Hei fra Oslo

Inaugural post: what to talk about? The culture? The food? The many sites and sounds of Oslo? Nope. The cold. (Threw you off with that photo, didn't I?)

Cold here, in more ways than one. Minus 9 degrees C and snow on the ground, but sunny as sunny gets in Oslo in late November (or, at least in my limited November-in-Oslo experience). It snowed all weekend here, but unlike in Seattle, the snow blows in all directions before landing on the ground and piling into drifts along the street. Plus, as you can imagine, they manage the heck out of the snow here, so the roads are clear (the sidewalks not so much).

So yes, cold outside but cold inside too. That is, the cold I've been nursing for a few days here has reared it's ugly head again today. So, I am grateful for fleece blankets, tea, and shipments of comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese from relatives in the States.

Besides those things, in no particular order, I present a list of interesting observations and facts from my first four weeks living in Oslo. Enjoy.

1. Cold. Did I mention it's cold?

2. There is a fromagerie down the street from our home. Life is good.

3. Having a nice, clutter-free apartment was nice, but having all of our stuff from Seattle with us a month and half earlier than expected is better.

4. Åpent Bakeri is the bomb. I could eat their raisin rolls all day long (see above photo). Plus they have pancakes and bacon for The Husband, G. Who'd have thought?

5. Everyone has luggage. And when I say everyone has luggage, I mean that every time I go out, I observe no fewer than five people walking down the street at all hours of the day with certifiable, I-either-am-going-to-the-airport-to-catch-a-plane-or-just-got-off-one luggage.

6. Turkish grocery stores are the best. Produce? Check. Couscous? Check. Figs? Check. Basmati rice? Check. Spices for less than the cost of a mink coat? Check.

7. Norwegian people are nice. They even tolerate my lack of understanding the language. So far.

8. I have been to IKEA four times. I've been here less than four weeks.

9. Down outerwear is an excellent investment. So I tell G every time we go out and I wear my new Patagonia Downtown Loft Parka in french roast. Love. It. I should really stop talking about it so much. I might be obsessive about it. Just a little.

10. Skype is our new best friend. Seriously. Especially since we left all our friends back in the States (the shipping and quarantine costs for shipping a friend are OUTRAGEOUS!).

11.  Sorry MSFT and Apple, but Google Chrome (and of course Google Translate, from our Italian wedding planning days) is my new favorite web browser. Auto-translation of websites from Norwegian to English? Hello? What is not to love?

Har det!