Made it to Norway

Trip Start Jun 30, 2008
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Trip End Jul 21, 2008


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Where I stayed
(Oslo hotels)

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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I made it to Oslo, Norway. We left Lansing approximately 4:30pm on June 30th. We arrived in Oslo at about 10:00am on July 1st. We were on United from Lansing to Chicago. In Chicago, we switched to SAS. The SAS flight went from Chicago to Stockholm, Sweden. The plane was a nice Airbus A330. It had an entertainment system in the seat back with music, movies, and games. I got stuck in a middle seat. I couldn't get comfortable to sleep. While in Sweden, we got our passports stamped, which was odd only because we never got a stamp in Norway. SAS took us from Stockholm to Oslo. We got all our bags except for one. Fortunately, it was delivered later that day to the hotel.

From the airport we took a train to downtown Oslo. I slept about 10 minutes and it was glorious. We walked several blocks from the train station to our hotel, the Carlton Hotel. It wasn't a bad walk, except that some people brought a ton of luggage (some pieces without wheels). I was glad I packed light.

The hotel is OK. It reminds me of hotels in big cities in the US. The building is older and the rooms are small. It's alright though, the only male student had to drop out at the last minute for health reasons. So, that means that I am rooming alone for the entire trip.

Most of us got rooms right away and we elected to take a 2 hour break to rest up. My room wasn't ready yet so I hung out with the grad student, Madison, and the other alumni, Lindsay. We went to a little grocery around the corner and got some food. Back at the hotel we were so tired it was a stuggle to eat and eventually I passed out with my head propped up by my arm on a desk.

We barely made it down in time to meet the rest of the group. Then we headed to Oslo City Hall. The city hall building is a huge brick structure built in the 1930s. It looks like a castle and has a huge room where talks and performances are held. Then we went to the Royal Palace. There were a lot of people walking around it and laying on the grass in the surrounding grounds. You could go right up to the building and have a look. Of course, back home you can't get with in a quarter mile of the White House.

After the Royal Palace, we went to a little Italian restaurant for dinner. About 20USD got you a personal pizza. It was good, but the high tax on everything and the weak US dollar makes it pretty pricey here. At dinner we did a round table and everyone told a little about themselves and why they decided to come on the trip.

Once dinner was done, we went back to the hotel and crashed. I wanted to stay up until at least 9:00pm local, but only made it to 7:30. I slept like a rock, though, which was great. It is now 6:00am and I've been up for an hour. My sleep schedule is all messed up still, though, as I am getting tired again.
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