a while. I went down and used the internet for a while, then we made dinner Once of the people in our room was *still* asleep, so we quietly played cards and worked on crossword puzzles. Early night.

At the bottom of Holmenkollen

And at the top!

3 April – Today wasn’t nearly as nice out. Gray and damp. We went down to check email in town but had to wait. We killed time at the Historic Museum, then I called home to get football tickets squared away. It was raining when Madeline and I walked up to the Palace to see the changing of the guard. Mom mentioned she wanted a troll, so I went back and bought a little one. We took a tram out to Vingeland to see the statues and got soaked. Came all the way back to the hotel. Tried to use the internet, but it wouldn’t connect for me. Came up to the room and packed, read.

Changing of the Guard

Rainy Vingeland

 The adventure continues in Copenhagen...

{transcribed 2/17/2020}