The girls and I wake up early, and as we are setting the breakfast table with my mom, we giggle and hope that Joe will wake up soon. It’s Joe’s birthday, after all! The omelette is ready, and when he does emerge, I have to quickly run in, write his name on his card, put the card inside the envelope, and very poorly hide the surprise behind my back as I come back into the kitchen.
The girls and I have picked up a few special souvenirs for Joe from Hong Kong and Monaco, and he loves his new trinkets. My favourite is the cha chaan teng socks I found for him, and I got myself matching dim sum socks. He even enjoyed breakfast, and has had a good start to his birthday indeed. (He even had a 13 person choir singing him the birthday song on Sunday, so he’s being celebrated, for sure!)
We wanted to head downtown for his birthday, I had a special plan for lunch, and otherwise we just wanted to take advantage of the beautifully sunny day, as the forecast looks rather grey and wet for the rest of the week.
On the subway, I was googling where to have lunch, as I knew what I wanted to find, just not where to eat. To my surprise, my favourite little kebab shop, which never had indoor seating, has moved a couple of blocks over, and now has a little dining room to sit and enjoy their food!
After lunch, I suggested we head over to the Opera House. Maylin was only 3 last time we were in Norway, she doesn’t really remember much (other than the playground outside Mormor’s house), and so it was time to take new rooftop pictures from the Opera House!
The Oslo Opera House opened in April of 2008, just a few months before I left Norway for Canada to immigrate. The opening celebrations were attended by royalty and politicians from all over the world, and Norway’s icon Ingrid Bjørnov actually GARGLED “O mio babbino caro” on stage, while playing the piano. It’s one of my favourite videos ever, and if I haven’t showed it to you before, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/CFKUPCTvb9E?si=Bcv7aTxFdp8TeQpx
Climbing up onto the rooftop of the Opera House can be a dangerous exercise, as the white marble is bright in the sunshine, and slippery when wet. We’re keeping a close eye on those dark clouds in the distance!
After we had taken all our required photos on the Opera House roof, we headed across the street to the Deichman library. This is another impressive structure, opened in 2019, and houses so many floors and an impressive selection of books!
After a while at the library, we headed around the block to find an afternoon snack. I can’t see many of these happening in Norway, because I’m having a really hard time getting used to Norwegian prices again!
We took the subway back home, dropped the girls off with my mom, got changed, and headed right back out for a Mom & Dad birthday dinner date! We had browsed so many menus in the last two days, and finally settled on an institution of a restaurant: Stortorvet Gjæstgiveri. It’s so old, the building so crooked, that there’s even a notice about the Battle of the Square inside the menu!
The reason we chose this restaurant was the offerings on the menu:
Joe and I had a great dinner out, and arrived home just before 9.30pm to put the girls to bed. They’d had a great dinner of chicken and fries with my mom, and I think a few desserts, snacks, treats and maybe ice cream were enjoyed as well? What happens at Mormor’s, stays at Mormor’s…
Happy birthday Joe! What a nice day!
Joe says thank you Mette! It was a great day!
I can’t get behind the whale or the reindeer but it looks like Joe had a great birthday. It’s the same day as my brother’s.
Oh and happy birthday. I think I might have posted that, too.
I did watch the gurgle singing before and I have to say I’m impressed at her ability to keep it going for the whole song.
Oh, and you might as well get used to the prices in Norway. You’ll be finding the same back in Canada.
He sure did! The ice cream was wonderful, and I wish you could taste it!
Joe says thank you! I laugh uncontrollably every time I watch that clip…
Is a small bottle of water at the grocery store really CA$6 there too?