weekend getaway - Oslo

My christmas present to Husband this year was a hotel-dinner-show package in Oslo. We don't have to go to Paris or London to get away from it all, I reasoned, we can just go to Oslo and it's much cheaper.

So on Saturday morning we boarded the 11:17 train to Oslo. Though only an hour and a half away, I could feel the stress and tension slide away as the train traveled through the snowy landscape. In Oslo we wandered from the Central Train station along the main shopping street. I needed a new pairs of winter boots, as the zipper on my old ones finally busted. It being January, winter shoes were on sale at 50% off in most stores, so I had no trouble finding some nice boots. Behind the parliament building we found Halvorsen's Cafe, an Oslo establishment, 130 years old, and renowned for their delicious cakes and sandwiches. This is also where Irene was apprenticed until New Years. We had coffee and cake and then found our hotel, right behind the Grand Hotel of Obama peace prize fame and checked in. The room was small but cozy. After resting and showering we wandered back out onto the evening streets, looking for the little Thai restaurant where I had planned to eat Dinner. The Thai Orchid was a true "hole in the wall" with very little atmosphere (plastic table cloths, flourescent lights) but I had read excellent reviews on the cuisine which is why I had chosen the place. It did not disappoint. The food was delicious and and perfectly cooked.

After Dinner we went to the Oslo National Theater where we saw an impressive performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. The setting was modern. Jesus' disciples were transvestites, street people, hookers, the and freedom fighters with machine guns. These provided associations to the Palestine/Israel conflict, along with posters saying "tear down the walls"  during the entry into Jerusalem demonstration. Judas was excellently played, both the interpretation and the acting was outstanding. When you compared it with the interpretation of Mary Magdalene you saw that Judas tragedy was that he was not changed as a person through his contact with Jesus, whereas Mary was transformed. Jesus was played by a rock singer who presented a very distasteful Jesus (I believe that was intentional), his best acting was during the suffering of Jesus. Perhaps because he is not an actor and this part is where he could draw on his own experiences as a heroin addict, and survivor of drug induced psychosis, and 2 overdoses, one intentional. I find it interesting that the work on Jesus Christ Superstar coincided with his process of finally becoming completely drug-free.
 

We went to bed early and slept late (for us - which means until 7:40). Had a sumptuous breakfast in the hotel: whole grain bread, lots of fish, lean sandwich meats, cheeses, fruit, vegetables, yogurt with muesli, nuts and dried fruits, eggs and bacon, the works...

Back through a quiet sunday morning city. We visited the new opera building, where walked up to the roof from which you can look out over Oslo harbor and the inner city as well as the hills beyond though these were shrouded in mist today. It makes you feel on top of the world. We took the 11:37 train back to Stange where the girls and Irene's friend Desiree have been holding down the fort during our absence.

It was a great weekend, but now that I have written this I have to buckle down and get back to work, preparing for my nursing practice.