I left home in Barcelona via taxi at 4:45am on Friday. It was a long morning of traveling but well worth it because my bus from the airport to central Oslo got in before noon. Nora met me at the bus station and we immediately started seeing the sights! (Thank god I only packed a small backpack). First we went to see the Oslo Opera House. I noticed, as the bus drove me closer and closer to the city center, that many of the buildings were very modern and innovative. The Opera House was no exception. It is a relatively new building and gorgeous! We walked on the roof and could see the whole bay/harbor area as well as a small view of the city. From there we saw the military fortress, had lunch on the shore (at a restaurant with gluten free pizza!!) and also trekked up to the Royal Palace and the gardens. Nora took me to the "naked park" which is a famous sculpture garden area and we bought little strawberries to take into the grass. There we sat and enjoyed the sun (and cool weather!) and chatted. It was so peaceful.
The air in Norway was different than anything else I had ever experienced. It was fresh and crisp and dry but also smelled slightly of salt, presumably from the fjords. Northern Europe in general is so vastly different than Spain! I was definitely in culture shock for most, if not all, of my time there simply because everything seemed opposite! Everyone was tall and blonde, which sounds funny but is actually true, and everything was clean and remote. Even though there were tourists, there was such a sense of space and personal space that I never felt overwhelmed. Spain lacks this sense of personal space, which as an American I am accustomed to. The streets were spotlessly clean and the public transportation was as well. In fact, I was amazed to find out that the public tram/metro system is based on the "honor system." Every once and awhile supposedly a guard comes around to check if you have a pass but I never saw one the entire time I was there, and we took the metro over 6 times! It is amazing to me that the culture is so trusting and clean. I felt like I suddenly went from a crazy, busy, hectic, hot, overwhelming city to an up north escape. It reminded me of how my family travels up north in the summers for peace and quiet. Also, everyone speaks English! This is a huge difference! Not only do people speak English, but they speak well. I was thankful for this only after I got off the plane, because the rest of the time I was with Nora and she was able to communicate in Norwegian for us.
There is absolutely something to say for visiting a foreign country with someone who knows the country well. I was able to sit back and relax because Nora knows the tram system, the great places to go, how to order food gluten free in a restaurant, etc. etc. It was comforting and helpful to have her leading me around, eager to show me her hometown.
On Saturday we took a ferry to one of the nearby islands right off of Oslo (there are many) and found a place in the rocks to swim! Everyone was changing right out in the open, grilling with portable grills and jumping straight from the rocks into the FREEZING cold ocean. We did the same. I was amazed at how people of all generations freely stripped down to put their bathing suits on... in public! It was not common to go swimming without a suit, however, which I found to be odd considering the fact that people were stripping down in front of strangers. Afterwards we took the ferry back to the shore and took a tram all the way up into the hills. There we visited the world famous ski jump and a ski museum and were able to go all the way to the top for a great view of Oslo! It was breathtaking! No words can describe how beautiful it is to have a city nestled in a shoreline of rocks and creeping ocean caves. It was also SO GREEN. The forest creeps between houses in neighborhoods and into the hills and mountains behind the city buildings. It is so bizarre to see a city nestled in a forest. The tram literally drops you off in the middle of the woods sometimes with nothing but a dirt road and forest paths to trek through. It is such an amazing experience!
Later that night we returned to the house to gather some hot dogs, marshmallows and wine and took it out to a lake near the house. We swam into the evening, drank wine on the dock and cooked out the hot dogs and marshmallows. It was a perfect summer night, full of girl-talk and laughter! We had a blast. I was so cozy in the 55 degree weather, snuggled up in bed later that night! I never wanted to leave.
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