Former Times

Guten Morgen! It's 7:00 am here in Oslo and I write this from a hotel room which is startlingly similar to my own studio apartment back in Mpls. 

We arrived here around 1pm on Friday in need of a shower and a brief nap. After that, we met up with mom's distant cousin Ingrid, whom she had just recently established contact with. Ingrid was an amazing host! She prepared an incredible meal (chicken with onion, fennel, rosemary, tomatoes and feta) and poured an excellent bottle of Chablis. She wouldn't let us leave until we had eached consumed two large pieces of ice cream cake, six cups of coffee, sundry glasses of juice and all sorts of krumkaka, a delicious pastry we usually eat around the holidays. Her knowledge of Norwegian history (which she referred to as "former times") and Amundson geneology was impressive. Her great grandfather was the only member of his family to stay behind when the rest emigrated to the states. So, with Ingrid's help, Mom was able to fill in some holes in her family history. We have plans to meet her again on Sunday at a restaurant she used to work at North of the city. 

Today, we'll explore some of the areas near our hotel. I spotted a book shop called LiteraturHusset just a few blocks away. I think we'll start there.