I moved to Oslo last week. It’s a temporary move, six months. Unlike when I lived in Copenhagen, I am going to be a tourist here as well as living here.
Which means, try to get in a museum or something fun or cultural (or both) every week.
My first week was a trip to Vigelandsparken. And a trip to my local library.
and see new places, being a member of Google’s trekker team looks like a pretty sweet deal. Granted, you either have to do it in a car or with a gigantic camera strapped to your back – but new places!
Now Google Street View has mapped Venice.
This summer we stopped by Friedrichstadt, Northern Germany. The town was basically selected because we needed a hotel to stay at (and the spa hotel was fantastic) but surprisingly the town itself was also super charming, with channels around the historic town centre, and roses up along the house walls.
Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide by Doug Mack
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a fun little read. How does the Europe on 5 dollars a day travel guide from way back translate to traveling in Europe today?
Some of us (the author of the book included) have become so accustomed to looking things up on Tripadvisor, blogs, Wikipedia, etc. when we travel – but one of my best finds in Rome came through an old guidebook. (Ice cream. Never underestimate the power of ice cream in Rome in July.)
It is interesting to hear the contrasts between then and now, and how the writer works in the letters from when his mother traveled using the original version of the guide book.
Some of the tips from back then works, and some are miserable failures.
And I can definitely recognize myself in the ennui at the end – sometimes the things you *must* see become too much and it is simply more fun to experience everyday life in the place you are than the tourist side. And other times, it is more fun to be the ultimate tourist.
Last summer, when I was in Paris with my sister, we took the train to Versailles. Although the sheer magnitude of the palace, such as the mirrors and chandeliers in the picture below, is undeniable, there were something else that also caught my attention. 
Like my 90 year old grandmother, I’m a chocoholic. There is an Angelina there, and we basically went fairly crazy with the sweets there. But we also had the hot chocolate.
And it felt like drinking liquid chocolate bars.
When I later discovered that there were bottles of Angelina chocolate for sale in a grocery store in Paris, I picked one up.
It’s taken me until today to actually crack it open at home, for various reasons.
It tasted good, but I suspect part of the allure of it before was drinking it in Versailles, and sharing with my sister.
Conference living part of this week. Must admit I don’t get the appeal of dry biscuits in the breaks, though they do improve when dunked in tea.
But the content of the conference is good, and the lunch includes nommy food.
Nice.
As a foreigner, without a good dataplan abroad, I’m very thankful for the multitude of free wi-fi spots everywhere in London. Well, save for McDonald’s. Couldn’t get that working. But everytime I walk past a Waterstone or a Starbucks… I’m up and running.
Although yesterday, I had two hours in a Starbucks with just writing. I can’t remember the last time I did that. Very nice.
There’s inevitably one clock I forget to change to daylight savings time. This is bad in spring.
Like when I get down to the car, and suddenly realize that I’m up and off to work an hour before I usually am.
On the positive side – I also forgot to change my wrist watch, and I won’t have to, since I’m heading to the UK.
Very basic thing to do in Paris – stop at one of the stalls along Champs Elysees, and get a crepe with nutella, or lemon and sugar.
And then gobble it up as you sit on a bench and watch the traffic pass by .
The Nutella might drip if you’re not careful enough…