The National Theater - just a few blocks from our hotel.

Some art neuvo in downtown Oslo - I think this has become our favorite style of architecture.

View of the present-day castle.

Changing of the guard outside the castle.

Outside the impressive City Hall.

The Viking ships on display had been excavated from different areas around Norway and were remarkably well-preserved.

Another of the preserved Viking ships.

Jenna by an old raised barn at the outdoor museum.

An old church from the Viking days. It was beautiful and made completely from wood!

Sam peaking through the window of one the old raised barns - cutie!

The bay in Oslo reminded Sam of Seatle.

Lefse anyone?

I have been waiting for a day when I had time to write a longer blog, but it looks like that day may never come and we wanted to get these pics, up, so here is a short (and I mean it this time) recap of our January trip to Oslo:

We went to Oslo for a long weekend and it was lovely. Even though it was the middle of winter, it still seemed like a very vibrant city with a lot of young energy. The city was clean, the people friendly, and the public transportation excellent. Sam found us a great hotel that was right off the main pedestrian area in downtown Oslo, and we enjoyed being able to wake in the morning and walk to a castle or museum or whatever was on our agenda for that day and then to be able to find a great restaurant (with delicious food) and see a movie each night before walking home. Some of the highlights were walking around the castle grounds of the historical castle fortifications and also the gounds of the present-day castle and government buildings (where we got to see the changing of the guard), visiting the modern art museum (where we saw several Van Gough’s and Picasso’s, some really neat modern art, and several paintings by Norwegian artist Edward Munch, including The Scream), and touring the Viking ship museum (awesome!) and an outdoor museum which exhibited several historical Norwegian-style buildings (schools, homes, stores, farm buildings, brew houses). We also got a personal tour of the Oslo city hall, which is where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded every year. There was so much to see in this clean and pleasant city and we had a really good time. Sam said the bay area reminded him of Seattle.

Also in January we had time to squeeze in one ski trip down to the Alps which was, as always, so fun and so beautiful. We haven’t been able to ski nearly as much as we hoped to this year and time is running out, so it really helps us appreciate what a fantastic experience it is when we are able to go down there. Also I am a much better skier this year than I was last year so I am able to enjoy it a lot more and I think Sam enjoys not having to wait around for me all the time!

That’s all for January, and I will leave the rest to Sam! Take care and stay in touch.

Love,
Jenna & Sam

The Elders all gussied up for Christmas

The Young 'uns all gussied up for Christmas.