Weather

Before we moved to Norway, someone reminded us: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad choice of clothes. While we expected more rain days and cooler weather, a change of mindset is still required. It is so much easier to just dress up in t-shirt and shorts and head out the door, knowing it'll be a warm to hot day with only a remote chance of rain. Now, we check the hourly weather forecast for the day and plan the days events and dress accordingly. Rain is just a very likely possibility, and the good days are savored.
Yesterday, the kids and I went to Oslo Reptile Park. It is a small reptile exhibition in downtown Oslo and occupies the basement and 1st floor of a building that looks like it also houses apartments and offices. (Hopefully the tarantula and snake cages are locked well at night!). The kids loved it and Benjamin could not check out all the displays out fast enough, while Annika took her sweet time. The alligator Brutus was a big hit and at one point, Annika proudly pointed and announced: That is my daddy! (She likes to assign names to all sorts of things. Several of the tiles in our bathroom are family members. Posters usually are "Mamma, Babba, Benjamin and me!" in the form of cartoons, animals etc). The over sized, hairy Tarantula was not one of the popular displays. Both kids froze, Benjamin backed away and refused to get close and Annika started crying. Past the tarantula, we saw all sorts of snakes, frogs, monkeys, a macaw and exotic Madagaskar cockroaches (there is nothing exotic about them and reminded me about the the Texas tree roaches). We even got to touch a snake, a harmless little python. Back outside, the return bus was 25 minutes away, so we decided to walk home. The kids did good and it was the usual walk: Benjamin ahead, impatiently wanting to move forward. Annika behind, slowly making her way, looking at every window and every person passing by. No water puddle was missed either.

This morning looked brighter with fewer ominous black clouds. It gave us the courage to venture a little farther away from home and we ended up on Bygdøy. First stop was the Vikingmuseum with three wiking ships on display along with other items from the viking area. Very impressive. We then walked over to the Fram Museum. The building looks like a big tent and houses Fram, the ship used to explore the north and south pole region in the late 1800 to early 1900. We were able to walk on board the ship as well.
Since the day turned out to be so nice, we took the little ferry back. It was only a short 10 minute ride, but we passed up sailboats, kayaks and girls in bikinis paddling around on boards.

The rain is supposed to return tomorrow and we haven't decided what to do or where to go..... but what ever we do, it'll be a fun, little adventure.

Mode of transportation

Now, we are still on a novice level when it comes to commuting here in Oslo, but we are catching on and have a general idea of which buses, trikk (electric trams), t-bane (underground train) and regular trains we need to take to get to places. $40 for a weekly pas for an adult while kids travel for free - and we are free to travel anywhere, anytime in Oslo. Trains out of town require an additional ticket. Buses, trikks, t-bane and trains run all the time and we have never waited for more than 10 minutes for the next ride.

With all the public transportation options, there are plentiful of regular cars around too. Cars are...well...smaller than what we were used to in Texas. There are not that many duallys or large SUVs around here. And then there are these...
They are little, two person, electric.....thingies. I wanted to post a picture of our favorite "Buddy", which is light blue, covered with clouds, but it was not there when this picture was taken. According to this article, Oslo aims at being the leading electric car capital and has special parking areas, free of charge, for these little electric cars. I can already envision the four of us stashed inside the little car with all of our luggage stacked on top of the car like an Ikea commercial......

The best of both worlds

"The best of both worlds" is what came to mind earlier this evening when we enjoyed a good Norwegian supper with cured leg of lamb, potatoes, dark bread and at the same time caught up on the US baseball stats.

Yesterday, a couple of maintenance guys knocked on the door and wanted to upgrade our cable. Carl had only one question: ESPN?? So, thanks to the upgrade, I now have a choice of two channels: ESPN and Disney! The furniture needs an upgrade or two as well and the drain from the washing machine needs to be unclogged so that the bathroom floor does not flood again, but aside from that this is a great place. We are close to everything and even Benjamin is able to find his way to and from the bus, train and mall. There is an abundance of restaurants, theaters and malls in the area.

The kids seem to have settled in and Benjamin likes Norway, all though he still misses his friends back in Texas. Annika is just happy to get to ride the elevator, trains and to follow her older brother around. They haven't caught on to the language yet, all though we faithfully watch Mikke Mus speak Norsk every morning and Annika says "Vær så god", but we'll get there.

We also made the trip out to the sticks earlier this week. We wanted to see our house and the area. After one tram, one train an one bus ride, we were there. We stepped out of the bus with a mixture of "where on earth are we?" and "now what?". The bus driver must have thought we took a wrong turn somewhere, because he stalled the bus as if offering us to step back on and take us back to town. Behind us were a few houses and in front of us a hill with a paved path. We decided to take the path, determined to see our house. After a few minutes we found our street and then our house. Yeah!! At that moment, we decided that this house was a good choice after all. Yes, we are far far away from everything, but this is the perfect spot for kids. There is a little play area across the street, the area seems very quiet (but that is only until our kids move in), the view is great (with Oslo and the fjord in the back ground) and we have a lake right behind our back yard (and a 100ft drop down to that lake). Of course, we have not (in person) seen the house on the inside nor have we lived there during dead of winter, so I reserve the right to change my mind about any of the above mentioned positives:).

Tourists

Oslo is said to be one of the most family friendly destinations in Europe....which is good, when you live in a small apartment with two little energizer bunnies.

This past week, we've seen numerous attractions and have reached them by foot or train. Walking is a way to de-energize our two little bunnies...all though, I am not sure it really works. The kids still have energy in excess by the time we come home. And all the train rides are still for (my) educational value as well as the kids' entertainment. Benjamin seems to pick up on the train schedule too. See, we live right between train stops A and B and yesterday, we were supposed to meet up with Carl at train stop B. Instead of walking straight to B, Benjamin guided Annika and me to train stop A and wanted to ride the train to B. So, our otherwise 5 minute walk turned into a 5 minute walk, 10 minute wait and 2 minute ride. But, he was happy and very satisfied with himself.

Vigeland Park is a very interesting park, filled with over 200 large and small sculptures. Of course the perfect weather and big playground worked out in our favor too. We brought a lunch bag with us and got to enjoy a European style picnic, surrounded by to-go-grill-boxes, bikes parked in the grass and people of all ages enjoying the sun, as if recently coming out of hibernation.
Here is another picture from our trip to Holmenkolbakken. It was a 25 minute tram ride and 15 minute walk to get to the ski jumping hill. Seeing this hill up close makes you appreciate the athletes standing up top, ready to make their jump. The view over Oslo is also great from this location too. This will be one of our destination spots this winter for sure.
We've passed the opera house several times traveling to and from our apartment and the main train station. It's structure and bright white color impossible to miss. So, today, we got to finally "climb" it. It's designed so visitors can walk up a ramp and onto the roof. The kids loved the big ramp and got to run and jump up on the roof too. So far, we are enjoying being tourists here in Oslo. With all these big American cruise ships coming in to port, we really blend in with our sneakers (all though not bright white), jeans, backpack and camera going "click" "click" "click"...

Norway!!!

After months of preparation, decisions and mixed emotions, we are finally here... in Oslo, Norway!!

Omma and Abbi took us to the airport and it was hard to say good bye. The flight was ...well, it had its ups and downs. Benjamin is older now and he got a new Nintendo DS for the trip, so he enjoyed the flight, played and slept through most of it. Annika, having higher standards when it comes to comfort and entertainment,... well, she did not enjoy it quite as much as her older brother......! The first view of Norway was snow covered mountains...my first thought was: Pilot, turn around..we made a mistake!!! But eventually snowy mountains turned into lush green woods and fields...Phew...Oslo it is, Pilot!! Entry and luggage was no problem. Trains are no problem either. Taxi drivers are CRAZY!. Our temporary apartment is very nice and we like it here...our downstairs neighbor may not share that opinion after cars and airplanes crash landing on the wooden floor. We are a few minutes walk from just about everything downtown and just a short block from the harbor. Immigration...well, sucks and this appears to be a global problem..... but we will get set up one day and from there, it will be piece of cake!! So far, so good....

Today, we have played our tourist role here... with camera, backpack and the tourist look. We walked down Karl Johans Gate, saw the castle and change of guards and later made a trip up to Holmenkolbakken. The kids did good. Considering all the walking, they did great!! We've been riding on trams and trains and Carl questioned and educated me along the way on the Oslo public transportation system. Yes, the American showing the European how to use public transportation!
Tomorrow.... The kids and I will have a go at the immigration service. Well, it should not so much be an issue, as all we need is a SSN. Good luck to us and hope, things turn out well.

Time to get used to the long summer days... it's 10.30pm here and almost full daylight....