Whew...we made it to Oslo. After a couple of jet-lagged days, things are great so far. Seems like there is a lot to do in this city, it's very pretty, it's on the sea, and people seem friendly and helpful so far. Plus, it isn't cold yet!
Now for some catching up.
The past few weeks were all over the place - Portland, visiting OK & TX, and journeying to Oslo. So, without further adieu, here we go...
Leaving P-town: was very sad. We had a rockin' viking-themed going away party, where we chilled at rontoms for hours, visited the food carts at 12th & Hawthorne (thank you Whiffie's fried pies, the fry cart, and the little merry-go-round that Ken, Sam, and Josh took a ride on), and ended the night with a visit to the Jolly Roger next to the food carts. We always joked about visiting the JR since it's next to a restaurant we like and the food carts we frequent only on the wildest of nights out. Divey, yes. But they played video requests all night, and I can't think of anything better than breaking it down to Motownphilly after a few rounds of rontoms' Aviation gimlets, Krogstad Aquavit (we tasted this as part of the Norwegian theme - very anise-y, doesn't go down very smoothly...), a fried pie, and fries.
Pics from the glorious evening...
All vikinged-up with Sam. Sam is awesome. And he's in an awesome band called No Kind of Rider, with four other awesome guys. You should check them out here. You're welcome, Sam. All three people that read this blog are going to be breaking down your door.
Josh and Laura getting into the spirit. Laura's braids were perfect for the helmet. We really aren't sure what we're going to do without our Josh and Laura fix every few days. Probably cry. A lot.
T$, Jake, and Holli - some of our first friends in Portland!
With two of my favorite ladies, Laura and Kate.
The merry-go-round in the food cart pod on Hawthorne. Genius.
End of the night Motownphilly madness at the Jolly Roger.
Besides feasting and having fun with friends, our last days in P-town were spent cleaning out our apartment and organizing everything for the movers (six bodyguard-size movers in a 600 sq ft apartment - hilarious!), and soaking in all the last moments for a couple of years...bittersweet for sure.
Visit to the Middle (aka OK & TX): to say goodbye to family and friends, and for Jamie and Doug's wedding, which was beautiful. My high school reunion ended up being the same weekend we were in town, so that was a nice coincidence. Good times in the homeland!
Loved getting to see all the girls at Jame's wedding.
Congrats to Doug and Jamie! What a lovely couple.
10-year (yikes!) high school reunion with Denise and Matt. It was fun to catch up with everyone. Holy cow I look semi-tan. That won't last long here!
Family pics in the park by the talented Becki Goodhue.
The Journey to Oslo: was long. And we're still recovering. It's only been three days, but we've done quite a bit of exploring and just snagged an awesome apartment today. Our stuff doesn't arrive from Portland for another month, so we're staying in the temporary housing until then. Oslo is a beautiful city, and I think we're going to love it. We're learning the ropes, thanks to Ken's very nice HR person at work, my funny/cool Norwegian friend Ingvar who I met in grad school in Oregon, and the nice apartment finders who helped us get our place. We just have to laugh at ourselves when we don't know the difference between laundry detergent and fabric softener, or if the package of meat we see is beef. Pics of the Oslo adventures are coming next week! Promise.
