One day, after fall break trips had been planned, and we were in the trip-planning mood, we decided to make a weekend trip somewhere and started looking for cheap plane tickets. Ashley found one for 15 Euro, round trip to Oslo, Norway. Seven of us raised our hands and the tickets were booked. And then we realized that we should find a hostel there...the hostels were all booked...I guess we should have checked ahead. But, things worked out and we found a cute cabin in a campsite that slept 5. We then realized it was kind of expensive to take the train to Milan so looked into other options--like renting a car.
Well, the day finally came and we were off to Oslo. It ended up being 7 girls total: Kelsey, Laura, Ashley Mac, Ashley S., Yunha, Diana, and me. We rented a car because that was going to be the cheapest way to get to Milan. The only problem was that the car only fit five. We originally had a little 2 door car, but when Ashley and I went to the Florence airport to pick up the car, we sweet talked our way into a four door sedan--still small for American standards. But, after putting one girl in the trunk and four in the back seat we all fit. (My quick wit and I had already "shotgunned" navigating so I got the front seat! haha...and Ashley S. was the only one who could drive stickshift.) It was a three hour drive that went without a hitch! Ashley Mac, who was in the trunk, slept like a baby the whole way! We ate our packed lunch in the airport then boarded the plane for Oslo.
When we got to Oslo, we had an hour and a half bus ride into the city. When we got to the city we checked out the city map and how to get to the campsite. Since we were only supposed to have 5 people in the cabin and three of us were hugnry, we split up. Diana, Yunha, and I went to this huge establishment, Egon. Diana and I got a huge Tex-Mex burger with fries...and yummy alternative to the usual pasta and pasta. We also got a pitcher of tap water with ice. And refilled it, twice. This is such a rare commodity to find in Europe. We definitely take that for granted in the US. It was so delicious. Then we made our way to the campground and found the cabin. The other girls had gone out and gotten an American style pizza. They also had the heat on for us when we got back and some hot water ready for tea. We warmed up (the weather was probably in the 50s, I think) and watched some TV...oh yeah, there was a plasma TV in our cabin. We went to bed pretty early. We then all woke up in the middle of the night in a huge sweat because we forgot to turn the heat down...yuck! It was so warm and we did some window and door opening. I moved off the top bunk and settled in on the tile floor of the living room which was much more bearable than that top bunk! Besides the heating problem, we made it through the night unscathed.
Saturday morning brought with it beautiful fall weather! It was the perfect weather for jeans, a fleece, and a scarf. We made some eggs for breakfast than walked up a hill to try and find the metro train. It was a long walk up...but so beautiful! We ended up finding a little visitor center in a little part of the mountain where the world ski championship (or something along those lines) will be happening in 2011 and they were building a ski jump of sorts for it. There were also some fantastic houses and great views of the city. Near the visitor center there was also a great grassy hill...and I had the urge to do some rolling down hills. So, I did. It was so much fun. We finally found the tram to take us into town and did some walking around in town. For lunch, we split up again. 4 of the girls were going to the Grand Cafe which had lots of semi-expensive sea food--not exactly up my alley. Laura wanted to go to Burger King. So, Diana and I went with to Burger King...in Oslo. It turns out Oslo doesn't have a lot of their "own" food; more of a mash of all other foods...so we weren't really missing out on a lot. And their main specialty is seafood which I don't like, and there's lutefisk and since dad doesn't eat that, I'm sure I won't like it!
After lunch we got some American coffee from the 7-11...you know, coffee in a large cup that you can drink for a while and it keeps your hands warm, instead of the Italian espresso. We also wandered until we found a church for me to go to Sunday Morning. Then we made our way toward the royal palace and a sculpture garden. Behind the royal palace was a pretty decent grassy hill and Ashley S. wanted to do some hill rolling; so we did! Then we went on to the sculpture park and walked around and took pictures. On the way back toward the palace and downtown we found a wonderful open area with sooooooo many leaves! We stopped and sat down and played in the leaves for an hour and a half. It was so fantastic! Then, we made our way to the entrance of the park--just so you know, this place is huge--and Ashley realized the keys to the cabin weren't in her pocket...
the saga will continue in the next post.....
No comments:
Post a Comment