Saturday, March 19, 2011
Goodnight, Tallinn. It's been a pleasure.
Of course, for my last few weeks in Tallinn, just as I was about to leave, the sun came out and it started to feel summery. Spring was very short and after the thaw and the rain, the heat didn't take long to follow. I went to see a few small sites around Tallinn that I hadn't squeezed in yet, finished exams and made my arrangements to depart.
With business taken care of, I spent a lot of time lounging in the garden at the back of my apartment since it hadn't been warm enough to use it before. I spent a lot of time with friends, including one memorable day at Kadriorg Park when we picnicked in front of swans, and ponds, and sunshine. It was idyllic. Except for my very large departure date looming in front of me.
I tried not to let it get to me. I even had a party at a local pub to commemorate the trip. Inside, though, I was afraid to leave, and afraid of how I would feel when I got home.
On my very last day in this very wonderful city, my friend Kevin and I went to the Old Town city walls where you can sit over a courtyard and drink coffee. It was pouring horribly and I like to think in its way the city was sad to see me go.
That evening, my friend Indrek took me and my one bag of luggage (how?!?) to the bus station for the first leg of my journey. Kevin came with us and they both stood there until the bus left the parking lot. I remember thinking how I would manage without them. I thought about what brought me here in the first place, what I learned and how Canada and I would get along when I got back. I didn't sleep all the way to Riga, from where my flight was to depart. I didn't sleep on the plane to Kiev where I was held up for 14 hours. I didn't sleep there either because I took advantage of the delay to go exploring. I slept all the way to Toronto out of sheer exhaustion and then was awake overnight and all the way back to Halifax. I couldn't believe how fast I was back. How easy it seemed to get from Ukraine all the way to Halifax.
My parents greeted me at the arrivals gate. They were the same, everything was the same. But I was prepared for how I would be different. I was ready for what came next.
I spent only one week in Cape Breton, my home and not my home. I spent a summer and then a year in Fredericton, New Brunswick trying to get my head on straight. And soon, I will be in Vancouver, British Columbia, ready to do it all over again.
Where next? Slovenia? Belgium? California? Banff? Guadalajara?? (Kidding- not Guadalajara, though I hear it's very nice).
Stay tuned....
With business taken care of, I spent a lot of time lounging in the garden at the back of my apartment since it hadn't been warm enough to use it before. I spent a lot of time with friends, including one memorable day at Kadriorg Park when we picnicked in front of swans, and ponds, and sunshine. It was idyllic. Except for my very large departure date looming in front of me.
I tried not to let it get to me. I even had a party at a local pub to commemorate the trip. Inside, though, I was afraid to leave, and afraid of how I would feel when I got home.
On my very last day in this very wonderful city, my friend Kevin and I went to the Old Town city walls where you can sit over a courtyard and drink coffee. It was pouring horribly and I like to think in its way the city was sad to see me go.
That evening, my friend Indrek took me and my one bag of luggage (how?!?) to the bus station for the first leg of my journey. Kevin came with us and they both stood there until the bus left the parking lot. I remember thinking how I would manage without them. I thought about what brought me here in the first place, what I learned and how Canada and I would get along when I got back. I didn't sleep all the way to Riga, from where my flight was to depart. I didn't sleep on the plane to Kiev where I was held up for 14 hours. I didn't sleep there either because I took advantage of the delay to go exploring. I slept all the way to Toronto out of sheer exhaustion and then was awake overnight and all the way back to Halifax. I couldn't believe how fast I was back. How easy it seemed to get from Ukraine all the way to Halifax.
My parents greeted me at the arrivals gate. They were the same, everything was the same. But I was prepared for how I would be different. I was ready for what came next.
I spent only one week in Cape Breton, my home and not my home. I spent a summer and then a year in Fredericton, New Brunswick trying to get my head on straight. And soon, I will be in Vancouver, British Columbia, ready to do it all over again.
Where next? Slovenia? Belgium? California? Banff? Guadalajara?? (Kidding- not Guadalajara, though I hear it's very nice).
Stay tuned....
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
"Stranger than Fiction": Real Life
There are times in ones life where it gets too complicated and too busy to allow for any kind of reflection. That's been the last three months for me. But, simply because three months have gone by, it's not to say that the memories have faded. So here we find ourselves again in the memory of my adventures. Welcome back!
Estonia is a small country, but as I came to discover, the locals consider it to have three capitals. Tallinn is the main point of interest and was where I lived for the duration of my stay. It's the official capital and the centre of business for the country. The second capital is Parnu which is referred to as the summer capital as it mainly occupied in the summer when its long beaches become more appealing. The third capital is Tartu, which is the university capital where students populate the city for the duration of the year.
As per usual, my travelling companion was Kevin, the American, and for this particular excursion we chose to take the train to Tartu! I had never been on a train before and it was one of my missions to accomplish before I left. This would be the last time Kevin and I travelled together and so it was a kind of bittersweet adventure.
We took the bus into downtown Tartu (in which time I broke my only pair of sunglasses and was forced to buy a pair of new ones) and decided to eat at the shopping centre and kill two birds with one stone. Sorry, birds.
Tartu is on a winding river and borders both of its banks and so, when rainy, it also becomes bug-y. Tallinn has a breeze. I missed it. The rain started in the afternoon, about a few hours after we had disembarked. Humid, muggy, sticky, and rainy, this soon became my least favourite of our excursions. Add to that, that my camera broke (it had sand in it- my fault entirely) and I quickly had a little hate-on for this quiet university town. I know I'm whining. Be patient, it gets better.
After thoroughly scouring the downtown and river front areas for interesting things to see, my mood was delivered from its fugue by the beautiful, abundant greenery, stone pathways and little hills that dotted the town. I was even more appeased after entering into its old town and botanical gardens. Old Town looked the miniature of Old Town, Tallinn except for the university smack in the centre. People were out in the streets, sitting outside of cafes and restaurants despite the weather and the overall feel was pleasant.
The hill behind the university was home to a few of its buildings, a number of statues (and an ancient sacrificial killing ground!!) and somewhere back there in the green and dirt we stumbled upon something we hadn't expected (especially since we hadn't researched anything to be found in Tartu, really, including the human sacrificing place). Ill-planned and we still found the historic sites! What I now know we were looking at is called Tartu Jaani Kirik Church- or Tartu St. John's Church and was once one of the most unique pieces of Western Gothic architecture in Europe due to its massive collection of terracotta statues. Now, mostly a ruin, you can pay for tickets and climb through its stairways and get a great view of Tartu from 360 degrees. Standing inside the ruined bit with no roof (located toward what I think was the back of the property) you get a very inspired feeling. There are still brick arches that are now transparent and empty that funnel light down onto the sand floor, which is really just the ground. I can't describe it but standing there I felt something a bit profound and was moved by the atmosphere under the arches.
Another spot not to be missed were the botanical gardens on the outskirts of the Old Town. It was a fun little trip that included saying hello to a lot of fish and making your way through tangled vines and pedways looking down onto tropical trees and flowers. A surreal departure from the snowy Estonia one gets accustomed to. We finished our trip with ice cream, a good chat with the locals and we were back on the train to Tallinn.
I spoke with Kevin a few nights ago (maybe 9 months or so after this trip) and I have to say that there are many ways people can make friends but few are comparable to being the only English speaking people in a country far away. It's like a little pressure cooker for a friendship, especially considering how much travelling we did together. He's still just as easy to talk to and as odd as he ever was. So, if you're reading this, Kevin... I miss you!!!
Estonia is a small country, but as I came to discover, the locals consider it to have three capitals. Tallinn is the main point of interest and was where I lived for the duration of my stay. It's the official capital and the centre of business for the country. The second capital is Parnu which is referred to as the summer capital as it mainly occupied in the summer when its long beaches become more appealing. The third capital is Tartu, which is the university capital where students populate the city for the duration of the year.
As per usual, my travelling companion was Kevin, the American, and for this particular excursion we chose to take the train to Tartu! I had never been on a train before and it was one of my missions to accomplish before I left. This would be the last time Kevin and I travelled together and so it was a kind of bittersweet adventure.
We took the bus into downtown Tartu (in which time I broke my only pair of sunglasses and was forced to buy a pair of new ones) and decided to eat at the shopping centre and kill two birds with one stone. Sorry, birds.
Tartu is on a winding river and borders both of its banks and so, when rainy, it also becomes bug-y. Tallinn has a breeze. I missed it. The rain started in the afternoon, about a few hours after we had disembarked. Humid, muggy, sticky, and rainy, this soon became my least favourite of our excursions. Add to that, that my camera broke (it had sand in it- my fault entirely) and I quickly had a little hate-on for this quiet university town. I know I'm whining. Be patient, it gets better.
After thoroughly scouring the downtown and river front areas for interesting things to see, my mood was delivered from its fugue by the beautiful, abundant greenery, stone pathways and little hills that dotted the town. I was even more appeased after entering into its old town and botanical gardens. Old Town looked the miniature of Old Town, Tallinn except for the university smack in the centre. People were out in the streets, sitting outside of cafes and restaurants despite the weather and the overall feel was pleasant.
The hill behind the university was home to a few of its buildings, a number of statues (and an ancient sacrificial killing ground!!) and somewhere back there in the green and dirt we stumbled upon something we hadn't expected (especially since we hadn't researched anything to be found in Tartu, really, including the human sacrificing place). Ill-planned and we still found the historic sites! What I now know we were looking at is called Tartu Jaani Kirik Church- or Tartu St. John's Church and was once one of the most unique pieces of Western Gothic architecture in Europe due to its massive collection of terracotta statues. Now, mostly a ruin, you can pay for tickets and climb through its stairways and get a great view of Tartu from 360 degrees. Standing inside the ruined bit with no roof (located toward what I think was the back of the property) you get a very inspired feeling. There are still brick arches that are now transparent and empty that funnel light down onto the sand floor, which is really just the ground. I can't describe it but standing there I felt something a bit profound and was moved by the atmosphere under the arches.
Another spot not to be missed were the botanical gardens on the outskirts of the Old Town. It was a fun little trip that included saying hello to a lot of fish and making your way through tangled vines and pedways looking down onto tropical trees and flowers. A surreal departure from the snowy Estonia one gets accustomed to. We finished our trip with ice cream, a good chat with the locals and we were back on the train to Tallinn.
I spoke with Kevin a few nights ago (maybe 9 months or so after this trip) and I have to say that there are many ways people can make friends but few are comparable to being the only English speaking people in a country far away. It's like a little pressure cooker for a friendship, especially considering how much travelling we did together. He's still just as easy to talk to and as odd as he ever was. So, if you're reading this, Kevin... I miss you!!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Oslo! (Part 2)
You might think to yourself, "They definitely didn't get up the next morning to see the rest of Oslo. They probably slept clear through the afternoon and just went partying in the night." Well, do I have news for you! By some miracle, we were up and gone by 10am. Don't ask me how. I don't have the answer.
The day was beautiful and sunny with less chill than the day before. When we left the hostel we were cheerful and excited and the day went a lot easier than the previous one which seemed to take an extraordinary amount of effort to get through. It even felt like it took a lot of effort to write about it. It's funny how you can still feel how you felt on a particular day when you sit down and reflect on it. Anyway, we found a small record store that had these interesting old Norwegian photos to look at before we found a great little cafe to have breakfast in. I'm not sure if it was because we were really hungry, happy or if it was real, but I swear it was the best thing I'd ever eaten. Fresh squeezed orange juice, a cafe americano, and the most amazing croissant ever. Ever. After eating, we all split up and the girls went shopping while Kevin went to a museum and the other guys went to a music store. On our part, Nicole, Lilla and I hit up H&M, Gina Tricot, and some souvenir shops. The shopping was much better in Oslo, than in Tallinn but the prices were higher. A bag each in hand, we met up with the others of our group and prepared to continue on. We were on our way to the ferry terminal to go see some islands when we met with a parade in the street. As it turns out there was a military tattoo that day and everyone was out to see it. It lasted for a long time and was really interesting. There were representations from every branch of the military, foreign and local, located in Norway. So there were Brits, Russians, the UN, the EU and a slew of others such as the Swedes and Scots. It was a really large event that lasted throughout the morning into the afternoon but it was really interesting. It ended while we were waiting for our ferry so we conveniently had something to watch.
We decided, before we embarked, that we'd have lunch on the mainland and so we got in line at another, you guessed it, McDonald's. This time I got a flurry, and no I don't feel guilty about it thank you very much. We ate on board the ferry and I think I ate more hair than food. Having completed both the food and boat missions we disembarked on the island and started to look around. A few feet in, I stopped and looked quizzically at something that seemed very, very familiar. My eyes widened, I took in a sharp breath and ran excitedly toward a very Canadian sight. An INUKSHUK! On this foolish Norwegian island there was a large, ridiculously out of place inukshuk. I blinked a few times to make sure I had it right and then tried to explain to the 5 other people I was with what on earth an inukshuk was. I even rein-acted the heritage moment commercial. You know the one, "Now the people will know we were here! Hay yaw hay yaw...." I can hear your stupefied silence. Yup, that's pretty well what they did too. But I thought it was really cool.
After the inukshuk incident, we wandered around this amazingly beautiful island that was remote yet quite populated. Norwegians appear to have a lot of money and so have very beautiful houses and boats. So many boats! And not little ones either, I mean the large yacht sized ones. I had so much fun here looking around. The scenery and views of the mainland were spectacular. On the way back to get the ferry, we encountered the viking museum that had two real, ancient viking ships hanging on the inside. Kevin went in and paid to get a full good look but the rest of us were satisfied with a quick glimpse and then a lay-down in the parking lot. Taking the ferry back was a good wind-down to that part of the journey. We had done a lot of walking and were starting to get tired. Once we were back on the mainland we decided to buy shrimp off of the back of a boat in the harbour and eat it sitting on the docks. I think that might have been my favourite part, sitting with friends, peeling shrimp and throwing the shells to the birds. The sun was starting to get lower and it was lighting everything up really nicely so we though that once we were back done we would take in the oldest part of Oslo, a fortress situated on a cliff facing the fjord.
Its fortress wall was up high enough to enable us to take a few amazing shots of the city but other than the grounds being fairly pretty, that part was a flop as it had closed before we got there. That night we ate at a very nice restaurant, ending our budget food run and went back to the hostel. Our plane was leaving at around 4am so there was no point in sleeping. We grabbed some drinks, went outside and tried to drown the cold in alcohol. Later on we met up with four more Canadians, this time from Toronto, who were in town for a medical conference. They were looking for a good time in Oslo so we went to the bar with them and closed the place out before heaving our bags over our shoulders and walking back to the shuttle that would take us to the plane.
This next part entails a lot of waiting for airplanes and features my iPod heavily since I was too tired to even talk. Our group separated in Riga with the other girls staying for some sightseeing while the rest of us went by bus back to Tallinn. I was sick for a week after I arrived back home so I guess that means that I wasn't so resilient after all. But I had so much fun and wouldn't have missed it for the world! It was one of the best trips of my Estonia experience. I just wish it could have lasted a little longer.
The day was beautiful and sunny with less chill than the day before. When we left the hostel we were cheerful and excited and the day went a lot easier than the previous one which seemed to take an extraordinary amount of effort to get through. It even felt like it took a lot of effort to write about it. It's funny how you can still feel how you felt on a particular day when you sit down and reflect on it. Anyway, we found a small record store that had these interesting old Norwegian photos to look at before we found a great little cafe to have breakfast in. I'm not sure if it was because we were really hungry, happy or if it was real, but I swear it was the best thing I'd ever eaten. Fresh squeezed orange juice, a cafe americano, and the most amazing croissant ever. Ever. After eating, we all split up and the girls went shopping while Kevin went to a museum and the other guys went to a music store. On our part, Nicole, Lilla and I hit up H&M, Gina Tricot, and some souvenir shops. The shopping was much better in Oslo, than in Tallinn but the prices were higher. A bag each in hand, we met up with the others of our group and prepared to continue on. We were on our way to the ferry terminal to go see some islands when we met with a parade in the street. As it turns out there was a military tattoo that day and everyone was out to see it. It lasted for a long time and was really interesting. There were representations from every branch of the military, foreign and local, located in Norway. So there were Brits, Russians, the UN, the EU and a slew of others such as the Swedes and Scots. It was a really large event that lasted throughout the morning into the afternoon but it was really interesting. It ended while we were waiting for our ferry so we conveniently had something to watch.
We decided, before we embarked, that we'd have lunch on the mainland and so we got in line at another, you guessed it, McDonald's. This time I got a flurry, and no I don't feel guilty about it thank you very much. We ate on board the ferry and I think I ate more hair than food. Having completed both the food and boat missions we disembarked on the island and started to look around. A few feet in, I stopped and looked quizzically at something that seemed very, very familiar. My eyes widened, I took in a sharp breath and ran excitedly toward a very Canadian sight. An INUKSHUK! On this foolish Norwegian island there was a large, ridiculously out of place inukshuk. I blinked a few times to make sure I had it right and then tried to explain to the 5 other people I was with what on earth an inukshuk was. I even rein-acted the heritage moment commercial. You know the one, "Now the people will know we were here! Hay yaw hay yaw...." I can hear your stupefied silence. Yup, that's pretty well what they did too. But I thought it was really cool.
After the inukshuk incident, we wandered around this amazingly beautiful island that was remote yet quite populated. Norwegians appear to have a lot of money and so have very beautiful houses and boats. So many boats! And not little ones either, I mean the large yacht sized ones. I had so much fun here looking around. The scenery and views of the mainland were spectacular. On the way back to get the ferry, we encountered the viking museum that had two real, ancient viking ships hanging on the inside. Kevin went in and paid to get a full good look but the rest of us were satisfied with a quick glimpse and then a lay-down in the parking lot. Taking the ferry back was a good wind-down to that part of the journey. We had done a lot of walking and were starting to get tired. Once we were back on the mainland we decided to buy shrimp off of the back of a boat in the harbour and eat it sitting on the docks. I think that might have been my favourite part, sitting with friends, peeling shrimp and throwing the shells to the birds. The sun was starting to get lower and it was lighting everything up really nicely so we though that once we were back done we would take in the oldest part of Oslo, a fortress situated on a cliff facing the fjord.
Its fortress wall was up high enough to enable us to take a few amazing shots of the city but other than the grounds being fairly pretty, that part was a flop as it had closed before we got there. That night we ate at a very nice restaurant, ending our budget food run and went back to the hostel. Our plane was leaving at around 4am so there was no point in sleeping. We grabbed some drinks, went outside and tried to drown the cold in alcohol. Later on we met up with four more Canadians, this time from Toronto, who were in town for a medical conference. They were looking for a good time in Oslo so we went to the bar with them and closed the place out before heaving our bags over our shoulders and walking back to the shuttle that would take us to the plane.
This next part entails a lot of waiting for airplanes and features my iPod heavily since I was too tired to even talk. Our group separated in Riga with the other girls staying for some sightseeing while the rest of us went by bus back to Tallinn. I was sick for a week after I arrived back home so I guess that means that I wasn't so resilient after all. But I had so much fun and wouldn't have missed it for the world! It was one of the best trips of my Estonia experience. I just wish it could have lasted a little longer.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Oslo! (Part 1)
This is a story about what happens when six crazy foreigners decide to embark on a journey to parts unknown. Or at least unknown to us. It's not like Oslo is some backwater or anything. I was a late addition to the group who decided to travel and was a bit hesitant throughout the whole process but it wound up being an excellent decision and as it turns out, I'm a fairly patient traveller in groups of people. We started out by booking tickets through a discount airline called "Wizzair", which is Hungarian. How did we know about it? Well, we were conveniently travelling with a Hungarian. Now, let me tell you about what happens when you book through a discount airline. First of all, you only fly on the days that are most inconvenient for you, at odd hours, to airports so far outside your destination it almost negates flying discount to start with. So, the night we left, we had a little party in Kevin's flat and then caught the last trolley around midnight to the bus terminal, "Autobussijaam". I was slightly separated from the others on the bus ride to Riga, Latvia which is where we were departing from and I think that was somewhat fortunate as we were rather rowdy and I generally feel uncomfortable when I'm in a noisy group in places where others are trying to be quiet. Like on a night bus to Riga. It was 5am by the time we got to Riga and unfortunately I hadn't slept at all and was just a delight to be around. We had six hours to wait in Riga for our flight (who planned this thing???) and so I decided two hours in to the wait to lay down and sleep. I don't do this well in places that aren't beds for one reason: I am a face sleeper. I sleep on my stomach with my face buried in the pillow near the bottom so that my mouth hangs off of it and I can breathe, with my arms tucked under my chest. It looks as awkward as it sounds. On bus rides and long flights, I pull the eating tray down, lay something soft on it and bend over facedown on it. On the floor in airports I put something soft on my duffel and lay facedown on that. I manage to get maybe a half hour of sleep at a time that way. Not effective, efficient, or any other word describing "smooth" that starts with an "e". I also get really bad indigestion when I travel and that plagued me until we landed. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the effort.
I thankfully slept on the plane to Oslo for about two hours. We landed about an hour and a half outside of the city and hopped on a bus that would take us to the centre of town. There was nobody else on the bus so we had a lot of fun being childish and loud. The ride there was full of mountains that roads were essentially drilled through, so when we hit those we held our breath from start to finish. I won every time, me and my intense lung capacity. We settled down enough after the first hour to enjoy the scenery on the drive in. Olso is built up around Oslofjord and so, every inhabitant owns a watercraft of some sort which in the right season forces a person to stare through thousands of masts before getting glimpses of water. Once you get past the masts though, the views are incredible. Hilly with water flowing in between, making Oslo one big valley.
We had booked our hostel previous to our arrival in the city so our first order of business when we got there was to check it. Anker Hostel was a dormitory during the university season and housed weary travelers the rest of the time. When we arrived the line was huge because it was the cheapest hostel in Norway, ringing in at $50 CDN per night. Compare that with Lithuania at $7.50 CDN and you get an idea of how expensive it is to travel to Norway. My credit card is still steaming! Anyway, our room was large enough but lacked any charm or character. I was satisfied with it though, as it suited our purpose for a one night stay. After checking in, we were absolutely famished and went to get something to eat. I've never eaten so much McDonald's in my life as I did on this trip because it was budget conscious. Though I use the word "budget" loosely, as my normal nuggets and fries meal still costs $14 in Oslo as compared to $3 in Estonia (CDN dollars). Oi! So after gorging ourselves we went to look around. At this point I'd been 36 hours without sleep. I didn't really realize that I was this resilient until this trip.
Continuing on, we walked through the centre of town and looked at some shops and found the main street that would take us to the palace. This part was easy. The street was long and broad and perfectly straight making it impossible to get lost, easy to stroll and to take your time, and yet kept the anticipation high for when we reached our destination. There were scintillating glimpses of the very symmetrical royal palace lined by a large water feature, too many restaurants, the university, parliament, and these funny little gold painted men who wouldn't let you take their picture without putting a little donation into their jar. The trek took a while, but once we got to the palace we weren't disappointed. Manicured to perfection, huge and with parks all around we were completely distracted by everything until our reverie was interrupted by a disgruntled looking camera man asking us to move out of the way because we were blocking his shot. Apparently, they were filming a movie that was set to be finished in the next month or so for a Norwegian film festival. We apologetically slunk behind a statue of a horse for the rest or out viewing session. But, the camera man was nice enough to take our photo so that was nice.
Moving behind the palace, we found fountains and scenic views and all kinds of residential streets that were extremely neat and tidy with all kinds of ornate architecture typical of the Europeans. We were looking for a park called Vigelandsparken featuring 192 bronze and granite sculptures all from the same artist, Gustav Vigeland. The main attraction is a 140 foot monolith comprised of 121 people all intertwined into a column. The ground were also designed by the artist and are absolutely breathtaking with their manicured gardens, fountains, and treelined avenues. We spent a long time here just taking it all in and relaxing along the stairs leading to the monolith. Most of my photos were taken here and I seriously couldn't get enough. On the way down from the peak of the whole structure, I saw ahead of us a girl with a Canadian flag on her back and I got very excited and ran to say hello. She was the first Canadian I'd seen since leaving Canada (who wasn't an ambassador of anything) and I was anxious to see what she was doing in Norway. Coincidentally, she was also from Nova Scotia, the Annapolis Valley in particular and we chatted for a while about home and our travels. I didn't realize how happy I'd be to see someone who knew where I was from. After we parted ways, the rest of us continued on to take it the infamous "angry baby" statue that gained a certain notoriety for being very hilarious and as a result has been stolen and retrieved several time. The angry baby definitely lived up to its reputation and we left giggling at this funny little angry statue.
This was our last adventure for the evening and as we made our way back to the hostel we took in the setting sun on the harbour, the Nobel Prize building and guarding against the chill, ate supper on a park bench watching Norwegian party goers head out in all directions. The evening wasn't quite over for us either as we took some drinks into the hostel and enjoyed hot showers and alcohol before bed. It had been 48 hours without sleep and we only had one more day to enjoy Oslo. I passed out almost immediately after I showered and was out cold until the next day.
I thankfully slept on the plane to Oslo for about two hours. We landed about an hour and a half outside of the city and hopped on a bus that would take us to the centre of town. There was nobody else on the bus so we had a lot of fun being childish and loud. The ride there was full of mountains that roads were essentially drilled through, so when we hit those we held our breath from start to finish. I won every time, me and my intense lung capacity. We settled down enough after the first hour to enjoy the scenery on the drive in. Olso is built up around Oslofjord and so, every inhabitant owns a watercraft of some sort which in the right season forces a person to stare through thousands of masts before getting glimpses of water. Once you get past the masts though, the views are incredible. Hilly with water flowing in between, making Oslo one big valley.
We had booked our hostel previous to our arrival in the city so our first order of business when we got there was to check it. Anker Hostel was a dormitory during the university season and housed weary travelers the rest of the time. When we arrived the line was huge because it was the cheapest hostel in Norway, ringing in at $50 CDN per night. Compare that with Lithuania at $7.50 CDN and you get an idea of how expensive it is to travel to Norway. My credit card is still steaming! Anyway, our room was large enough but lacked any charm or character. I was satisfied with it though, as it suited our purpose for a one night stay. After checking in, we were absolutely famished and went to get something to eat. I've never eaten so much McDonald's in my life as I did on this trip because it was budget conscious. Though I use the word "budget" loosely, as my normal nuggets and fries meal still costs $14 in Oslo as compared to $3 in Estonia (CDN dollars). Oi! So after gorging ourselves we went to look around. At this point I'd been 36 hours without sleep. I didn't really realize that I was this resilient until this trip.
Continuing on, we walked through the centre of town and looked at some shops and found the main street that would take us to the palace. This part was easy. The street was long and broad and perfectly straight making it impossible to get lost, easy to stroll and to take your time, and yet kept the anticipation high for when we reached our destination. There were scintillating glimpses of the very symmetrical royal palace lined by a large water feature, too many restaurants, the university, parliament, and these funny little gold painted men who wouldn't let you take their picture without putting a little donation into their jar. The trek took a while, but once we got to the palace we weren't disappointed. Manicured to perfection, huge and with parks all around we were completely distracted by everything until our reverie was interrupted by a disgruntled looking camera man asking us to move out of the way because we were blocking his shot. Apparently, they were filming a movie that was set to be finished in the next month or so for a Norwegian film festival. We apologetically slunk behind a statue of a horse for the rest or out viewing session. But, the camera man was nice enough to take our photo so that was nice.
Moving behind the palace, we found fountains and scenic views and all kinds of residential streets that were extremely neat and tidy with all kinds of ornate architecture typical of the Europeans. We were looking for a park called Vigelandsparken featuring 192 bronze and granite sculptures all from the same artist, Gustav Vigeland. The main attraction is a 140 foot monolith comprised of 121 people all intertwined into a column. The ground were also designed by the artist and are absolutely breathtaking with their manicured gardens, fountains, and treelined avenues. We spent a long time here just taking it all in and relaxing along the stairs leading to the monolith. Most of my photos were taken here and I seriously couldn't get enough. On the way down from the peak of the whole structure, I saw ahead of us a girl with a Canadian flag on her back and I got very excited and ran to say hello. She was the first Canadian I'd seen since leaving Canada (who wasn't an ambassador of anything) and I was anxious to see what she was doing in Norway. Coincidentally, she was also from Nova Scotia, the Annapolis Valley in particular and we chatted for a while about home and our travels. I didn't realize how happy I'd be to see someone who knew where I was from. After we parted ways, the rest of us continued on to take it the infamous "angry baby" statue that gained a certain notoriety for being very hilarious and as a result has been stolen and retrieved several time. The angry baby definitely lived up to its reputation and we left giggling at this funny little angry statue.
This was our last adventure for the evening and as we made our way back to the hostel we took in the setting sun on the harbour, the Nobel Prize building and guarding against the chill, ate supper on a park bench watching Norwegian party goers head out in all directions. The evening wasn't quite over for us either as we took some drinks into the hostel and enjoyed hot showers and alcohol before bed. It had been 48 hours without sleep and we only had one more day to enjoy Oslo. I passed out almost immediately after I showered and was out cold until the next day.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
NATO schmato
It didn't take long for Friday to roll around. The day dawned drizzly and cold, and my nerves dawned frayed and jittery. I spend half of my life afraid, I think. And then keep putting myself in places where that fear is exacerbated. I got up and agonized over what to wear for a while. What is one supposed to wear to outdoor event where you're greeting the public and just incidentally travelled halfway around the world, leaving your professional wardrobe sitting in Canada? Having settled on never fail all-black, I trudged through the mist to the centre of town in order to forage for food and arrive to the kiosk on time. I needed to peruse my Afghanistan fact sheets though I was pretty positive that nobody was going to ask me anything on the paper. I did this over black tea and an omelette that I only ate half of because my stomach was doing flip flops. I didn't know what to expect and I was afraid that I wouldn't be any good at doing whatever I was supposed to be doing. The time came when I finally had to move to the square to start the day. One last check in the mirror and I was off.
It was chaos that greeted me on arrival. The Canadian embassy folks were unloading large red bins of supplies into a covered tent and attempting to construct these large metal and plastic pillars that had Afghanistan quick facts on them. My job was to watch the car as it was unlocked. Glamorous, I know. Aren't you jealous? Having accomplished that amazingly draining task, it was time to get started.
There were several embassies involved in the event and so under the pavilion, the American, Canadian, Belgian, and Polish flags were hanging. It made the place to look very festive. Due to volcanic ash clouds, and the unfortunate state of Polish affairs at the time, most of our supplies didn't make it to Tallinn as they were stuck in Warsaw. So, we had very little to give away, which is always a mistake when there are Americans in the vicinity. They had crackers and peanut butter, and people in uniform with big guns etc. Very impressive looking I have to say. The rest of us schlubby countries just had info, other than a brief moment of glee where I go to give out balloons. To that end, having nothing to give, while there are giant signs saying "Canada in Afghanistan" surrounding you is asking for trouble. And, for the most part it was. Creepy, opinionated people like to talk to Canadians about Afghanistan, not people out innocently taking in a NATO exhibit. Those people take the crackers and peanut butter and run. People are like crows. They like things that are either shiny or edible. Preferably both.
Despite the grey day, many, many people showed up for the NATO day proceedings. Talking with the person I was with from the embassy, he mentioned that since the economic recession, Estonians have taken to attending events that are open to the public and that are generally free of charge. I noticed that since being here I've seen many events happening in the square, of a number that would far exceed open, public events that happen at home. If I can recall, something is usually happening once every two weeks or so. I remember seeing thousands of candles lit at one point, as well as an interesting display of robotics where I held an old man robot's hand as he wobbled around on a walker. Anyway, the point is that it was busy. I met a lot of very interesting people, like the Estonian foreign minister, a few people working for the American embassy, some Canadian DFAIT folks, and some Estonian-Canadians who had found their way back to their homeland. That was the best part of the day, meeting all of these people who have led very interesting lives.
After six hours of towing the company line on the war in Afghanistan (yes, the Canadian government is pulling out in 2011 to take on a solely humanitarian role...), I was about ready to call 'er quits. We rolled everything up, packed the pillars away and rode off into the sunset. Pfftt.. no, I actually walked to Kevin's and had a warm supper. I was cold! The NATO event ended with an outdoor concert and a screening of the movie "Afghan Star" which I stuck around briefly to see. There was an after party for those who helped out at the event but, me and my feet had had enough. It had been a great day that I was very happy to be part of, even if there were parts I didn't like. Which reminds me, I should send them a thank-you note!
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