Norway, land of my forefathers.

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God Dag! (good day) Chelsea and I are now in Oslo, Norway staying with one of my dad's second cousins, Tim. We had a pretty good trip here (one hour delay getting out of Dublin, but oh well!). So far Norway strikes me as very similar to the Pacific Northwest. Rugged terrain, lots of mountains and lakes, and saltwater fjords like the Puget Sound.

Oslo is a great city to visit, easy to navigate and it offers lots to see and do. Dang, it is expensive though!!! Everything costs about double compared to the US.

Tim drove us up to a hill that we could see all of the city from, it is truly beautiful! We met some other cousins, Mari and Ole, and they took us around the city for a few hours. They were a lot of fun to hang out with, very funny and easy going, typical Norwegians! Ole is a cop, and I was surprised to find out that police officers in Norway DO NOT carry weapons because they just don't need them. Wild huh?

After a long day of walking around the city (my feet still hurt!) Tim took us to the local hardware store (their Home Depot) to show us where he worked. I was expecting a typical box store, but it looked more like an Apple store from the outside, very modern and slick. Right in front of the store is a great little public park that just opened on the water. We walked along the beach of the Oslo Fjord as the sun was setting. After about 20 minutes I couldn't stand it any longer and I had to jump in! The water was cool but not cold, very refreshing!

Today we are going to visit the Viking Ship museum and see a Norwegian stave church that is 800 years old and built out of wood. Hopefully as we bounce from relative we will be able to be more regular with our posts, we were without internet for a long time in Ireland!

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Photos

Chelsea and Tim
Over looking Oslo.

Ski Jump
Oslo's ski jump with Chelsea doing her best ski jumper impression. A Norwegian holds the ski jump world record, no surprise there right?

Guard
Here we are with Mari and a guard in front of the King of Norway's castle. Intimidating isn't he?

UN
Norway's UN building.

Opera House
Mari, Chelsea, and Ole in front of Oslo's opera house, completely covered with white marble from Italy, cool, impressive, excessive, and expensive! I heard more than one person grumbling about how much it cost to build.

Viggeland Park
Naked angry baby statue, Norwegians are a little strange, no?

Lost
We got a little lost trying to find our way back to Tim' house, and it started pouring rain!

Tim's advice...
...dive in head first with your eyes closed!

Dive!
I had to, it was so inviting!

Comments

[Edmonds Dad]

Norway Swim
OK David; I think it's great that you dove into the water and a picture was taken. I think though, that now your going to have to get Chelsea to dive in at the same place. I think it's the only acceptable thing to do. Norway looks like a wonderful place to visit. So you say that Norway is expensive. We'll see soon enough which place wins in terms of expense; England or Norway. I have heard alot about Norweigan sweaters. We can hardly wait to see them. I think Seattle is the right place to have such sweaters, especially during fall and winter. Edmonds dad

[edmonds mom]

diving champ
David, your dive is impressive! Do you need to detour to Beijing and bring the gold home!! We miss you and love you both and can hardly wait to see the Norwegian sweaters!

[Cuz Ambo/Baby Tyler]

Good Times
Your mom- just sent me your blog link and its fabulous- Im glad to see your keeping up on your diving skills-Im excited to hear about the Viking Ship museum and the rest of your adventures Love ya

[cousin john]

The Fatherland
David, Give my best with a huge embrace to all the Vaage's. I love Jevnaker. Hilsa fra John.