September 30, 2009
I can’t even get over how old these boats are and how well preserved they’ve stayed. The Viking culture is rich in Scandinavia and Oslo has the three largest of any Viking boats still intact housed in their museum.
The Vikings were extremely advanced people. You wouldn’t believe the tools, clothes, houses that they had. I mean, you’re learning about these people that lived thousands of years ago and the descriptions read things like, “and they ate blueberries and cream as an evening snack.” Ok, the museum just said that they ate blueberries and made their own cream. But STILL. You can imagine them eating that as an evening snack, can’t you?
Anyway, throughout the museum, I still very much got a sense of the how sinister the culture could be.
Love the architecture in this museum too.
September 29, 2009
Our hotel was “far” away from the city according to trip advisor. The definition of far, is apparently 20 minutes by subway. Are you kidding me?!? In Santiago if someone lives 20 minutes away from you by subway, you call them your next door neighbor 
Anyway, the added bonus of our far away hotel was that it was up the foothills a little bit outside the city and the view overlooking Oslo was stunning.
This is the Nobel center. If you can’t read that, it says, “From King to Obama.” I find it interesting that Europeans are very well informed on U.S.American politics and a lot of them even know quite a bit about our history, while we, in general, are extremely ignorant of theirs.
Seba’s in there somewhere.
This was our hotel, lit up at night. No, it wasn’t as fancy as it looks. But, it was the cheapest one we could find in Norway where the Trip Advisor weren’t horrendous — we read a few for hostels with comments like, “The room smelled like feces. Literal feces,” and “Someone peed in my bed. MY BED IS NOT A URINAL!!!” So we decided to forego hosteling it and get the most budget hotel we could find. In Norway, where everything is perfect (except the hostels and people shooting up in the middle of the street in the middle of the day), a budget hotel is this. Amazing. Rooms were nothing fancy but the beds were oh so comfortable, it was clean, and the breakfast was in. sane.
Below is an example of not a budget hotel.
This art exhibit talked to you — in Norwegian, of course, so we couldn’t understand any of it. But we read enough to understand that it was some kind of art for the deaf. Pretty cool.
I know this picture is blurry, but I love it anyway.
September 28, 2009
If you’re ever traveling in Oslo, Norway, you have GOT to go see this beautiful building. It’s the opera house. I love the modern contrast against the rest of the historic city.
Can you spot the Chilean in this photo?
You can enter the building free of charge, and there’s a tour you can pay for, which takes you behind the stage area, which we didn’t do. Really, all I cared about was the photography. Somebody, please hire me for a photo shoot at this place!!!!!
Modern meets old school. Stylish dress meets tennis shoes. Seba’s face hasn’t met a razor in months. Such is the unfashionable life of a tourist.
Looking out from the Opera House roof over the bay/fjord/whatever it’s called of Oslo.
Inside the opera house…see, DREAM for photo shooting!!!
Seba tried to photo shoot me, but I’m an unwilling model.
I love traveling with this man so much.
September 27, 2009
Man, I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!! Norway and Ireland are currently tied for my two favorite countries that we’ve visited.
Below, right is a self-portrait of us at night, after my computer died a slow and painful death. Now Seba and I are sharing one computer. Oh, the horror.
The architecture in Oslo was very much as I’d pictured all and everything Scandinavian.
Having some fun in the Oslo metro. By the way, the public transportation there works like a dream, from the three days we experienced. There are little electric clocks at every bus and metro station that tell you exactly how many minutes it will take until a bus or subway train arrives. And they’re always accurate.
Picnics in the park with my hubby on a warm and sunny day in Oslo = absolute heaven.
The Oslo harbor really, and I mean REALLY made me want to go out and explore the fjords all over Norway.
September 26, 2009
This is my group blog post originating from Eileen’s blog!
Also participating — text copied directly from Eileen. Because I’m a lazy mother trucker. And because I’m on vacation.
Angry redhead tells her story of shame and woe here.
Sara shares her horror in Mérida with us here
Clare had written one way back in April (seems like I’m late to the party) here!
Emily had a bit of a close call that she talks about here!
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We’ve been flying Ryanair for all of our flights through Europe. This means that we’ve had to fly out of really, and I mean REALLY tiny airports. There are some benefits to this. You move through the x-ray machine line at the speed of light. You don’t have to walk for miles through a humongous airport carrying your bags. However, the downside to all of this is that when you become a threat to security every passenger on your flight knows it.
We were sitting at Beauvais Airport, about an hour outside of Paris. Our bags were checked and we were just waiting to board when we hear over the loudspeaker, “Will passenger Kyle Hepp please come to the main desk. We repeat, Kyle Hepp to the main desk.”
We approach the main desk and the man immediately starts talking to Seba addressing him as “Monsieur Hepp,” until we are finally able to make him understand that I’m actually Monsieur Hepp. He explains that were just going to have to go with a staff member, there’s been a small problem with my bag.
Then a big burly man in a policeman type outfit walks up. He glares at us. He breaks the silence by asking in a booming voice, loud enough for everyone in the tiny airport to hear, “DO YOU HAVE A CAN OF GAS IN YOUR BAG????”
Ummmm….WHAT?!? Maybe a little something got lost in translation there.
“No monsieur, I do not.”
He looks at me and with a hatred in voice reserved only for evil blond suspects of acts of terrorism, says, “Follow me.”
We do. He leads us into a little room with no windows. My purple backpack is sitting on a table wrapped in plastic. It’s vibrating loudly and the other man in the room looks scared. I laugh and tell them it’s my toothbrush. They don’t look like they think I’m telling the truth and one of them motions to me to open my bag.
I do and it is. I think the two security men were hoping it was a vibrator.
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- @dregonzrob, hahaha, eating wall paper, that's a new one. Dog whisperer dato coming your way :)
- @lanapuckett, when we get back I'll have to introduce you to @gabrielrodriguez, @sebamilla and @sebastiankaulen!
- @dregonzrob, you need the dog whisperer!!!
- Brian McBride is announcing his retirement from the game today. He will go down in history for me as my favorite U.S. player ever. LOVE him.
- Caroline and Tommy should probably stop being this hot or somebody's going to catch on fire. http://tinyurl.com/2feozcy
- Writing w/ @imnotobsessed tomorrow early! Love catching people up on their daily dose of gossip and I <3 @inosherry, my online co-worker :)
