A Prayer for Norway

Find peace and comfort, despite this tragedy, this I pray.

Get better soon. 

Love, me.

Berget means mountain or rock...isberget means iceberg

We took a little stroll around Oslo's Opera house. It's located right in the fjord and it's supposed to represent an iceberg. Or at least that is what my professor said. 
You can totally see it too what with all the snow white marble, icy clear glass and mountainous size.
One of the coolest things about it is the fact that you can literally waltz around on the roof! It is quite exciting. Just like a regular iceberg, there are hidden pitfalls. When we were coming down, one of the girls in our group took a little tumble. So, if you make it to Oslo and the Opera house, keep an out for the tricky steps.

Just a hint of homesickness...

You would think that only after two weeks, I wouldn't feel the homesickness wave.
I don't too much. After all, I LOVE my host family and the ward here is amazing, it truly is.
But when I watch my host sisters banter with one another, it makes me miss my sisters all that much more. And I would like to hug my momma and daddy too.
I miss my roommates and the comings and goings happening back home.
However!
I don't miss the 100+ degree weather. I will take any rainy Norwegian summer over a dry, hot Utah one, that is for sure.
I really love this country and everything that I am learning here. This is the result of three long years of study.
Even though I don't catch everything that is said and no one really knows me here, I still relish this opportunity to hear this beautiful language and to explore new avenues of my character.

Copenhagen in 5 hrs or less

This is our boat. I didn't remember to get a picture of my own. We were always in a hurry, either coming or going.

Our cabin. Small isn't it? We were on the most bottom level you could get. You couldn't get any lower in the boat than we were.

Pretty little island in Oslo fjord

Goodbye Oslo

Hello Copenhagen!

 For a broader experience, we took a little trip over to Copenhagen! Prior to the trip, we prepared ourselves most fully. 

Namely, we watched this:

*Note, they do swear once or twice FYI

It's mostly funny if you can hear the different between Norwegian and Danish. Danes speak wonderful English so we didn't hear too much Danish. But when we did, it was great and sent us into gales of laughter.
The boat dropped us off at 9:45 AM in Copenhagen and we had to be back onto the boat by 4:30 PM, so that gave us five or so hours to see everything we wanted to see.
So we made a list:
1. The Little Mermaid (it's a must. You are in Denmark, you have to Hans Christian Andersen's beloved little aquatic heroine.)
2. The original Christus Statue. (We are LDS and it means a lot to us. See here)
3. Danish bakery to try a pastry. (We did and we are converted)
4. Danish souvenirs (We have our priorities)
5. Strøget
6. The Marble Church
7. The Queen's Palace
8. Nyhavn
9. Tivoli
We accomplished our list! All in five hours! I say, we are quite skilled. All it took was a good map (I marked three with our destinations and routes), quick walking, and quick picture taking skills. Here are the results.

1. The Little Mermaid

2. The Christus by Thorvaldsen

3. Danish pastries. So good. I'm ruined for life.

5. Strøget: One never-ending mile of shopping and pedestrians

6. The Marble Church

7. The Queen's Palace, complete with guardsmen

8. Nyhavn

9. Tivoli

Ta-da!

I got some typical souvenirs but I really wanted a Hans Christian Andersen book of tales in Danish but NOOOoooooo. I couldn't find a bookstore in Copenhagen for the life of me. Which led me to the conclusion that although the Danes have a very pretty city with to-die-for-danishes but they must not read. Ever. 

Ach well, it was a busy day, but it was fun.

We made it back to the boat in time. I fell asleep immediately for a couple of hours. When we were seaborn, I rendezvous-ed with the other girls and we got some dinner, played some card games and so on. We woke up at 4 AM to see the sun rise...but it was cloudy.

See?

4 AM, I'm telling you folks.
Well, that is it for Copenhaven.
Ttyl!

Bygdøy: Picture Post (Words will have to come later...)