Copenhagen

Oct 21 we took a night boat to Copenhagen. On arrival we wandered all around the city, saw the little mermaid and had an amazing dinner.  The next day we visited two castles and some museums before boarding the boat to return.

Fredrikstad and Sweedish Shopping October 8

On October 8th we drove to the old fortress town of Fredrikstad about an hour south of Oslo. It was a fun little town but quite breezy.  Afterward we drove across the boarder to Nordby shopping center.  Nordby was like Sam's club for Norwegians who cross the boarder for relatively cheaper products.  The oversized chocolate was the most notable item for sale.

Russia September 24 - October 2

On September 24 we left Oslo with Lucas' parents for Russia.  Getting visas was a pain but once there we had a wonderful trip in Moscow, the Golden Ring, and St Petersburg.  Jean loved St. Basil's and we had a great guide in Moscow. The old churches on the Golden Ring were interesting.  The Hermitage was one of the best museum's we've ever seen and Peterhof was lots of fun but Jean enjoyed the Ballet the most.  St. Petersburg in general was more touristy then the rest of the trip but all of it was great.  For more details check out our trip advisor review

Lucas' Parents Visit September 16-24

Lucas' parents visited Norway on September 16th after spending a week in Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. On the day the arrived Oslo had all of its museum's open late and for free.  We took advantage by seeing the sites with them.  The next day we watch the Gator's beat Tennessee along with a fellow expat Rett.  Then then went off on a Norway in a Nutshell tour before return to Oslo for more site seeing.

Jean's Birthday (Sept 10)

The day before Jean's Birthday we enjoyed a nice day at home. Lucas brought some amazing desserts from home for a local bakery and we grilled some steaks and white asparagus with a bottle of champagne.  They were some of the best steaks we've had since moving to Norway.

On Jean's birthday we went to see the Opera "The Magic Flute" by Mozart.  It was well done but the story was worse than we expected.  It was very chauvinistic ("A woman's doesn't have a purpose in life without a man"). From there we went have dinner at the Grand Cafe.  It was a nice meal with a great view but we both felt that the food the previous night was just as good.

Cousin Visit

Jean's cousin Jay came to visit the first week of Sept.  We had a good time showing him Oslo and he also got to take a Norway in a Nutshell tour.  Jay was one of the more adventurous eaters we've had visit.  he bought lots of fish and caviar while visiting.  Jay had lived in St. Petersburg, Russia and was able to give us advice for our trip to Russia.