Walking around Bergen

 When Kyle went in to work on campus, Annika and I did a lot of walking.  Often we stayed in the area around our building but sometimes we took bybanen into the city and walked from there.  I went online to find recommendations for walking tours and found one posted on the Frommer's website.  The walk that we did was a modified very of the one the recommend because I wanted to go all the way to the point where the aquarium is located. 

From Frommer's Guide: This gate was originally built in 1550 as a checkpoint in a once-continuous wall that surrounded Bergen. Today it stands isolated amid the newer buildings and broad avenues that surround it on all sides. There's a cheap-clothing outlet on its ground floor and an obscure, rarely visited museum (the Buekorps Museum) upstairs.

The area of the present Bryggen constitutes the oldest part of the city. Around 1360 a Kontor of the Hanseatic League was established there, and as the town developed into an important trading centre, the wharfs were improved. The buildings of Bryggen were gradually taken over by the Hanseatic merchants. The warehouses were filled with goods, particularly fish from northern Norway, and cereal from Europe.

We walked out to the point of land by the aquarium.

There's a totem pole that signifies that Bergen is a sister city of Seattle but I couldn't find the totem pole on this visit.  I did love the view!

I saw this statue at the top of a hill and I think the emotion comes through so well.  I don't think I've ever really felt some connection with a statue but the way the parent is holding the baby seems so realistic.

Paris part 4: Can't forget the food!

 I know I'm still playing catch-up and I should have finished the Paris posts by now, but it's been a busy few weeks.  There are many great, fancy French dishes but the foods that I had while there were the basics.  I loved 'em anyway!  I've always been a fan of bread and cheese and I was not disappointed with what Paris had to offer.  Panini! Pain au chocolat! Kafe! Baguettes! Camembert! Wine! Onion Soup! Crepes!  As part of the conference, Kyle's meals were provided and that included going to dinner each night.  We had to pay for my meal, so we only joined the group 2 of 3 evenings.  The first place we went to was called Le Precope and is considered to be the first place that served coffee in Paris.  It was once frequented by the likes of Benjamin Franklin.  That evening we were served several different meats, which included a few that I didn't recognize and veal for the main course.  The last night of the conference we went to a restaurant across the street from Notre Dame.  It was a bit surreal to have a view of the cathedral from our dinner table.  That evening I chose a steak with bleu cheese sauce and Kyle had duck.  For dessert we had a chocolate ganache or creme brulee.  It was during my time alone while Kyle was at the conference or in the days we had when the conference ended that we sample other French foods.  I took pictures of a few favorites:

 We had panini sandwiches our first lunch in Paris.  Hot and wonderful!

 I loved all of the bakeries and a pain au chocolat found it's way into my bag every day :)  I also enjoyed finding a cafe everyday to have kafe and enjoy my pastry.  The only difficulty I found was that many didn't have room for the stroller.  The picture is of my favorite cafe on my favorite street, which I returned to a several times.

 The lunch of champions:  fresh bread, a wedge of cheese and an apple.  This whole meal cost less than $5 and was enough for two lunches.  Amazing!

My first onion soup in France, enjoyed with red wine.  I think Kyle had a beef supper that had been stewed in wine.

 Waiting for my first crepe with nutella.

 So gooey delicious!

And here we are stopping for a second crepe a few minutes later :)

Annika at 3 months

 Annika is an active 3 month old and has really been improving her verbal and motor skills in the last few weeks.  She loves to babble with us and will have a back-and-forth conversation when we talk to her.  Annika likes to be sung to and is so interested in everything going on around her.  She seems try try to sing along with songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  She has been doing great at tummy-time and has rolled from her stomach to her back several times.  Annika really likes being held in an upright seated position and resists laying down.  For the first time a few nights ago, Annika reached out quickly and grabbed the fork that was sitting next to my plate at dinner.  We're going to have to be much more alert for that now!  She likes to bat at toys hanging above her and has recently been very interested in a snowman rattle that she got in her stocking at Christmas. 

We haven't had her weight/height checked since our check-up at 8 weeks but she is definitely growing.  There are a few clothing items in size 0-3 months that still fit but she has mostly moved into the 3-6 month clothing.  I didn't bring anything of that size with us on the trip and was thankful to receive a package from my mom containing several outfits.  Most clothes that fit her length are very roomy around the middle.  We bought this Paris onesie thinking that she would wear it by the end of spring but it fits now!

Annika had a great sleep schedule during the month of January with a usual stretch of 6 hours, waking to eat, and then sleeping another 4 hours.  On Monday of this last week, I was reflecting on how much sleep we were all getting and how that would help with my pending return to work.  As luck would have it, every night since then has been difficult.  Guess she isn't going to let us get comfortable!  Annika is constantly sucking on her hands, has increased drool, and has been quite fussy.  We have been wondering if her gums are tender but it would be pretty early for teething.  

We love interacting with our bright-eyed baby girl and are constantly amazed at how quickly she gains new skills!

Paris part 3: Extreme NIP

I learned a new term recently, NIP, which stands for Nursing In Public.  As anyone who has spent some time with us in the last few months probably noticed, whenever/wherever Annika is hungry, I feed her.  I feel blessed to have had a smooth time with breastfeeding and am able to easily feed her as needed.  Being able to feed her on the go has meant that I can take her with me and get out of the house without feeling the need to only feed her in the home setting.  I know there is debate on how acceptable breastfeeding in public is and how it can make some people uncomfortable.  I have to admit that when I would see women breastfeeding out in a public setting, I wasn't sure how I felt about it.  Now, I understand how great it is to be able to do it.  Personally, I feel much more comfortable using a nursing cover when I'm feeding Annika and hopefully that makes the people around me more comfortable, too.  In Norway, NIP-ing is very acceptable and expected of mothers.  Lots of places (mall, airport, etc.) have special rooms with comfortable chairs and a microwave to enable mothers to feed their children comfortably.  At a recent dinner with Kyle's Norwegian colleagues, I was feeding Annika under the cover and they teased me good-naturedly about my modesty.

Our trip to France took my NIP-ing to a whole new level.  On our last day there, Annika was having an off-day and we couldn't figure out what was wrong.  As I heard once, when in doubt, whip it out :)  She could only be consoled with nursing, or at least that's all that we had available to us, as we were out in the city.  Here are some pictures of my adventures in NIP-ing. Don't worry, the pics are PG :)

 This is what a typical dinner with us looks like, whether we're at home or at a restaurant.

 I found that these front carriers are helpful in NIP-ing on the move.

 I just never thought I'd be nursing while climbing the stairs of the Eiffel tower!

 Actually it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, and it helped Annika be content during our tower visit.

I'll be adding this to my list of best NIP-ing views :)

Paris part 2: Picture Post

With four full days in Paris, we were able to do a lot of exploring!  Thanks to the suggestions from friends, I was able to plan several days worth of walking and sight-seeing.  Kyle was attending his conference from Wed. evening to Friday evening but that still gave us time together to explore.  Annika and I also had a lot of time on our own, which we spent walking and walking.  Here are a few of the many sights that we enjoyed:

 Pantheon

 Inside the Pantheon by the Foucault pendulum.

 Out in front of Notre Dame.

It's so hard to capture the beautiful and magnificent interior of Notre Dame.

 Looking across the Seine river to the Eiffel Tower.

 Sorbonne University

 Sacre Couer, which sits close to the highest point in Paris at Montmartre.

 View of Paris when looking down from Sacre Couer.

 Annika and I enjoyed a our lunch with an amazing view of the city.

 Family picture in front of the Louvre.

 We couldn't figure out what these people were waiting in line to get into, so I asked someone.  Yes, it's the line to get into the Abercrobie & Fitch store.  Nothing special happening but it's the only one in France.  I still don't think it justifies this line.

 Arc de Triomphe from Champs Elyees Avenue

 Eiffel Tower

We had no idea that there would be a skating rink on the first level of the tower!

 I loved being in Paris and there is so much to do!  We didn't even scratch the surface but had a great time with what we were able to do.  I can't wait to get back there sometime and actually go into the Louvre, visit more cathedrals, see special exhibits at other museums, etc.  This is something we'll have to do when Annika is older or if Kyle and I are able to return on our own.

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 :)