Christmas!

Arriving back in Bangkok our friend Griffin offered us his place for a few days, as he was away for the weekend. When you’re on a budget, free accommodation is the best accommodation. Griffin’s place was in a nice location near the railways and shops, and the best part, it had a pool and workout facilities! What an nice way to relax before Christmas!

Having a place to stay and relax for a few days, we decided to travel to Norway for Christmas with Zac’s parents. We found a great deal with Norwegian Air, and booked a business class flight for Norway! We then spent the weekend relaxing by the pool and enjoyed NOT being on a bus!

Griffin returned for our last day in Bangkok, and we spent the day enjoying his company. We booked an Airbnb near the airport for our last night in Thailand, so that we could get to the Business Class Lounge bright and early! Great decision! After being 3 hours early, I practically had to drag Zac away from shrimp and pork shumai, steamed buns, free-pour top shelf alcohol, and massage chairs to get him to go to our gate!

Finally on our way to Oslo, Norway!! The flight was great as expected. I can comfortably say that Zac is addicted to Business Class now! We arrived safe & sound in Trollhättan, Sweden where Zac’s parents, Frank and Karen scooped us from the airport. Frank had a week of work to wrap-up in the area, so we got to tour around and catch up with Karen for a bit. Every day we’d go on a walk around town or surrounding areas, including one day where we went to the locks and dams that power the local hydro plant.

While there we even had the opportunity to meet and see some friends of Franks. One in particular was a kind man named Per and his family who live on a farm where Frank had helped work on. It was in a beautiful wooded area in a place called Hallby, Vargön. We visited Per and his wife for fika, which is basically coffee and snacks or pastries. It was a really fun afternoon, even if their GIANT cat decided it wanted to be my friend. (I’m allergic) :-/ Frank and Zac also tried to go for a bike ride

On the weekend before heading back to Norway, we were invited to a Glögg party. Glögg is one of my favorite traditions around Christmas back home. It is basically a hot spiced (or mulled) wine that you can add raisins or slivered almonds to, and it’s delicious! In Sweden, the even sell premixed Glögg in bottles!

Making our way to Uddevalla, we enjoyed a lovely night of Glögg, fika, gingerbread, and even a fine choice of whiskies! On the drive home afterwards, we stopped at one of the locks in Trollhättan to see a tanker waiting to pass through.

The next day was spent baking Kransekake, a traditional Norwegian holiday dessert! We brought one to share with Emelie (a co-worker & friend of Franks’s) and her family and the other did not last long. 😉

Finally, Frank’s work was wrapped up and we made our way to Fornebu, Norway. Fornebu is a developing residential/technology area about 5 miles / 8kms outside of Oslo. Zac’s Dad used to work here, so we had somewhere to stay as well. It’s a very pretty area to walk around and explore. Lots of paths, trails and swimming areas.

On Christmas Eve, we attended a 1PM service at Oslo Domkirke, or Oslo Cathedral. It was a lovely service, even though we didn’t understand any of it as it was in Norwegian. We were able to figure out Silent Night and one other traditional Christmas hymn. After watching Elf (a great Christmas movie) and drinking wine, we called it a night.

Christmas day was spent taking a long, beautiful walk around Fornebu. Zac and Frank were of course sporting their Santa hats. 🙂 Christmas dinner was delicious, as all of Karen’s meals are!

For one of our last hurrahs before New Years Eve, we went on a long day-after drive. First stop, the town where Santa was BORN (apparently)! Drøbak is a lovely Norwegian town along the Oslofjord. It’s claim to fame is that Santa was born there.

Walking around the day after Christmas, most everything was quiet. The good news? — The Lutefisk Museum was still open! 😀 Lutefisk by name, literally means lye fish. The Museum was quite small but, to be fair, it brags to be the only one in the world! It had a lot of the signs and information in Norwegian, but a lot of the comics and other miscellaneous items were still understandable, or even in English!

Leaving the Museum, we walked along the harbor where mermaids were bathing and enjoyed the view. We tried to make a phone call to Santa, but sadly, it was his one day off. Even his all year Christmas house was closed for the day.

Almost resigning ourselves that we wouldn’t even be able to get a coffee, we lucked out and a small sjokolaademakeriet /Chocolate Cafe opened right at noon. We had some delicious samples and coffees or hot chocolates. The hilarious woman behind the counter was very lovely. Happily caffeinated, we continued our touristic drive around Oslofjord.

Norway is an expensive place to visit, but it’s also a beautiful place to explore. Zac also wanted to add this bit for his Brother-in-Law (my brother) John. This car is called the “Buddy” Electric Vehicle. It seats 3, and can park at a right angle in a parallel parking place. Awesome!

Originally published at www.zacandsarah.com on August 7, 2016.