So it's not the south of France...

Yesterday (Saturday), I went with 3 girls from class on a fun day trip to a town called Drobak. (The name is supposed to have a letter O with a slash through it-it's prounouced "Drubak") Oslo is located at the end of a fjord (Oslofjorden). We traveled on a bus for about 45 minutes. The town was just as someone would picture a small town in Norway. It was filled with colorful, wooden buildings and each house had a flag pole with a Norwegian flag. There were also several harbors where boats were docked and the fjord was filled with sailboats. There was even a beach. Unfortunately, the temperature here hasn't been above 55 degrees-which I really dislike-but at least I put my feet in! The water was icy cold. People swim in there later in the summer. We also came across a flea market which wouldn't be very interesting to local people, but it was for us!

From Drobak, there is a short ferry ride that takes people to a small island where there is an old fortress called Oscarborg Festning. In 1940, the fort was attacked by the German navy. The fort was outdated but the Norwegians managed to sink the German ship and saved the king and government from being taken prisoner. The amusing part of the story is that the guns and armor of the fort were made in Germany! The best part about the island was climbing around on the canons and the fort and looking at the boats. Even though I wish it were warmer, it is beautiful around here. There tulips and other flowers everywhere, and there are also flowering trees everywhere.

This afternoon I saw something I have been eagerly anticipating visiting-the ski jump! In the hills by Oslo in an area called Holmenkollen there is a huge ski jump-I can see it from my window. There is also a museum about the history of skiing. In 1973 during the energy crisis, the government of Norway banned driving on certain weekends and everyone had to take public transportation. King Olav V loved skiing and set an example for the people by taking public transportation into the hills to ski. When a journalist once asked him if he was afraid to travel unprotected, he famously said "Why should I be afraid? I have 4 million bodyguards!" (he was referring to the people of Norway) He must have been brave-he actually used the ski jump!

I like this statue-it's different than most of the statues of kings around here!

The first ski jump was built here in 1892 and it has been rebuilt 15 times since then. Apparently, this one is going to be torn down soon to be replaced with a more modern one.

My friend Stacy and I did the ski-simulator. The part where you were supposed to be flying off hte jump was pretty realistic. The racing part was fun too, except I'm such a great skiier that it was kind of boring for me ;) It was a fun weekend. It stays light out longer every day. This weekend I was never home before daylight appeared!

One last picture-I have so many I want to share! There's no story behind this little statue-I just like it!