20230628 Old Oslo

I woke at 4am on this Wednesday, unable to sleep due to my nap the day before and the coffee we had with dessert. For a few moments I wondered if I was reverting back to California time but when I looked at my phone it said it was 7:08pm over there. Ja said it took him longer to adjust going to California than going to Norway but maybe it depends on where you live.

Amanda wasn't feeling well but she wanted to go out and do some last minute shopping and take more pictures.

Mio and Bob came in for breakfast as I checked my bank account and discovered Vy still hadn't refunded me for the $120 I was overcharged on train tickets.

We went out later that morning to visit the east side of Oslo where the old churches were once situated. They had a man made lake next to the park with a plaque saying the ocean water was this high in medieval times. The water level was 2.5m higher that ocean level and it seemed like if we returned to those times it would flood a large part of the city.

Towards lunchtime we tried to locate a bakery and google maps led us on a goose chase around the city to a handful of closed shops and dead ends and we went back and forth a few times before it funneled us into the crowded tourist trap where I bought another overpriced shirt and Amanda bought an overpriced handbag.

While she was shopping in the sports goods store, a parade came marching down the street led by people carrying M-16s. Men and women ran alongside the parade hoping, I guess, to get ahead of them. It was a bit alarming and so crowded we decided it was better to skip walking up the street to see the palace.

There was a popular fashion in women's clothing Amanda called 'prarie dresses and tennis shoes' and once she pointed it out I couldn't help but try to count all the examples we saw from the bus window. I counted 10 examples from the bus and countless more downtown.

We got back to the house at 2:30 where, according to my notes, I can pee for free and eat without being gouged.

Ja made shish kabobs and we moved the table out from under the awning onto the grass and scoured the house for suitable chairs. Amanda had an uncanny knowledge of where all the chairs were located. Lukas played with bubbles on the grass and when Sine's brother Johan arrived we ate our meat with salad while the kid romped in the grass and we chatted about video games and books.