Norway 99
Wednesday 05-
We drove to MSP and then departed non-stop to Oslo. It took about 6
1/2 hours.
Thursday 06-
Mom and I in Oslo
We arrive ad 10am and I was very tired. 10am feels like 3am
Fargo time. The Oslo airport was beautiful and it obviously cost a lot
to build. It had hard wood floors, lots of glass and wood.
We spent the day wondering the streets of Oslo. We toured Akershus,
a fortress from the 1200’s. We watched a building burn down from our hotel
window. The fire was blazing for a good hour and it was smoldering for
a good day afterwards. The building was a warehouse by the train tracks.
Friday 07-
Mom and I in Vigland Park
We took the "Highlights of Oslo tour and saw the famous ski
jump, Vigeland Park, the Viking Ship Museum, and the Kontiki museum.
Vigeland Park was a bunch of metal sculptures of nude people.
I didn’t think it was all that interesting. Vigeland was very over rated.
The Viking Ship museum was a lot like the Hjelmcomphs center in Fargo,
but still worth seeing. The Kontiki was a reed-raft that sailed the ocean.
It was amazing that a reed raft could survive the Atlantic and pacific.
Saturday 08-
We visited Lillehammer, but it was disappointing. The Olympic
museum was closed because of a hockey tournament and all the shops closed
at 3pm. In Norway shops close at 3 on Saturday and are closed all day Sunday-
very different from the US.
Sunday 09-
The Captian and I
Since everything closes on Sunday, we decided to make Sunday
a travel day. We road the train from Oslo to Myrdal. Myrdal was high up
in the fjords and had full snow cover. We road a steep, curvy train from
Myrdal at the top of the fjord to the bottom. From there we road a boat
to Gudvanger. The boat and train ride was absolutely beautiful. I would
dare to say that that was the most beautiful part of the whole trip. From
Gudvanger we rode the bus to Voss and then the train to Bergen.
A Scenic Area by Flam
Monday 10-
Bryggen on the Shore of Bergen
We went to the Bergen Aquarium. While they were feeding the
sea otters, we saw a seagull swoop down and eat a WHOLE fish in one bite.
I didn’t realize that a seagull could do that! That night we just shopped
around the city a little bit.
Tuesday 11-
Grieg's Home and Surrounding Area
We went on the Bergen City Tour and saw the old Bergen museum
and Grieg’s Home. Grieg’s Home (Troldhaugen) was probably one of my favorite
things we did. For those of you who didn’t know, Grieg is my favorite composer....
so it was quite thrilling to see the fjords that inspired many of his songs.
That afternoon we went on a boat tour of Bergen’s harbor.
Wednesday 12-
We went to the Hanseatic Museum. The museum was an old wooden
building built during the Hanseatic Trading time with the Germans. Life
was horrible for the Germans who lived in these old wooden buildings. The
buildings had no light (no lamps because lamps start fires), they were
cold and the work was tough. The guide told us about life as a trading
apprentice and it sounded like a lot of work with little reward. As an
initiation, they kids were mistreated and abused.... they even had to sleep
locked up so that they wouldn’t try to escape.
We went to the museum of Decorative Art. It was a little disappointing,
but it still had some neat pieces. There was a really cool chair that looked
like lips.
We road the Floybain Funicular to a mountain overlooking Bergen.
The view was really good!
Thursday 13-
We road a huge pontoon from Bergen to Stavanger. The view wasn’t
as impressive as before, but it was still pretty. The ride was very smooth
since it was a pontoon. When we arrived in Stavanger, we walked around
the down town and watched the sun set.
Friday 14-
We shopped in the down town area and then took the bus to Kvadrat,
Norway’s largest mall. It was nice to see shops that didn’t have your same-old-same-old
tourist junk. There was a jazz festival in Stavanger, so we had a drink
by the wharf while listening to a jazz ensemble play. We ate at a "local"
pub and then went to bed.
Saturday 15-
A Play in Kristiansand
We road the train to Kristiansand. We were going to stay there,
but the tourism office was closed and it looked like everything else was.
After we got tickets for the next train out of Kristiansand, we found the
"main shopping street". All the shops were open and there were tons of
people. We saw a class putting on a play in the street. It was cute, but
I had no idea what was happening since it was in Norwegian. We rode the
train to Oslo that night, and it got to be a long trip (5 hours).
Sunday 16-
We spent most of the day being taken around Oslo by Johanna.
Johan is a Norwegian Sami Parliament Member that my mom met at the Norsk
Hostfest in Minot, ND. I thought it was really interesting to find out
information about Norway from a real Norwegian. At the bottom of this page
is a list of stuff about Norway he told us.
Monday 17-
Independence Day Parade in Oslo
The 17th was Norway’s independence day. They celebrate all day
long and have huge parades of kids. Unlike the US, where kids parade around
with guns, the Norweigens paraded around cheering and waving the Norweigen
flag. We left that afternoon and after 8 hours on the plane and 4 in the
car, we made it home.
Things Johan Said about Norway:
1. Min Wage is about $20,000 - $30,000 USD a year.
2. Everything costs about 2-3 times as much as in the US.
3. Norway is the Richest, then Finland, and Sweden is the least rich.
4. Norway is a Titular Monarch. The king has no power, and many want
to get rid of him.
5. All Health care is free. You can choose your doctor, but you may
have to wait. There is private health care (that you can pay extra for)
and then you don’t have to wait as long.
6. The government takes your money before you even see it, so there
is no dreaded tax day like the US has.
7. Savings accounts are taxed.
8. The government gives you a retirement proportional to your salary.
9. 62 is retiring age.
10. If a bus or train is 20 minutes late, the transportation to your
final destination is free.
11. The Sweden/Norway border is one of Europe’s oldest.
12. Norway is getting many immigrants who don’t want to blend with
Norway’s culture. He things the Norwegian culture is being destroyed.
13. Norwegians start to learn English when they are 6 years old.
14. Norway has 3 official languages: Old Norweigen, New Norwegian,
and Sami.
15. Welfare is $600 USD a month (+ rent money). That is how much you
need to survive.
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