Oslo, Norway

Day 14:

Syttende Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day, Nasjonaldagen! However you choose to say it, Norwegians go hard. We were woken up by a marching band making their way into the courtyard to put up the flag and play. After a breakfast of champions, we made our way to town down streets lined with flags. The main event for the day is a children's parade they have been doing since 1870. This year, over 60,000 were in the parade, representing different schools in the area! After standing in a crowd for a while, it was time to explore.

We made our way to the opera house, which is pretty incredible. The roof is at an angle to the ground so people can walk all the way up to the top and get an amazing view of the harbor and the city. We relaxed with the view, then made our way to Sukkerbiten (the sugar cube) for a concert celebrating Norway and her diversity. After a few artists and some American guy with a weird little guitar, we headed back into the mayhem of town.

Tired, sunburned, and in jeans, we thought a brewery would be an appropriate place to have dinner. We walked in to realize that it was, in fact, a fancy Italian restaurant in a building previously occupied by a big brewery... we rolled with it. We had cured meats worthy of a letter home and raviolis made with a combination of Norwegian and Italian words we didn't understand.

It was a good day.Read more