ICEX 2010 - Norway: Norway Day One

Well we finally made it! (For the most part that is) After volcanic delays, school finals, 4 flights and many long hours the ICEX team has made it to Trondheim, Norway. Unfortunately due to some very minor ticketing discrepancies one of our team members, Frank, was not able to board the plane with us in San Luis Obispo Monday morning. It wasn't the same travelling without him, however we understand that the issues have been finally resolved, and Frank is en route to us now. So barring another Icelandic volcano eruption we hope to be welcoming Frank to this beautiful city and country later this afternoon.

Despite only being here for less than 24 hours we have already been able to see a great deal of Norway. Below I will briefly detail some of the sites we have seen so far.

Oslo

Wow! What a treat it was to stop by Oslo, Norway's capital city, prior to our flight to Trondheim. We had a multi-hour layover and decided to take the express train that runs from the airport to downtown Oslo. The city was very alive and beautiful. We were able to take a nice walk around downtown that brought us by many major landmarks within Norway including the Royal Palace and the Stortinget (parliament building). Unfortunately we had to leave Oslo sooner than I think most of would have liked (witnessed by Chris' extreme excitement of the art in the picture below), but there is work to be done. So we hopped back on the train and zipped back through the absolutely gorgeous countryside to the airport for our connection to Trondheim.

Below are some additional pictures of sites around Oslo.

This is a view from the front of the Royal Palace in Oslo. The statue you see in the front is a bronze sculpture of the former King Karl Johan.

This is a view from the side of the Norwegian Parliament building in the middle of Oslo.

Needless to say...Chris really enjoyed downtown Oslo.

The Nobel Peace Center

Alex posing with an interesting statue.

Trondheim

After a short 45 minute flight to the North we arrived in the city of Trondheim. On the approach into the airport we flew over a vast range of snow covered land that really reminds you that you aren't in California anymore. From the airport our very brave and talented advisor, Jane, did an excellent job driving our manual rental van to the hostel we are staying at. Singsaker Sommerhotell, the hostel, is actually the largest inhabited wooden building in all of Northern Europe, with 104 rooms and 16 bathrooms. It was fun to come in an hear the Spain-Switzerland World Cup match blaring from upstairs with periodic cheers. I'm sure we will all do our fair share of World Cup watching while we are here. Go USA! Anyways after we got unpacked we went for a walk around the city. Almost immediately we were presented with the view you see above of the Nidaros Cathedral tower. It is an awesome sight.

This is the view overlooking the river Nidelva that runs through Trondheim. The picture was taken from the Old Town Bridge. The style of building seen seems to be a prevalent architectural style throughout the city. After some more strolling about and a coffee fix at a local kaffebar, we met up for dinner with some of the faculty and students we are working with from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The restaurant we ate at, Baklandet Skydsstations, was very quaint and comfortable. The food, which came recommended by Kasper, was delicious. I think we all actually ordered the same thing, so more to come on the variety of Norwegian cuisine we experience.

After dinner we took another walk around town with the group to see the cathedral. Note the sky in this picture...more specifically the color of the sky. I took this picture at 9:30 PM!! Yep thats right...Trondheim has 24/7 daylight this time of year. It is kind of eerie yet very cool at the same time. I would compare the night time sky to that of California around 7-8 AM in the morning. The Nidaros Cathedral itself was beautiful. The romanesque and Gothic architectural style was very detailed and intricate. The front of the building, which is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world, is covered with individually unique statues. Of whom these statues are we are not sure, but regardless they are quite impressive. After a very long and productive day we all made our way back to the hostel to get some rest to start work tomorrow.

Below are some additional pictures of sites around Trondheim.