We Made It - FINALLY

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Arriving in Hamad International Airport, Doha after our 14.5hour flight, it was a relief to be able to stretch the legs and walk around. I was shocked to discover I had suddenly developed cankles during the flight, and was relieved I listened to my nurse at Life Blood on the day of our departure who strongly recommended that I DO NOT donate blood as I was more susceptible to blood clots or DVT. Thank you Alyce, I'm so glad I took up your professional opinion otherwise I may have ended up with more than just cankles on this flight!!!!

Although it was only 4.30am, I couldn't believe how warm it was already - 20degrees apparently. One of my dilemma's for this trip was trying to work out what to wear for the flight. Given we left Melbourne late evening, were arriving in Doha early morning and then continuing on to Oslo, I didn't want to wear too much but wanted to be warm too. I ended up going for comfort with leggings, merino wool long sleeve top and slip on Vans but boy, did I overheat during our Doha stopover.

We've been to quite a few airports over the years and they each have different features or attractions. I'd read up on the Hamad International Airport and knew it had quite a few sculptures. One of the first ones we came across was Lamp Bear - a huge seven metre high sculpture of a yellow bear resting against a black Bakelite lamp. Lots of visitors stopped here to get photo's too, how can you resist a giant yellow bear.

What I really liked was the eight interactive bronze sculptures spread throughout the airport. Known as "Other Worlds" by American Sculptor Tom Otterness, they are large scale figures that are set up to encourage play and interaction. Seeing me wander off to take a few photo's, Trav couldn't help commenting that I was off taking photo's of random people's kids again. He calls me the crazy photographer woman, and thinks I'll get in trouble one day for photographing kids without the parents permission. Really, I'm interested in the art, that's all 😊

With four hours to kill we found a bar to have a few drinks and give me time to write my blog. Le Grand Comptoir Bistro Bar looked inviting so we asked for a table and the menu. Neither of us were hungry but I think the waitress expected us to order food. "Don't judge us", I felt the need to say, "but we just want drinks - Classic Mojito and a Corona please". She was quite amused but hey, who cares what time it was.

Finally, it was time to make our way to Gate 22 to get ready for boarding, which was commencing from 8.00am. We were shuttled from the boarding gate to our plane, arriving on the tarmac and had to walk up a metal staircase to get on board. Surprisingly, this flight was only 60% full, so plenty of room to sprawl out.
A highlight was seeing the frozen lakes as we flew into Oslo - initially there was lots of vivid blue lakes and rivers but then we starting spotting lakes covered in ice and it looked very Nordic. So difficult to photograph though.

Arriving at Oslo, we were met by a representative from Imagine Cruising and waited whilst the remainder of our group joined us. There's 18 Aussies all up on this tour, which isn't really a tour but a deal we all bought. Once we board the ship (which holds up to 590 passengers) we'll be joined by people from all over the world.

You'll all love this - our Imagine Cruising representative is a local guide called Siri, just like the Apple iphone intelligent assistant. She told us we can ask her anything and she should be able to answer !!!! Fun fact - Siri is a Scandinavian female given name. It is a short form of Sigrid, with sigr meaning 'victory' and frior meaning 'beautiful' so it literally means "beautiful victory". Siri is a common name in Norway and Sweden, so keep that in mine when you next ask your Siri a question.

Arriving at our accommodation for the next two nights - Thon Hotel Terminus, we freshened up then headed out to explore. The sun was still out but it was starting to get cold and everyone was rugged up in jackets, scarves, beanies and gloves. We were quite central and there was lots of shops nearby and we ended up at Johnny Rockets - an American themed diner where we had burgers and fries.

We were then off in search of somewhere to buy alcohol to bring back to our room and luckily Google pointed us in the right direction. Gulating Oslo was a boutique bottle shop located in lower level of a shopping centre and had beer from all over the world. With so many choices, it took Trav a while to make his selection but ending up buying a six pack of Big Wave Golden Ale from Kona Brewing Company in Hawaii (which we've been to). The past 24hours finally caught up with him though, and he fell asleep before even wetting his lips but tomorrow is another day.

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Photos

Enjoying a drink at La Grand Compoir Bistro Bar
"Don't judge us, we know it's 5.30am"