Visits - April 09

Well, this was a superb trip, even though I only spent five days in Norway I packed in a lot of what I wanted to do.

There were many reasons for this trip, one being to see my friends before they had their first child, another because I had not been over for a few years and to show my girlfriend Koren what I had been talking about all the years we had been together.

She had never been to the Scandinavia before so this was her first experience of Nordic life.

We arrived on the Thursday at Gardermoen airport in Oslo. From the plane I could see that many higher areas of the country were still covered in snow and even some of the lakes were frozen over. My friends Hanne and Espen picked us up and we headed back to Askim. We passed a few places I remembered working and visiting and quite a lot of petrol stations I had eaten pølser! (always remember where I ate).

We arrived at my friends house, ate and spent the night drinking and chatting, was good to catch up.

On the Friday we went into Oslo on the train from Askim, was a gorgeously sunny day and was 18oC. Apparently the snow had gone about two weeks before we came over, so the plants had not started to grow yet. This was a shame as seeing the trees and plants in full bloom in the Summer and seeing Norway in the dead of Winter really shows the contrast in the seasons.

In Oslo we walked from Oslo S station down to Aker Brygge via Karl Johans Gate and had something to eat and drink. We then headed to Nationaltheatret and took the Metro to see Vigeland Sculpture park. This is somewhere I had never been before so was great to see something new. We then took the tram back across Oslo, so to see more of the city and headed home on the train.

That evening we visited some friends of mine (Espen's brother Jørn, Hege, Mathilda and Selma) and had dinner with him and his family. There were eight of us sitting round, eating, drinking, chatting, although the majority of the conversation was in Norwegian because I still understood about 90% of what they were saying. Was good to see them again and I had a great time.

Its strange our communication, where someone would talk to me in Norwegian and I would reply in English, but we understand each other. However, I had to translate some of the evenings conversation to my girlfriend Koren as she had no clue what they were talking about, but for next time I will teach her the basics.

On the Saturday we had a walk around Askim to see what the town was like and stopped in a cafe to have a quick drink, then went to see a couple of the local hydro-electric plants. That evening more friends of mine came round for a gathering including Morten, Eline, Rossi (the dog) and the magnificent Kai. Was great to see my friends again and had a laugh.

On Sunday we traveled to Drøbak, walked around the harbour town and did the "tourist" thing, then had a drink in a bar. Saw Santa's posthouse, as Drøbak is said to be where letters that are sent to Santa end up. The houses and harbour were gorgeous, just as I remembered.

This was such as great trip, saw my old friends, saw some new sights and drank a few beers. Even though it was a whirlwind tour I left Norway with a smile on my face, that although I am a thousand miles away I know I have great friends over there and will be always be welcome when ever I like.

However, there is still so much more to see and do there.... time to plan my next trip I think!

Make sure to check the Gallery page for a few photos of this trip and more information.