Norge

I'm back from Norway! It's been an adventurous and tiring weekend, but totally worth it! And the whole world is still rocking I still feel like I'm on a boat.  Friday afternoon I boarded the cruise ship with Annie, Karen, Lindsay and a postcard with Sammie's face, because she couldn't make it but wanted to be there in spirit. The ship was much bigger and nicer than we expected, and there were a ton of people! There were two whole decks of cars that people drove onto the ship, too! To give you an idea of how cheap/teeny/tight our room was, we stayed in a room that was actually below the two decks of cars. I'm pretty sure were underwater--there wasn't a window (probably a good thing) so we had no idea.We decided that if we were in the Titanic we definitely would have been the ones locked in the bottom who weren't even allowed to try to escape. Lowest of the lowest class--that's us.  But the room ended up being really cozy and comfortable for what we needed. The ship had so many places to hang out with amazing views that it didn't matter at all.
We had absolutely perfect weather and tried to make the most of it by sitting outside but it was so windy that we had to retreat indoors after the ship debarked except for some obligatory pictures with the sunset. Then we tried to locate the pool's "Adventure Club" promising a sauna, steam room, and pool. The name was a little bit ambitious for the size of the area but it was nice to relax somewhere warm. Then we all showered and got ready to go out after dinners made of various snacks we brought on board--everything on the boat was SO expensive! There were some fun places to go out and dance on the boat so we did that and then hit the hay so we could have energy for Oslo!

I'm on a boat!! (sorry I had to...)

When we landed in Oslo about 930am we were a little confused and probably should have better planned what we were going to do for the day. We ended up buying tickets to one of those hop-on, hop-off buses that takes you to all the big attractions in the city, which I think ended up being a good move. We probably could have gotten a better price for just transportation to where we wanted to go but it was nice to take the scenic route and see things we probably wouldn't have seen, like the Royal Palace and this huge shopping street. And there's this giant ski jump in the middle of the city that we got to see from afar. The first place we got out was this amazing sculpture garden--Vigeland Sculpture Park. There were hundreds of sculptures of people spread out and they all were made to depict different human emotions. They had old people and babies and parents with kids and couples and friends and it was so weird because usually statues don't really seem to have personalities, but I really wouldn't have been surprised if these guys had just started walking around.

We hopped back on the bus and rode out to Bygdoy which was much more rural and had beautiful rolling hills and woods and things like that. We stopped at the Norwegian Folk Museum, but actually entering the museum was unfortunately a little pricy so I just browsed the gift shop for presents from the homeland for my family. We did a lot of walking into the lobbies and outside of museums but failed to enter any of them because we were too cheap and were running out of time. I'm kind of regretting that now, though. Hopefully it won't be my last time visiting Norway. I keep being torn between feeling like I should just suck it up and spend money where I am because who knows when I will have these opportunities again...and also realizing that there are other places I will want to travel and that I should probably remember to keep saving for those things too. That seems to be my biggest struggle here...deciding what is worth spending on and what is not. Unfortunately pastries really seem to be winning in the "worth it" department so far....

Anywayss....we hopped back on our bus and headed back to downtown Oslo where we walked around some shopping streets and along a harbor. We ran into some kind of food festival which was filled with free samples! I tasted fresh apples, all kinds of smoked salmon, and crepes. There was SO much food and it was all free it was amaaazzing. Next on the Norway List was to hit up a few touristy shops and find ourselves some authentic Norwegian sweaters. Andd I got one. It's awesome. I am actually wearing it now. Definitely goes with the pastries under the "worth the money" category....it's soft and fuzzy and my favorite colors--cream, grey, and various shades of blue! Surprise!
We attempted to go to the National Gallery, which my guidebook promised was free, but alas, another museum fee. Stupid lying guide book...the group I was with was still not into those fees, so unfortunately we didn't get to see the famous Edward Much painting, "The Scream," which I was actually really looking forward to. By this point in the day we were fading fast and all I could think about was my cozy boat bed (which was actually one of the most comfortable places I've ever slept) but we decided to make one last stop at the national opera house. And I am SO glad we did! I don't know anything about architecture but I can tell you that this building is one of the coolest most brilliant buildings I've ever seen. It's right on the water and the roof basically is connected to the ground by these ramps....never mind it's hard to explain but I will show pictures! And I got to eat an adorable Norwegian heart-shaped waffle with jelly while sitting on one of the slanty parts. Perfect ending to the day!

As soon as we got back on the boat all 4 of us crashed and took a nap and woke up to watch the ship debark. Overall I'm really glad I decided to go to Norway. I picked up some soil for you, Aunt Barbara, but I didn't see any of the names you gave me! It was cool to think that I have some anchient ancestors that could have hung out around where I did, and if I go back I definitely want to stay longer and go up into the countryside, it looked beautiful.
That evening we hung around like old people playing cards and reading until "dinner"--more pb&j/nutella sandwiches and going out again. One of the clubs had karaoke, and another had a live band playing ABBA songs and Grease medleys, which all made me the happiest girl in the world. It was stormy last night on our way back and the boat was way more rocky than it had been the first night. I think that might be why I actually still feel like I'm on a boat. It's a really funny feeling.

Today after I got back I had yet another transportation struggle. As some of y'all know I managed to lose my bus pass on my short study tour last weekend....I purposely put it in a zippy pocket that I was sure it wouldn't fall out of. Fail. It obviously fell out somewhere because it was not in my bag when I tried to take my bus back to my kollegium. So I've been biking a lot more which has been awesome, and I no longer wince every time I sit on my rock hard teeny weeny bike seat anymore! It's a big step. Anyways....I bought this 10-ride clip card that I'm supposed to stamp before I ride a train or a bus so that you can tell when it's used up. Taking the metro home today, we couldn't find the stamper and just assumed there was some Sunday deal that sometimes happens with transportation discounts (which turns out is only the first Sunday of the month), so I just got on the train anyways assuming that it wouldn't be a problem because in the whole month I've been here nobody has ever bothered to check my train ticket. So of course y'all can see where this is going.......it ended up with me getting written up by the transportation officer who didn't really seem to care that I was just a tired and confused study abroad student who had actually paid for my clip card and actually looked for the stamper and couldn't find it and that I really wasn't trying to take advantage of the system. Needless to say I'm still a little bitter. Mostly because I have to pay a whopping 750dkk fine. Which is equivalent to about $150. Oh yay. Clearly Danish transportation is just not my thing.

On a happier note, I'm really excited about this week! I have a test tomorrow and Tuesday. Tuesday's class in my Espionage in the Cold War test was explained to us as one that "has no right or wrong answer I just want to see what you think" so hopefully I don't fail that one. And tomorrow's test will be in traditional European style where I already have all the questions and someone from the class will pick which question we actually have to answer. And then Paris on Thursday! I'm so excited to go see how much French I can remember and frolic along the Seine with Elizabeth and Alexandra and eat brie and baguettes. It will already be my third weekend away from Copenhagen in a row though and I think I'm going to appreciate having the weekend after this one here. I still haven't seen the little mermaid! I should be ashamed. I'll update again soon!