OSLO IN THE SUMMERTIME!

I'm back in the ol' Ayy Bee Dizzle. For some reason, I still can't view anyone else's posts (except for Nabiha's title about prisons), but I can still post myself so here we go!

So, last time I had checked in, we had just finished the grand opening of the MBC (Marine Biodiscovery Centre). Although that was great fun and included many interesting talks, the week was a bit unproductive in terms of chemical isolation. But NEVER FEAR, this week has been different! But FIRST, OSLO! I have a friend from Chicago in Brussels right now, and the plan was to meet her in Oslo! I went there. It was very cool.

BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER, GO TO THIS LINK, PLAY, AND THEN CONTINUE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Resc4sOBLHY

How does on get to Oslo? Well, it's actually a bit difficult. At about 2:30 last Friday, I got on a bus to the Edinburgh airport! After three transfers and about 5 hours of beautiful Scottish scenery I had arrived. I got out of the bus, stretched my legs, got my passport checked, and next think you know I'm sitting on my first RyanAir flight ever. Flying RyanAir is a bit of an interesting experience. Sleep is essentially impossible since flight attendants never stop running up and down the aisle trying to sell you something. But I enjoyed the view from the plane (the Norwegian Coast is quite nice).

Finally I land in Norway (note, I did NOT say Oslo). Once I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac, I smelled the crisp Norwegian air and realized, I am nowhere near Oslo. That. Was. Scary. I had no idea how to get to Oslo. Oslo is 90 km from where I landed. I quickly ran to the nearest information desk and asked, "what is the cheapest way to get to Oslo!??!" They calmly replied that there was a bus waiting outside the airport and it goes directly to Oslo... THANK GOODNESS! Only thing is, OSLO IS SO F*$&* expensive. So, unaware of the exchange rate, I casually bought the ticket and hopped on (minus 50 USD). After an hour and a half, I arrive in Oslo!

I get off the bus and am once again thrown into a flurry of panic and confusion. Apparently some free concert had just been let out, so as I got off the bus I walked into a train/bus station bustling with activity. Norwegians and their punk/skater demeanor were EVERYWHERE! At this point, it was about 1AM and i soon found out my hostel was about 9km from the point I was standing. WHAT THE EFF! I quickly get a map from the bus station, find a route I can take, and scamper to the bus stop. When I get there, I see a Norwegian chick, ask her if I am going in the right direction (I am) and I get on the bus. While enjoying the ride to my new temporary home, I meet an Estonian girl named Maire and an Englishman named Matt (more about them later). They are also going to the hostel I am staying at so FINALLY I arrive (1:30AM), check in, get into my bed and calmly await for my Brussels-friend's arrival the next day. All seemed well...

UNTIL I GET A CALL AT 7:30 IN THE MORNING! I groggily answer: "Helloooo." It's my Brussels-friend Melanie: "Austin, I am SO SORRY. I overslept and missed my flight to Oslo" Me (still groggy): "NooooOOOoOOoOOOooOO." Melanie: "I checked other flights and...CLICK!" Phone goes off. OF COURSE, I have run out of money on my phone. I sit up in defeat, look around the room and realize I am alone in Oslo for the weekend...

I go to breakfast and see Maire and Matt. I tell them my sob story and THANKFULLY they invite me to tour with them! HOORAY! Next thing you know, we leave the hostel and head towards the city.

Oslo was very interesting. Not as big as I imagined but very beautiful, very European. I liked it. Despite a bit of rain, we toured the famous Vigeland Sculpture Park (BODIES EVERYWHERE):


Then we saw the Opera House:

Then the Nobel Peace Prize Center:

And FINALLY (after about ten hours of walking) we had dinner and the Maire and Matt went to their new hostel, and I went back to mine. When I finally got back, I decided to watch some futbol. While watching I started a conversation with two French Canadian girls about Glee. Eventually my lone-state became apparent and they invited me to spend Sunday with them! That was AmAzInG! After some conversation, I went to bed and looked forward to Sunday.

On Sunday, we toured the castle in Oslo and saw some dead kings' tombs!:


Then we had lunch. Lunch was interesting. One of the Canadians spotted a park near the city center so after buying some vegan food (being vegan in Norway is basically impossible, but I managed), we headed towards the park. However, after setting foot on the grass, we noticed something was up. I looked to my left, and saw some interesting looking people smoking some interesting looking substances. Then I looked to my left and saw not one, but two people shooting some unknown brown liquid into their veins via a sketchy looking syringe. Then I saw some white powder, mirrors, and rolled up Norwegians Kroner and decided we should choose another place to eat. We walked away, but we were close enough to see all of the drug deals and craziness happening:

After lunch, we had just a few hours to spare before my flight left so we bought some beer (10 USD a pop) and enjoyed the sunlight in the city square:

After the trip, I realized that even though I was left alone in Oslo for the weekend, I was still capable of meeting new people and enjoying my trip. I owe a lot of that to my first days in Aberdeen, and it was awesome to realize that I have the ability to approach some random strangers, spend the day with them, and learn a lot about their culture and them mine (EVERYONE LOVES talking about veganism).

So, despite my initial fears, I had a great time in Oslo. This week I started a fungal extraction in lab (VERY COOL) and this weekend I am going to Manchester to visit Ogy! Should be great!