Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded the plane….

November 3^rd, 2010

Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded the plane….

                I do not have a lot to say about Ireland this time. Today I only have tales of my adventures in Oslo, Norway. I have to start off by saying that never in my life did I think I would go to Norway. As of four days ago I knew very, very little about the country. Jackie and I decided to go to Oslo simply because there was a cheap flight on Ryanair. This is a little embarrassing but we actually had to google “Oslo” to find out what country it was in. Any knowledge I have of Oslo or Norway has come from my recent trip.

                Saturday morning we had the taxi pick us up around seven; which was the earliest I have had to get up since I have been here. As I was getting ready to walk out of the door to meet Jackie I got a text on my Irish phone that said, “Good morning! This is your taxi waiting outside.” I thought this was a very pleasant way to start the morning. Our taxi driver was very friendly, he asked us questions about where we were going and what we would be doing while there. He quickly learned the ONLY thing we knew is that we were going to Oslo and we had a hostel to stay at. I promise that I am not exaggerating, literally that is all we knew.            

                When we arrived at the airport we got through everything just fine. For those of you who do not know, Ryanair is an Irish discount airline. They have ridiculously cheap flights, but they try to trap you into spending money other ways. For example,  you are only allowed to take one small bag on the plane (not allowed a bag and a personal item), it is about 40euro to check a bag (more than I paid for the flight), and they try to sell you anything and everything while on the flight. Our plane was about forty minutes late, but we did not mind because we had no plans.

                When we arrived in Norway it was raining and pretty chilly outside. This is also where the cluelessness begins. We did not know how to get from the airport to our hostel. We asked and finally figured out we had to take a bus that was about the equivalent to $25. The journey from the airport to the city was just over an hour. When we arrived at the central station we had no idea what was going on. I have never felt this incompetent in my life. It took a lot of walking back and forth and asking and getting a response in what almost sounded like English. We finally made it to the hostel, after taking another bus and walking about a half hour in the rain. I wish I could express how clueless I felt that day, but there are no words.

                Our hostel was very nice and was really clean we found our room and immediately asked where we could find some food. The man at the desk told us to go to a pizza place down the road. So we did and when we arrived we quickly found that the menu was in Norwegian (duh), but we found that we could make out most of what was on it. However, when we tried to order the man spoke no English (again reasonable). I am glad that I kind of caught that I thought he charged Jackie for two Cokes because as it turns out he thought that we were ordering together. So we asked for a veggie pizza and got a pizza with veggies, and about three different kinds of meat. I was thrilled and thought it was delicious, Jackie, being a vegan was not so excited. The rest of the night was very low key and relaxing.

                We woke up the next day to some very loud rustling noises. Sometime between when we went to bed and when we woke up two Asian girls had come in slept got up and were in the process of leaving. We never spoke to them but I am pretty sure from the sounds I heard that morning they packed everything in its own individual plastic bag. We got up and went down to breakfast, which was included in the price of the hostel and consisted of your typical continental breakfast items. However there was bread and no toaster, interesting. After breakfast we decided just to go into the city and explore. It was beautiful outside and so much fun just to walk around. The architecture in Oslo is wonderful, like most of Europe; we were perfectly content just wondering around. When we decided to wonder towards the water we stumbled across the Peace centre. This is a place where they inform people about the Nobel peace prize and try to inspire people to promote peace. I was not aware that the Nobel Peace Prize in given in the Oslo City Hall. It was really interesting; there was a special exhibit for the four Nobel Peace Prize winners from South Africa. I found this really interesting, obviously because I am going there in a few months. It was good craic (pronounced “crack”, Irish slang for a good time). We also went to the royal palace and just happened to be there when the changing of the guards was happening. Very cool.  We ate lunch along the water. I had scallops that were delicious; Jackie tried to eat a veggie sandwich. By tried I mean she ate some realized that she thought she ate a nut. This is not good because Jackie is allergic to almost every nut. We asked the waitress and as it turns out there was pesto on the sandwich and the pesto had pine nuts. Not good. I enjoyed my lunch as Jackie progressively felt worse. I was a little worried I was going to have to take her to the hospital. But we took our time and walked a little and Jackie recovered. After some more wondering we ate at the Hard Rock Café (Jackie loves that place) and then went to a convenience store to get candy. We decided we had to get candy because it was Halloween and I have to say it was a good choice. The night ended with relaxing and watching TV in the hostel and heading to bed early.

                The next day there was not disturbance of plastic bags in the morning and we ate the same breakfast again. We were going to try to make it over to Sweden, just to see what it is like, but when we asked the man at reception the cheapest way to get there he told us, very seriously, to hitch hike. I felt like there was too much of a language barrier to try and explain that two young American girls who have no clue about either Norway or Sweden hitch hiking did not seem like a wise choice. We decided instead to go back into the city. When we asked about Sweden at the bus station it was fairly expensive, so we decided to stay in Oslo.  We went to three museums that were very interesting and educational. I am glad we did this because I feel like I learned a lot about the country and its history. We learned a lot about Vikings and got to see their ships. It was a good day.

                The next day, the day of our departure, was very cold and rainy. Thus, we took it very easy we went to some souvenir shops and got a few things and hung out in our hostel, before leaving for the airport. When we finally arrived at the airport, it was about a two hour journey, we were going through security and I beeped when I walked through the metal detector. This is the first time that has ever happened (okay maybe once before, but still). The guard began to say something in Norwegian, I responded with “I am sorry but I only speak English.” Whatever he said in Norwegian translated into something about security and no joke he said “can I take control of you?” I replied with a “Yes?”(Emphasis on the question mark), assuming that “taking control” of me meant pat me down, it did and all was fine. The rest of the journey was less eventful and it was good to make it back to school.

                I knew that going to Norway as going to be cool, but I did not realize how much I would really like it. I loved it and hope that I get to go back there again someday. I really do have a new found love and respect for the country. Some things to note are that it is VERY expensive. I do not think that I ate a meal for less than the equivalent of twenty dollars, and I was usually eating off the lunch menu or appetizers. We went to a restaurant where a class of coke was eight dollars. Crazy. Also, most of the people we spoke to also spoke English; this was very nice for us. There is also very little traditional Norwegian food served, I am not sure what that would even be. The food was delicious but comparable to what you would find in the states.

                Like I said, Norway was fantastic, but I still loved being in Ireland today. I am very grateful for the opportunity to travel. My adventures continue when I leave for Milan , Italy tomorrow! How exciteing! Sometimes this does not feel like real life….

Once again I seem to be having trouble loading pictures. I will send a file with the email notice or if you use facebook there will be an album there. Sorry!