My Birthday Weekend

On my 31st birthday last year, I couldn't have imagined where and with whom I would be celebrating my 32nd birthday!  The weather was very nice (compared with recent rain), so we decided to take a hike up a local mountain, Fløyen.  Many people choose to ride the Floibanen to the top and then hike around on the trails but we decided to hike up ourselves.  There are lots of options for sledding and skiing trails once you reach the top.

We began hiking from the base of the mountain by the entrance to the floibanen and climbed the many flights of stairs through neighborhoods built on the hillside.

The sign above Kyle isn't very clear in this picture but states that you have the choice to go "This Way and That Way" in both Norwegian and English.

Annika got hungry about half way up and I'm pretty sure this is the best view I've had so far while nursing :)

This is looking down over part of the city center and harbor.

Can't resist posing with the snowy troll.

Happy to be celebrating my birthday with my two loves!  Being together on top of a mountain in Bergen, Norway doesn't hurt either!

Looking down into a centuries old fort that sits at the entrance to the harbor.

The hike down went quickly and we decided to wander through some of the narrow homes built along the hill.  It would be so fun to live in these buildings along cobblestone streets!  That evening we went to a local brewery called Naboen for beer and delicious potatoes.  Kyle had purchased ice cream and toppings for us to have for dessert back at home.

On Sunday, we continued my birthday celebrations by getting a babysitter for Annika for several hours in the afternoon.  We have met other Fulbright students here and a few of them live in buildings right next to ours.  One woman offered to watch Annika for us so that we could have some time to ourselves.  I think this was our first post-baby date!  We've spent some time away from her before but usually it's just been to run a few errands.  We really enjoyed being able to go to a movie and out for a glass of wine.  Of course I was frequently checking Kyle's cellphone for messages from the babysitter but everything went really smoothly.  Annika has had a few bottles given to her but usually by Kyle or another family member that she's familiar with.  We may take advantage again of our friend's willingness to spend an afternoon with Annika at least one more time before we depart for the US in February.  Overall I had a great birthday weekend!

Sagmoen Gård

We traveled by train from Trondheim to Steinkjer and were picked up at the train station by Hallbjørn.  He drove us down the icy, snowy roads about 45 minutes to their farm, Sagmoen.  They are no longer actively farming but used to have dairy cows.  I didn't get a picture of their farm and house but Kyle did.

 Here is Annika taking her first real train ride.  We've been riding a light rail in Bergen.

 She was very interested in watching out the windows.

 This is one of her favorite ways to be held, with her head next to her daddy's cheek.

 Sissel and Hallbjørn are currently building a home in the area where Sissel was raised.  They sold a family home on the opposite side of the fjord and decided to build on this side where there is already plumbing and electricity.  They have huge windows in their main living room that look out over the water.  The electricity was turned on, so we sat at a table by a big space heater to have a snack.

Sissel made coffee for us and brought along lefse that had been made by someone that Hallbjørn knows.  This type of lefse is locally called læms.

 View of the house from the outside.  The outside is done except for being painted.  They are doing the inside themselves, so that will take a bit longer, as Hallbjørn recently had hip surgery.

 This is a beautiful dessert that Sissel made for us following a traditional meal of sodd suppe.  The soup is made for celebrations and is made of potatoes, sheep meatballs, and carrots in a flavorful broth.

 Every evening after supper we sat in the living room and talked.  Sissel made all of these desserts.  I loved the checkered ones and got her recipe.  Will have to make them and share them when I get home!

 Annika slept in this wonderful rocking crib that was made by Hallbjørn's brother.  She slept so soundly and I loved that I could reach the side of the crib from the bed to rock it.  Our little traveler has slept in so many different places/types of beds on our travels.  She's done amazingly well!

Trondheim

Kyle, Annika, and I took a weekend trip north to Trondheim.  The main reason we went there was to go on to visit friends of Kyle's family.  The Koryntas hosted an exchange student when Kyle was in college.  The parents of the student, Sissel and Hallbjørn, have been to Grand Forks and we wanted to go visit them at their home.  We decided to spend an afternoon and evening in Trondheim before continuing on to the farm.  Trondheim was the first capital of Norway and is still where the crown regalia is kept.  

Annika did a great job traveling again even if she looks a bit concerned in the picture.  I have to say that I appreciated traveling with Kyle this time.  So much easier!  The Thon Hotel in Trondheim was perfectly situated downtown.

 The Nidaros Cathedral was built between 1050 and 1300 over the grave of St. Olaf.  We wanted to go inside but it had already closed for the day.

 The outside of the cathedral was amazing.  I wish we could have seen the rose window from inside.  What you can't tell from this picture is how windy and snowy it was, we were so cold!

 Naturally, we found a cafe to warm up!  mmmm Fresh pastries and kaffe.

 We continued our walk around the city and went along the river to the old city bridge, the Gamle Bybro.

 This is the view along the river in the daylight.  The neighborhood along here was very neat with apartments, little shops, and cafes.  We enjoyed the wintery weather.

We capped our evening in Trondheim with a visit to a local micro brewery to meet with a few other Fulbright researchers and sample the tasty beers.  We made it an early evening as the crowds were coming in and took Annika back to the hotel.  We could definitely have spent more time in Trondheim.

Søndagstur

Kyle introduced me to a term called søndagstur.  The term refers to doing something active outside on Sundays (or any weekend day I think).  Norwegians like to be outside and we saw tons of people running and walking when we went out last Sunday.  Lots of families pushing prams and people of all ages out for a stroll.  There is a small lake just down the road and another park close by.  In the opposite direction is a park where the Fantoft stavkirke is located.  It's a well known tourist attraction because it's a very old church in a traditional style.

This coming weekend we are going north to Trondheim, a city that I've never been to.  We'll be staying with a former foreign exchange student that stayed with Kyle's family many years ago.  I'm excited to travel to a part of the country that I've never seen!

 Kyle and Annika by the stavkirke.

 This park is across the main road from our building.

 This lake is in close walking distance and has a great walking path around it.

Our home in Norway

Back to life in a dorm.... Never thought I would be living in a dorm after college but that's where we are.  Granted, it's more like an efficiency apartment than a dorm but it is filled with University students.  Most students in this building are from countries other than Norway and in our corridor so far we have met people from Germany and Pakistan.  There are a few people yet to move in and a few that I haven't had a long enough conversation with to find out where they are from.  Kyle lived in this building when he was here last spring and was actually on this same floor but at the other end.  I remember how much trouble he had with the noise on the weekends and one specific person who made their corridor both loud and messy.  Hopefully we won't have the same problems!  There are 8 rooms in each corridor, each with a private bathroom, and a shared kitchen.  Since Annika and I are here for this month, Kyle was able to get a "couple's" room which means that we have a bedroom and a living room.  Most students just have a bedroom that has a desk in it.  It's really plenty of space for us right now with Annika being as small as she is.  I'm not sure how it would be with a toddler but I'm realizing how unnecessary a lot of our baby things are.  There are a couple of things that I wish I had packed:  a long raincoat and baby toys that make noise.  The only thing that could really make our room better is a place to play with Annika on the floor.  The drawer that she sleeps in really doesn't provide enough room to do much tummy-time play.  On the plus side, our building is really nicely located.  It's a 20 min. train ride from the University and city center but there are quite a few walking trails right around here.  There is a grocery store right outside and the train stops next to the store.  Bergen is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains.  I hope for more sunny days to take pictures that do this place justice.

Our building is the tall, skinny one.  We live on the 4th of 15 floors.

This desk runs the whole length of our living room.  It serves as a changing table, desk, place to prepare food, and place to store necessary papers.

We all went to the student center on campus for lunch and found this nice little table with a great view.

Annika and I are figuring out how to use the train and manage it all with a stroller.

This is the view of the lake close to our home.

We're in Norway!

Hilsen fra Norge!  We have arrived here in Scandinavia and the trip over went very smoothly.  Kyle flew from Minneapolis to Oslo on Jan. 3rd to pick up the belongings he had stored there in December, took a night train to Bergen, checked in to student housing, put his stuff in our rooms, activated a cell phone for me, and then met Annika and me at the airport.  After Kyle left Minneapolis, Annika and I stayed with my mom's cousin Sally and her family.  They were very welcoming and we had a great time with them.  Usually our visits with family and friends in MN are short because we have so much to fit in.  It was wonderful to have a more extended visit this time around.  Sally brought us to the airport on Jan. 4th (after one last visit to the amazing Peapods store in St. Paul).  We arrived early and had plenty of time to check our bags, get through security, get coffee, and give Annika a chance to stretch out before the flights.

The first leg brought us to Chicago, where we had to exit security in one terminal, take the shuttle to another terminal, go to the check-in desk, and return through security.  I was only able to get Annika's first ticket in Minneapolis and needed to get her tickets from the SAS airline for the rest of the trip.  The ladies at the desk were very helpful and even moved people around on the flight so that I could sit in a seat with access to a bassinet.  Amazingly fortunate!  The bassinet attached to the bulkhead in front of me and Annika slept soundly in it for the majority of our 8 hour flight.  SAS airlines seems very family friendly and a stewardess came through to give a book to every child.  Annika received a picture book of animals.  Once in Copenhagen we weren't able to use our stroller but the airport had strollers and carts free for use by the gates.  We had a short layover there and then flew to Bergen, Norway.  In no time at all, we were through customs and meeting Kyle!  So glad to be here!  We then traveled by bus into the city center and then by train to where we'll be living.  Kyle had already purchased a month-long pass for me for public transportation.

We are so happy to be all together here and I feel very lucky to be able to spend 5 weeks of maternity leave in Norway.  I'll write more soon about where we live and what we've been doing so far.

 Stretching out before getting on our first flight.  I didn't get a picture of the bassinet and will have to remember to do that on our return trip.

 Settling into our room.  Yes, Annika is sleeping in a drawer :)

2 Months Old!

On December 30th we went to a pediatrician in Billings to have Annika's two month check-up.  I had asked her doctor in Tacoma if we should have her shots done early before leaving WA or if we should wait until closer to 8 weeks of age.  The doctor recommended finding a clinic wherever we were closer to the two month point.  We ended up taking Annika to Dr. Gunville, my childhood pediatrician.  He was very friendly but I don't think he recognized my maiden name.  Annika passed the check-up with flying colors.  The shots made her legs pretty sore for the rest of the day, poor thing.  She weighed in at 10 lb 1 oz (50th percentile) and 23 inches (75th percentile).  That is a 3 lb and 3 in. gain from her birth stats.  In the last few weeks we have noticed a big change in eye contact, increased cooing, and lots of smiles.  She will respond with vocal sounds when we talk to her and really likes to have us sing to her.  She has pretty great neck/head control except when she's getting tired.While in Grand Forks and Billings, she slept up to 5 and a half hours in a stretch.  With all of the travel in the last week, we haven't reached that length again but I'm sure we will again very soon.  Annika has discovered that she likes sucking on her hands, especially after eating.  Our usual pattern is for her to eat, play, eat, play and then sleep.  

 Annika is wearing her outfit from the wedding.  We had to put the outfit on again because she didn't wear the headband or booties for more than about 10 min. on the wedding day.

She had a very attentive audience to talk with, thanks to Brittney and Sally Levens.

The sweater was knit for Annika by my friend Olivia and the reindeer was made by Annika's aunt Jessica.

Visit to Montana

The day after Christmas, Kyle and I borrowed his parents' car to drive to Billings, MT to visit my dad and step-mom.  We were really hoping the weather would cooperate and it did.  We had clear roads the whole way but felt like we were going to be blown off of the road in very high winds.  It's a much different trek with a baby on board.  We stopped many more times that we usually would have and are beginning to comprehend that the time that we used to allot to travel is now going to be much longer.  Annika traveled amazingly well and slept almost the whole way.  Sleeping all day was great for the car but definitely threw off her typical sleeping schedule.  It took us a few days to return to a more normal pattern.

Visit from Myrna.  Annika is in her Christmas pajamas.

One big reason that we wanted to make it to Montana this winter was so that my brother Jeffrey, his wife Quinn, and my step-sister Allison could meet Annika.  It was also great to take her to visit her Grandpa and Grandma Bartsch, who hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving.  They were excited to have us all there and, as always, had a plethora of holiday treats and snacks.  Our good family friend Myrna Martinson came to have breakfast one morning and to meet Annika.  She has known our family since before I was born and it's always great to have a chance to catch up.   

We always love to have an opportunity to go out with Ally, Jeffrey, and Quinn.  Thanks to dad and JoAnn for babysitting!

We wished my dad a happy birthday before driving back to Grand Forks on the 31st!  He's great with Annika and loves to have plenty of chances to hold her.