Well, it's been a few days since I've posted a new entry so here it goes: Classes on Thursday and Friday were normal, so not much to report here, except that I've been learning a lot of Norwegian and it's amazing how much I can understand after a week!
After class and after some homework was done on Thursday, some friends and I went to Sognsvann, a lake within the city limits of Oslo, but it feels like it's out in the middle of the forest, because it is! Oslo is amazing because over 50% of its area is forested, and that makes it one of the largest cities, by area, in the world! We walked around the entire lake, which meant about 2-4 kilometres -- I'm not so sure.
When we returned, it was time for another Norwegian Life and Society lecture -- this one about Art and Music. I've discovered some amazing painters like Peder Balke, P.S. Krøyer, and Harald Sohlberg that I really enjoy and will have to research some more. I also learned a little bit about the history of Norway's National Anthem, "Ja vi elsker," and that there are more composers from Norway than just Grieg.
On Friday, friends and I walked around downtown Oslo and explored for awhile. This also involved having my first Scandinavian H&M experience. H&M is a clothing store for those of you who don't know. Wow, US H&M stores cannot even be compared to the wonder that is H&M here. Anyway, I found a new pair of sunglasses. We continued along Karl Johans Gate, got ice cream, and worked our way toward Oslo Central Station where we got on the T-bane and went back to Blindern.
After a quick change of clothes, my friend, Brady, and I went down to Aker Brygge to meet Sigrid and Hogne Borgersrud at DS Louise. They treated us to a wonderful meal and we had a great time discussing everything from the city of Oslo, the country of Norway, their visit to the US, a brief history of twentieth century Norway, Norwegian Politics, and American Politics. The food and company were both spectacular!
On Saturday, after getting a thorough amount of sleep, it was time to do some exploring. We went to the island of Hovedøya where it was very interesting to see ruins of a monastery built around 1100 AD. These are most definitely the oldest ruins I've seen. We continued on to the beach where we admired the surroundings and watched a cruise ship leave port.
When we got back, and after dinner, we went to watch the film, "Hamsun" about the Norwegian Nobel Prize winning author who supported the Nazis during WWII. It was very interesting and I would recommend it, however it is a little bit long (2.5 hours).
Well that's it for now. Tomorrow it is the Fourth of July and the Embassy is hosting a celebration in Frogner park which we plan to attend.
After
No comments:
Post a Comment