Terminal One at JFK holds many of the international airlines, and it was like a mini United Nations inside the terminal: Korean Air, Japanese Air, German airlines, French Airlines, Brussels Air, Mideast airlines -- you name it, they were there, and so were the occupants of the various countries. It was enjoyable for Julie and Harold -- who arrived at the airport very early -- to wait for their travel companions and to watch the people in their location right next to an Islamic Prayer Corner.
Then it was time! All six of us boarded the Norwegian Air Dreamliner 787 plane (huge -- three sets of three seats across) and away we went. After an uneventful flight, including two meals -- the first one decent, the second rather abominable -- we landed in Oslo, grabbed our luggage and got on the electric Air Train to get to our hotel in downtown Oslo. Again, the Norwegian mythological gods were with us when we got off the train and made all the right street turns to get to our hotel which was only a few blocks from the train station.
Our hotel was the Christiania Teater, and it turned out to be quite wonderful. We figured out how to use the water spigots and the shower heads (not an easy endeavor), rested a bit, and decided to introduce ourselves to some Norwegian culture to shake off the sleepiness.
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| Christiania Teater in Oslo |
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| Julie and Harold's room: the rooms were wonderful |
We spent the afternoon in three different groups.
Randall and Olive rested and then went walked to find a great little restaurant where they had soup and a salad. They then walked around and found a Dale of Norway shop where Randall purchased a classy Dale of Norway pea coat, quite fortunately on sale. He realized as he tried it on that he is far more Norwegian than he thought because the coat had arms that actually fit his arm length, yet it was slim in the torso. It looks great on him. They then headed to the National Gallery of Art.
Juleen and Joe went for a run along the water to scope out the area, then after cleaning up and resting, they went to the Norwegian History Museum (not all that great, according to them) and then they also headed to the National Gallery of Art.
Julie and Harold rested and then went to the National Gallery of Art, which they loved (actually all six travelers loved it). It was fun for Julie to see the original of "The Scream" because she had a kitchy blow-up of it in her office for about her last ten years of teaching (it seemed very appropriate at the time). They were all impressed with the Norwegian art and with the lay-out of the museum both themeatically and chronologically.
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| Edvard Munch Galley |
After resting and then getting together for a drink in the hotel lounge (there was a sitting area on each floor) and imbibing in the vodka and bourbon purchased duty free at the airport, they headed to Engebert's Cafe, the oldest restaurant in Oslo (150 years to be exact) serving traditional Norwegian fare. We all had excellent meals: cod, herring (some of it was braided -- I kid you not), halibut, and mink whale! It was all beautifully presented and was superb.
One of the highlights of the night was getting a tour of the building by one of the people working there. He regaled us with stories of Munch, Grieg, and Ibsen who all ate there often. It was (and is) the meeting place of the Norwegian Arts Society which Munch was kicked out of after he wrote a letter to the society about his gloves and his scarf which he said was stolen at the restaurant, and he claimed it was by one of the members. It was not, and they were furious, so they did not allow him to attend anymore. That was the end of that group for Munch. The group still meets there today, and each member has a self-designed coat of arms which hangs in the hallways and up the stairs. Some were quite creatively done, as you can imagine.
The guide also told us about the famous Engebert Christmas feast, held on Christmas Day. They serve 500 people that day with all the traditional Norwegian fare, including lutefisk, lefse, rummigrout, rosettes -- you name it, they serve it. It was intriguing to learn that their holiday foods were the same as what Julie grew up on in North Dakota. Additionally, he told us about the owner who travelled to northern Norway himself to choose his own "lye fish" to serve on that day.
We ended our day by walking around by the water, and then we returned in three different groups (three different degrees of tiredness). Some members of the group got to see the fires built all over the harbor celebrating the summer solstice. We did, indeed, arrive on the longest day of the year. Good thing our rooms had heavy-duty room-darkening shades on the windows.
What a dream it was to get into bed!
