Classy clubs, rafting, and Sweden

Hei!

Because I spent so long in Oslo (and didn't keep a journal while I was there), I will skip around a bit as I am writing this. I may also forget some things, make some things up, and generally just go out of order. I'll try to keep somewhat chronological by looking at the photos I took during my stay. Enjoy!

During the beginning of my stay in Oslo I had two other experiences worth noting. The first was a visit to Oslo's royal palace, which is humble, but beautiful. Norway never had a tradition of building castles and palaces, so Oslo's is relatively small and new (meaning from the 1800s). Still, there were some very beautiful rooms, and it was cooler than some other palaces I've seen because it is still used! The Norwegian king has a bigger role than expected; he meets in a certain room with his ministers every friday; the prince steps in if the king is not there. We also saw beautiful guest rooms that are given to foreign dignitaries--all except one American, who we were told refused to stay there because there was no air conditioning. Silly.

My other experience was a taste of Oslo night life... during my stay there I went to a few clubs and discos, including a very entertaining karaoke club. One night I went with a few other ISS students to a club on the top floor of a building in central Oslo, and my goodness was it exclusive! I was wearing jeans and a tank top because I hadn't been planning to go out, but this place could certainly be called a "pretty people party." We were only allowed in because one of the ISS students knew a girl who was singing there that night. There were so many classy, fashionable norwegians there, and they were all drinking red bull mixed with wine. Classy? Who knows. But it was certainly an experience.

My third weekend in Oslo I got to go hiking and rafting! It was so much fun. We took a bus to Jotunheimen (a zone in Norway--"home of the giants") and hiked up Bitihorn, a pretty steep mountain with snowbanks and gorgeous views. There was even a fence on the mountain to keep out (or in) reindeer, though we didn't see any reindeer. After our hike we hopped back on the bus and drove to Sjoa, where we stayed at Sjoa rafting camp for the night. It was great--lots of wood cabins with grass growing on the roof and a wonderful meal cooked over a giant wood stove. The next day we went rafting, which was lots of fun. We all got wet suits and helmets and got in big yellow rafts with a guide who taught us how to paddle and what to do if we fell out. I did so once, during a particularly rough bit of rapids! It was lots of fun, and not too cold. We rafted again after lunch, then took a long bus ride back, arriving just in time to see the end of the world cup.

My next great adventure was the next weekend--we had a long weekend, so I went to Stockholm! I took a six-hour-long train ride and almost melted. It was super hot! I blamed it on the swedish trains. I arrived in Stockholm and went to my hostel with a tiny room with a tiny window that didn't open, no ventilation, and no air conditioning. That was more than uncomfortable.

Besides being hot, Stockholm was beautiful. I loved gamla stan--the old city--with lots of narrow, cobbled streets and cute buildings. I got a tour of the palace, which was much bigger than Oslo's palace and beautiful, and also saw the history museum and the middle ages museum. I did a lot of my normal wandering, and at one point ended up running into a royal military parade, with a live band. I followed the parade until they arrived at the palace, where they gave a free concert outside in the courtyard and did a lot of marching around. It was great. I also stumbled upon the "Stockholm Green Festival" and a salvation army meeting, did some shopping (it seemed cheap, compared to Oslo!), went to an Irish pub with bad (non-irish) music, and got hit on by some italians. On Saturday morning I headed to gamla stan again in the morning (around 9--after my iced coffee and cinnamon bun) and was surprised to find it empty! There were hardly any tourists, even. I took some handstand pictures in the streets, then trekked to Skansen, which is Stockholm's outdoor museum. There were some great historical buildings, animals from Sweden and the rest of the world, and the a fun folk dance performance in which I got to dance a bit. After along time wandering around Skansen, I decided I had had enough of historical buildings, and walked back to my hostel after a quick 7-11 dinner by the water, watching a storm come in. It was fun hearing and seeing Swedish--I could understand a little bit spoken, and read a little bit more.

The next day I jumped on another train to Oslo (luckily not too hot this time) and said farewell to Stockholm--it had been a great weekend. That week I continued with classes (already halfway through!) and with my exploration of Oslo--I saw a public library, which wasn't very interesting, but it was fun walking around downtown.

The next weekend I took another train--this time to Brumunddal (1.5 hours north of Oslo), to visit a good friend there. That's coming up in the next post. Thanks for reading!