Day 14-18: Sognsvann, Hovedøya island, Aker Brygge

For more pictures check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/roaring.tree/Day14To18SognsVannHovedYaIslandAkerBrygge

The weather has been unbelievably HOT these last few days, breaking records all over Norway. And, everyone has been taking advantage of the situation, sunbathing in public parks, boating out on the Oslo Fjord, and flocking to the nearby lakes and islands for a few hours of relief. Just now, a blanket of clouds rolled in and I can see lightening striking up in the hills, so perhaps the heat wave is over. Ahh, yes indeed. I can hear rain.

For days we've been seeking out the cool, shady spots and bathing beaches. We took the tram up to Sognsvann again, a mountain lake just outside of town. Just as we arrived a running race was finishing and people were cheering on the contenders. Shore around the lake was filled with people picnicing. The popular thing is to buy a disposable BBQs and roast up sausages. There are even special garbage disposal containers around for these "one-time grills," so they don't light the forest on fire. They look like rectangular, aluminum cooking pans (about 10 by 12 inches), filled with coals, and covered with a thin paper and a flimsy metal screen. They're super lightweight, so you can take them anywhere. Matt and I took turns swimming out to an island and it felt great.

Then on Saturday and Sunday we took a quick, 10-minute ferry ride to Hovedøya island. It cost the same as riding the city bus. Despite the proximity, the island feels worlds away. Around the island are sunbathing rocks, swimming areas, and docks for little sailboats. In the middle is a forest (with MORE raspberries!), large playing fields, a cute little farm, a cafe and the ruins of a monastery from the Middle Ages. On Sunday, we joined up with our co-worker, Mats and his friend who works at TGIF for a BBQ and a game of KUBE. We had to keep our shoes on as we entered the water. The shore is plastered with mussels and other shellfish that have razor sharp edges and Matt scraped open his toes the first time. The water was wonderful in late evening and we could see boats of all shapes. Oslo is so much more beautiful than I imagined.

Monday night we celebrated with the summer interns and some other co-workers down at the Aker Brygge area, on the west side of the main harbor. It's the trendy area where all the tourists go out to eat and drink, and I can see why. It has a wonderful view of the city.

San Francisco, turn Market Street into a pedestrian boulevard!

Even though we're in Oslo, we've been keeping up with the news back in the States and we were both delighted to see an article on the SFGate announcing Supervisor Daly's proposal to make Market Street a pedestrian boulevard. This is an excellent idea. San Francisco should take a cue from European cities like Oslo where pedestrian-friendly streets are the center of social and commerical activity. The main street of Oslo, Karl Johans Gate, is packed with foot traffic on warm evenings like tonight. Cafes spill out into the road with comfortable outdoor seating and people of all ages stroll along, checking out the lively scene. Market street can only improve from reduced traffic. When I first lived to San Francisco, I thought I could bike from the Haight District to the Financial, straight down Market Street because it was the most direct route. But, I quickly gave up the idea on account of the horrendous traffic, rude taxis, and lack of safe bike lanes. I learned my lesson and even avoided walking there, because of the noise and pollution, so I took the bus and exercised on the weekends. It's about time pedestrians took back the streets and created vibrant, liveable, outdoor spaces that encourage healthy habits and dynamic marketplaces. Market Street is a perfect place to start: 1)other, faster automobile routes exist one block away, 2)it's the geographic center of the city, 3)it has enough bike and public transit movement without cars and trucks, 4)it would help revive the lagushing tenderloin area along 6th street by increasing commerical activity on neighboring blocks, and 5)it would represent a bold and strategic move for Gavin Newsom and the City Planners, aligning the city with the green sustainable ideas that they so often talk about. Here is an actual plan to begin the ball rolling, transforming polluted cityscapes into beautiful common areas we can all enjoy. Take it from Oslo, pedestrian boulevards improve city living.

Day 13: Bygdøy Peninsula and two museums

See the rest of the photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/roaring.tree/Day13BygdoyAndTwoMuseums

Well, this is a little out of order. I covered Monday in the last blog, and now we're going back to the weekend. On Saturday, we took a walk to the Bygdøy Peninsula that juts out from the city into the Oslo Fjord. One of the great things about Oslo is that you can escape so easily to beautiful, rural settings like Bygdøy. The peninsula feels like an island and contains farms, forests, docks, bathing beaches, rocky shores, and an impressive list of fine museums. We walked there from our apartment which took less than 45 minutes. But, a bus would have taken 20 minutes and a ferry would have been 10 minutes. The map that I had only showed half of the total area, so we spent a few hours wandering down trails and guessing where to go. After awhile we discovered a beautiful swimming area with a sandy beach and on the way home we acted like typical tourists and visited the Viking Museum. Matt couldn't get enough of the old ships and artifacts. But, people watching was equally entertaining for me. While we were there a few bus loads of American and Japanese tourists arrived from a cruise ship we saw earlier and they took over the museum in one wave after another.

The next day, I took another walk to Frogner Park, this time to visit the free Oslo City Museum, which turned out to be excellent. In comparison to the Viking Museum, it boasts about 10 times the number of artifacts and 3 times the exhibition space.

Day 12: Breaking into the Oslo social scene

Wow, that was fast. Whoever said Norwegians are anti-social, doesn't know where to look. After a few emails, phone calls, and web research, we're on a roll. And, our limited Norwegian skills haven't held us back so far.

On Sunday night, we went out with a co-worker, Mats, and his four friends to a local restaurant called Schroder. It's a neighborhood joint, frequented by the locals. Throughout the winter, they have a packed house, with two seatings a night and serve traditional Norwegian holiday food. Mats is Swedish and his friends spent a good deal of time explaining the oddities of Norwegian food. The food we ate was just fine and hit the spot. Like the development team, Mats' friends remind me of Californian dudes. American pop culture and media dominated the conversation. The new batman movies is due out this weekend and everyone want to see it. One guy was proudly wearing at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle T-shirt that he found at some obscure shop. I had to smile. I'm sure we'll see all the guys again, and we'll return to Schroder, to try the famed specials.

Tonight, we really hit the jackpot, an evening run with the local Hash House Harriers (HHH) running club. My friend Nash introduced me to "Hashing" just before we left San Francisco. THANK YOU NASH!!! I went on a few runs and wrote an earlier blog entry about it. As I mentioned before, hashing is peculiar sport that involves running around on wild goose chases, trying to follow a trail with circles and dots on the ground. Oh, and there's drinking invovled at the end, or somewhere along the way. In San Francisco, the runs the routes went through the city or the presidio with anywhere from 50-70 people. But, no matter the location, one thing can be sure. "Hashers" tend to be inclusive. They're always more than happy to have new comers, and as a group they're very informal, jovial, and unconventional. Just my type of folks.

Matt had never been to a hash run, so it was a real treat to bring him along and to watch his reaction as he was initiated into all the bizzare rules. We raced home from work to catch the 31 bus from the National Theater out to Lillomarka, about 30 minutes outside of town. Because of construction in the city center, the bus stop had been relocated and we had to sprit over another 4 blocks to catch it. It's always exciting taking public transit for the first time, not knowing for sure if you missed your stop or not. Following directions from the internet, we got off in a suburb, high above the city center and walked up a hill to a remote parking lot by a trail head, where the group was assembling. I corresponded with the group earlier, so they were expecting us. The Oslo Hashers are fun, motley bunch, a bit older than the San Francisco chapter, but man, can they run. They may not be sprinters, but they're sure-footed. At the sound of the bugle we were off, in the rain, running on rough trails, down steep rocky crevices, and jumping over roots. The scenery was spectacular, green forests and misty meadows, pastures with grazing ponies and funky short cuts behind backyards and apartment complexes. Then, as usual, there was the chaos of the game, back checks, dead ends, confusion and joking. I looked over at Matt who was soaking wet, wearing a big smile on his face.


Towards the end, the pace slowed down and I had a chance to start chatting with people. Matt and I were immediately invited to a series of upcoming events, outings, and trips including a running event above the arctic circle. Matt learned about local bike and running races, and, I got to chance to talk with mushroom enthusiasts, who happened to find tasty yellow chanterelles along the way. As with all hashes, the evening ended with drinking, singing, and a list of embarassments, poking fun at runners for humorous and completely insignificant reasons. The hash leader tried to make fun of Matt because he smelled funny (his perfumed suntan lotion) but no one could guess what it was. Both of us were intiated into the group with a shot of Aquavit, a Norwegian alcohol that tastes like licorish mouth wash. No, actually, it's not that bad. Rain or shine we'll be back next week.


But, that's not all. All of my emails to organizations in the Oslo area is starting to pay off. I received an email invitation to the local Stitch-and-Bitch club, a knitting and craft group for hip young women. And, I found out about a satsang on Sunday nights. We'll make friends in no time.

Day 5-8: Quiet summer days

For the rest of the photos and captions go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/roaring.tree/Day58/photo#5224026746877958962

The last few days have been quiet as we settle into our weekly rhythm. Matt’s friend Nils left for a two week vacation and my boss is on vacation too. In fact, most of the office and the city’s residents are out of town. A few of the development team members are still here, plugging away on some computer programs. But, besides them, the office has been empty. I looked up yoga classes and Irish dancing lessons which don’t start till August. July is Norway’s vacation month.

The few guys who are left in the office are just like California dudes, wearing T-shirts and jeans. They even have American accents when they speak English and they’ve seen the same TV shows and movies. In fact, when I asked about their favorite Norwegian movies, they laughed. Norway only has a few actors who appear in all of the movies. Most of the shows and movies on TV are American.

Work has been good. I'm collaborating with coworker down in the Brussels office some basic market materials that involve interesting research and some creative writing. One of my favorite parts is reading news about food, food safety, and the fishing industry. I’m finding fascinating articles about consumer trends and the future direction of farming. The New York Times had an article about vertical farms, farms in city skyscrapers (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/science/15farm.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin), and my friend Bronwyn Ximm posted an article about a new business idea, CSA’s based in urban backyards (http://www.walletmouth.com/).

The social lull has given us plenty of time to get situated and to explore the city. Each day we try a different route to work, weaving our through old neighborhoods, parks, and paths. After work on Tuesday we took a detour to the Botanical Garden in the east side of town, and bought vegetables at one of the immigrant produce shops and on Wednesday we strolled west to the Vigeland Sculpture Garden in Frogner Park after dinner. Other than that, learning Norwegian has been our main priority. It will open up so many more doors and opportunities when we can understand everyday casual conversations and read important legal paperwork without translation.

The weather has been warm and moody. It can’t decide if it wants to be sunny or cloudy, as though it is afraid of being boring. So, it’s bright one minute and dark the next. Sometimes it rains, light warm drops and then the sun pours down, hot and bright for hours.

Day 4 - In search of free entertainment

What to do?

The tourist center is absolutely the best spot for anyone who's new in town. I peaked in to get a city map and left with an earful of advice and an armload of free maps, brochures, and travel guides. Since we'll be here for so long, we'll have plenty of time to check out every museum and historical site in the region, that looks interesting. Speaking of the museums, Olso has a dozen FREE museums and attractions!!!!! The tourist information center gives away museum brochures, so you can read up on the exhibits and study the floor plans before your visit.






Library
National Library (www.nb.no/english)
Summer hours: Weekdays 9 am – 6pm, Saturdays except for July
Other seasons: Weekdays 9 am – 7pm, Saturdays 9 am – 2 pm

Other Fun Free Activities
Hiking (see earlier blog)
Swimming (in the ocean or a freshwater lake)
Berry picking (strawberries and blueberries)
Mushroom hunting (with friends who know what they’re doing!)
Biking/ RunningBird watching (http://birdwatch.brinkster.net/)


Free Museums/Galleries
(see http://www.visitoslo.com/en/free-attractions-and-activities.85955.en.html)
Akershus Fortress (outdoor areas)
Armed Forces MuseumAstrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art Botanical GardenHistorical Museum 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily
International Culture Centre & Museum IKMMunch Museum (free 1 October - 31 March)
Museum of Architecture (opens January 2008)
Museum of Decorative Arts and Design
National GalleryNational Museum of Contemporary Art
Norwegian Customs Museum
Norwegian Museum of Magic
Oslo City Museum
Stenersen Museum (free 1 October - 31 March)
Vigeland Museum (free 1 October - 31 March)
Vigeland Sculpture Park















Free Annual Events in Oslo

August Mela Multicultural Festival
August The Akershus Concert
August Oslomarkedet Arts & Crafts Fair
August/Sept Oslo Fjord & Coast Culture Festival
September Kongene på Haugen Music Festival
September Granittrock
September Oslo Culture Night
September Akerselva: River Walk by Torchlight
October Books in the CentreNov./Dec. Lighting of Christmas trees and streets in the centre (1st weekend of Advent)
December Nobel Peace Prize (participate in the torch parade honouring the laureate – from Karl Johan to the Grand Hotel)February/March Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic Not in 2009! (join the thousands of people gathering in the woods - remember to bring something hot to drink and warm clothes)
May + September Ekeberg veteran cars/bric-a-brac market
May National Day: Children's parade, Russetoget and 17 May for all
June National Music Day Oslo
June Oslo Environmental Festival
June VG Top 20 live

Day 4 - Food Shopping

Food Shopping

Food shopping has been a little perplexing on account of the high prices. It's hard to understand how a jar of jam could possibly cost $10. So, we started comparison shopping and hit the web for other ideas. It all depends on where you shop and the little grocery store across the street from our apartment actually has fairly decent prices. But, everything is relative.

Here are two useful sites and some tips we learned:
http://use-it.unginfo.oslo.no/sider/hungerbusting.php
http://www.bugeurope.com/oslo/eatdrink.html

Water
Instead of bottled water, stick to tap water which is higher quality and better for you.

Produce
Shop for food at the immigrant stores on the East side of the city in neighborhoods like Brugata, Storgata, Grünerløkka and Grønland. Evidently they have a wide variety of high quality vegetables, fruits, roots, and spices at low prices. Stores: Izmir Import, Torggata 21and Sultan Market, Helgesens gate 18 (at Grünerløkka).

Fish
Fishing is one of the major industries in Norway and seafood is abundant and nutritious. A few recommended fishmongers include:

LaksenMaridalsveien 188
This one is located a bit out of the city center, but stocks all different kind of fish and meat, even hot. Here you can get crocodile, bear and other extraordinary things to eat. Despite this, they got quite affordable prices. You should go there as a part of a trip up Akerselva, as Laksen is found above Sagene.

Erling Moe A/SYoungstorget 2 by Operapasasjen, Youngstorget. Sells smoked salomon and warm fishcakes.

Fjelberg Fisk & Vilt Bygdøy allé 56

Johnsen Storm B Fisk og Vilt Cecilie Thoresens vei 17
FlyvefiskenLilletorvet 1

Tip!Buy some prawns at the harbour in front of Town Hall, next to Aker Brygge. Fresh boiled prawns on a piece of white bread, topped with mayonnaise and lemon, accompanied by a cold beer or a glass of white wine is a instant hit. In case the conversation dries up, try a prawn peeling competition.