Oslo, Norway (Part 1)

Preparations - 

We asked Pat to come watch the girls while we traveled. She came in Friday afternoon, we had a nice dinner and walked around together in Viera.  Saturday and Sunday we enjoyed swimming, taking walks, straightening up the house, packing and getting everything together that we would need and that Pat would need for the week.  We talked to Ali and Avery lots about our "big trip" and what they should expect so that they would understand that we didn't just leave 

Day 0 - Monday July 23rd

Our flight left at 12:20pm from Melbourne, so we spent the morning together.  Pat and the girls dropped us off at the airport about 10:45 and Ali wanted lots of hugs and kisses, but she did great.  She told us to "have a fun time on your big trip; i love you!"

Our flights went from MELBOURNE --> ATLANTA --> AMSTERDAM --> OSLO

Day 1 - Tuesday July 24th

Oslo is 6 hours ahead.  We arrive in Oslo about 10am (4am Florida time, and we started our trip at 11am, so that is roughly 17 hrs of travel time start to finish)

Our flights were good, the connection between our Amsterdam and Oslo flight was a bit tight b/c the long flight into Amsterdam was 30 min late due to weather and strong headwinds.  We only had a 55min layover, so we ran a long way and were the last 2 on the plane, but they greeted us with 2 exit row isle tickets and we didn't even have seats together on that flight initially, so we were in good shape.

Once we arrived in Oslo, we got our bags, went through customs, picked up the rental car, and drove to the hotel.  They drive on the correct side of the road, we have a GPS, and it's a fun little manual transmission car, so getting around is no problem... just watch out for those trams in the city!

We were pretty exhausted, so we took a 3 hr nap, then went exploring down by the harbor in AkerBrygge and had a nice lunch at Jacob Aall Brasserie & Bar overlooking the water.  @ 6pm our time, Eddie had a call to make for work, so he went back to the hotel and I went off on my first exploration to the Parlament, the Grand Hotel, the Royal Palace and the Royal Garden, Slottsparken.

The Royal Palace

Parlament 

 Grand Hotel

  Traditional High-rise Architecture

After his call, he met me in the park and we walked back down to the harbor and around to Akershus Castle & Fortress.  

Day 2 - Wednesday July 25th

Breakfast at the hotel, took Eddie to work in Asker (~20 min away)

I went exploring Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museam.  I rode the simulator for the ski jump and downhill skiing - pretty crazy!

I went back to the hotel to park the car and walk down to the pier to catch the 1pm sightseeing tour of Oslo Fjord (2hrs)     (250 Norwegian Kroners = $40 US Dollars)

The tour went by the Fortress --> The Oslo Opera House --> Little islands w/ summer houses and bath houses --> Bygdoy --> City Hall by about 3:15.  

Oslo City Hall (where Noble Peace Prize is awarded each year)

Oslo Opera House

Summer Houses on one of the many small islands in Oslo Fjord

I went in a couple shops to pick up something for the girls and then went to pick up Eddie from work.

NOK * .16 = US $$ was my rule of thumb to know what things costs... 

We came back to the hotel to freshen up and call the girls before Eddie's counterpart, Per and his wife, Anita came to pick us up.  They took us to Frognerseteren Restaurant in Holmenkollen for a traditional Norwegian evening.  We enjoyed a bountiful buffet with Norwegian delicacies (reindeer sausage, elk patties, smoked salmon) and traditional food (creamed cabbage, potatoes, meatballs) as well as a Norwegian show with folk dancing and folk music.  The food was great and the views were even more stunning overlooking Oslo from the mountain top.  

On the way home, Per drove us around a bit to see the Holmenkollen ski jump from a few different vantage points, showed us some of the cross country trails, and where the Sculpture park was.  It was so odd to drive around after dinner because we are used to it being dark, but here it is daylight for 21/24 hours!  The sun doesn't start going down til well after 10:30!