Bilingiual, Skiing, Onsie-Coat-Wearing 5 Year Old Norwegians

Thursday morning I left at 9:05 from my room to catch a cab to the train station. There, I boarded a train, with 2 transfers, finally arriving in Liverpool at 12:45. We got off the train, and walked out of the station, asking the people working there where to catch a cab. The lady told us to go to the street and we'd be able to flag one, locking the doors to the station after us. We assumed this meant that there would be a lot of taxis driving by. There were not. Finally, after 5 minutes of standing on the side of the street waiting for a car to come, a taxi came and took us to the airport. We hopped off and walked in, instantly realizing how closed everything looked, including the check-in desks. We then found out that the security desks didn't open until 4, with our flight leaving at 6:25, so we had 3 hours to kill in an empty airport. It was not the greatest experience of my life, to say the least. Some people slept on the cold, tile floor, while others of us just ate our weight in chocolate covered raisins as we all shivered, since apparently turning the heat on is too much to ask of the John Lennon Airport. Finally it was 4. Exhausted and sleep-deprived, we wondered to the desk, checked-in, and strolled into the waiting area to sit around in a comatose state for another hour. We boarded the plane, and everyone passed out for the 2 hour flight to Oslo, Norway. When I woke up, I looked out the window to see some of the most beautiful, snow-covered landscape below me. I instantly remembered that snow is just a part of Norway and wished I had brought my snow boots like a smart person. At least I wasn't like Paige, who didn't bring a coat and had to buy one (and Oslo is extraordinarily expensive).
So we finally got to Oslo from the airport, via bus. We wondered into a mall, got some food (I got this delicious Pesto and Tomato Calzone thing), and got Paige a coat. We then made our way to our hostel. We were a bit early, so we just sat around (or fell asleep) until it was time for check-in. After check-in, we wondered around Oslo. We made our way past the Mini Bottle Gallery (the only one in the world) and eventually to Akershus Castle. As we walked around, I realized how happy I was to be there. It was absolutely beautiful. We also saw a guard with the most intense weapon for guarding a castle with.

After the castle, we strolled up to the palace, where we could see a lot of the city. It was quite beautiful.

After that, we were all exhausted, so we went back to the hostel and crashed...at 8:30 pm. Sad, yes, but we hadn't really slept in 36 hours. The next morning we started off going to a bakery that Quinn's friend had suggested. I got this crazy twisted cinnamon and sugar deliciousness. It was so good!

After breakfast we went to this peninsula where they have a bunch of museums. We first stopped at the Viking Ship Museum. It was much smaller than expected, but it was still pretty awesome to see some old ships. I also learned that they used to "retire" old boats by using them burial boats, sinking them to the bottom of the sea with the deceased wealthy. There were burial carriages, wagons, and so much more, similar to how the Egyptians buried their dead with goods.

We then went to the Kon Tiki Museum, which explained that Kon Tiki was a reed boat in which 5 people, one from Norway, traveled from South America to Polynesia in 101 days to see if South Americans could have completed such a feat and been the first to settle in Polynesia. They proved it was possible. It was actually kind of crazy. We then walked around the peninsula and stood in awe of landscape surrounding us. It was truly remarkable.

We then headed back to the city. We tried to go to the National Gallery, but only got there 10 minutes before close, so we ran through it pretty quickly. Afterward we went ice skating in the middle of city centre. It was pretty cool, and made us feel rather Norwegian. Once our feet were exhausted and sore, we headed over to a restaurant to get some Norwegian food (and our only real meal of the weekend considering how expensive it all was). I got some Norwegian meatballs, salmon, potatoes, and veggies.

After dinner we were going to go to the Ice Bar, where there everything is made of ice, including the bar and glasses. However, they do not let people under 19 in after 9, so Paige couldn't get in and we just went back to the hostel and fell asleep yet again.
Sunday was a day of being barely late for everything and falling way too many times. We were going to get up around 8, and wound up waking up around 9. This meant we missed the first ferry, but decided to catch the second one. We first went to the Opera House, where you can actually walk on top of the roof, which was, of course, covered in ice. Here begins the falling. It was a rather pretty building, though. From the top you could see a lot of the city, too.

From the opera house, we went to go catch the next ferry to see the fjords. We had a little difficulty actually finding the ferry, though, and by the time we got there, the ferry was gone. The next one was an hour away, so we chose to go to the top of the mountain to check out Holmenkollen Ski Jump, where there was also a Ski Museum. The Ski Museum taught be how serious the Norwegians take their skiing. Not only have they been skiing for at least 4000 years, but some kids start skiing at 9 months old. It is legit. After exploring the museum, we headed to the elevator to go to the top of the jump. The elevator moved on a diagonal along the jump, and was rather frightening. From the top of the jump, we could see all of Oslo and look over the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful. The actual ski jump seemed incredibly scary, though. I have no idea how people go off something so steep and so high up.

We then headed back down the mountain and got off at the Vigelandsparken, a sculpture park. On the walk down to the metro, I literally fell four times down one hill. At one point I was on the ground, and a one year old and her mom just glide right on by me. It was rather embarrassing. The park was pretty, and the statues were...interesting. It was a lot of naked people in odd and awkward positions. More falling occurred, as all the steps were sheets of ice.

After the park, we were too late to catch the last ferry, so we decided to go to the Nobel Peace Center. We learned all about the new Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Liu Xiaobo, and about China, in general. It was really interesting. We then had to hurry back to the hostel to grab our stuff and catch our bus back to the airport. As we got to the bus station, we were there with no extra time. Quinn ran ahead to make sure the bus didn't leave without us. He saw the bus backing up, and tried to get out there to stop it, but the sliding doors wouldn't open. We went to ask when the next bus would leave, and it was another hour, which would mean we would get to the airport with hardly any time to get to the gate before the plane leaves. So we ran over to the train station. Luckily, there was a train that was leaving soon to the airport that would get us there on time. So we forked over $20 extra and jumped on the train. We got there with enough time and everything worked out just fine. From Liverpool, we still had to ride the train, with 2 changes again, to get back to Leeds. At 2 am we finally made it. I got back and completely passed out from exhaustion. But it was totally worth it. Oslo was beautiful, everyone there was incredibly nice (and spoke English...literally), and despite the expensive prices, I would definitely go back again some day. Completely wonderful weekend.

Your American Norway Expert,
Jessica

Pew du du du du du

Its been a week, but for good reason. I haven't really been up to much during the week. Friday, after classes, I went straight to the train station to get a train to Manchester. From Manchester, I flew a 45 minute flight (yes, FORTY FIVE minutes) to Dublin. I arrived around 9, went through customs (I'm pretty sure I was the only non EU person the plane), and took a bus to city centre. That's when the adventure began. I had texted my friends who were already in the city to figure out where to meet them. There was some confusion, and I got off at the stop they were not actually at. And then they ran out of money on their cell phones. Luckily, I had the address, so eventually I hailed a cab. The driver wound up asking me some questions, and it turns out his sister was getting married in San Fran over the summer, so he was asking me questions about the states. When we got to the street, he wasn't sure where it was exactly, but he got me to the block, but I was sure I could find it. Since we had a nice chat, he took some money off my fare. Then the fun part came. So Dublin is weird and changes the street name every block. So I went the wrong way up the block instead of down and wondered around the same block for like thirty minutes. I found it eventually. It was just an adventure. We were all tired and it was late by then, so we just went to bed in the sketchiest hostel I've stayed at.
The next morning we were up early. We did some exploring, got some breakfast, and then went on the free tour that Dublin has. We saw Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Trinity College, and so much more. I learned a lot about the history of Ireland and Dublin. It was really interesting and awesome. Here are some pictures from the tour.

After the tour, we took a walk to the Guinness Factory. On the way there, we discovered the wonderful sounds of the crosswalks in Dublin make. Its where the title of this blog comes from and it made me feel like I was in some old school video game. It was fantastic. Well, we made it to the Guinness factory, which was interesting. However, it was kind of expensive and a self guided tour. I did learn some crazy things about Guinness though. And I learned to pour the perfect pint, even receiving my own certificate. I could not drink very much of the Guinness though. It was not good at all. Blech. Here are some pics from the factory:

After the Guinness Factory, we went to find somewhere to eat. Dublin is really expensive, though, so it took us a while. We wound up finding somewhere to eat in the Temple Bar area that wasn't super cheap, but was kind of reasonable. I got Steak and Guinness Casserole with Mash, which was delicious!

After dinner, we wondered around the Temple Bar area, going into a few places to hear some traditional Irish music. There were also some street performers. Some played music, some spun fire, but all of them were really good. We then went back. At 4am, we woke up to catch the bus to Belfast in Northern Ireland. When we got there, it was straight onto the tour bus to see the country side. We made a few stops at some small towns along the coast, then finally made it to Giant's Causeway. It was absolutely beautiful. It really reminded me of the pictures I've seen of California. Here are some pictures of the places we stopped and the causeway.

After the causeway we went to a few more small towns and also stopped at this old salmon fisherman bridge. Its 20 meters across and 30 meters down. We walked across it. I thought it'd be a lot more frightening than it actually was. We got back to Belfast and were exhausted, so we just went back to the hostel and hung out for a bit. Monday we walked around Belfast, but there did not really seem to be too much to do in Belfast.
Today is Pancake Day in England. Its what they do on Fat Tuesday instead of a Mardi Gras celebration like we do in the states. My flatmates made some pancakes and let me try one. They are not like the pancakes back in the states. They are somewhere in between crepes and pancakes. They also put a bunch of different things on them, including lemon, sugar, and chocolate sauce. I tried a syrup that was like a thicker version of maple syrup. It was pretty good. This weekend I am off to Oslo, Norway and am so excited!

The Perfect Pint Pourer,
Jessica

Spice Up Your Life!

So this weekend has not been as exciting as some previous ones. For the first time in a while I stayed in Leeds. Friday night I went to a party for a bit that a friend was having at her flat. One of her flatmates had made handmade pizza (dough and everything) that was quite delicious. During the day on Saturday I worked on school work and many KU scholarships, including the SELF program. I pretty much finished all of that this past weekend. Saturday night Elizabeth and I went out, thinking we were going to a Chinese restaurant. After 10 minutes of walking, we concluded we had no idea where this place was, and went with a nearby Persian restaurant instead. I ordered lamb something (it was in Persian, I really had no idea) with rice and we split hummus. It was so delicious, I ate the whole thing (which is pretty gross, actually). Here's a picture:

Sunday I met some friends and we went to the Spice Girls exhibit. One of the greatest things I have ever been to. It was like a flashback to my 7 year old self. We were all taking tons of pictures and absorbing the endless Spice trivia. Mel B (Scary Spice) is actually from Leeds, so there were extra tidbits on her. Too bad she was too scary as a child that no one really liked her. At the end we even dress up in the children's costumes as the spice girls. Here are some pictures from the magnificantness.

We then explored the rest of the museum, which was actually quite awesome. Everything was very kid friendly, so there was a lot of stuff to dress up in and activities to complete. Naturally, we participated in all. We had fun dressing up like we were 5 again.

Afterwards, three of us went to the Old Bar, which is in the Union. I went on a limb and got a veggie burger. Since then, I have been obsessed. When I went to the store on Monday, I bough some, along with hummus, pita, tomatos (turns out I actually like them), and some spinach and have been eating it like mad. I'm actually eating healthy, with lots of veggies and fruits. Its an odd, and suprisingly delicious, change.
On Monday night I went to basketball and had fun, as always. I'm so happy because I'm getting less and less tired each week. This week I could have kept going at the end. So excited for the tournament to come!
Tonight I met some friends at the Eldon, again. A bunch of people have quite a few papers due this week, so we didn't stay too long. All I can think about is going to Dublin and Northern Ireland this week, though. So excited to share my adventures in the land of shamrocks on Monday!

Official Spice Girls Lover,
Jessica