July 15th
So yesterday (July 14th) was pretty much amazing. We (Dad and I) Got up early-ish and went to the Central Station to grab coffee then went across the street to the Raddisson to meet up with Ingrid and Jon.. Ingrid was a classmate of Dad's at Arthur Hill and he met up with her last time he was here (27 years ago) we were waiting a bit because we had arrived early. They then arrived in a little silver car. Ingrid almost got out of the car before it stopped, she was so excited. I met her and Jon and they were so enthusiastic about showing us around Oslo and places we haven't been. They first drove us up to this mountain area which had a fantastic view. There was a restaurant that would be open if it wasn't summer, so they (Ingrid and Jon) decided it would be better to go to Holmenkollenn restaurant near the ski jump. It was very nice again, a lovely view of Oslo. We had some open faced sea-food sandwiches with some tea and coffee and sat by the window and chatted quite a bit. At this point, we found out they had planned for us to eat dinner with them, and Dad and I thought this wouldn't last half the day!
After the lunch, we headed to the Kontiki Museum . The Kontiki was a raft that sailed half the Pacific. It was run by a Norwegian named Thor Hierdal who also sailed a reed boat across the Atlantic. It was really interesting and fascinating that they made it the whole way. What was more interesting was that Dad been reading the book Kontiki that he has had since middle school about the Kontiki journey. We did a little shopping at the museum and then headed out. Ingrid and Jon drove us around and showed up so much about Oslo, a lot of it neither dad nor I had expected to accomplish in one weekend, let alone in one night!
They then drove us to their little flat. It was so quiant and cozy, but at the same time, there was always something to look at and admire. We had a drink (Gin and Tonic ...eewkk) and talked . We then headed over to the facy-set dinner table for this "small cold dinner." Cold, maybe, but not small by any means. We first had an open-faced sandwich with locke and a cinnamon sauce. That in itself would have sufficed for me considering the snacks we had before, but ingrid brought out a tray of ham, deviled eggs, sheep sausages, tomatoes and avacados. Following that was strawberries and icecream. She kept insisting that we eat more and more, but it really was not possible. We were thoroughly stuffed. Jon, who had been so eager and enthusiastic about showing us around, took us to Frogner park, where the Vigeland statues wree. They basically have the Vigeland park in their backyard. So after touring that a little bit, we decided to get going to our apartment. We were expecting to be dropped off at the Central Station, as it would not be too long of a trek, really BUT Ingrid insisted that she drive us as close to our door as possible. As I had never driven there or had even been driven there, this is not the way I would have wanted to try to get us home. I have only traveled to my place via Subwya. Needless to say, Ingrid and Jon did not know either. When we finally arrived, rather than crashing like I'm sure we both could have done, we had to pack and clean like whoa. We then crashed (at like 12:15)
After the lunch, we headed to the Kontiki Museum . The Kontiki was a raft that sailed half the Pacific. It was run by a Norwegian named Thor Hierdal who also sailed a reed boat across the Atlantic. It was really interesting and fascinating that they made it the whole way. What was more interesting was that Dad been reading the book Kontiki that he has had since middle school about the Kontiki journey. We did a little shopping at the museum and then headed out. Ingrid and Jon drove us around and showed up so much about Oslo, a lot of it neither dad nor I had expected to accomplish in one weekend, let alone in one night!
They then drove us to their little flat. It was so quiant and cozy, but at the same time, there was always something to look at and admire. We had a drink (Gin and Tonic ...eewkk) and talked . We then headed over to the facy-set dinner table for this "small cold dinner." Cold, maybe, but not small by any means. We first had an open-faced sandwich with locke and a cinnamon sauce. That in itself would have sufficed for me considering the snacks we had before, but ingrid brought out a tray of ham, deviled eggs, sheep sausages, tomatoes and avacados. Following that was strawberries and icecream. She kept insisting that we eat more and more, but it really was not possible. We were thoroughly stuffed. Jon, who had been so eager and enthusiastic about showing us around, took us to Frogner park, where the Vigeland statues wree. They basically have the Vigeland park in their backyard. So after touring that a little bit, we decided to get going to our apartment. We were expecting to be dropped off at the Central Station, as it would not be too long of a trek, really BUT Ingrid insisted that she drive us as close to our door as possible. As I had never driven there or had even been driven there, this is not the way I would have wanted to try to get us home. I have only traveled to my place via Subwya. Needless to say, Ingrid and Jon did not know either. When we finally arrived, rather than crashing like I'm sure we both could have done, we had to pack and clean like whoa. We then crashed (at like 12:15)