Oslo, Take Two

A couple of weeks ago, Joe had meetings in Oslo.  It's normal for him to fly to another Norwegian city for business here and there but often it's just a day trip and usually it's in the middle of the week.  We used to hope for the meetings to partner up with a weekend so that we could go a little early and I would be able to tag along but it rarely happens.  When the meetings came up on a Monday and Tuesday, we decided we'd better take advantage of the opportunity.

The weather in Norway has been so fantastic lately.  I know, for those of you in much of Canada and the Eastern US, you're shaking your head at me but I can't help but be ecstatic over the arrival of Spring.  This winter was really hard on both of us; the daylight hours so minimal and the multitude of wind storms took it's toll but I'm convinced that all of that just makes us appreciate the arrival of the next season even more.  As we looked ahead to the forecast during our time in Oslo, we were both so excited to see the city above zero with clear skies.

It wasn't an exciting or a big trip for us but the change of scenery was really welcome.  Joe's been having a particularly hard time at work lately with tasks piled so high that he hardly takes a break for supper before getting back to the computer until bedtime.  While in Oslo, he was able to work Norwegian hours.  (I mentioned here before that there's a strong worker's union in his industry which limits working hours and no one works overtime.  A day is 7.5 hours and it's uncommon to take work home.  While I wish it applied to Joe, as an expat, there are several shades of grey and he doesn't get to reap those benefits.)  I hadn't been feeling well and had sort of holed up in the house taking it easy on my body which was needed but I certainly was ready to get out and Oslo was the perfect excuse.

Our last trip to Norway's capital city was at the beginning of February and it was cold and icy.  It's quite amazing how one can see a city so differently through a different season and while Oslo failed to impress us our first time around, we did warm (figuratively and literally) a little to it this time.

While in town, we finally made it to the Viking Ship Museum.  While these ships were well-known to be used on the water, they were also used in burials in Norway.  The ship pictured above was brought ashore in 834 for two wealthy women, filled with goods to be used in their next life and became their burial chamber.  Over 1000 years later, the ship was found by a farmer on his land and excavated in 1903.