Norway

Reggie is finally fever free….after 7 long days! Thank you for your prayers….God is faithful :o). I can tell mom is feeling much better. She had her hands full with my hypochondriac father who had to go to the dr. for a sore throat (which is a big deal when you are out of state and on medicare) and Reggie who was actually very sick. They went to Monterey for a couple days and Reggie was too sick to do much, but they ventured to the Aquarium where he got pushed around in a wheelchair! Ainsley has been great and keeping grandma entertained and somewhat sane. The morning they were heading home, Reggie woke up with another fever over 103 and grandma had had it. They called the dr. and made an appt., but surprise, surprise, they got lost on the way back. Dad isn’t very calming in these situations (to say the least) and then the gas light came on in the car. They were going to be late for Reggie’s appt., so Dad was speeding (he used to drive soooo fast, but when he retired, he slowed down and mom was making him speed on the way to California). Anyway, long story short, he got pulled over and the cop was very nice, but still gave them a ticket! I’m not sure Grandma and Grandpa will ever want to come and babysit again!!!!

We arrived in Norway in the late evening on Tuesday and were very happy to finally find our hotel and even happier to find a McDonald’s. It is surprising how expensive it is over here…$30 later we were out of McDonad’s. That meal would have cost about $10 in the US! The next day Ryan wanted a Blizzard, so we went back and I spotted the carrots from the kids meal and that was my dessert. When he got the receipt, I took a look and the carrots were 25 Krones which is about $5 and I only got 4 baby carrots!!!!

The next day Ryan had his meetings, so I went to the gym. I took a lifting class the Tuesday before we left and my body wasn’t happy about that and I knew I needed to loosen things up. It worked like a charm and my pains are much better. Then I walked around the city for a couple hours and met Ryan and his work friends for dinner. They were a very nice group and we learned a lot about Norway and their way of life :o). We asked them how they managed with everything being so expensive and it sounds like they just don’t eat out, except maybe once a month. Even so, we still don’t know how they afford clothes/housing/taxes and all the things we are used to buying. It gave me a bit of appreciation for how little things cost in the states. They also do dinner a bit different. We go out to eat for the FOOD and they go for the experience and company. 3 hours later, I was ready to head back, but we went for a short walk and then had a nightcap! Thank goodness they were fun to talk to!!! Ryan was almost head bobbing by the end of it (we weren’t sleeping all that well because our room was very warm, so we opened the windows and heard all the commotion outside…loud people, trains, etc. They don’t have top sheets either, so it was sleep with nothing or have a heavy comforter). I had taken a nap that day, so was feeling pretty good :o).

We slept very well that night and went sight-seeing the next day. We stopped at Viggeland Park which is a park full of fun naked statues. It was very impressive. From there, we went to the ski jump and that was amazing. It was windy, which added to the experience and made me a little nervous. I’m not sure you can really get a feel from the pictures, but it was so high. From there, we took the train, got on a public ferry and went to the Kon-Tiki Museum and learned about Thor Heyerdahl who built a raft out of wood and reeds to show how early migrants settled islands in the middle of the Ocean. We also visited the Viking Ship Museum and saw some amazing boats that were excavated out of farmland. Apparently the ships became coffins for important people and they were buried in the hull with all kinds of supplies and gold. I’m not sure how they made it so far on the open ocean, but they ruled the seas in the late 1800’s. The last place we visited right before closing, so we motored through Polar Ship Fram. It was a cruise ship from the early 1900’s and was pretty awesome in size. We probably know more about Norweigan history than the US! I have to say that Norway was a great place to visit, neat things to see, nice people and an awesome train system! Viggeland Park Ski Jump

View from the top of the ski jump!

Viking Ship

Kon-Tiki raft