1 Year in Norway

Today marks our 1 year anniversary of living in Norway.  Its been a wonderful year but we certainly miss the USA as well. Our chief regret has been not bringing our dog Peanut with us. Lucas has enjoyed his work and Jean has made friends in an Oslo expat group and has enjoyed all the travelling.

Helsinki and Tallinn August 19-21, 2011

This last weekend we took a trip to Finland and Estonia. We arrived in Helsinki late on Friday and despite our early start Saturday we missed our first ferry to Tallinn Saturday.  It worked out well though because we were able to a few of the sights in Helsinki before our afternoon ferry.  Tallinn was very pretty and we enjoyed our Rick Steve's walking tour before stopping for drinks and a wonderful meal.  The way back from Tallinn was interesting because the ferry was filled with Finns carrying / carting as much beer as they could back to Helsinki. 

The next day we visited the Finnish National museum, the Lutheran Cathedral, the Finnish Orthodox Church, and Market Square in Helsinki.  We then took a ferry out to Suomenlinna fortress for a walk and a museum visit.  It was another successful whirlwind weekend.

Overlooking Tallinn

Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

Jean's New Visa

When we first arrived in Norway, Lucas was granted a 2 yr visa while Jean was granted a 1 yr visa.  So, she had to go get it renewed.  It was a long process with lots of paperwork and waiting but after 2 months it is finally in her passport.

Stockholm, Sweden August 13-14, 2011

We had hoped to go to Stockholm since our arrival in Norway but hadn't yet had the chance and were running out of vacation so Saturday August 13th we woke up early for a quick weekend getaway. Highlights of our trip included sleeping in a cabin on a yaght in Gamel Stan, seeing the Sweedish open air museum Skansa (where Lucas got to touch a Lemer), and touring the palace. We were also able to visit the cathedral, city hall and lots of other museums.  After dinner Saturday, we listened to a Louisiana blues band in the cellar of an Irish pub.

Drøbak,Beach, and a Movie August 6, 2011

On Saturday we woke up early and drove to Drøbak.  It is a small coastal town on the Oslo Fjord. We first visited the small aquarium which was better than expected mostly due to how active the fish were while we visited. We also saw the largest lobster we've ever seen.

Next we wandered around the town looking at the shops,  Drøbak has a Christmas store open year round where we eventually bought a breaded Santa.  From there we started to walk down along the water. There was a lot of random sculpture work but we did see the bust of the Norwegian commander of the island Oscarsborg Fortress just off the shore.  While Lucas was trying to explain to Jean how the commander sunk the first major German vessel invading Norway the grandson of the commander appeared and told us all about it.  The sinking of the ship cost over 1000 German lives to be lost but allowed the Royal family and Parliament to escape the country before the invasion continued.

Afterwards we returned to Oslo to get ready to go to the beach.  When arrived our friends Tyler, Christine, and Rett were already there.  We talked on the beach and tossed a football around for a while before swimming out to a rock a ways off shore.  Tyler lost his sunglasses while there and we were sure they wouldn't be recovered but then someone arrived with goggles and just before he gave up, Tyler found the glasses.  We returned to the beach to cook our lunch and then get sun burnt.

That night we invited everyone over to watch a movie.  We were all tired and sun burnt but we had a good time and enjoyed the drinks Christine made.

Hanging out with Jud August 5, 2011

On Friday,  we hung out with our brother-in-law, Jud, via Skype.  Back in December, we joked around that we should drink and watch a movie together via Skype sometime, so we finally did.  We watched Green Hornet, which was not very good.  It took a while to get our movies synched up but it was nice to catch up with Jud.  

Lucas's Birthday Weekend July 30-31, 2011

We had a 2 day whirlwind vacation planned starting early on Saturday.  We first went to Eidsvoll Manor where we were given a private tour of the home where the Norwegian constitution was signed.  We learned some interesting facts about the process and the Danish Crown Prince who was at the manor waiting patiently to be elected their king.  Sadly once the elected the Swedish put at end end to his reign very quickly. It was more than 90 years before Norway would have its own king again.

From there we went North to Lillehammer and visited to former Olympic site. We toured the museum which had a good exhibit on all the modern Olympic games ever held and then watch a video about the Lillehammer games.  The pride that the Norwegian have in their games was quite evident.  Afterwards we left Lillehammer and drove up towards Lom.  On the way we stopped at a nice road side picnic area where we had lunch.

In Lom we toured the stave church and listened in on a tour. The church was a popular stopping point for the middle ages pilgrimage to Trondheim.  Lom seemed like a nice town but we quickly left to continue our trip towards the Lustrafjord.  The road quickly be came much steeper and we climbed to the highest mountain pass in Norway where everything was snowy and very rustic.  We stopped for photos a few times on the way.  Upon reaching the top of the pass we started the very steep drive down the Mountain.  At time the road had a grade of 10% and we had to break often to make it down the hill.  The brakes were smoking a bit we we arrived at the bottom. 

Next we proceeded around the northern tip of the Lustrafjord stopping the Dale Church along the way to our camp site.  We found the cabin without any trouble and were excited to see that it was only a few feet from the water.  We went into town to get a pizza for dinner and then enjoyed it outside our cabin while reading our books and watching the sunset.


On Sunday we woke up early and drove to Jostedalen / the Nigardsbreen glacier. We got there in time to make the first glacier hike. However Lucas felt we were cutting it close so we hiked quickly to the glacier from the parking lot instead of waiting for the boat that takes you half way.  It was a mistake as the trail was very rough and the boat moved quickly.  However, we made it on time and had an enjoyable hike on the glacier.  The highlight was going through an ice tunnel.

We made it back to our car and started the 7 hour drive home.  Most of the drive was filled with beautiful scenery and it included a ride across the fjord on a ferry.  Traffic wasn't too bad but there were long stretches of gravel which slowed us down quite a bit.  Right before we got to Oslo, we ended up driving by Utøya island where the terrible shootings of the previous week ocured.  In the end it was a wonderful trip and our only regret was that we didn't have longer to enjoy the fjord.


On a side note, this is our 100th post!

Lucas's 28th Birthday July 28, 2011

Last week we celebrated Lucas's 28th birthday. After work, Lucas quickly came home and we headed to Huk beach. It was rocky but nice. Water was freezing but Lucas went in (Jean went in a few days later) and swam in the fjord!

After, we came home and ate the homemade from scratch "key" lime pie that Jean made. It was good but not as fluffy as we were used to.

Rose Memorial Service July 25, 2011

Monday July 25, there was a rose memorial service for the victims down at Aker Brygge.  It was supposed to be a march but due to over 200,000 people showing up for it the march was cancelled.  There were speeches by the Crowned Prince and Prime Minister among others and musicians played songs.  Luckily one of Lucas's coworkers, Eric, went with us and translated most of it.  Afterwards, people put their flowers all over the city. 

Viking Burial Mounds and The World's End July 23, 2011

The day after the attacks on Norway we woke up to hear the casualty numbers were far worse than we imagined. Since they were still suggesting people stay away from downtown and there was only so much watching of the news we could handle we decided to take a drive into the country.

Our first stop was at Borre National Park.  It was filled with Viking burial mounds and was the first national park in Norway.  We took a nice stroll around the park and down to the water before returning to the underwhelming museum.

Next we continued past Tønsberg south to Verdens Ende. It was a neat collection of small smooth stone islands at the southern tip of an island. We went hiking out island to island until it started to pour rain. Eventually we made it back to the car soaked through.  We bought a small meal and went home, stopping at a mall on the way.