I will be pleasantly surprised if yesterday is not my most memorable day of the trip.
My roommate Derek and I took the ferry to the peninsula and went to the Viking Ship museum. This museum was a display of the biggest Viking ship finds in history. Three ships were on display, but one was wracked almost beyond recognition. I took a million pictures, I'll put a few in of the jaw dropping ships.
There were amazing carvings of bed posts recovered in these burial ships. Apparently these ships were used in service, then committed to the sea as burial chambers when they grew old. Here are some pictures of the bed posts.
The museum was awesome. Unfortunately a lot of the gold and precious materials were robbed and the skeletons of the buried were partially scattered. Still, partial skeletons remained and archeologists were able to determine how each person died. The women were quite small (1.5 m) but the man was a bit bigger (1.83 m). Still, not quite the hulking Viking I imagined. Of course, he died over 1000 years ago! I have many more pictures of the Viking Ship museum.
After that, we got moose burgers. I paid in American dollars because I assume it was such a big tourist attraction. Visa not accepted tho, go figure. We walked to the Norwegian folk history museum and got absolutely soaked by the sudden rainstorm. Shoes and soaks soaking wet. Still, we went to the folk museum. It wasn't as interesting, but better than I initially thought. Very thorough period clothing and lifestyle mostly from the 1800s. They had a few actors dancing and playing the fiddle and baking bread and a big fat older big blonde bearded guy whittling wood inside one of the old log houses. The weirdest thing about the museum was that they put a modern Norwegian fashion show in the midst of 1800s church paintings and alter pieces. Here are some of my favorites.
For dinner, I had food from Lime (grocery/convenience store) and then food with Derek at a pub. The server was very pretty and smiled the most for a Norwegian I had met. After dinner and 1 Norwegian beer each, we were walking back to our hostel to get coats to walk around the city at night when a shortish girl asked me something. I said, "uh English?" And she said "do you know how to get to this bar? Oh no, you're tourists. We are going to a jazz bar, come with us!" And thus began the insanity.
The shorter one was named Ina. She was very pretty and maybe just a little bit heavy. Her friend was Margarit and she was pretty too but quite heavy. Ina said she was already drunk. We told them where we were from, I got plenty of crap for being where "everyone is so fake! Oh look at me, I'm a movie star, I'm fake!" Ina would say. I showed them my UCLA ID to prove it was real. We ended up at a super small bar with a band with members from the UK and the USA. They played a bunch of covers of popular american and English songs from the 60s and on. Ina was the more talkative/aggressive/outgoing one and got us a seat with a big tall bald, full bearded guy named Oliver (but pronounced Oh-lee-VEAR). He was an electrician studying to be an EE. I was surprised we were easily able to butt onto his table. We were among the youngest in the bar. The girls bought two beers and two shots of tequila. They told me one shot was for me and Margarit was doing the other. I asked the Norwegian way to shoot tequila and they said, "salt, then shot, then lemon" I said ok, let's go. Ina liked my hand and poured the salt on hand by my thumb and down they went. Tasty. And funny that a Norwegian girl bought me a drink.
I got to talking about music with Margarit and she used to like a bunch of black metal that was harder core than I liked, but I knew the bands. She said she wanted an Opeth tattoo but Ina said she shouldn't get tattoos. She said she also wanted Odin's ravens below her collarbones which was awesome, so awesome. Then I told her I like electronica and she said she did too. I told her I was going to see The Knife and she got hella jealous and said "I love the Knife!" to the sky. Then she told me about Royksopp (who I know) and I mentioned the song they did with Robyn and I said going to a Robyn concert and she freaked out again, "I love Robyn! You're going to all the shows I want to!"
We talked about taxes and health care a little bit. Margarit works as a nurses assistant in an old folks home and says she makes 190 NOK per hour (about $32/hour) before a 36% tax. But she said health care us great. She broke her leg and only paid a 2000 NOK ($340) bill.
Ina kept going out to smoke. Cigarettes in Norway say "Smoking kills" in big black letters on the front and has a picture of a mortuary tagged foot on the back. Still, lots and lots of ppl smoke here. Definitely more than the US. But Ina was crazy. She would stand up on her bench to make her way around Margarit. At some point, Ina sat on my lap and that was just fine.
They argued a bunch about what to do next (they worked weekends and had no work the next day). Ina said we should do a "vorspiel" and got all crazy that we didn't know what it was. "It's an after party! You know, you have the" Norwegian word for drinking at home "the party and the vorspiel!". But Margarit wanted to go to this club where metal heads go because they play metal. But Ina hated that place because she didn't like the music or the bartender and it was too loud. But we went anyway and it was awesome! Awesome. Went down a spiral staircase to a Megadeth song and out into the bar. It was pretty vacant, but still cool. It had a big poster up front that just said "Rock". The music they played made me want to mosh so bad. It made me miss good metal with a bunch of people. The metal wasn't super brutal, so it was just my style. Ina was not enjoying the place but still paid for a shot for Derek and I and fours beers for the rest of us. Then, Ina said let's dance. Bear in mind, I was in my sandals because my converse were soaked wet and drying with toilet paper in them as we spoke. I said, "I totally suck, but ok". So this kinda drunk, pretty Norwegian girl takes me up to the front of the club where the little stage is (it has tables on it tho, not a proper stage) and leads me in Norwegian dance. It was an incredible experience. She is really good and I was able to more or less follow her. The moves were these: (not sure about the order or if this is all of them) dancing very close or pressed side by side like some stomach and kidney to some stomach and kidney, then a separation with a few steps, and then a few spins of Ina and then I spin, then back to close again and she dances into me super close and I back up. Then I do that to her. I was messing up a fair amount, but she wasn't getting upset (I expected her to, she was a firebrand). She smiled the whole time and the whole experience was surreal, proper dancing in Norwegian metal bar with a local girl who was buying drinks. I never imagined something so crazy and amazing could happen on a trip like this. We danced for a while and she said, "you're starting to feel it, right?" I agreed, I was. It was unbelievable, hahha.
So, Ina got sick of the metal bar but I made everyone stay for Death's "1000 eyes" because that is an amazing song. I was pumped. Wanted to mosh, but there was not nearly enough of a crowd. Margarit loved Death and Moonsorrow's Tyven (and she said it TEE-ven) and I was super happy. She also told me about an Ulver show she went to with her aunt that was super weird. I will have to check it out on youtube.
We got a cab back to Ina's apartment (she paid) and she didn't have her key and had to buzz the door to wake up her roommate to open the door. Her roommate wasn't happy. We went into Ina's room and it was sparse and cool. Wood floors, only one lamp. A bed on small wood pallets and a futon next to it. She sat by the window and smoked like the girl with the dragon tattoo. It was awesome. And it was cold, too. Windy. Margarit was saying how she's allergic to lots of stuff and Derek said, "what about back hair?" And they laughed and said it'd have to be a lot. So, of course, I took off my shirt. "Is, this a lot?" Hahah, "no, it's all on the front" said Ina. I put back on my undershirt.
I went to the bathroom cuz I really had to go number 1. The bathroom was very small and cute. It had a poster of maybe the members of the house of Parliament and some had hearts around them and some had horns on them, haha. Then, I realized I needed to number 2. Uh oh. No toilet paper. Uh oh. Peek around, don't open too much stuff, dummy! Was it still quiet, no one suspicious yet? Yes, all clear. Ok, lock the door. Been in here a while. Ah ha! (apparently that's a Norwegian band, I was told) there's toilet paper on a vertical rod at the floor of the toilet. Put it on, roll out, bombs away. Feeling better. From the outside of the door, Ina's voice, "Are you okay in there?" Terrified "Yeah, fine." "What are you doing?" "I'll be right out!" dumb and dumber style. No answer, terror beginning to fade as nothing else eventful happens after a squeaky clean flush.
It was now about 3 am Wednesday morning. We were hearing knocking on the wall from Ina's roommate and probably some other tenant above or to the side. Margarit was pretty drunk now and would burst out with stuff like "I got the power!" just to piss Ina off. It worked, Ina's catch phrase at her apartment was "shut up, muthafucka!" Rude, but super funny her Norwegian accent. It took me forever to peel an orange Ina offered and we had Norwegian chocolate (Frida I think) and Harbino orange candies.
Ina grabbed four wine glasses and a bottle of California Sonoma wine and opened it. "This isn't mine!" she said. It belonged to her roommate. The whole time they were talking about how her roommate would bring guys home and keep Ina up until 6 am when she had to work the next day (I'm assuming cuz Ina works weekends). So her roommate finally came in the room with just a night gown on and started telling Ina to be quiet. Ina squinted one eye at her and I knew she wasn't backing down. They talked for a long time and then her roommate's voice got louder. Derek and I just exchanged a few awkward looks and finished our (the roommate's!) wine. Finally Ina left the room and argued with the roommate outside. Margarit filled us in. Ina said you keep me up 50 times a year and I never do it to you so it's only fair. I guess the roommate was mad about the wine (rightfully so) and the noise because she had to work (I assume). Then, a loud bang! Margarit ran out of the room. Derek and I were alone for quite a while. We wondered how long we should give them before we just said we're tired and we got to go. They finally came back in and I said "should we leave?" meaning Derek and I. Ina said "yes, let's go now!" and I thought, oh, they are going, too. And then I thought, uh oh.
Well, the rest was kinda bad news. They wanted to keep going, but it was 415 am, the sky was beginning to light up, it was cold, windy, and raining a bit. I said we should split up, I'll get your Facebook and send you some wine to replace what you took from your roommate, you go home with Margarit and she called me weak and she stormed off dragging a very drunk Margarit.
I was shocked it was over, but somewhat relieved. Derek and I wandered around for a cab. We ran into them again. "come on, let's go to Margarit's house for 1 hour cuz her bf is getting back at 6 am from the night shift, get her vodka and go to the park with blankets!" They argued a bunch and Ina said, "I'm not saying sex, I'm saying six." It was possible they wanted to get intimate, but I realized I left my button down shirt at Ina's and I just wanted to go to sleep and it was past 4 am. Margarit was stumbling around and grabbed my arm for support. I had my forearm up, so I was flexing and she kept poking my bicep. Yeah, nice, hahaha. She said, "I have muscles, too!" and made me feel after a few laughing attempts to get ready. I could feel something, haha, not much. Anyway, Ina got mad again, drug Margarit off with her before I could get Margarit's Facebook. It was bonkers. Bonkers. But incredibly awesome and memorable. Ina was really mad at me for being weak that I didn't want to keep going. She was hella mad and insulting my character. She was drunk and I'm sure really upset about the fight with her roommate. Nonetheless, that night will live on for ages. Too bad I lost my shirt, but it was a darn good place to leave it!
My roommate Derek and I took the ferry to the peninsula and went to the Viking Ship museum. This museum was a display of the biggest Viking ship finds in history. Three ships were on display, but one was wracked almost beyond recognition. I took a million pictures, I'll put a few in of the jaw dropping ships.
There were amazing carvings of bed posts recovered in these burial ships. Apparently these ships were used in service, then committed to the sea as burial chambers when they grew old. Here are some pictures of the bed posts.
The museum was awesome. Unfortunately a lot of the gold and precious materials were robbed and the skeletons of the buried were partially scattered. Still, partial skeletons remained and archeologists were able to determine how each person died. The women were quite small (1.5 m) but the man was a bit bigger (1.83 m). Still, not quite the hulking Viking I imagined. Of course, he died over 1000 years ago! I have many more pictures of the Viking Ship museum.
After that, we got moose burgers. I paid in American dollars because I assume it was such a big tourist attraction. Visa not accepted tho, go figure. We walked to the Norwegian folk history museum and got absolutely soaked by the sudden rainstorm. Shoes and soaks soaking wet. Still, we went to the folk museum. It wasn't as interesting, but better than I initially thought. Very thorough period clothing and lifestyle mostly from the 1800s. They had a few actors dancing and playing the fiddle and baking bread and a big fat older big blonde bearded guy whittling wood inside one of the old log houses. The weirdest thing about the museum was that they put a modern Norwegian fashion show in the midst of 1800s church paintings and alter pieces. Here are some of my favorites.
For dinner, I had food from Lime (grocery/convenience store) and then food with Derek at a pub. The server was very pretty and smiled the most for a Norwegian I had met. After dinner and 1 Norwegian beer each, we were walking back to our hostel to get coats to walk around the city at night when a shortish girl asked me something. I said, "uh English?" And she said "do you know how to get to this bar? Oh no, you're tourists. We are going to a jazz bar, come with us!" And thus began the insanity.
The shorter one was named Ina. She was very pretty and maybe just a little bit heavy. Her friend was Margarit and she was pretty too but quite heavy. Ina said she was already drunk. We told them where we were from, I got plenty of crap for being where "everyone is so fake! Oh look at me, I'm a movie star, I'm fake!" Ina would say. I showed them my UCLA ID to prove it was real. We ended up at a super small bar with a band with members from the UK and the USA. They played a bunch of covers of popular american and English songs from the 60s and on. Ina was the more talkative/aggressive/outgoing one and got us a seat with a big tall bald, full bearded guy named Oliver (but pronounced Oh-lee-VEAR). He was an electrician studying to be an EE. I was surprised we were easily able to butt onto his table. We were among the youngest in the bar. The girls bought two beers and two shots of tequila. They told me one shot was for me and Margarit was doing the other. I asked the Norwegian way to shoot tequila and they said, "salt, then shot, then lemon" I said ok, let's go. Ina liked my hand and poured the salt on hand by my thumb and down they went. Tasty. And funny that a Norwegian girl bought me a drink.
I got to talking about music with Margarit and she used to like a bunch of black metal that was harder core than I liked, but I knew the bands. She said she wanted an Opeth tattoo but Ina said she shouldn't get tattoos. She said she also wanted Odin's ravens below her collarbones which was awesome, so awesome. Then I told her I like electronica and she said she did too. I told her I was going to see The Knife and she got hella jealous and said "I love the Knife!" to the sky. Then she told me about Royksopp (who I know) and I mentioned the song they did with Robyn and I said going to a Robyn concert and she freaked out again, "I love Robyn! You're going to all the shows I want to!"
We talked about taxes and health care a little bit. Margarit works as a nurses assistant in an old folks home and says she makes 190 NOK per hour (about $32/hour) before a 36% tax. But she said health care us great. She broke her leg and only paid a 2000 NOK ($340) bill.
Ina kept going out to smoke. Cigarettes in Norway say "Smoking kills" in big black letters on the front and has a picture of a mortuary tagged foot on the back. Still, lots and lots of ppl smoke here. Definitely more than the US. But Ina was crazy. She would stand up on her bench to make her way around Margarit. At some point, Ina sat on my lap and that was just fine.
They argued a bunch about what to do next (they worked weekends and had no work the next day). Ina said we should do a "vorspiel" and got all crazy that we didn't know what it was. "It's an after party! You know, you have the" Norwegian word for drinking at home "the party and the vorspiel!". But Margarit wanted to go to this club where metal heads go because they play metal. But Ina hated that place because she didn't like the music or the bartender and it was too loud. But we went anyway and it was awesome! Awesome. Went down a spiral staircase to a Megadeth song and out into the bar. It was pretty vacant, but still cool. It had a big poster up front that just said "Rock". The music they played made me want to mosh so bad. It made me miss good metal with a bunch of people. The metal wasn't super brutal, so it was just my style. Ina was not enjoying the place but still paid for a shot for Derek and I and fours beers for the rest of us. Then, Ina said let's dance. Bear in mind, I was in my sandals because my converse were soaked wet and drying with toilet paper in them as we spoke. I said, "I totally suck, but ok". So this kinda drunk, pretty Norwegian girl takes me up to the front of the club where the little stage is (it has tables on it tho, not a proper stage) and leads me in Norwegian dance. It was an incredible experience. She is really good and I was able to more or less follow her. The moves were these: (not sure about the order or if this is all of them) dancing very close or pressed side by side like some stomach and kidney to some stomach and kidney, then a separation with a few steps, and then a few spins of Ina and then I spin, then back to close again and she dances into me super close and I back up. Then I do that to her. I was messing up a fair amount, but she wasn't getting upset (I expected her to, she was a firebrand). She smiled the whole time and the whole experience was surreal, proper dancing in Norwegian metal bar with a local girl who was buying drinks. I never imagined something so crazy and amazing could happen on a trip like this. We danced for a while and she said, "you're starting to feel it, right?" I agreed, I was. It was unbelievable, hahha.
So, Ina got sick of the metal bar but I made everyone stay for Death's "1000 eyes" because that is an amazing song. I was pumped. Wanted to mosh, but there was not nearly enough of a crowd. Margarit loved Death and Moonsorrow's Tyven (and she said it TEE-ven) and I was super happy. She also told me about an Ulver show she went to with her aunt that was super weird. I will have to check it out on youtube.
We got a cab back to Ina's apartment (she paid) and she didn't have her key and had to buzz the door to wake up her roommate to open the door. Her roommate wasn't happy. We went into Ina's room and it was sparse and cool. Wood floors, only one lamp. A bed on small wood pallets and a futon next to it. She sat by the window and smoked like the girl with the dragon tattoo. It was awesome. And it was cold, too. Windy. Margarit was saying how she's allergic to lots of stuff and Derek said, "what about back hair?" And they laughed and said it'd have to be a lot. So, of course, I took off my shirt. "Is, this a lot?" Hahah, "no, it's all on the front" said Ina. I put back on my undershirt.
I went to the bathroom cuz I really had to go number 1. The bathroom was very small and cute. It had a poster of maybe the members of the house of Parliament and some had hearts around them and some had horns on them, haha. Then, I realized I needed to number 2. Uh oh. No toilet paper. Uh oh. Peek around, don't open too much stuff, dummy! Was it still quiet, no one suspicious yet? Yes, all clear. Ok, lock the door. Been in here a while. Ah ha! (apparently that's a Norwegian band, I was told) there's toilet paper on a vertical rod at the floor of the toilet. Put it on, roll out, bombs away. Feeling better. From the outside of the door, Ina's voice, "Are you okay in there?" Terrified "Yeah, fine." "What are you doing?" "I'll be right out!" dumb and dumber style. No answer, terror beginning to fade as nothing else eventful happens after a squeaky clean flush.
It was now about 3 am Wednesday morning. We were hearing knocking on the wall from Ina's roommate and probably some other tenant above or to the side. Margarit was pretty drunk now and would burst out with stuff like "I got the power!" just to piss Ina off. It worked, Ina's catch phrase at her apartment was "shut up, muthafucka!" Rude, but super funny her Norwegian accent. It took me forever to peel an orange Ina offered and we had Norwegian chocolate (Frida I think) and Harbino orange candies.
Ina grabbed four wine glasses and a bottle of California Sonoma wine and opened it. "This isn't mine!" she said. It belonged to her roommate. The whole time they were talking about how her roommate would bring guys home and keep Ina up until 6 am when she had to work the next day (I'm assuming cuz Ina works weekends). So her roommate finally came in the room with just a night gown on and started telling Ina to be quiet. Ina squinted one eye at her and I knew she wasn't backing down. They talked for a long time and then her roommate's voice got louder. Derek and I just exchanged a few awkward looks and finished our (the roommate's!) wine. Finally Ina left the room and argued with the roommate outside. Margarit filled us in. Ina said you keep me up 50 times a year and I never do it to you so it's only fair. I guess the roommate was mad about the wine (rightfully so) and the noise because she had to work (I assume). Then, a loud bang! Margarit ran out of the room. Derek and I were alone for quite a while. We wondered how long we should give them before we just said we're tired and we got to go. They finally came back in and I said "should we leave?" meaning Derek and I. Ina said "yes, let's go now!" and I thought, oh, they are going, too. And then I thought, uh oh.
Well, the rest was kinda bad news. They wanted to keep going, but it was 415 am, the sky was beginning to light up, it was cold, windy, and raining a bit. I said we should split up, I'll get your Facebook and send you some wine to replace what you took from your roommate, you go home with Margarit and she called me weak and she stormed off dragging a very drunk Margarit.
I was shocked it was over, but somewhat relieved. Derek and I wandered around for a cab. We ran into them again. "come on, let's go to Margarit's house for 1 hour cuz her bf is getting back at 6 am from the night shift, get her vodka and go to the park with blankets!" They argued a bunch and Ina said, "I'm not saying sex, I'm saying six." It was possible they wanted to get intimate, but I realized I left my button down shirt at Ina's and I just wanted to go to sleep and it was past 4 am. Margarit was stumbling around and grabbed my arm for support. I had my forearm up, so I was flexing and she kept poking my bicep. Yeah, nice, hahaha. She said, "I have muscles, too!" and made me feel after a few laughing attempts to get ready. I could feel something, haha, not much. Anyway, Ina got mad again, drug Margarit off with her before I could get Margarit's Facebook. It was bonkers. Bonkers. But incredibly awesome and memorable. Ina was really mad at me for being weak that I didn't want to keep going. She was hella mad and insulting my character. She was drunk and I'm sure really upset about the fight with her roommate. Nonetheless, that night will live on for ages. Too bad I lost my shirt, but it was a darn good place to leave it!
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