We're in Norway!!!  Okay, so we've actually been here since about 3:30 PM yesterday, but this is the first time I've been able to update.  My apologies for not getting this stuff out right away, but my internet access is limited and I'm writing these blogs in Word then posting them when I can.  by the way, all the times and dates I'll be posting here will be Norway local time, if you want to know what time that is in the US, subtract 7 hours for CST Chicago time.  Well, I've got a lot to catch up on, so here I go!

The flight into Norway was short, only about 2 hours or so, but it was the perfect time for me to try to catch up on some sleep.  They didn't seat Mom and me together and I wasn't able to get a bulkhead seat for my leg, but British Airways did have a lot of leg room in coach.  Anyway, I was out before they started talking about the safety procedures which upset me a little since I missed out on the free hot lunch and the free booze!  Oh yeah... Screw you American Airlines!  AA charges $6 for a beer or glass of wine on an international, 7.5 hour flight and British Airways was handing out booze like they were making it in the back of the plane for a 2 hour tour.  Next time I go to Europe, I'm taking a European carrier; to hell with the frequent flier miles.  Anyway, the flight was uneventful again; I slept through the whole way.  As we began our decent into Gardenmoen Airport I looked out the window and saw Norway from the air and it was beautiful.  The airport was very quiet.  After we picked up our luggage we went to find our people.

Family is a very strange thing, especially when you haven't seen them in 25 years.  Meeting all of the Norwegian contingent reminded me of the scene in European Vacation where the Grizwolds show up at the wrong house.  Here I am hugging all these people who are so excited to see me and telling me how big I am now and I have no idea who any of them are.  Mom was crying and happy, so I guessed we had the right people, but who knows...  If it weren't for the fact that we looked through photo albums of pictures of me as a kid when we got back to the house, I might have thought that our people were still at the airport waiting for us, pondering in Norwegian, why our plane still hadn't landed.  They also had some great old pictures of Scot, Holly, Heather, Mark, and Mom, Aunt Bonnie, Aunt Arlene, and Aunt Barbara.

Okay, I have a feeling that you will all get pretty tired of me saying how beautiful Norway is before this is all over, but even on the ride home from the airport I was amazed at the scenery.  I took about 20 pictures just from the car.  The roads are winding and hilly and there are farms everywhere.  They have moose crossing signs all over the place.  I’m told the moose cross at dawn and dusk, but I didn’t see any.  Anne Kristin’s house in Gjerdrum is very nice and on a great lot.  She recently bought this house to replace her apartment when she got her dog, AKSI (Anne Kristin’s initials), a Golden Setter.  She told us she sold her apartment after 14 years for over 2 million Krone.  Wow. 

Last night was a lot of fun.  There was tons of food, most of which was traditional Norwegian, and all very good.  Amazingly, Mom can understand a lot of the Norwegian that is being spoken (incidentally, everyone sounds a little like the Swedish Chef.  I love it).  There was a lot of storytelling and reminiscing with everyone.  I finally passed out around 10:30 PM (It was still a little light out) and was woken up by the REALLY LOUD snoring of my Mom around 2 am.  After throwing two pillows at her to get her to quiet down, I finally moved to the couch. 

This morning, Anne Kristin put out another huge spread of food for me and Mom for breakfast.  We are planning on heading into Oslo today and they have come up with a great itinerary for the next two weeks for us, including a trip to the northern Fjords and possibly a trip to Sweden.  I’m super excited!!

Well, it’s time to go… See ya soon!