Starting out in Norway

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SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2009 - TRAVEL DAY: SWEDEN TO NORWAY

Travel day again today. For some reason we got up stupidly early and were ready (including cleaning out the room) about half an hour before breakfast.

Breakfast was at 7:15am and we were packed and on the coach by 8am. About three hours later we had a first break for toilets and burgers (for those people still hungry!), then hit the road for another few hours. Then it was a short stop for lunch (today was burritos along with fruit and biscuits and cheese) and then back onto the road. Eventually got into Oslo at around 5pm and picked up our seven new people (or a portion there of).

Dinner (beef stroganoff and potatoes with left over burritos and fruit and cream for dessert) was at 7pm and by now the temperature had dropped quite significantly. Had a run in with a local tourist/ Irish boy who when some of the guys from our group were playing ball invited himself to join. He then started telling them what to do and making up games - then got very competitive; when they told him we had to go to dinner he tried to sit down with us until someone told him to go away and he got all mad and started swearing, After dinner a lot of people ended up staying around the cook tent having a few drinks and just chatting. Timmy got out the guitar a little later on and we even had a sing-song - without the fire and marshmallows though!! Just before 11pm the security guards came around to remind us to shut up from 11pm, so at 11pm most people headed to the warmth of cabins and bed!

MONDAY 31 AUGUST 2009 - OSLO, NORWAY

Slightly later start this morning with breakfast at 8:15am. As usual, my cabin was incredibly early to breakfast again even though I wasn’t the first one up for once. Hot breakfast this morning which was nice - eggs and sausages along with cereal and toast. We were all on the coach by 9am and ready to go.

First stop for everyone on the coach; and my only stop; was Vigeland Statue park which I visited last time I was in Oslo and which was covered in snow. Was nice to see it without the snow - although I am not sure that the temperature today was a whole lot warmed to be honest. Everyone else was then heading onto the Viking Ship Museum and that area of Oslo which I had also already seen so I got a tram into the city and did some shopping as I needed to pick up a pair of runners and another pair of jeans and a hoodie as I didn’t pack nearly enough warm clothes. Also managed to find a post office finally and post back a small parcel of things for a stupidly expensive price. Oh well - needed to make room for a few new items didn’t I??

By the time I had done all of that it was early afternoon and starting to rain so I headed to Arkersus Castle which I had walked around last time but which we couldn’t go into because it was closed for winter. Got a free audio guide and spent a good hour or so wandering through the rooms; many of which are still used for official guests and events, etc. The audio guide even came with ghost stories - one explained where the phrase ‘storm in a teacup’ is thought to come from - apparently some Norwegian witches coordinated with some Scottish witches to start a storm to stop a boat getting between the countries - they did this in an earthenware container. Not sure how exactly. All of them were burnt at the stake for witchery though. Interesting.

When I left there I had planned to have a look at some other things around town that I missed last time but it was raining steadily and not letting up so I made my way to the bus station to get a bus back to the campsite. Our pick up from City hall wasn’t until 8:30pm but I wasn’t going to hang around five hours for the sake of it - so went back early and got stuck into another uni assignment and used the crappy internet while it was not being used and while there was no queue. Some people also got home earlier and others didn’t until 9pm when the bus came back - everyone very cold and wet after their day in Oslo!

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