The Viking and I

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So 4 months to the day we arrived back in Ireland and we were off to Oslo on a mini adventure. Its tough enough to pick countries in Europe that neither of us have been to but the whole of Scandinavia was unchartered territory for both of us...hooray! The reason it is unchartered, however, is the expense. A little advice...never under estimate the cost of travelling in Scandinavia!

Thursday night, election day in Ireland, we headed to Lucan so Ed could vote...while chatting with his sister outside the polling station I noticed a pain in my stomach, when I got back to the car I discovered two red patchs. Hypocrondriac Amy jumped into action and decided I had shingles (I'd been in contact with Chicken Pox twice the previous week). Calamity what about Norway? Was it irresponsible to travel with an air bourne disease on a plane? Ed laughed at me and told me to stop being so dramatic. As usual he was right, I woke on Friday perfectly well...I guess I'm alergic to politicians.

So to Oslo we went with the most complained about airline in Europe...trusty Ryanair! As usual no problems, if you wanna fly cheap then stop whinging people. We arrived in Oslo (well Torp actually...120K south of Oslo) and got our first taste of Norways extortionate prices...35 Euro for a bus to the city. Luckily we stocked up on some duty free wine and were smug in the knowledge. For any wannabe future travellers to Oslo here is a sample of prices (1.5 litres of water €3.50, small cup of takeaway coffee €3.00, Burger King Meal Deal €13, cheapest wine on most menus €35)

Oslo is a really chilled out city with a small town feel. Its right on the water (much of which is monopolised by containers and commercial port facilities) but enough left for a zillion small boats and yachts. We walked everywhere and ended each day with achy legs. There are more museums than you could visit in a month and there is art everywhere. A little birdy christened Ed with some art of his own much to my amusement.

So what is Norway famous for? in our ignorance we thought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was its most famous export. Well he is important if you are a Man U fan, if not Edvard Munch and Henrik Ibsen may be more your thing. The first is famous for his painting The Scream, which we were delighted to see at The National Gallery (we heard it was stolen a couple of years ago).
The later, to quote wikipedia;
:Henrik Johan Ibsen (March 20, 1828 - May 23, 1906) was a major Norwegian playwright largely responsible for the rise of modern realistic drama. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama."

And of course the vikings...who could forget! We visited the Viking Ship museum and were blown away by three ships believe to be dated from circa 900 AD. These guys were tough...they were the first Europeans to reach the Americas. The open boats left little shelter from the rain and artic seas! By the way, I'm a viking...the immigration official asked why I could not speak Norwegian and explained that my name is in fact Norwegian. Now I always believed I was a Huguenot but either which way I guess my barbaric roots my explain some of my mood swings.

Norway is not without its problems, alcohol seems to be as much of a blight as it is in Ireland and in a 5 minute walk to a restaurant at 8:30 in broad daylight we happened upon 3 guys shooting up and two prossies on a corner! Shades of O'Connell Street, Dublin me thinks!

We can't wait to go back and see the Fjords, the Northern Lights and some big scary wildlife.

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Comments

[Claire]

13 euro for royale with cheese???
scary prices! Will not put Oslo at top of list for a while then! Hope all well with you guys! big kiss from big Holly! C.