Happy to be Traveling

Post by Ella We’d been wondering about the islands in the Oslo Fjord (which is 100 km long and runs into the North Sea), so today was the day to explore. There are ferries, run by Ruter, which is the same company that runs the busses and trams and for which we had a 7…

Post by Ella. Before leaving for this trip, I found a short kindle book, “How to have an Adventure in Scandinavia”, by a 30 year old guy named Rafael Coronelli. It is not a guide, exactly, but seemed to be a compendium of his journals or blog posts. I wondered how useful it would be…

Post by Ella Island hopping in the Oslofjord. Ferry, Ferry and more Ferries.

Post by Grubb. Yesterday, after we plowed our way through the parading throng, we tooled around some picturesque neighborhoods. Then we ended up at a cemetery.  Followed a crushed gravel path that skirted a slope where Ibsen is buried.  Figured the truncated obelisk marked the spot. So, yes, above his grave, inscribed on the leaning stone monument,…

Post by Ella Grünerløkka, one of the areas we wandered yesterday, is known for its tons of design boutiques, small art galleries and vintage shops. Of course, everything was closed because it was Constitution Day, except for the sidewalk pubs. They were crowded with young people, all in bundag (traditional dress), drinking beer. Many didn’t…

Post by Grubb. May 17th is Constitution Day in Norway.  It goes back to 1814.  After being defeated in the Napoleonic wars, there was a student movement in Norway protesting being in part of a union with Sweden.  This grew into a tradition of celebrating Norway’s independence, although that wasn’t finally achieved until 1905.   19th century romantic movements…

Post by Ella. By a parade of epic proportions. In celebration of Constitution Day. Sort of like July 4 for us Americans but the history is a little more muddled. The Constitution signed in 1814 establish Norway as an independent kingdom but shared a monarch with Sweden. It wasn’t until 1905 that Norway became completely…

Today is Constitution Day and the place was mobbed.  We headed up the street and ran straight into the parade, which went on forever. Then we hoofed it up to the Telthusbakken and Damstredet historical areas, stopping in at Ibsen’s and Munch’s graves.

Post by Grubb. When I was a kid I remember my dad had a copy of “The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By raft across the South Seas.”  He also had copies of “Omoo” and “Typee”, but they didn’t interest me because they didn’t have the dramatic photographs that Thor Heyerdahl put in his book describing his raft trip…

Post by Grubb. Yesterday, in the morning, it was umbrellas in the rain.  Nothing lashing, just a steady patter.  We googled our way through busy inner city streets in search of the Intercultural Museum.  At one point, as we were cutting through a plaza next to a tiny amusement park (carousel and kiddy rides), I noticed this woman…

Post by Ella. We did ramble well off the tourist-beaten path as we made our way to the Intercultural Museum yesterday, a rainy day. But a soft, mellow rain. Rain jackets would suffice but I borrowed the apartment’s umbrella and Grubb, of course, had brought his own.  We’re walking along, the streets start getting narrower,…

Post by Ella. Yesterday we decided to have our dinner at home. At the end of the day, we stopped at a large Co-op market for supplies. I haven’t been drinking much this trip and Grubb gave it up a few years ago but I was in the mood for some wine. Norway isn’t known…

Post by Ella Is the name of a furniture store. Who doesn’t love retro modern utopian furniture? A small shop, two floors packed with furniture stuff. In a building undergoing construction, we had to navigate scaffolding to enter. We paused in front of this beauty (below) thinking it would be the most uncomfortable ever. The…

From Home to the Intercultural Museum on foot     to Utopia Retro Modern by bus     to Kon-Tiki Museum by bus     to City Hall by Ferry     to the Co-op (grocery store) by foot To home by foot