Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen (Oslo-Gardermoen Int'l Airport)
PERSONAL QUICK STATS
Norway: Population 4,700,000 in 2007 (114th in the world)
Year Visited: 2008
Country Visited: Number 28
Language Studied: Bokmål Norsk (lit. Academic Norwegian) since 2008
Proficiency Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Exchange Rate: USD$1 = 5.08 NOK (Norwegian Crowns)
Sunny skies and cool weather greeted me as I began the second leg of my summer vacation to Scandinavia. After a bittersweet farewell to my friends in Naples and 3 1/2 hours later, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) #4634 descended on an airstrip surrounded by tall, verdant pine trees and crystalline lakes. "Velkommen til Oslo (Welcome to Oslo)", the flight attendant announced over the intercom. I would have easily mistaken the beautiful green forested landscape for Alaska. The climate was a complete change compared to the subtropical weather in Italy. The ambient temperature here was around 65F (18C), and the forecast called for clear, sunny days in southern Norway.
I picked up my carry-on and proceeded to the ultra-modern glass-walled terminal. My first task was to find the Flytoget (High-speed Airport Express Train) ticket counter. Since I had a faint idea that the cost of living in Norway was one of the highest in the world, I was expecting costly expenses for goods and services in this country. Taxis in Norway, for example, were notoriously over-priced since a 20 mile (32 km) ride would easily cost 500 NOK (US$100)!
Tip: To get to downtown Oslo, the more attractive alternative is to take the Flytoget (160 NOK, US $32) for the 30 mile journey. The high-speed train would zoom through the Norwegian woods at a speed of 90 mph (145 km/h) to arrive at Oslo Sentralstasjon (Oslo Central Station) in 19 minutes!
Norwegian Language Test
At the airport arrival hall, I went to one of the numerous ticket counters, and then, I nervously threw myself into a Norwegian language test. "Unskylld, men jeg vil gjerne ha en billett til Oslo-S (Excuse me, but I'd like a ticket to Oslo Central Station)," I inquired. I was surprised that my thoughts in Norwegian easily came out of my mouth without a hitch, but this was also a straight-forward, basic request without any advanced grammatical requirements. The corpulent Valkyrie-looking woman with blonde braids stared at me and said in perfect English, "The Flytoget is straight down that hallway." Why did she not answer me back in Norwegian, I wondered? I was not satisfied with her response since I wanted to practice some Norwegian. After coming all the way from the US to test my language proficiency in this Scandinavian country, I would have preferred for her to interact with me in her native tongue. So, I pretended not to understand English, and I mischievously added, "Jeg kan ikke engelsk. Jeg har nettopp ankommet fra Mongolia. Kunne du snakke mongolsk?" (I can't speak any English. I just arrived from Mongolia. Could you speak Mongolian?) Why I chose Mongolia, I couldn't easily explain. It was probably one of the most remote countries at the tip of my tongue, whose language not many people would have any familiarity with. She then responded in Norwegian, "Det er en mongolsk fortolker her. Jeg skal hente ham." (There's a Mongolian interepreter here. I'll get him). And as soon as she got up from her chair, I looked around and slowly walked away in an unsuspecting manner. Next ticket counter...
TIP: Knowing Norwegian is not essential at Oslo-Gardermoen International Airport. The facility is equipped with translators in more than 40 languages from English to Sinhala (the language of Sri Lanka) to help arriving passengers.
På vei til Oslo (On the way to Oslo)
Sitting in the ultra-modern train, I caught my first glimpse of the Norwegian landscape unfolding before my eyes: green rolling hills, thick birch forests, and modern roads and highways coursing through the pristine fields. The intimate, contiguous, pastel-colored buildings that were so typical of Italy were now replaced by open spaces, small fairy-book houses, and verdant pastures. I felt excited and could hardly wait to start exploring the famed, majestic landscape of this country. But first, I was to meet Judith at 5PM in the lobby of my hotel.
Upon arriving to Oslo Central Station, I quickly crossed the street and found my hotel strategically located next to the Airport Express Train platform. After checking in, I went downstairs to the lobby to search for Judith, the sister of my good friend Claudia in Houston. When Claudia found out that I was going to Oslo, she kindly arranged for her sister to meet me and take me around the city. Judith originally came from Berlin, so I had e-mailed her previously in both Norwegian and German. Before coming to Norway in 2001 to work in the Pediatric Nursing department, she had to take 3 months of intensive Norwegian classes in Berlin. So, naturally her Norwegian was far superior to mine when she first arrived here. Judith also could speak some English, but before meeting her, I wondered what language we were going to converse in. Perhaps whatever language came across our minds at that moment.
I saw someone sitting alone out of a group of people chatting in the lobby. I came up to her, and asked, "Judith?" She then rose and greeted me in German. I was so glad to finally meet Claudia's sister, and so our linguistic choice was set: we ended up speaking German almost exclusively. It was very interesting since sometimes, I caught myself still thinking in Italian and translating it into an akward form of German. Perhaps too much limoncello from Fabiana and Marco's wedding last night was influencing my mind. However, at other times, when we found ourselves thinking in English or Norwegian, we would use those words and still understood each other. Judith was nice enough to close out her busy schedule for me today. She took off from work to show me around Scandinavia's smallest and most compact capital city.
Brief Background
Oslo, with a population of 550,000 and an empowered GDP per capita of $55,000 USD (Source: CIA World Factbook 2007), is the smallest Scandinavian capital. It was founded in 1049 by King Harald Hardråde (Harold the Ruthless), but it was not until the reign of King Håkon V (1299-1319) did Oslo become the capital city. However, it had a very short-lived capital status. The death of an heirless Håkon in 1319 marked the virtual end of Norway as an independent country until 1905. Tracing the intricate Scandinavian royal family tree, an heir was found in Sweden, and soon, Erik became not only the king of Norway but also of Sweden and Denmark under the grand Kalmar Union in 1397. It was during this time that the three Scandinavian nations were united under one ruler and one flag, but with three languages and cultures. However, unhappy with the Danes' frequent wars in Germany and suspicious of the centralization of power in the Union's capital city of Copenhagen, Sweden left the union in 1439. But Norway submissively stood by powerful Denmark's side. Oslo was reduced to being only a provincial capital.
Four hundred years passed. Supporting the wrong side in the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), as Denmark and Norway were supporting France, the Norwegians found themselves on the losing side, and under the Treaty of Kiel (1814), their country was handed over to Sweden, supporter of the Allied Forces led by England. The high-handed transfer of Norway from Denmark to Sweden only aroused a fiercer demand for greater independence.
The thirst for Norwegian independence was reflected in the sociocultural movement known as Norwegian Romantic Nationalism, as the people of Norway drew on their unique Nordic roots and sought to express a distinct national character. Great literary masters as Henrik Ibsen ("A Doll's House," "Ghosts") and Bjørnstjerne Bjørson (1903 Nobel Laureate in Literature); great artists as Edvard Munch ("The Scream") and Adolph Tideman ("The Bridal Party"); and master musician Edvard Grieg ("Peer Gynt Suites," "Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.16") covered all branches of culture to echo the unique identity of Norway. It was not until 1905 that independence was obtained peacefully when Norway separated from Sweden through a national referendum.
Norway is a long, narrow country, stretching 1770 km/1100 miles from north to south, roughly the same distance as from Oslo to Rome or New York to Miami. Its inhabitants are benefiting from a robust petroleum market, which is one of the cornerstones of its gigantic economy. Oil was discovered in Norway just some 35 years ago, but has since continually filled the country's coffers with budget surpluses. In fact, before the discovery of oil, Norway was poorer than the southern European countries. Now, Norway's affluent economy grants its citizens the third highest GDP per capita in the world. The cost of living for the 4.7 million Norwegians is 30% higher than in the US, and 25% higher than in the UK. People speak two official forms of Norwegian: Bokmål (lit. Book Language), a glorified, educated dialect of Danish, and the less popular Nynorsk (lit. New Norwegian), the language of the farmers in the pastoral heartland. Almost everybody understands Danish and Swedish as well as has a fluent command of English.
Oslo in a Nutshell
Judith took me around the historic center of Oslo, which I thought, had more of an atmosphere of a German city: the ubiquitous trams, wide tree-lined boulevards, low-lying stucco buildings, pedestrian malls, etc. One peculiar aspect of Norway's capital city, however, was the multi-cultural demographics. 20% of the population came from outside Scandinavia: Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam, China, Somalia, etc. For instance, I thought I was in downtown Manhattan right on Oslo's main shopping street Karl Johans Blvd. after spotting so many different ethnicities.
We took the Oslo T-bane train up a beautiful hill to Kafé Seterstua, located 435m (1427 ft) above downtown Oslo and the Oslo Fjords in Frognerseteren. The impeccable, pristine natural landscape and panorama of the Norwegian countryside was grand from every corner. As we hiked through the deciduous forest, the summer evening light filtering through the branches danced over the shoulders of Judith's shoulders. It was a delicate, summer evening light, and although it was already 8PM on my watch, the brilliant sky reminded me more of 4PM. We sat and had some cappuccino, tiramisu, and talked and just relaxed on this lazy Scandinavian evening in July. Afterwards, we headed back down to the bustling harborfront shopping district of Akers Brygge and dined on grilled salmon and Norwegian pasta at Druen Restaurant. Afterwards, I looked at my watch, and although it was already 10PM, the sky was still so bright that I had mistakenly thought it was still late afternoon (~5PM). Since Oslo lay at the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska, the long summer evening light seemed to be eternal. But I had to get some sleep since tomorrow, I would be heading to the heartland of Norway. So I thanked Judith and said good-bye to her. Tomorrow, an active adventure in the majestic fjords was waiting for me...
More thumbnails ...
1 vote 
