Finish the Innocence!

Waiting 5 months was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. And it feels weird that Katie's already came and left. She's now somewhere over an ocean in a small metal tube, squished between massive amounts of people in 10F. It hasn't hit me that she's left - the past few weeks flew by. Not only because we were having fun, but also because of how much we DID. She arrived on May 14th, and in that time, she experienced 3 different countries, 20 home-cooked meals including 3 soups and 3 artichokes, 2 movie nights, 7 sunny days, 12 illegal public transit runs, 4 over-bearing beggars in Berlin, a transvestite hostel owner, a hostel room with 32 beds in Amsterdam, Dutch cheese, 3 Vietnamese food dinners, 2 jam sessions, 6 hookah sessions, 14 street performers, and a whole lot of trolls.

I'd like to start at the beginning, but I'm not. I'm going to start with a quick story we quickly called "The Clusterfuck". It all began with a bit of wine and a lack of sleep. That soon turned into the morning we were to leave for Berlin and Amsterdam (An exciting week-long trip). So we were mostly packed as we woke up in a groggy state at 6AM. I put on the coffee. We slowly showered, got dressed, threw things together. We realize we were pushing the time we need to leave by, and rushed to Ulleval Stadion to catch the subway to Central Station to run to the bus terminal to catch the bus to the Rygge airport (a 55 minute or so ride). Unfortunately, we had to wait a bit for the subway, making the situation look quite bleak. So we started running with our bags packed for a week-long trip. When we get to the bus terminal, we'd missed the bus by 2 minutes. Bummer.

So we got in line at the help desk, looking to see if any buses are going anywhere near Rygge. As we were in line, I start patting my pockets. "Katie, I think I forgot my passport." We stared at each other for a bit before "Yeah, mine's in my suitcase too," came out. So we picked up our bags and began to run. We got outside, hailed down a cab, and asked how much it would cost to get to Rygge with a slight detour back at Sogn Student Village to pick up our passports. He responded with a great deal of NOK 800 (about $140). That's pretty awesome considering just the bus would've cost 250 for the two of us. We got our passports and drove for 25 minutes or so before I realized that I was seeing signs for the other Oslo airport, not Rygge. He thought we were flying to Riga (in Latvia), not going to Rygge (the airport). So off we go in a high-speed race to get us to the airport on time after a 50-minute detour. Then, the kicker: We get out at Rygge airport with actually a comfortable time cushion. The cab driver goes, "1400 Kroner. The other airport is much cheaper."

So that was fun. But before we even left for our trip to Berlin and Amsterdam, Katie was in Oslo to help celebrate May 17th - the Norwegian Independence Day. The choir I'm in, as one of the oldest student choirs in Oslo, annually leads all of the traditional Norwegian tunes at the graves of several famous Norwegians: Henrik Vigeland (responsible for eliminating the Norwegian ban on allowing Jews to immigrate), Edvard Grieg (composer), Henrik Ibsen (Author), and others. We woke up at 6AM to make it to the cemetery, and Katie and my roommate, Lotte, decided to come along and see the event. The craziest part about it (other than the insane amount of dogs) was the costumes Norwegians wear on their independence day. Decorative bonnets, capes, sweaters, and 'cowboy hats' were donned by the coolest of Norwegians. It was actually amazing to see everyone so proud of their shared heritage - something Americans lack mainly because of the sheer size and diversity in population. But the rest of the day was spent watching the parade and sleeping and eating ice cream and strawberries. The weather was gorgeous. And I've never seen Oslo so alive.

Lotte, Fiona, and Katie on May 17th, 2010

It was on this high that we then left for Berlin. I'll say now that both cities, Berlin and
Amsterdam, had a great feel to them. And also that our trip in general was fantastic. Fun, exploratory, hilarious, and romantic where it needed to be : ). Annnywho, I think Berlin is one of my favorite cities in Europe. It's cheap, hip, full of awesome graffiti, squatters, cool people, and festivals. The city itself is broke, so that's why it's so cheap. And while it was honestly a bit weird walking around knowing that people's grandparents had hated my grandparents solely for being Jewish, it didn't stop me from enjoying a cool, new place. There are memorials everywhere from Germany's past, and Germans I know in Oslo have described to me the paradox in expressing German nationalism and patriotism. Basically, it is not socially acceptable to say, "Go Germany!" unless it's a soccer match or Olympic event or international competition of another sort. I thought about this a lot, especially since a unified Germany is pretty new, and unified Berlin has been struggling with establishing an identity and its financial stability. And I found myself imagining the country in war a lot - something I didn't do anywhere else in Europe.

Some really cool art in Berlin

But that aside, we really enjoyed a lot of Berlin (especially the summer rolls!). We went on a walking tour of the sites (checkpoint charlie, museum island, etc), got a 3-liter beer tower, went on an alternative Berlin tour (turf wars, graffiti tags, squatters), wound up at a squatter sculpture garden, went on an alternative Berlin pub crawl (full of 18 year-olds, but funny lol), wound up at a cultural festival with millions of people and booths of food, alcohol, crafts, and psychics. Really, really awesome. Side note: It is legal to pee in public in Berlin, as long as it's not a front door or public monument. It is also legal to drink in public, have sex in public parks, and prostitute (though you'll get taxed). It is illegal to cross the street when it's 'don't walk'.

Anyways, we really had a great time. My dead camera was replaced with a disposable that should be fun. And sandwiched right in between the whole thing was a quick trip to Amsterdam. Besides being stuck in the worst 8-hour trains ride possible, Amsterdam was like a giant carnival and music festival - kind of like the Hollywood of Europe. The city itself was beautiful and full of crooked buildings, trees, and canals. We got lost so many times since the streets look very similar to each other. And while all the rumors of coffee shops, prostitutes in windows, and a liberal atmosphere in general, are true, the city itself was really cool. The public park was unbelievable (as was the cheese). And everyone was on bikes (must hurt on the cobblestones...). The Anne Frank house was cool, and the people were super laid back. We were staying in a hostel complete with its own smoking room, club, and 32-bed room. One of those things you say you've done and leave it at that!

How ridiculously crooked are these buildings??!

In front of the many canals in Amsterdam

Even though getting from Amsterdam to Berlin turned into a nightmare (arriving at 4:20AM when the hostel didn't open until 11AM), the trip was really special. And coming back to Oslo to take my Norwegian exam (One of those things you're not really sure how you did lol) and watch movies and mellow out felt amazing. We made little day trips around Oslo and wound up seeing a FIFA Soccer match with the Norwegian national team. While not the most exciting games, Norway won, and it was pretty cool to see a game at the stadium I've lived next to this entire semester.

But now she's almost back in Philadelphia. It'll be another month, but a busy one, and Grandma said the time will fly (She's always right). I'm headed to Stavanger June 7-10th, and David's coming to visit on the 13th for our insane trip to Tromso, Helsinki, Riga, and Prague before heading back to Cincinnati! It's so weird that things are coming to a close. Already, Grant has left our flat, and Aurel is leaving tomorrow. Katie's gone, and I'm terrible at goodbyes. I guess things always move forward, huh? The future's coming fast.


Love,

Jonathan

A Beautiful Visit

Mom and Dad in Bergen

Fjord Cruise

Train to Voss

Well, my parents are walking around Copenhagen in the rain right now. I'd feel bad, except for the fact that they got some of the best weather I've seen in Norway the entire week they were visiting. Even Bergen, a city that gets 60 sunny days a year (out of 365) was absolutely stunning. Except for literally 2 hours of light showers, they got sun, happy people, and a bustling city excited to be outside. We truly got to catch up and hang out for the first time in a long time. Since neither of them had ever been to Norway before, I got to explore Bergen and help tell them exactly what they should see in Oslo. And, as far as I know, they were quite pleased :).

We did a lot - doubling, tripling, quadrupling, and quintifying the amount of times I've gone out to eat in Oslo. Who knew the food here is delicious?? My cooking's pretty solid, but nothing beats going out for Chinese food! The highlight of their visit was the truly breathtaking trip to Bergen - a trip that extended itself a day and ingrained some breathtaking images of Norwegian beauty. Full of hills, coffee shops, fish, trolls, and funky trees, Bergen itself was quaint, water-oriented, and had a great feel to it. We stayed in a cool bed and breakfast, and explored. We went up on a funicular to the top of a cliff looking down on the city. Complete with a troll park, the top of the cliff yielded a view over the entire city on a super-rare well-lit day. We then made our way to the famous Bergen fish market, buying some awesome treats. We got fresh shrimp (w/ heads), crayfish, oysters, stone crab, and smoked whale. We chatted and drank beer as we threw the shells into the harbor and watched the birds. We continued to walk and explore, got lost, reoriented ourselves, watched the people, and speculated about the trees. It was a great day that extended quite late (Daylight from 4AM - 11PM!), and ended with me drinking a bottle of wine (Got a buncha wusses for parents haha).

A Tent at the Bergen Fish Market

If we had left there and boarded the train on the 8 hour scenic ride back to Oslo, it would've been enough. Dayenu. But we then went on a trip called "Norway in a Nutshell". A train to Voss led to a bus ride to a port which led to a boat ride through the fjords which led to the world renown Flåm train, and ended with 5 hours through the mountains back to Oslo. A lot of traveling, yes. But we saw what I called "The Scandinavian response to Jurassic Park". Absolutely stunning mountains, pure water, waterfalls, and small cities with as few as a half dozen buildings total. Just look at the video below.

We then ended up in Oslo to celebrate Mother's Day and enjoy the last few days of the visit. We found flea markets, kept buying cool stuff, and had a beautiful and relaxing day exploring Grünerløkka, a hip trendy area full of old buildings and open squares (finally not covered in snow!). We got some delicious Vietnamese food from a tent, and Mom bought scarves lol. Monday, I had class, but we met up near the end of the day to walk around the Oslo port, grabbing dinner and exploring the old fort after. The fort, in addition to being quite old, also overlooks the entire Oslo Fjord. Pretty.

Tuesday got off to a slow start, and we met up at the Jewish museum of Oslo. I met them there after they'd already gone in, but I know I'll definitely be back to check it out. But after, we headed back to Grünerløkka for a quick fish burger before they headed out on what's called the "Party Boat" trip from Oslo to Copenhagen to finish off their well-deserved vacation. It was such an awesome trip and I had a great time exploring Norway on a new class level ; ). It was really great to spend time just with them - catching up not via a skype call. Love them both!

Mother's Day, 2o10. Actually with my Mother!

- Jonathan

Good Morning, Oslo!

I take back all I said yesterday about 'progress'. Gotta love a snow storm in May!

It doesn't get dark until 10PM.

Vigeland Park (Naked People Statues)

Joe and Me at Songsvann

Well, I'm officially back in the swing of things in Oslo. And (other than a quick snowfall this morning), the weather is making positive strides towards warmth. Sognsvann, the once frozen spot for ice fishing and cross country skiing, is now a gorgeous lake full of trees and creeks (perfect for trolls). Ducks also make a lot of appearances. Along with really beautiful, sleek birds. I also had a bug fly in through my open window (for real, up until a week or so ago, I didn't see a bug). Progress!

Anyways, other than the rapidly transforming landscape, I've been really busy. The choir I'm in, Akademisk Koreforning, had choir concerts two weeks ago both Saturday and Sunday. We performed with the local Bærum Symfoniorkester at both a church and the first radio studio ever built in Oslo (through the state radio - NRK). Very cool! We sang a song in Swedish and a song in Russian lol.

At the same time, I also finished up a major 10-page paper (1 and a half spaced!) for my Norwegian music class. Now, as my only major paper of the semester, I shouldn't have complained as much as I did, but ten page papers are not quite my forte. Anyways, I ended up writing a paper that I'm quite proud of. It ended up being about the effect of rapidly-globalizing Norway and how increasing foreign influence (over the past 70 or so years) is effecting the morals, values, and overall socialization taught to children through children's music. I interviewed and surveyed Norwegians and ended up realizing that Norwegians are incredibly sad to see traditions fade and die, but the values from foreign songs aren't too different from the Norwegian values, making the benefits of economic success, political alliances, and an incredibly high standard of living worth the loss.

After finishing my paper, it was quite fitting to then have Joe come visit as his last journey before heading back to Philadelphia. We celebrated Queens Day (A Dutch holiday celebrating the old queen's birthday (the new queen's birthday is in a month with worse weather)), and checked out a cool underwater-themed bar. We also walked around Songsvann, watched a Norwegian movie about Nazi zombies (Dead Snow), checked out the amazing Opera House, and wound up back at the Naked People Park celebrating Lag B'Omer with about 20% of the Jewish population in Norway. Joe isn't Jewish, but Shaul, the Chabad Rabbi, and his wife, Esther (I think of you every time, Grandma!) made us both feel incredibly welcome. It's quite amazing to celebrate with Jews in a bright sunny park full of naked statues on a Sunday afternoon in Oslo. Definitely a special time for me, and, as Joe described it, 'an experience I definitely didn't expect' (of course in a good way!).

So today, after getting Joe to a 7:15 AM bus to get to the airport, I tried (unsuccessfully) to get fresh shrimp from the fishing boats. Apparently they took the day off. But I'll get 'em, don't worry. Maybe I'll try when my Mom and Dad come visit on Tuesday. They've been in Stockholm for a few days, and will come for a week (with a trip to Bergen, Norway) in the middle. It's been way too long since I've hung out just with them, so I'm excited to catch up and celebrate Mother's Day with my mom.

Their visit will be followed by a long-awaited visit from Katie! She'll be here for two weeks, and we are traveling to Berlin and Amsterdam for a week in the middle. I can't wait - you just can't give a hug through skype : ).

Other than that, I have exams coming up in the end of May and a completely free June. David will be visiting my last few weeks abroad to hopefully go to Helsinki, Tromso (for the midnight-sun half-marathon), Riga, and Prague. But the planning has yet to happen lol.

Joe at the Oslo Fjord

Lag B'Omer BBQ

Bra! Great!

Jonathan