Oslo

My third stop this summer was Oslo. (Yes, I know: it's November and I'm still writing about my summer travels. One of these days I'll catch up!) I added Norway to my itinerary once I learned that my Dutch friend Lucia is living in Oslo with her family. I haven't been back to Holland since I spent a semester in Amsterdam in 1996, and when I contacted Lucia I was thinking it would be fun to reconnect with her there. (It had been a while since we were last in touch - I thought she still lived in Rotterdam!) Removing the Netherlands from my travel plans was a little disappointing, but the chance to visit Norway instead more than compensated!

I really, really liked Oslo. Lucia and her husband were great hosts, and catching up with her and getting to know her family was definitely a highlight of my time there. I also enjoyed all the sites that the city has to offer. There are a number of great musuems, including The National Gallery (where I saw The Scream - stolen twice in the last couple of decades, but now back in place, displayed safely behind a thick glasss case and carefully watched by museum guards), the Viking ship museum, Nobel Peace Prize Museum, Norwegian Folk museum - all very different, and all well worth visiting.

The coffee shops were great, too. They say Norwegians drink more coffee per capita than any other people on earth - reading that made me fall in love with the place before I even got there. As many of you know, I love bread and sweets as much as I love coffee - baked goods abounded in Norway too, and they were very, very good. Most mornings Lucia and I walked together to drop her son off at pre-school, then sat down to enjoy cake or a pastry and a cup of bitter black goodness. We tried out a different coffee shop each time; here we are with her daughter Filipa at the Grand Cafe, where Henrik Ibsen was once a regular:


After coffee, I usually continued exploring on my own - touring the museums I mentioned above, walking on the waterfront, exploring City Hall, where the Peace Prize is awarded, walking through parks and the grounds of the Royal Palace - and just wandering the streets, enjoying the atmosphere of this beautiful city. One of those mornings I toured with Lucia's friend Esther; I met her 12 years ago when we all went to Paris together for a weekend, but I hadn't seen or been in contact with her since then. She was visiting Lucia the week before I arrived, and our time in Oslo overlapped by one day. It really is a small world!

A couple of evenings I went running with Lucia and one of her German friends in Vigeland Park; as we jogged, I leared a lot about Norwegian barnehage (sort of a national pre-school system, which is apparently where Norwegians begin learning to be so tough! Look for more on Norwegian toughness when I get to my next post.). I also got lots of insight into the many decisions facing parents who are raising their children abroad, especially regarding language and education. Other evenings we relaxed at home, chatting and watching the Olympics with Lucia's husband, Pim.

If you're interested in more photos from the city, click on the album below:

Oslo