It was nice to get out of Oslo for an afternoon 😉

This week’s culture trip brought us to a little town called Drøbak. From there we took a ferry across to Oscarsborg fortress. The fortress is a museum, which we almost skipped, because the sun was surprisingly warm, one last time this year… but, we decided to go and fortunately most of the guided tour was outside.

Oscarsborg fortress played an important role in World War II. The German boat Blücher was sunk just outside Oscarsborg, delaying the occupation of Oslo for a day.

Later that day we thought about playing battleship, but then decided against it.

My sister Kerstin (she lives near Amsterdam these days), my dad, & his wife Karin (from Hamburg) visited me this weekend. We had a fabulous time, lots of sunshine, and must have seen the whole city together. We even had a well deserved beer on a floaty boat in the harbour.

While my sister stayed with me, my parents stayed at a hotel nearby. Every morning we went over for a big breakfast and then went on excursions together. We walked a lot, so much that my dad now has a hole in the sole of his shoe…

We laughed a lot as well and I was quite sad to see them go. Not only because now I REALLY have to do some homework, but also because it’s REALLY REALLY nice to have family on this side of the world.

Our program organized quite a few field trips and guest speakers for us. Last week we got to go to the Ministry of Education. I was especially touched when the lady talked about their values as they were really put into perspective (or tested even) after the recent tragic events in Oslo…

Trust, safety, confidence, solidarity, inclusion, equality, participation, openness, democracy.

It took us a while to do the math, but we’re pretty certain that today we are celebrating 6 years of kissing. Back then Evan invited me over to his house for a “guitar lesson”. You can see where that got us.

Hopefully we’ll spend more years together than apart. Long distance kissing is just not the same.

<3

Yesterday I forgot to check the mailbox and when I looked today I found 4 letters waiting for me 😉

Thanks for the love letters, Mom & Nanna. They help when you’re far away from home. I cried a little, but a a few pieces of dark chocolate are comforting me now. Love you!

Ainsley and Laurence make beautiful babies…

Wish I could be a little closer to hold Eileif. We skype on a regular basis.

This week’s culture trip… The Fram.

Before the Titanic the Fram was the most famous ship…

Wikipedia tell me this: “Fram (“Forward”) is a ship that was used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912. It was designed by the Scots-Norwegian shipwright Colin Archer for Fridtjof Nansen’s 1893 Arctic expedition in which Fram was supposed to freeze into the Arctic ice sheet and float with it over the North Pole.
Fram is said to have sailed farther north (85°57’N) and farther south (78°41’S) than any other wooden ship. Fram is currently preserved at the Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway.”

I learned that it’s better to bring dogs (rather than horses) on an expedition, because unlike horses, they will eat each other. That way you can eat the weakest dogs and survive…

It seams like there is a party for us every other day… this one was for the four International Master programs at Oslo University College. It’s their intention to develop a strong multicultural and international student community.

They had amazing vocal trio “Eplemøya Songlag”

as well as a pianist, and a ukulele band (played by the people in administration at the University). And of course food for everyone. Including the seagulls that got a hold of that slice of pizza I brought for the way home…

The first two weeks at the university are filled with free *gratis* things. One of our favorites last week were the student bags filled with goodies. Many bags magically disappeared in backpacks and we lined up for the second bag (I heard from a Norwegian that that’s what one does in Norway. They line up for 2 or 3… I don’t know, but I lined up for my second free bag anyways…).

When we saw a couple of students with these bags today we knew just what to do.

Student starter packs include: kinder chocolate, liquorice, instant coffee, a ruler, toothpaste, gum, instant noodles, coupons for stuff (in Norwegian, and my lessons don’t start till next week) chocolates, Knäckebrot, nuts, shower gel, cheerios, antibacterial wipes, and a condom of course.