Norway
Early on a Friday morning, we climbed into a minicab at 6am and headed towards Stanstead Airport, destination: Oslo, Norway.
We flew into Rygge Airport, and took an hour long busride into Oslo. This was a lovely opportunity to see the countryside, and a chance to get used to the fact we were driving on the 'wrong' side of the road!
Once we were dropped off in the centre of Oslo, we clickity-clacked along the cobblestone paths with our wheelie suitcases, and made our way towards our hotel. Despite having several maps, we still managed to get quite lost! Although there weren't any signs written in English, we found the people to be extremely friendly, and were able to speak English much better than we were able to speak Norwegian!
We were just about to breathe a sigh of relief as we approached our hotel, until we realised it looked much more like a construction site than a relaxing place to put our feet up! After doing a few laps of the block and confirming we were indeed in the right place, we noticed a small sign stuck to a door that informed us that we should call the number it listed if we wanted to check in. At this point, we were ready to find a Novotel, however we decided to make a quick phone call- if only to tell them we wanted to cancel our booking! After the phone rang out a couple of times, we finally spoke to someone who told us that they would meet us out the front. As we were escourted to our room, we waited with baited breath, unsure what we were getting ourselves into. To our shock and surprise, we were shown into a stunning, newly renovated apartment. Our host then informed us that she had just bought the building, and was renovating a room at a time (hence the bargain price for
a luxury apartment!).
After a quick freshen up, we hit the streets to do some exploring. We wandered around in the amazing spring sunshine, taking in the delicious bakeries, quirky vintage clothing stores and interesting sculptures that scatter the city. We stopped off for some very expersive beers along the way (about 10 quid each!) and eventually made our way to Oslo Bay where we visited the Opera House (not quite Sydney but still pretty special).
On Saturday morning, we started the day with one of the best coffees we've had since leaving Australia. Feeling full of 'beans' (hehe coffee beans!) we made our way to Akerhus Fortress, a impressive old military compound. Inside it's walls lies a medieval castle that was built in the 1200's to protect Oslo. We also had a good look around Oslo bay, taking in the amazing views on what was another fantastic sunny day. For dinner that evening, we decided to make the most of the weather, and have a picnic in one of Oslo's gorgeous grassy parks. We nibbled away at cheeses, meats and yummy fresh Norwegian bread. We also enjoyed some Norwegian cider, which we were lucky to get, after finding out that alcohol is not sold after 6.00pm (we made our purchases at 5.55pm! Phew!). This really was the best way to eat in Norway- we ate out the previous night and payed a small fortune for
some wine and burritos at a local Mexican restaurant (yes, we know Mexican isn't traditional Norwegian food however we weren't too keen on the Whalemeat dishes offered at many pubs and restaurants!)
On our final day, we explored the Royal Palace, which sits impressively overlooking the main street of Oslo. It was here that we also discovered what 'Russ' meant..since arriving in Oslo we had noticed hundreds of teenagers wandering the streets wearing red overalls with writing all over them, including the word 'Russ'. We often spotted them handing out business cards to passers by, and although we were given some, we obviously weren't able to read them! Turns out, 'Russ' is the name of the graduating senior students of the year (similar to schoolies but much better behaved!). It's apparently tradition for them to celebrate and gather in Oslo, and the idea is that they wear their red overalls for weeks on end without washing or changing! They hand out their own personalised business cards, with funny nicknames or photos of themselves, and try to collect as many from other 'Russ' as possible. Local kids will also try to build up a collection, and can be seen approaching the 'Russ' and asking for a card!
On our last day, we were also lucky enough to see Labour Day celebrations in the middle of the city. This involved lots of singing, marching bands and banner waving.
Before heading back to the airport, we stopped off to buy our souvenirs. After much decision-making, we decided on a very ugly, but kind of cute troll statue. Trolls are extremely popular in Norway, and adorn the shelves of souvenir shops everywhere. They come in all shapes and sizes, and are a must-have keepsake!
After a fantastic and busy few days, we both left feeling that we'd love to come back and see more of Norway. The people were so friendly and the scenery is so picturesque. Very expensive, but very worthwhile!
Ha Det! (Bye!)