Oslo, Norway

And so it ends... the last, but certainly not least, country we visited while living here in Germany: Norway!

We flew out of our "home" airport of Munich on a lovely day in Bavaria. I spy yellow rapeseed fields dotting the landscape!

Looking down at the cool coastline of Norway as we flew into Oslo.  Obligatory license plate shot.

Taking selfies with the kids while Chris picked up the rental car. 

Our plan was to drive straight into downtown Oslo and go to the National Gallery. The museum's website said it had later opening hours on Thursday so we were made in the shade... except it was a national holiday so just as we were walking into the gallery at 5:00 expecting it to be open two more hours, they said it was closed. Bummer dude. But, the sun was shining and the air was warm so we decided to just stroll around town.  Hard Rock Cafe in a cute building. The recently pedestrianized harbor area was hopping! Food trucks and flowers and crowds and fun galore.

The Nobel Peace Center is housed in an old train station and celebrates the work of the people who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize over the years.

Oslo sits at the end of the huge Oslofjord, a playground with 40 city-owned park-like islands, cruise ships, fishing boats, and more.

Sitting above the harbor front is Akershus Fortress with its 13th century ramparts and castle.

Looking inland from the water is Oslo's huge city hall. This is where the Peace Prize is awarded every year. Other details from our walk.

Flowers & blue rental bikes! Love!

Norwegian.

Strolling along tree-and cafe-lined Karl Johans Gate, the grand boulevard leading from the main train station up to the Royal Palace.

It had been a long day of travel so after a couple hours of exploring we piled in the rental car and drove to the outskirts of Oslo to our 5 star rated airbnb.  I wanted to smuggle everything home.  There was even a great yard with a trampoline and little playhouse and toys. The kids loved it to bits.

The views were stupendous overlooking Oslo and out towards Oslofjord.

Me.

The next day, after driving out to and exploring the incredibly cool Heddal Stave Church (blog post coming Saturday!), we went back to the National Gallery to finish what we actually hadn't started yet: see the paintings!

The gallery has a modestly sized but well curated collection ranging from 18th century French artists to Romantic Norwegian painters to sculptures from antiquity.

Braque and Monet and Picassos. Attempting to instill a love for the visual arts in our kids like our own parents did with us.

But, the thing everyone comes to see is Edvard Munch's über famous, The Scream.

In the gift shop there was a spatula with The Scream on it and Fox said, “Spatula, more like Screamula!” his first joke :) After enjoying the museum, we headed back out and walked up towards the Royal Palace. Norway is a monarchy so this is home to Norway's King Harald V. Darling girl with pretty purple flowers.

The city has a vibe a lot like Helsinki, Finland that we visited a couple summers ago.

The next morning we were up bright and early for our flight home to Munich. Adjø, Norge!
Our last time flying back into Germany!!!

Our car seats didn't make it. We're been pretty lucky on that front and this is the very first time we've "lost" something in all our 4 years here. Apparently they didn't get put on the plane in Oslo so Lufthansa tracked them down and arranged to have them delivered to our home the next day. Which they did so all was well!

*Note: We have been listening to audiobooks as we've done roadtrips or driven to and from the airports, specifically the Harry Potter series. We finished listening to the last book, book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, on our drive home from the Munich airport at the end of this trip. Thanks for entertaining us for hours and hours in the car, Harry!
Video highlights from Oslo. The Evans family in Oslo, Norway on Friday May 26th 2017.
We miiiiiiiight drive down to see the Matterhorn in a couple weeks, we're watching the weather like a hawk cuz it has to be good weather to see the mountain! I just can't come to terms with this being the "last" adventure!