Oslo With Paul!

After our fantastic holiday in London, Paul and I flew back to Oslo for our final week together. Our time in Oslo was a skiing, seeing the sights, and of course, chowin' on some good grub!

One Must-See spot for every visitor to Oslo is Vigelandsparken, the famous sculpture park. We headed there on our first full day in town, after finding some sweet scores at a local shop. (Who are we kidding? It was the thrift store. It wouldn’t be a K & P Adventure if we didn’t do a little thrift store shopping, right?)

The following day, we started the “Great Goose Chase of 2010”: trying to rent skis in Oslo. Goose chase, you ask? Shouldn’t it be easy to find a pair of rental cross-country skis in the capital of the nation that INVENTED the sport? Well, that’s what we thought too. Turns out that we were wrong. After hours of sports shops, T-bane rides and dead-ends; we ended up at a tiny one-man hut near the top of one of the hills that surround Oslo. It is the only place in the whole city that rents skis! We asked the man behind the counter why that was, and he was as baffled as we were. He said that it was ‘crazy’ that more places don’t rent, and we agreed. We spent the days before the hut trip warming up on some flat terrain behind the student village where I live. Paul caught on quickly and by the final day of his visit, he smoked me up the six-kilometer climb to Ullevålseter.

 

City Hall, New Year's Eve

For New Year’s Eve, Paul and I headed down to City Hall to watch the fireworks display put on by the city. It turns out that more than just the city puts on fireworks. The plaza in front of City Hall turns into a firecracker war-zone, with inexperienced pyro-technicians (aka whoever wants to buy a firework) setting them off left and right. We managed to avoid stray fireworks and the show overlooking the Oslofjord was pretty incredible. I was glad to ring in 2011 with Paul, and even more glad to have all of my limbs attached at the end of the night.

Earlier in the week, a friend of a friend had described their visit to the Norwegian Musuem of Science and Technology, and it sounded right up our alley. I think what really hooked us was when he said “It is great for kids, but we had fun anyway.” We made a day of it, and were not disappointed. The upper floors had information about the progression of music players through the ages, modes of transportation, computers, Norway’s role in oil extraction in the North Sea, and advancements medicine. On the bottom floor was the hands-on portion, complete with a thermal camera, mega-Tanagrams, and an entire display on alternative energy sources.

The second museum that we visited was the Norwegian Folk Museum. It is a collection of buildings from around Norway from all periods of time, and visitors are able to stroll through the open-air museum and be part of the time period in which the building are from. The central attraction of the museum is the Stave Church, an incredible piece of architecture that was brought to Oslo in 1884. It has a long history, and it took 3 years to even get it to Oslo from Northern Norway because of snow conditions! 

Eating out in Oslo is an expensive proposition, but thanks to many generous Christmas donations from friends and family, I took Paul out to a charming restaurant Tullins Café. The atmosphere was almost as cool as the tables, which were inlayed with old lockets, jewelry and photos. The food was fantastic as well! 

It was more than hard to say goodbye to Paul. Just as I was getting used to life together again, my apartment turned from messy and loud to clean, quiet, and more than a little lonely. Since my return to the States in the summer is still open, we don’t know when we will see each other next. He has given me a huge gift by supporting my decision to move away for an entire year. Thank you, Paul! You are incredible.

It was the greatest Christmas present I have ever received to have Paul with me for three weeks. I want to THANK both sets of parents for helping make all legs of our vacation possible!

Long Time, No Blog

I've been a busy lady. 

Since my last post (which was shamefully long ago) I have:

Gotten a small taste of Scotland

Ridden a train along the coast of the United Kingdom

Been reunited with Paul(!)

Celebrated the birthday of an incredible woman

Shared a brilliant English Christmas with some folks who know how to do it right

photo courtesy of E. Gillingham

Explored Norwegian forests with my Partner-in-Crime

and so much more!

Come back soon for full recaps. Thanks for your patience. 

Petey...

Although this post is not Norway related, I would like to dedicate it to two amazing years with one incredible guy! I am officially the luckiest human on this earth. Thank you for sending postcards from Happy Camp, waking up early to skype with me, putting up with my wacky family, and supporting me along every step of this journey.

We have had some fun adventures, 

and I know there are many more to come.

I love you.

Snow Dreams

For those of you who knew me in high school, you know that I was an avid Nordic (cross-country) skier. One of the reasons why I picked Norway to spend my year abroad was the allure of a country rooted in the sport, where there is no separate ski culture- it just is culture. This is the land of skiing legends! When I decided to choose to come here for my year abroad, many folks asked "Why Norway?" Those that know me well just smiled, nodded and said "So you're bringing your skis?"

Last fall, as I was throwing around the idea of spending a year away from this incredible new life I had just created in California, I wrote the following to try to sort out my feelings:

My strongest dreams are encrusted in snow. Frosted trees and perfect grooming in West Yellowstone, the “Snow Farm” of New Zealand, and glacier cruising in Scandinavia fill my thoughts when I need to escape. What am I doing here on the coast in snow-starved Arcata, CA? There is a possibility that my call for “something different” may have been too extreme. Should I retrace my steps, acknowledge my falter in judgment and choose a school with snow and skiing accessibility? Or should I stick it out, learn a new sport, embrace my new (incredible) team, and be ever so grateful when I return to those groomed trails of my dreams?

On the topic of Nordic, I trace back to why I love the sport so much. It comes down to three main facets: My coaches and team, the intensity of training and racing, and the outdoor nature of the sport.

My coaches were more than I could have ever asked for. Strong, intelligent, experienced men and women, with real lives, ready to impart to you all they knew. And so many of them! They performed workouts with us, raced every interval on our ski tails, and dedicated so much more time than they were ever paid for. The team was based on goals and fun, doing well and having a blast.

Nordic was, by far, the hardest thing I have ever done. There were days when I was not sure I could make it back to the cabin. The racing was breathtaking- literally. I pushed myself so hard (physically and mentally) that I thought I would never become lazy in my whole life. Sitting here now, I long so badly to have that back! It was something that I loved working my body to the limits for everyday. That is missing. 


I was outside everyday, with just the trees and the silent snow and the moose. I always say that this is my church. This is my communion and confession and prayer meeting. This is where I can sort things out, think over difficult decisions, and make choices about my life. 

With that missing, I feel somewhat lost. I don’t have the “me” time any longer, and I feel a sense of floating. If I could have one or two good skis, I could tell you if I was going to take the bike trip, make my decision about a major, and decide about studying abroad. It clears the mind.

Is it terrible that I am dependant on that link in order to happily live my life? Why is it that I can’t make those important decisions now, without skis on my feet? Am I using skiing and snow as a crutch for my happiness? I’m not sure. All I know is that we make the life that we want to live. I chose to place myself in Arcata, and I have had a great reward for it- I have met the man of my dreams. Let me tell you, I am completely thrilled that we agree that snow is an integral part of our future. So now, I must follow my heart and go with the weather. Go to the snow.