Paris part 1

When Kyle first mentioned that he would like to participate in a conference with other PhD students, I was excited to find out that it would be held in Paris.  We debated on whether or not we could afford an extra trip while Annika and I were in Norway and decided that it was an opportunity that we shouldn't pass up.  Kyle was invited to join a group of students from universities around Norway.  Each student submitted a paper and then they met together to discuss and critique each other's works.  There were also lectures from the professors attending.  Kyle's adviser in Bergen, Lars, was there and I finally got to meet him.  By participating, the conference paid for Kyle's hotel and meals while we were there.  We had to pay for our tickets (pretty inexpensive flying from Norway), and then my meals.  We decided to extend our trip by arriving the evening before the conference started and stayed an extra night at the end.  Luckily, the hotel was able to extend our time there and we wouldn't have to move between hotels.

We arrived in Paris the evening of January 24th.  Side note:  We had a layover in Amsterdam and it's a great airport to spend time in.  Wish we could have had longer between flights.  Kyle and I had discussed whether or not we should bring our stroller with us.  We opted to bring it because of how much walking we'd be doing around the city.  This decision was quickly challenged, as we encountered a lot of difficulty accessing train platforms and subway stations because there were no elevators or gates wide enough for our stroller.  Kyle got stuck in an automatic door at the airport while trying to get Annika through in her carseat and then the stroller separately.  Lots of frustration the evening we arrived, along with our travel coinciding with a big event in Paris and delayed trains.  There were so many people on the train into Paris that I was afraid that Annika was going to get hurt by the crush of riders.  A local woman assured me that this was not typical and that I should not let this experience influence my opinion of the city.  She was great in helping me stay calm with so many people around.  With the help of friendly people, we were able to get all of our things up the stairs from the subway.  Luckily, our hotel, which was close to the Luxembourg garden and palace, was easy to find.

Our room was originally assigned to Kyle as a single person, so it was really tiny.  There was about 2 feet of space on all sides of the bed.  Annika had to sleep between us because there was no other room.  After the first two nights, we were told that due to the fire code, there could not be more than 2 people in that room and that we needed to move.  That was fine with us, as it was tricky to get everything up the little elevator.  They moved us to a much larger room (without charging us more) on the ground floor and that made it possible for me to get the stroller out on my own.  The downside of moving to the different room is that we were on the street level and it was noisier.  The view from our 5th floor room was very nice and we could see the very top of the Pantheon, which was only a few blocks away.  The hotel did have free wifi but the only place we could get the signal was by having the computer on our bed. 

Stay tuned for more Paris posts!

 Who could have guessed that Annika would be at the Park Cafe in the Amsterdam airport before being at our favorite Park Cafe in Glacier National Park? :)

 Trying on some dutch clogs.

Kyle outside of our hotel. 

Our first room at the Hotel Senlis.

 Great view of the surrounding buildings from our 5th floor room.

 The much larger room that they moved us to.  Annika had a whole bed to herself here.

 I couldn't resist taking this cute picture of daddy/daughter tummy time :)

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 :)