Oslo: Backpacks, Something Bright in the Sky, and an Old Lady gets Spit-on

This past August, Julie and I met friends of ours in Amsterdam for a birthday celebration and pre-baby festivities. Now that they have welcomed baby Asbjørn Harrison Fjord to the world, we planned an early Spring visit to Norway - hoping to miss the predominantly dark days of winter. Our travels were two-fold; take a brief tour of Oslo, while the main focus was to visit friends with a new addition to their family.

Fjord

Dagbaldet building across from Opera House

The late Friday night arrival was anti-climatic because Baby Asbjørn was busy dreaming of cross country skiing, fjords, and woodland trolls. The following morning we were welcomed by the unmistakable wailing jeer of an infant. Julie and I immediately fled the room for our much anticipated first meeting - whereby, Harrison Fjord entertained us inasmuch as we entertained him. Following breakfast, we saw this strange bright thing in the sky whose golden glow grew brighter every minute. We had escaped the German permacloud to Scandinavia, a land synonymous with the darkest of winters, but not on International Pi Day. Our adventure started at the bus stop, an area teaming with locals and a baffling number of hiking backpacks - where were they all going? Our hosts informed us about the World Cup Ski Jump event being held at Holmenkollen. The hundreds of backpackers were headed to a free campsite near the jump to imbibe libations and watch the championship.

Opera House

Other side

Once we arrived to downtown Oslo, our tour started with the Opera house overlooking the fjord. The uncharacteristic weather provided a most welcome influx of Vitamin D and made for a pleasant day to spend in the city. Walking away from the fjord, the next two sites were government buildings, Stortinget (Parliament) and the Royal Palace. Making our way back to the water, passed the Nobel Peace Center, stopped by the Aker Brygge Wharf for a quick break before heading to a pier overlooking Akerhus Fortress. Rounding out our visit of the wharf, we walked around the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. Later, we enjoyed lunch at a sushi restaurant - a delicacy Julie and I have missed since moving to Germany. Appearing to be training for a competitive eating contest, we had no shame with our glutenous order. The circuit of Oslo ended with a afternoon stroll through Vigeland Sculpture Park.

Parliament Building

Royal Palace

The day was young, however, Baby Fjord and Julie both needed to be put down for a late nap. Returning to the apartment we retired to a more relaxing environment. Jim opened the sliding door to bring the cool fresh air indoors. The unseasonable warmth beckoned everyone in Oslo outside - the playground behind the complex faintly echoed with laughter from the gallivanting children. Then Jim noticed an elderly woman enter the courtyard who then started to accost the adult supervising the four whippersnappers. Standing in the doorway, Jim dictated a captivating play-by-play - emphasizing the heated exchanging of words - ultimately the frolicking visitors were forced to leave the facility.

Nobel Peace Center

Marina and Oslo City Hall

Akerhus Fortress

More Fjord

Jim's final play-call convinced me to get up and witness the altercation for myself. With a climaxing crescendo, Jim yelled, "she just spit in that old woman's face!" - catapulting me off the couch, however, it was too late. I stood next to Jim as we watched the aftermath, the lady wiped her face clean of the fresh expectoration that dripped down her bigoted mug (undoubtedly, there was some sort of racism/discrimination involved in this ethnically diverse fiasco). The Octogenarian walked across the courtyard directly towards our first-level viewing area and continued to stare through the windows for a prolonged period of time - presumably to condone her unabashed intolerance that resulted with a phlegm facial. Once the excitement had subsided and the elderly curmudgeon retreated to her apartment, we prepared to grab an early dinner.

Random Statue on Stilts

Museum of Modern Art

Viking Ship of apartments

Before getting a bite to eat, we took a detour to the Mathallen, a large food hall specializing in Norwegian and various international cuisines (among other things). While enjoying a delicious and unassuming 15% stout from Denmark - a pie-eating contest commenced. Celebrating International Pi Day, the local vendor, Hello Good Pie - hosted the contest which provided for wonderful entertainment. Not taking advantage of the opportunity to eat free pie, we instead purchased some of the only remaining pies from the bakery and foraged for dinner on the way back to the apartment (settling on a pizza pie...so much pie). The evening ended with some late night drinks (22:00, we are in our 30's) and a partial viewing of "Independence Day." A delightful end to a perfect day with better company - not to mention, but really mention, we finally got to meet baby Asbjørn Harrison Fjord.