Norway says "Velkommen!", or Welcome to My Adventures on the Sparkling, Northern Sea :)

Hello everyone! Greetings from Norway :) Yesterday marked the end of our first week in Norway and things are going great. Papa said he wouldn't feel truly relaxed until he'd sat on the rocks doing nothing but drink Solo (Norwegian orange soda). By now we've drunk enough Solo to satisfy a few elephants and we've done lots of just plain sitting on rocks in the sun so I think you could consider us relaxed :) (Ps- we will be here mostly visiting family and swimming, swimming, swimming until July 10th!)

When we first arrived, we didn't waste an hour on jet lag. After more time flying than it's cheerful to measure, we arrived in Oslo Wednesday morning. The airport there is like a long glass corridor that goes on and on, but eventually let us out. Tante Jeanne and Cousin Jan picked us up and were impressed by our light-packing skills :) They were both so wonderful and helpful and took great care of us. We went to Jeanne's house and had a very, very Norwegian meal--sliced bread with cheese, caviar, goat cheese, jam of all sorts, canned fish, and of course butter (not all these things at once though!). Afterward, we went to the Viking Ship Museum and Kon Tiki Museum. It was great! It amazes me to think of the Vikings setting out into the vast sea, not knowing if they would find land or not and going with nothing more than a wooden ship and the stars. The Kon Tiki Museum was also very interesting and if you've never learned or heard about Thor Heyerdahl and his adventures you should check him out on Wikipedia and prepare to be amazed!

What next? Tante Jeanne let us all (all 9 of us) stay at her adorable apartment. Something that struck me was the importance of nature to Norwegians. Every apartment had a great big window box filled with flowers, bushes, and even small trees. The apartment complexes looked more like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon than urban dwellings. Also, there was a pre-school near her apartment that had a grassy meadow for a roof! Luckily for us, Jeanne lives near Vigelands Park (a huge park filled with statues, fountains, and fields in Oslo). We walked over to the park (I got to practice my Norwegian skills in asking directions!) and ended up staying until 10:30 at night thanks to the long-lasting sun of northern summers. The statues in the park are very interesting--all done by the artist Gustav Vigeland. They seem to show and explore countless facets of human interractions. They also explore life from the womb to old age and even death. There are some statues of toddlers with very believable laughing, peaceful, and grumpy faces :)

The next day we headed south to Tromøy--the island in southern Norway where my Grandma grew up and lots of my family still lives. The picture here is of the nearest big town--Arendal (we can get there by boat in about 10 minutes if the waves are calm). We are staying at my Grandma's yellow cabin on the cliffs by the sea. Right now I'm looking out the big windows at the sparkling fjord and thinking I'd better go down for a swim pretty soon!

Since coming south we've had many lovely meetings, lunches, parties, and conversations with different bunches of our extended family. Yesterday we had a big party out at an old family house with great sun-bathing rocks all around it. My family here is so friendly and welcoming and it's great to get to know them better :) Some of them are down on the beach right now!

Two fun facts: delicious berries grow wild all around here and I've consumed lots of tasty, tiny strawberries along the roadside so far. Another fun fact is that they have a thing called "nature kindergarten" here and yesterday we saw lots of little kids in life jackets scrambling among the rocks with their teachers. What a great idea! They had their own little boat and seemed to be having a lovely time :)

My Papa says that Norwegians are like walruses (no, not because of size!) because they love to be out in the sun every minute when it's present, knowing they have to gather enough warmth and sun to last them through the long, long winter. The people here really seem to appreciate and enjoy the summer and simple things like sitting with family, hunting for crabs, and, of course, drinking Solo on the sunny rocks.

I'll write more next week or maybe even sooner! Until then, ha en fin dag! Thanks for stopping by!
Ps- It's a tradition here to wake up fairly early and go for a swim in the cold ocean water. It sounds crazy but it feels wondeful and is very refreshing! The event is deceptively called a "morning bath." After swimming, you get out and do stretches and other little exercises. It's a splendid way to start the day! Today my brother and I met up with our great aunt and uncle while taking our bather and we all had a nice time running in the sand and even trying a little yoga :)