Norway

So, I have the honour to write this entry, because this way you'll be able to see Norway through a foreigner's eyes. Actually, the problem is that Matias doesn't feel like writing that much and uses me instead. But the first sentence is also true.

We didn't do that much tourism around Norway, which on the one hand is great, because we got a real holiday with no stress. But on the other hand, I am a born tourist and desperately like to go sightseeing and buying souvenirs. I know, I know, there are many other things to a country than the tourism, but I can't help it ;) Still, we did a lot of things, but I don't think I will remember them all, because no one took the trouble to write them down, like we had done in London.

February the 12th we arrived in Oslo. The first thing we did was to visit the duty free shop and buy "cheap" alcohol. I am very surprised indeed about what a Norwegian considers to be cheap. I miss Spain very much in this sense, even though it's not so cheap any more. (And it's especially expensive for tourists, sorry guys). Then we went to the main train station and left our luggage there, to hang out for a while before Guro could pick us up. In this while, we had time to see the main shopping street in Oslo, the Norwegian Parliament, and the Royal Castle, where I had to be VERY VERY careful with the ice under my feet, because I would just fall down all the time. We also went down to the sea, to an ancient castle, but didn't have the time to see it properly. As a result of this, I got the impression that in Norway there were no Vikings at all; and that this subject is only a tourist trap used to get easy money out of our ignorant pockets.

Later we met Guro and went to her place. This may not be important for you, but to get there we had to go down a lot of icy paths which, yes, means a problem for me. Otherwise everything was OK, and Guro and Martin treated us very well, because, as she said, we were only staying for a week ;)

Afterwards we went to the university to meet some old friends and colleagues of Matias, and of course to the game evening. The last six months I have become again addicted to (some) games. I don't like all of them, but most are fun. I was very surprised when I discovered that Matias and his friends do a game evening regularly, because I stopped playing when I was like 15, and my friends consider it to be childish, unless it's some kind of computer game or dark role playing, like Vampires or something. Oh, and I forget cards. Adults can play cards, but only if they are really bored. So yes, it was a little shock for me. But enough with the digression. At the university, I met Sveinn, yes, in three dimensions, and Nina and some other people whose name I have forgotten (sorry). Anyway, I was quite surprised to find out that most people were being very kind and open to me, because I had expected the Norwegians in general to be cold, at least as cold and shy as the Austrians, but I found you really friendly!!

So what else? The next day we went back to university and I tried the Norwegian waffles, which taste good, but I wonder, do Norwegians eat sweets as a main meal? I mean, I found the mealtimes really weird, like having dinner at 4 o'clock!! Of course you eat later as well, no wonder you get hungry. Matias, Guro and I also went for a stroll in the sculpture park [Vigelandsparken], even though the day was quite foggy and I couldn't appreciate it. Later in the evening Guro cooked reindeer meat, because I was looking forward to eating it. For me that's really weird, I don't think you can get it in Spain. I found it great!

On Thursday we went sledding [in Korketrekkeren], which for me is also a thing people do only in films. At first I was scared and I only wanted to ride the sledge with Matias or Guro, because unknown speed sitting on an unknown "flying" chair was too scary a thought. But the sledge we rented for two people was really bad, so I tried the one Guro had been using and I COMPLETELY loved it. Then we spent the whole day riding. The only thing I didn't like about it are the teenagers, who have no consideration for other people at all. Matias got a bleeding scratch on his nose due to an ice ball someone threw without looking first.

In Oslo I also met Stine, and I must say I am really impressed about all the things she can do and all the books she had and all the languages she speaks. She came to have dinner with Guro, Martin, Matias and me, and we had a really nice evening singing and even a little bit of dancing :) Ihr könnt echt gut singen!!!

On Sunday we took a bus to Kristiansand. I liked very much to see the coast a little bit, and it reminds me of home, just little bays everywhere, mountains near the seashore, and very, very green!

In Kristiansand I met Siri and Tor again (I had met them in Vienna in September) and also Tonje, Tor and Turbo, meaning Aslak. I was told I am not the only one having a communication problem with him and it proved to be true. He was quite afraid of me at first, but I would also beware of a stranger I don't know and I cannot understand. We ate a fish soup (YAY!! FRESH FISH!! AT LAST!!) then we just run to the car because we were going to Ljosland. So I didn't have much time to speak with Tonje, but I hope we'll have the time later.

So we went to Ljosland for three days. Matias had told me what I should expect, a hut with no electricity and no running water, and the toilet outside (I didn't meet the mouse, snif snif), so I wasn't really surprised and I could think about it as an adventure. The next day we were supposed to go cross-country, also a new experience for me. I had only had skis on my feet two days on December 2006, and I was as bad as I am on every sport, so I wasn't really confident, but Siri, Tor and Matias were very encouraging the whole time. I almost didn't fall!! Even so, it took me forever to walk a small distance, but I liked it. Then I also learned how to slide down a hill, because I was really scared (and still am), but I discovered I could do it. We ate on a very windy valley, where Tor tried to build a wall (I was getting very excited thinking of igloos) and Matias and I ate lunsjpakett inside a wind proof blanket (don't know what to call it). Really, everything was new for me.

On the second day we went much further away [to Drittjønn, on the way to Keiseren, 7 km altogether!], because I felt like I could do it, and I could, even if I was mostly dead in the evening. Up from the hills we could see the white landscape of Ljosland, really impressive. The worst part was going down, because the hills were quite steep and I get very nervous if I can't stop in the middle of the mountain and I just can't. Matias was holding me most of the time while I tried to make my skis go parallel to the ground. But in the end I did make it, I was very proud of myself :):)
It was also Matias' birthday, and we celebrated it up there in the hut, with salmon for dinner. 23 (you'll soon be a quarter of a century :p). Guro must receive a special mention here, because she bought the present (a board game) for me, since I was all the time with Matias and couldn't think of a plausible excuse to get away and buy it. Then Tor brought it for me up to the mountain, because I didn't really think I could carry it. But Matias didn't know anything almost until he received it :p

On the third day I didn't go on my skis because the snow was almost like ice and not very nice to fall on. We went for a walk instead, up to the lake and back. Then we couldn't leave because there were some men doing a job and blocking the road, and it took them forever to be able to clear it, but in the end we made it back to Kristiansand.

We didn't do many things in Kristiansand, we got a real holiday there. We went to see the city, (and to the sea!! Yes, how I missed it!!), but not much otherwise. I also met Randi, who cooked fish as I had never eaten it before (we are not really that fond of sauces in Spain). We also tried that cake full of sugar, what's it called again? [Daimiskake!! Mmmmm...] I was very surprised to find her to be an open-minded person who speaks 3 or 4 languages, I can't imagine that on my own grandmother. We visited Aslak and Tor again, and Aslak got on very well with me this time, we were able to communicate with VERY VERY VERY basic Norwegian and Spanish words, "se" in Norwegian and "así" (so) in Spanish.

The last day, Siri, Tor, Matias and I went to see one island near Kristiansand. Again, it reminded me a lot of the Galician coast, just rocks and wood and water. The funny thing was, to get there we had to cross a tunnel which goes 150 metres under the sea. Exciting :) For dinner we had the Mexican tortilla (not to be confused with the Spanish one, we are 8000 km away from each other!!) and I had fun just trying to fold it together, but I hadn't so many things in it, so it was not that bad.

So, that's it. Matias will probably add everything I have forgotten [Yup, I've done that], because I think it's quite a lot. I just have to say that I had a great time, and I'm glad I could meet all of you, even if it was for a short time in Tonje's case.

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Inés

Hva trenger jeg å legge til? Inés har jo allerede skrevet så mye bra (var heldig der ;)). Synes også det var veldig moro å være hjemme, spesielt sammen med Inés, men også på grunn av Aslak, Martin, Guro, Stine, Tonje, Tor (*2), mamma og farmor, og også alle vennene jeg traff, og som ikke hadde forandret seg så veldig på 2 år. Var veldig hyggelig å treffe dere alle sammen!

Jeg var ikke akkurat noen virkelig turistguide, hvordan kan man være turist i sitt eget land? Jeg hadde det uansett veldig greit, og det er egentlig det viktigste. Etter en ferie som typisk turist, altså hva vi gjorde i London, var det veldig greit å bare være i Norge, uten press for å se så mange ting som mulig.

Dessverre kommer ikke Inés til å skrive neste innlegg, og jeg må nok gjøre det selv...
Matias