Day 1 - Oslo, Norway

09/09/09-09/10/09

On the plane.
We did it! We survived over 13 hours of airplane travel with an almost 2-year-old! I was really nervous about our flights to Oslo but everything went more smoothly than I thought it would. Naps, snacks, airplane books and Little Einsteins on the iPod made it easy -- as did the extra seat we got lucky enough to score for the longest flight from New Jersey to Oslo. Will fell asleep and slept for the night in the extra seat which meant that we could get some sleep, too!

We landed in Oslo, Norway at about 9:30 am. The airport was beautiful -- all glass, vaulted ceilings and light wood. Definitely Scandinavian. We caught the airport express train into the city -- our first experience with the outrageously high prices of things in this country! -- which also gave us our first little taste of what Norwegian culture is like. The train was very quiet. No one was speaking and even though there were television screens on in the train, there was no sound. There were also no advertisements in the train. It was all very refreshing compared to the bombardment of advertising and constant audio everywhere in the States. People even respected the "no cell phones" signs in the part of the train we were in and took their calls outside the compartment. Amazing!

Karl Johans Gate in Oslo -- the main drag, also where our hotel was located.

The Grand Hotel Oslo
The train ride to the center of Oslo was only about 20 minutes. From there we had about a 10-15 minute walk up Karl Johans Gate to our hotel. We were able to leave our luggage since we were too early to check-in and then immediately went out to hit the sites! We knew we'd have a long day ahead of us trying to catch up to local time (9 hours ahead) so our plan was to stay busy and power-through.

Ready to see some stuff!
This stroller was not designed for cobbled streets, to be sure. Cobbled!
Now here I have to talk about strollers and European streets. I bought this little travel stroller at the last minute before leaving LA (I was originally going to backpack Will around the entire trip - what was I thinking?). I wanted something lightweight and portable as we were trying to pack as light as possible. Well, this stroller is light and portable -- but not so great for cobblestone streets. This stroller, with its small, swively wheels and non-existent shocks, was definitely designed for American sidewalks, pavement and ramped curbs. It's been quite the adventure trying to push this thing over the very cobble-y streets of Norway. Everyone here has these prams with large wheels and shocks and I have definitely wished for one of these guys every day of the trip.

The only advantage to having the small stroller is that when traveling by plane we can push Will all the way up to the door of the plane and then just fold the stroller up and put it in the overhead compartment. I saw a family checking their pram on our most recent flight and it was actually quite an ordeal -- it has to be broken down into two parts, bagged, and then checked like luggage.

So, there have been advantages and disadvantages to this little rickety thing but overall, I'm just glad to have brought anything! The compromise between the big pram and a tiny stroller would actually be our normal stroller we use at home that has larger wheels that can also be locked into a fixed position (so they don't swivel and get stuck in between cobbles). If we ever travel in Europe again with a stroller-aged kid, this is definitely what we'll do.

Stave churches are sooo cool!
First on our itinerary was a visit to the Norwegian Folk Museum. It's located on a little piece of land that juts out into the harbor. To get there we had to take a 10-15 minute ferry ride and then a short walk through adorable neighborhoods, which I loved. The Folk Museum is a collection of structures from different time periods and areas of Norway all moved to this one area. It was incredible. The time span of these buildings was from the 1300s up to examples of present-day decor. This museum was a highlight of Oslo for me as I love historical things that represent day-to-day life and any kind of house in general. There was also a Stave church at the museum which was very cool to see. Stave churches are completely wooden and very dark inside -- there are just a couple of small windows to let in any light at all. I'd like to learn more about them.

This grass-roofed cottage is from the 1300s!! Too cool.

Walking around the neighborhoods.
I love me some white houses!
Viking ship!
The next stop for the day was the Viking Ship Museum which was just another short walk away. The museum is quite small but worth going to. The building itself is beautiful and the ships are really cool. There are also several other Viking era artifacts to see there.

After the ferry ride back across the harbor, we had dinner at a hopping but disappointing (to be expected) Tex-Mex restaurant and were definitely ready for bed at about 8:30.



A review of our hotel: The Grand Hotel is beautiful and historic (opened in 1874). The rooms were small but very clean and comfortable (love Scandinavian beds)! The breakfast was amazing, the concierge and desk staff were very nice and helpful and the location could not be beat. The only complaint I have is that our room faced the back of the hotel which also happens to share the street with a bar and the delivery area of the hotel. The first half of our night was spent trying to sleep through loud music and voices and the second half was spent listening to delivery trucks drive in and out. Luckily we had earplugs, which helped a bit, but I would definitely recommend getting a room that is not in the back. It was not the most restful night I've ever had.

This concludes the first day of our grand adventure. Stay tuned for more fun!