DAY 5: IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE

7:30: The alarm goes off, I think. There is no snooze. Just an off. I realize this as I wake up at 9:00!!!!!! AAHH! How are we going to fit in all the last minute sights of Oslo?

I felt anxious about getting packed so I started working on it and by the time I finished I looked at the clock and do you know what time it was? 10:00. The same time The Carolina Breakfast Room closes! Our last morning...the last chance...Gone! Honestly it's painful to even recount this so I will go on, but know that I have felt somewhat incomplete this entire day from missing it.

Clearly not enough time to do most things. We took a walk down by the harbor and went into a souvenir shop. My sister and I now have Norwegian socks. We stopped and grabbed something to eat and walked quickly back to the hotel where we spent our last moments on our balcony. We did get two chocolate croissants in memory of our usual Norwegian breakfasts. I can't talk about that though.

Chris checked out of our hotel of paradise and out into the rain we went. It was so sad to think about leaving Oslo. With few words spoken, we got on the train to the airport and took in our last sights of this wonderful city.

The airports themselves in Oslo and in Reykjavik were both very pleasant. Our flight to Iceland was good and the pilot even seemed to fly a little lower than usual during the descent allowing us to take in some amazing scenery of Iceland. By the way...Iceland is now officially on our list of places we need to spend more time in. I am so intrigued.

I am typing this on the plane and I think we are starting the decent.

Oslo, Norway, Iceland, Scandinavia; we're not through with you yet!

We will definitely be back for more!

Thank you so much to the people at Innovation Norway and VisitOSLO.com who gave Chris and I this incredible opportunity to experience Oslo and even run the Oslo Glitner Marathon! This trip has exceeded my expectations. Thanks visitoslo. The flight on Icelandair, Hotel Continental, the two entries into the marathon, Oslo passes...we are so grateful and blessed to have experienced all that we did! Thank you so much!

This has been an AMAZING vacation!

Day 4: Sculpture Gardens and Missing Munch

Hello Norway!

It's morning and that means another opportunity to spend an hour at the Carolina Breakfast Room! We had a seat by the window and have found our favorite Norwegian breakfast treats. It was a rainy, overcast morning, but for some reason, this energized me all the more! Spending a day exploring Oslo with my husband in the rain sounded adventurous and romantic! Everything just seems right with the world when you are viewing it from the window of the Carolina Breakfast Room while sipping tea and eating lox. What a way to start the day yet again!

First stop: The Royal Palace. We mainly walked through the rose gardens and around to the back all the while admiring the preciseness of the Royal Guardsmen. This was so interesting to us as we obviously do not have this in the States. Following a tree lined path, we ended up outside the Palace gates toward the West side of Oslo. What a treasure! Each winding road seemed like it was luring us in. We found a great travel shop/bookstore and a quaint kitchen store where we picked up some Marimekko goods to remind us of our trip. We decided to start heading onward. After all, we have many museums awaiting us.

We grabbed a quick lunch and found ourselves at a shopping center completely dedicated to interior design. It was Scandinavian design at it's best with one store right next to another. A quick browse through the Aker Brygge Mall and then onto the Akershus Castle. I was astounded at this larger than life stone fortress and the job it must have functioned in it's time. It's crazy to think that it was built in the 1300's and is still standing strong today. What great architecture with such a rich history!

After the castle, we headed to the Munch Museum. We hopped on the subway and made our way to the Munch only to discover that the museum was not open because they were working on new exhibits. What a bummer! What could we do but purchase Munch post cards as if we had seen the whole collection. After sympathies were offered, the kind lady at the gift shop gave us invitations to the grand opening of the museum where the queen would also be in attendance. She said that if we couldn't see the museum, we could at least have the satisfaction of knowing that we were invited back to the same event as the queen.

We continued on our quest to see Oslo to the botanical gardens where we wandered through the twists and turns of the paths only to decide we have been going non stop and Chris' blood sugar is beyond E. We needed a little pick me up. One of the beautiful things about Oslo is a cafe is never far. The tea and coffee were great as usual. We spent awhile there, just enjoying each other and soaking in the fact we are so blessed to be here in this incredible city!

Warmed up with caffeine in our bodies, we took a bus to the sculpture gardens. We had the best time there! Maybe it was the beauty of the sculptures, the many nature trails, the gardens, the company, or most likely a combination of it all that made it so great. Part of why I liked to see Vigeland Sculpture Park is not that I am well versed in my knowledge of art and sculpture, but that there is always good fun to be had. As we gave our best thoughts on what the art said to us, Chris ended up standing on his head on the cement stairs to try to capture the essence of one of his favorite pieces. Good work Chris!

I could have stayed there for hours. In fact, I think we did. But then we had to leave because it was starting to rain a little harder and it was time for dinner. We ended up back at Brasserie 45 mainly because we knew right where it was and we were hungry! We ended up having the same waiter who recognized us and asked how our marathon went. How thoughtful!

It was hard to think about this being our last dinner in Oslo. We had a wonderful time the past 4 days. Words can't describe the experience. Norway took us away from work and life and wrapped us up in the wonder and enchantment of this absolutely wonderful city! We spent quality time with each other, bonded over an incredible Norwegian marathon (that's three now!), and had a blast exploring the history and culture of the area. We both agree that our four days in Norway made us want to come back for more! We're already making plans of when we will be returning.

The trip isn't over yet, and we were having a craving for chocolate cake! We ran back to our hotel, got another layer of warm clothing and off we went on a mission. CAKE! Just past the University of Oslo we found our gem. Deli de Luca had just what we were looking for. We left with cake...and a carmel brownie. This is where we continue to justify what we eat by saying, “we just ran a marathon.” Back to the hotel for a late night snack of chocolaty bliss. YUM!

We apparently still have jet lag. It's late. It's about 3am and are writing a blog when we should be sleeping. I guess all the cake could be contributing to sleeplessness. Did I mention it was delicious?

We have a list of about 20 things we want to do in the morning before we have to check out at noon. The alarm is set. If we could only fall asleep.

Day Three: Museums

I would be in heaven if I could start every morning with a leisurely breakfast in the Carolina breakfast room. With the marathon yesterday morning, my nerves were too wired to fully enjoy the experience. With the race behind us, I could now eat all the meats, cheeses, and chocolate croissants that my heart desired. The entire ambiance of the room was charming. It is located on the second floor of the Hotel Continental and had small intimate tables adorned with white linen, elegant china, and candlesticks lit in the windowsills. My heart was satisfied.

With Oslo pass in hand we had unlimited access to public transportation and all the museums we could handle. Surely a trip to Norway wouldn't be complete without a history lesson of the country. What better place to begin, than the Bygdoy penninsula, home of the Viking Ship Museum, and the Norsk Folk Museum. We walked down to the harbor and boarded the ferry to Bygdoy (part of Oslofjord).

I was stunned when we walked into the Viking Ship Museum. The hall was divided into four wings, three of the wings had over 22-m viking ships as the sole exhibit. The long dark ship commanded the room, and as I walked around, I couldn't help but feel a sense of respect and awe of the craftsmanship it took to create these ships in the 9th century. I was also was awed by the manpower and skill it took to sail these vessels. The fourth wing contained burial sleds, carts, tools, and cloth recovered at the grave site where archaeologists found the ships.

After the Viking Ship Museum we walked a few blocks to the Norsk Folk museum. We visited exhibition halls of Folk art, modern art, and the open-air museum. We had another perfect day to explore. Fall in Norway is a beautiful time of year. The maple, and chinese chestnut trees were turning bright yellow, their leaves littering our path. I love the sound of the leaves crunching and rustling under my feet as we explored the traditional Norwegian architecture. There were over 150 buildings from all over Norway. So much to see! We saw a one room school house, a stave church, many barns and homes with some roofs covered in birch bark and then planted with various wild grasses and plants. We also saw stables, lofts, and traditional storehouses. Our wanderlust outlasted the batteries in both our video and digital cameras; so we finally headed back on the ferry to recharge both electronically and physically.




To top off our third day in Norway, we dined at the elegant Theatercafeen restaurant for a taste of the fine local fare. Chris had oven baked trout and fried cauliflower with a truffle flavored mustard-tarragon sauce. I had Braised neck of Beef, Potato purée with Truffle and a Red Wine Glaze. For dessert we shared the confectioner's special chocolate cake, cinnamon-caramel, orange salad and orange sorbet. To say this was dinner doesn't do it justice. This was an experience. We made it back to our hotel room exhausted, but excited. We have packed a lot into the last three days, and we will have to finish strong tomorrow, as it will be our last full day in Oslo.

Oslo: Day Two

We were a little nervous about getting up for the race, this was in fact the main reason we came to Oslo; to run the Marathon. After picking up our race packets at the Bislett stadium last night, we laid out our running gear, affixed our marathon bibs to our shirts, and planned every detail to help the morning go smoothly. Chris tied my championchip to my right shoe (our running tradition), we even chose the socks, and set out the body glide we would apply in hopes of not getting any blisters or chaffing. It didn't feel like it was time to go to bed, but we took Tylenol PM, set two alarms, and requested a
wake up call, then finally fell asleep.


My nerves were on full alert by the time the first alarm went off. I am so glad the race didn't start until 10:30 am. After a good nights rest, Chris and I went to the Carolina Breakfast room to fuel up before the big race. Chris felt confident that we would be fine, and he filled up with serrano, smoked salmon, fresh baked bread, swiss cheese, and a cup of coffee. I had a glass of water, some yogurt and a bowl of oatmeal. My stomach was in knots.

The start of the race was only about 100 meters South of Hotel Continental. We jogged down, and stretched to the sound of music pumping through the loud speakers. The energy in the air was electric. I absolutely love the feeling right before the race, bouncing up and down in anticipation, not knowing for sure what the next 42 km have in store. The pride you have from wearing a marathon bib, and embarking on this daunting task is indescribable.

Chris and I decided to capture as much of the experience as we could so we carried our digital camera with us as we criss-crossed through the city. I am so glad we did. The race started out along Oslofjord and headed East past Akershus Fortress and Castle, then past the Opera House. We ran East for about 6 km then headed back into the city through the city center. The weather could not have been more perfect for fall running. It was around 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees F) and sunny for the entire run. The colors on the trees were changing and for the first 21 Km we were running pretty strong. Our time at the half marathon was 2:08. A friend and fellow marathoner described running a marathon in thirds. The first third is from start to half marathon, the second third is to mile 20, and the final third is 20m to 26.2 m. This doesn't make sense mathematically, but trust me, it is true.

The second third was grueling, and the last third we got through on sheer grit and determination. There are moments in every race that stand out as crucial moments. A loud cheer from a supporter, or a sign that encourages to keep on going. Though not many words were shared as we pounded forward, the silence and solidarity of running a marathon with a partner is indescribable. This is mine and Chris's third marathon. Our first was when we were engaged to be married, our second was in our first year of marriage, and this is our third. As we were running we came to a pair of runners. I imagine they were father and son. As I looked at their shoes, one black and one white, a visible sign of their shared experience, I was inspired to keep pressing forward.

The final leg of the race was painful and challenging to say the least. I had to keep telling myself that through the pain I need to soak in this once in a lifetime experience of running a marathon in Oslo. We wove our way around the streets of Oslo, and finally back to the water front where we would finish. When we finally crossed the finish line it was such a relief to finally be done running after 4 hours and 48 min. It was such a sense of accomplishment to have the medal placed around our necks. We made it, and it was finally over.







Now that the journey of the Giltner, Oslo Marathon was complete, the cramps and stiffness were just beginning to set in. I can't even explain how grateful I was at that moment of the location of our hotel. The fewer steps that I had to take the better.







To celebrate our accomplishments, we ordered room service for a lovely dinner for two on our 8th floor balcony overlooking the city center (including power-aid on the rocks). The rest of the evening was spent icing aching muscles, recounting the memories of the race, and just being amazed at how incredible it is that we are even here!

Oslo: Day One

Chris and I rushed home from work Friday with purpose and excitement. Usually the end of a week of teaching leaves us exhausted but this week, all we could think of was our Norwegian Adventure. We got our plane tickets, and left JFK at 8:30 in route to Iceland (6 hours) then Oslo (2 more hours) Oslo is 6 hours ahead of NYC, so even though we arrived at noon on Saturday, it felt like 6 am. We didn't let twelve hours of traveling by subway, plane, and express train slow us down. Upon checking in to the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen (Hotel Continental) we did what every excited and ambitious traveler would do we went to the Fjord to take a two hour tour via boat.



The two hour tour was chilly, especially when a large wave came over the side of the boat and sprayed all of us sitting in the back of the boat. Chris said he got so wet that he could taste the salt water running down his face. We saw many Norwegian summer homes, traveled along a chain of islands and visited one of many fjords that surround Norway's Southern and Western coast.

After getting back from the Fjord cruise we got a bight to eat at Brasserie 45.

We found this restaurant at VisitOSLO.com.

This has been a helpful sight for planning our trip. Hotel Continental was also very generous by giving us 72 hour Oslo Passes when we checked in. This pass helped get us a discount on the Fjord cruise, and free public transportation for 3 days. After dinner we headed back to our room. We were greeted by confections and grapes! Did I mention Hotel Continental really knows how to treat their guests?