We wake up to a rainy day. The view is completely covered in heavy clouds, almost all the way down to the ground. From here, it looks like a grey wall of concrete, looking out towards the city. I had high hopes for today, I wanted to visit the Vigeland park this morning, but a walk in the park is not in the cards for this type of weather!
I request a quick change to an appointment at Majorstuen, from 10am to 12.30pm, to streamline our afternoon visit at my aunt and uncle’s place on the other side of Oslo. Joe and I spend the morning attempting to pack, and just like that, our largest suitcase is stuffed to the brim.
At 11.30am, we head to the bus and then to the subway. We get to Majorstuen for 12.30pm, and the appointment is over in minutes. We see there’s an IKEA nearby, and head in, hoping to find a washroom. Of course it’s out of order. This is a busy intersection though, so there’s both a McDonald’s and a Burger King across the street. The girls have no interest in Burger King, so we head into McDonald’s for an order of fries and a bathroom code.
We hang out at the McDonald’s for just long enough to walk to the bus stop in drizzle. Because of course we do. Why would it “rain” while we were on the bus, or on the subway, or in the restaurant? I guess the rain just really didn’t approve of our hairstyles today? Good thing we have our rain jackets on, and we pull up our hoods.
We get onto the bus and then the rain intensifies. We have a 15 minute ride to where we are going, and we hope it lets up soon. It doesn’t. My uncle has his trusty rain jacket on as well, and together, we walk from the bus stop to their new condo. Part of the route has a little bit of a reprieve in the form of a mall we have to walk through.
My aunt and uncle live in an area called Fornebu. If you visited Oslo before 1998, you may recognize the name, as our main airport used to be here. In fact, when my mom and I first moved up to her place, we could see the planes take off and land from her balcony! The airport has been north of Oslo at Gardermoen since 1998, so now we just see them overhead. It’s been 28 years, and there’s still so many new areas being developed at Fornebu. The largest concert arena is out here now, no longer downtown or in a soccer stadium.
The girls get right into playing, as my uncle puts the finishing touches on the lunch he is preparing for us. There are four grandchildren that frequent this place, and so the toys are never far behind. When I would come over to play with my two cousins, apparently we played a lot of Lego. Today, I think it’s Duplo the girls find. Téa makes an airport and Maylin creates a boat full of animals, not knowing what Noah’s Ark even is.
The last time we came out here, in August of 2023, they lived in a different condo. They just moved this January, and I see why they did. Their floor to ceiling windows (read: balcony doors at each window, with a tall glass fence directly outside) wrap around their entire living space, and their views are magnificent! I could truly just sit and admire their view for hours, especially now that the rain has stopped and the sun is fully out.
My uncle loves creating delicious food, and today it’s no different. On the table there are two amazing salads, one with heirloom tomatoes and nectarines and basil, the other has all sorts of melons with parma ham and shaved frozen feta! Smart! In addition, there’s a cheese platter with a mountain of strawberries, and neverending slices of fresh crusty bread from a local baker.
A visit here is always a good time. We sit and eat and talk and drink and eat some more, and then there’s coffee (tea) and sorbet. The girls lasted about 7 minutes at the table, and have been playing since then. It takes several mentions of the word “sorbet” to get them to pay attention, and to come back to the table for the two minutes it takes them to eat their sweet treat.
I got a photo album from Lise when I was in Arendal two weeks ago, and so I bring it out to see if maybe my uncle can shed some light as to who’s who inside. We sit and look at pictures for a long while, talking about events and people and family connections from long before my time. I cherish these times, and hope to have more of them soon.
Then, it’s time to make our way home. We are in luck with the bus, and get to the bus stop just in time. We take the bus only as far as the closest subway station, and then the subway from there. The last hilly bit before we get home is always a bus. Two buses and a subway later, we are home, just about an hour door to door.
We get back up to my mom’s by 6.30pm, perfect timing for a snack, a movie for the girls, and some more job/apartment hunting for Joe and I. The countdown is now ticking by faster than we like, and we are all feeling it. No amount of treats, ice cream and movies can make us feel any better at this point. Each night we have optimistic conversations about what awaits in Vancouver, and hopefully that is enough for little girls to not have sad dreams as well.