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May 26, 2008
Memorial Day picnic
Inspired perhaps by the pot luck dinner we had last weekend, my neighbor Annette had a great idea that the other neighbors we're friends with, Adam and I go on a picnic today. I decided to whip up some nutella oatmeal cookies and an excellent goat cheese baby spinach salad our friend Kaiser treated us to last weekend. Annette impressed us with an excellent cole slaw (I normally don't like cole slaw but this one was exceptionally good)--paired with the roast chicken and multi-grain bread she brought it made for an excellent sandwich. We had our picnic at Juniper Valley Park which I'd never been to before--it's definitely an excellent picnicking spot with its large lawns interspersed with trees and large perimeter loop--perfect for trying to walk off lunch. Our neighbors' friends swung by--one of them is a female stand-up comedienne, which I think is very cool.
Anyhow, as we were leaving, one of my neighbors and I noticed a collection of toy horses arranged around a blanket on the lawn--I couldn't resist taking a photo:
Posted by Jennifer at 08:07 PM | Comments (0)
Wedding!
Adam and I went to his cousin's wedding today at Water's Edge, a restaurant in Long Island City boasting really nice views of the skyline in Manhattan. They couldn't have picked a better day to have a wedding--it was beautiful spring day--and the wedding itself was really nice. Congratulations to the groom and bride!
Views of the skyline and Queensboro Bridge
I couldn't resist sharing this series of photos of my nephew, Jake, and the flower girl.
Two more photos of Jake
This is one of my favorite photos
First dance
More scenes from the wedding
Photos of my super-cute niece, Sarah
Posted by Jennifer at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2008
New York Dance Parade 2008
Unfortunately, I didn't know about the New York Dance Parade last year until I saw the photos on Gothamist, so I made sure to get down there on Saturday, for the second annual dance parade. I wish I had gotten there earlier because it was definitely one of the best parades I've ever been to.
Did I also mention we hosted a pot luck dinner yesterday? Here's just a sampling of what we had:
Gazpacho
Moqueca (Brazilian fish stew)
Chicken Tagine
Sticky date pudding with caramel sauce
Posted by Jennifer at 09:24 PM | Comments (0)
Last 24 hours in Norway
Sunday morning was nice--we got up, had breakfast, went to see the trout Greg and a few of the other guys had managed to catch by putting a net out on the lake being cleaned (another first for me!), and watched as the two kids that came on the trip brave the cold lake water. Then, we had to return to Stavanger to catch our plane back to Oslo.
We decided to get dinner at this restaurant in a neat neighborhood in Oslo called Kampen. We had a great view of Oslo from our hotel room and enjoyed watching the sunset. We had to catch our flight back to New York the next morning but, unfortunately, our flight was delayed though I have to say that if you do get stuck in an airport, Oslo Airport Gardermoen is not such a bad airport to get stuck in. The interior struck me as very Scandnavian--filled with a lot of light colored wood and windows, it's a lot less impersonal than most airports I've been to. The fact that some airport employees have scooters, makes the airport all the more charming.
So, would I recommend Norway as a place to travel? Er..given how expensive everything is in the country, I would say probably not (though we didn't go to the northern part of the country where you can see the northern lights, reindeer, and, if you go really far north, polar bears). That being said, I enjoyed the trip though it definitely helped that we have friends there. I do like the heated bathroom floors though!
Posted by Jennifer at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)
Preikestolen
I had seen photos of Preikestolen, but didn't realize how nice the scenery along the way to the famous Pulpit Rock would be until we were there. The trip to Preikestolen from Stavanger was surprisingly short (about 40 minutes) but did require a car ferry which was also a first for Adam and I. Karima and Greg had invited a bunch of their friends to join us and there was actually quite a sizable number of us that went on the hike. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect as far as the hike went other than it sounded strenuous and I was a little apprehensive as Adam and I don't often get the opportunity to hike. The hike was indeed strenuous, at least by our standards--I was staring at the ground as we hiked most of the time since much of the path was rocky. Judging by the way they effortlessly scrambled up and down the path, however, I'm guessing by Norwegian standards, it was probably a breeze (Norwegians are very active--they spend most of the winter months skiing and most of the warmer months doing other outdoor activities). The scenery, however, made any hardship worthwhile.
Posted by Jennifer at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)
Stavanger, day 3
Friday morning I decided to check out the path that runs past Greg and Karima's apartment. It runs along the water and than splits into two paths further on so you have the option of walking through an upland, more wooded area or along the water. One of the first things I noticed when we got to Greg and Karima's place was the chorus of birds and I had noticed the birds in their backyard so I brought my binoculars with me so I could use the opportunity to go bird-watching. There were a number of birds in this one particular wooded section of the path and I noticed this one bird that was noisy as it flew and perched and pretty aggressive towards other birds (I saw it attack a gull that was perched at least 50 feet away from it).
After lunch, Karima, Adam and I went to check on Mosvatnet Lake, a spot in Stavanger known for its numerous birds. Mosvatnet Lake is also the location of one of Stavanger's art museums, Rogaland Art Museum which I also checked out. We then swung by the Stavanger Museum, a small natural history museum. We had dinner at this restaurant where Adam and I tried monkfish for the first time. Karima and Greg had been invited to a party being thrown by one of her colleagues. It was our first party overseas and it was really nice--it was well attended by a medley of Europeans. We spoke to two college students who probably enlightened us more than we did them. I also spoke to a couple who were planning on relocating to Iran in a few weeks.
Rogaland Art Museum
Posted by Jennifer at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2008
Stavanger, days 1 and 2
We arrived in Stavanger Wednesday evening and were met by our friends Greg and Karima. They drove us to their apartment which was lovely--a spacious well appointed flat overlooking a fjord. As some of you may remember, the last time we saw our favorite couple was at their wedding in Trinidad about a year ago so we had a lot to catch up on.
The next morning, Karima dropped us off in the central part of Stavanger--we walked through Old Town Stavanger which was filled with white-washed wooden homes nestled among cobblestone streets. Even though it's the fourth largest city in Norway, Stavanger is a pretty small city though not without its charms. We grabbed lunch at an inexpensive Thai restaurant which was across the street from the Norwegian Petroleum Museum and a pretty cool oil-themed playground. By the early afternoon we had seen much of Stavanger and decided to walk back to Karima and Greg's apartment. The walk was long but winded through a picturesque cemetery.
Greg had purchased tickets to for one of the many Stavanger International Jazz Festival concerts that were taking place and we met up with some of Greg's colleagues at a bar overlooking the harbor beforehand. One of his colleagues mentioned he had gone skiing the other weekend and that it was so warm that some women skiied in bikinis (I'm sure an image enjoyed by many males). We then walked over to the concert venue--the featured artist was Natacha Atlas, a Middle-Eastern influenced artist who is also a bellydancer. It was our first time seeing a concert overseas and it was interesting to see the high turn-out of Norwegians that came out to see her perform.
You'll have to excuse some of the pinkish hues in some of the photos--my camera started having some problems at this point.
View from Greg and Karima's apartment
Some Stavanger photos
Posted by Jennifer at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2008
Bergen
We pulled into the train station at Bergen around 8:30 at night. Unfortunately, there weren't any taxis by the station so we had to make our way to the other side of Bergen where the apartment we were staying in was located. Our apartment was located on a charming, narrow cobblestone street and we were happy to discover the apartment itself was very cozy, certainly nicer than the apartment we had stayed in Oslo. We went to a central part of Oslo for dinner and walked back to our apartment.
I had wanted to ascend two mountains in Bergen, Mt Floyen and Mt Ulriken but didn't realize until we got to the tourism office that the cable car up Mt Ulriken was closed. We hopped on a bus and checked out Old Town Bergen instead . Afterwards, we checked out Bergen's famous fish market which was interesting but small and tried going here for lunch but, unfortunately, they hadn't opened yet so we settled for a mediocre Thai restaurant nearby. We went to the Bergen Art Museum mostly because they had a Picasso exhibit but were disappointed to find the exhibit was comprised of two rooms of paintings and one room of sketches.
Our next and final stop was Mt Floyen--a funicular takes up the mountain and you have the option of taking it back down or walking. Having read that the trails take you through forests and lakes, we opted for the latter. The first part of the walk was easy--winding through forests. The final leg, which winded through a descending residential neighborhood was a little trickier. We had to walk through people's backyards down steps and downhill streets but felt a sense of accomplishment when we reached the bottom of the mountain.
We decided to splurge and eat at an upscale restaurant near our apartment. We finally tried fish soup, a local Norwegian specialty, which was nice but very creamy.
We had pretty much seen everything we wanted to see in Bergen on Tuesday so we spent Wednesday just strolling the city before catching our afternoon ferry to Stavanger. This partially meant shopping for me but everything was so expensive that the only thing I bought was a pair of pants from Fretex, Norway's Salvation Army.
Typical cobblestone street in Bergen
Old Town Bergen
Bergen from the top of Mount Floyen
Posted by Jennifer at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)
Norway in a Nutshell
I can't tell you how many people on the travel message boards I visited raved about Norway in a Nutshell so despite the slightly high expense, Adam and I decided to do it. The first leg of the journey is an approximately five hour train ride from Oslo to Myrdal. For the first hour or two, you are charmed by the pastoral countryside of Norway but by the third or fourth hour it gets to be a bit repetitive. The last hour is actually nice--the train passes through snow covered mountains and the snowy landscapes, especially considering the fact that it's May, is impressive.
The hour-long train ride between Myrdal and Flam is nice--it's basically a sight-seeing train--but we've definitely seen nicer scenery during our travels. We had an hour to walk around Flam and grab something to eat--Flam is nice but small. I was really looking forward to the next leg of our journey--a boat ride through Songefjord. This was the most visually striking part of the journey that I had seen in travel shows and to say it was disappointing might be an understatement. I guess Adam and I really didn't know what fjords were until we came to Norway--we were expecting narrow water channels rimmed by dramatic snow-capped cliffs or glaciers and to ride a very slow-moving ferry past not particularly dramatic cliffs in the warmth of the cafe area (most people moved from the top of the boat to the enclosed interior within the first hour) was actually a bit boring.
The last segment of the trip was also not particularly memorable, though perhaps this was because I slept through the bus ride part of it. I think Norway in a Nutshell is best suited for the middle-aged and older crowd that likes to see the scenery of Norway in comfort. But if it's a little more stimulation that you seek, then I would opt for a different experience, like the hike up Preikestolen, which I'll discuss later.
Some photos from NiN:
Posted by Jennifer at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2008
Oslo, day 2
Since we only really had one full day to explore Oslo, we tried to do as much as we could on Sunday. We got an early start since I wanted to go birdwatching and the streets were pretty empty when we left though they didn't fill up with that many more people as the day progressed I guess in part because nearly all stores save for a few convenience stores are closed on Sunday.
We caught the metro which passed through several suburbs outside of Oslo. I noticed that they were staffed by smart looking women who would step out at each stop and wave a green flag to indicate that everyone had boarded. I wasn't sure how to get to the Ostensjovannet lake (Oslo's biggest wetland and bird reserve) once we got off at our stop but, fortunately, a father out with his children pointed us in the right direction (one of the big perks of travelling to Norway is that most Norwegians speak English). It was a bit of a walk but it was nice strolling through what I assumed was a suburban Norwegian neighborhood. We saw a number of ducks within the lake, including this one.
By the time we returned to central Oslo, we were hungry so we stopped off here. It was still a little before noon so we had to wait for lunch to be served so we both got coffees, which in Norway typically costs around $10 (I think this was the only coffee I bought during the entire trip). Lunch was served at noon and served cafeteria style and I opted for Swedish meatballs and potato dumplings--I was served exactly three of each and this plus the waffle I got came out to be about $35. The meal wasn't bad but it was the most expensive mediocre meal I've ever paid for. At least it was filling.
After lunch, we walked around central Oslo checking out various museums--the National Gallery was nice and free (as all national museums in Oslo are--I guess they need to attract tourists somehow) and I also liked the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design for its retro design displays but the other museums we saw were forgettable. Unlike many of the other cities we've visited, Oslo isn't known for its world-class museums, unfortunately. We also swung by the newly built Oslo Opera House. I was impressed with the number of visitors--it's always interesting to see how architecture can engage individuals and this one definitely appeared to be a success on that front.
We decided to get dinner at a restaurant relatively near our neighborhood and I had heard good things about this place. The interior was cozy--very wooden with much of the room lit by candelight but the pizza was so-so. Norwegians have a penchant for sour cream and pizza, apparently, is no exception--I opted not to try one of the pizzas with sour cream though.
Exterior and interior shots of the Oslo Opera House
Posted by Jennifer at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)
Oslo, day 1
Adam and I flew into Oslo on a late Saturday afternoon. We caught a train from the airport to central Oslo and we were impressed with the changing light display as we exited Nationaltheatret station via the escalator. We purchased a ticket for the tram but noticed no one seemed to pay on either of the trams we took to get to our destination (though a Norwegian who I spoke to later asserted that most people do buy tickets since random checks are performed and the fine for those without tickets is significant). We also discovered how small Oslo was (we probably could've walked the distance covered by the two trams with relative ease--I guess we never pay attention to map scales).
The apartment we were staying in (hotels in Norway are expensive so we opted to stay mostly in apartments in Oslo and Bergen) was located in an upscale neighborhood called Frogner. Our apartment was located near the entrance to Frogner Park and since it was still early evening and very much light out (because of its northen latitude, the sun doesn't set until late in Norway--while we were there sunset occured just before 10) we decided to take a foray into the park before getting dinner.
There were a number of people in the park still, including some people grilling food on grill boxes. We walked towards a building near the entrance to the park and were charmed to find what looked like a beer hall. We decided to check out Vigelands Sculpture Park which was nice but a bit small. After having spent 24 hours traveling, however, a stroll through one of Oslo's major parks was a nice way to spend our first day in Norway.
After walking through the park, we grabbed dinner at a laid back cafe where Adam had a tasty burger with roasted potatoes and I had a goat cheese salad and we were introduced to Norway's high prices. I think our dishes each came out to over or around 100 Krone, or about $20 US but I will speak more about how expensive Norway in my next entry.
Frogner Park
Famous Vigelands sculpture
Bacon (or shrimp, or salmon) in a tube, anyone?
Funny ramen package
Posted by Jennifer at 07:03 AM | Comments (0)
May 04, 2008
Guess I will be posting on Norway from Norway after all..
Just had to log on to say that reports of Oslo being the most expensive city in western Europe (according to Adam, Moscow's the most expensive city in the world) are no joke. Even a light meal in an informal place costs a minimum of twenty to thirty dollars, if you want coffee to fill in any remaining growly spots left in your stomach that will set you back four to five dollars, even a bottle of soda to quench your thirst can cost five dollars. That being said, Oslo is pretty nice--a low density and pretty green city. Just helps if you have money I guess--nothing like coming to a place like Norway to make you think that maybe New York City isn't so expensive after all--I'd just like to know how much rents here cost..
Posted by Jennifer at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2008
Heading out for Norway tomorrow--will post about our trip when we return!
Posted by Jennifer at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)