Just Trolling

Oslo, Norway

Yes, you heard correctly, one of the top attractions that Norway is known are its’ trolls!  They love them and are scattered around towns and cities like little garden gnomes in the states.  But, if trolls aren’t really your thing, then maybe exploring beautiful Fjords, finding unique coffee shops, trying to spot an elk or a reindeer, or even going skiing might be something to explore for you. 

However, even though we were here in the winter months, which was great for skiing, apparently in the summer this area is known as the land of the Midnight Sun.  That means, that in some places, they have a total of 24 hours of sunlight!

I’m not sure which would be harder to adjust to, 24 hours of sunlight or 24 hours of darkness.  I’m thinking that in the 24 hours of daylight I would be really productive and not really want to sleep and the exact opposite would happen for 24 hours of darkness.  At least I would be caught on sleep though for probably a year then though!

Luckily, at this point we did not encounter either of these, which was probably best.  However, we did encounter snow, freezing rain, and cold temperatures, but that made running and skiing all the better.

My run was beautiful with the snow covered trees surrounding the frozen fjords and the sunlight shining off the snow covered hills while we were skiing made for such a picturesque landscape.  For only being skiing a total of four times and each time being in a different place, I think I am doing pretty good.  I never thought I would be able to say that I skied in Auburn Hills, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; Park City, Utah; and now Oslo, Norway!

And surprisingly for how expensive the country is in general, skiing actually wasn’t too bad and if it wasn’t enough of a workout, running around the fjords on the slick, icy covered pathways definitely was. 

Speaking of icy covered pathways, we even passed a man-made ice rink on the way to skiing.  It was great to actually see children out on the icy surface playing a real game of hockey.  Now, to actually experience it would be even better.  I still have not skated outside on a pond or fjord.  We will see how long that takes, with the whole not exactly being comfortable on water thing. 

And even though the original venue was double booked and we were moved to outside the city limits, it was still great to experience and see the sights in the outlying areas.  It was definitely nice to be outside all the hustle and bustle and smell the chills in the air.  Having a peaceful escape right in our back yard and looking out the window to see a tree covered path leading down to a fjord was something like out of a movie. 

But before we knew it, the time came for us to pack up our things and journey further into the north to Stavanger, Norway.