That was the characterizing theme song for the weekend. I met Georgia boy two years ago when my work colleague who happened to also be his fraternity brother invited me to spend New Years in Atlanta with his friends. We met over an unforgettable dinner at Fogo de Chao and have been friends ever since. At the time, Georgia boy lived in my now neighboring German state of Bavaria and was just visiting his family for the holidays. By the time I moved to the German state of Baden-Württemberg, he had already moved to a Norwegian village outside of Oslo. Anyway, after living on the same continent for a year, it was high time the two of us got together and since Germany was having another one of its many holidays; it was me who did the traveling.

A BEAUTIFUL sneak view I caught while ridding along the cobble stone streets on my rented bike.

Bummer of the week: I inadvertently submerged my camera in water prior to my trip and it wouldn’t turn on anymore. Plus side, I bought a new camera. Downside, this new camera’s battery refused to charge and did not work all weekend so I had to use my less dynamic back up. On the plus side, my old camera which I later submerged in dry white rice for the weekend turned on again!

Making a habit of this. I posed by the Budapest guards as well!

Drammen Church

Norway has a population of 5 million and is the least densely populated country in Europe. Likewise, the greater Stuttgart metropolitan area has a population of 5+ million. Needless to say, Oslo was not the bustling, happening metropolitan that I once imagined. Fortunately, it isn’t overpopulated with tourist this time of year like so many other European capitols. The Royal palace is a bit less grand than any other European palace I’ve seen…and even our America Palace (the White House). The gardens, however, are lush and everyone relaxes in them all day.

Oslo makes a refreshing city break. I took a relatively inexpensive KLM flight to Amsterdam then to Oslo. I lived off of about $200 and the hospitality of friends the whole weekend. The highlight of the trip was hanging with Georgia Boy, rooting on Norge, Deutschland, and the USA in the Olympics, and the interesting cultural conversations with his friends.

You come to Norge (as they call it in Norway) for the nature, not the shopping or partying which can certainly rack up quite the bill.  I spent the equivalent of $12.17USD on a six pice chicken nugget meal at McD’s…making it more shockingly expensive than Switzerland!  I suggest waiting until you’re back in the Euro to do your shopping…better yet, back in the USD to go on your shopping sprees.

Converse with dresses. Yes, the high top tennis shoe with sexy cocktail dresses. This was the hot fashion statement. And I can appreciate this style. Instead of having your feet suffer all night, you can be comfortable! And you can run away from creepsters that seem to come out at night.  Actually, back in Germany, the girls wore converse with their dirndels.

One of the conversations I had with one of Georgia Boy’s friends centered around me living in Germany. He told me they are required to learn German and English in school but how redundant German was because everyone in Germany also speaks English. French and Spanish were more functional languages to learn because less native speakers of those languages speak Norwegian, German or English.  He actually had five years of German but wasn’t very good at it even though he could speak two other Germanic languages well.  Road signs were easier for me to understand here because of my knowledge of German. For example the German word for entrance is “Eingang.” In Norwegian, its “Inngang.”  and they spell Center, “Senter.” I love how there are so many ways to spell the same word. There is no denying “senter” does not spell center. You certainly read it that way.  In the same conversation, he asked, “so you live in Germany…and you like the Germans?” I chuckled. What a funny question. He expanded that he was not a fan of their sense of humor.  “If you tell a joke…like a man joke, they do not laugh. They don’t have a sense of humor. Not good ones like the Brits.” That got me thinking. I had never thought about the Germans being a non-humorous bunch. I had quite a few comical moments with them but no, the Germans are not known for their fun-having antics like the Brits. German humor is a topic I’m going to have to explore further.

Biking is the way to travel

On Sunday morning, I rented a bike to ride up and down the river to take in the gorgeous views of Dramman… a smaller town about 40 kilometers outside of Oslo.

On this trip I realized that guys everywhere seem to find competitive games to play when they drink.  The three Americans introduced the group or Norwegian boys to beer pong. The Norwegians came up with a series of team challenges to play while pre-gaming.

My time in Noway in general was peaceful and easy-going. Maybe because of all the fresh air, even in the city. Maybe because my main objective was to chill with an old friend rather than see everything the city has to offer like I often set out to do every time I go to Paris.  Oslo is a hot spot for outdoor adventuring. It’s a good mix of both city and nature.