I write this as I sit on the plane approximately 2 hours out of St. John’s. My trip has come to an end, and quite frankly I am happy to be going home. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy Oslo, on the contrary, I found it to be a great place to visit and if it was not so far from home, a nice place to live. However, it is always better to travel, especially with the one you love.

For most of my first week in Oslo, I did not do much in the evening (except the before mentioned concert) other than eat and head back to my room. I had taken all of my file for my research (a complete carry on filed) and tried to get some work done on my thesis. I did in fact get a good bit of work done on one chapter which I hope to finish up this weekend so I can send it to my supervisors (possibly with this comic).

Last weekend I finally caught up with Jason Barron, a fellow Engineer (whom I have know since before high school) now working for TrollTech in Oslo. He invited me out Friday with some of the guys from work, for a bit to eat. At least I thought it was just for a bit to eat. We ate, talk, drank, and then decided to visit a few clubs. It was a great night (if the guys from TrollTech are like that at work, I would recommend working there to anyone) that just kept going. We started at about 8pm in the light. We moved on to a few clubs at 11:30pm in the dark (sun goes down around 11pm in Oslo right now). And then went to get Kabobs at with the sun coming up again (3:30am). By the time I got back to my room, it was light out and my head was messed up.

This no doubt had an effect on my sleeping, and I did not get up Saturday until 12pm (about 2:30hr behind my intended schedule). Once I finally did get up, I wandered of to the Palace grounds for the changing of the guards, then down Karl Johan Gate for some shopping. Found myself a late lunch at McDonald’s (Norwegian McNuggets are oddly similar to Canadian ), and then head to the Viegland sculpture park to see lots of naked people. By the time all that was done, I was spent and headed back to my room for some sleep. However, by the time I finally did get close to sleep, there was an announcement in the hotel that the fire alarm had been pulled, and we should wait for further instructions. So, I waited… and waited… and nothing. At 3am (about an hour had passed) I finally call the front desk to find out that it had been a false alarm. I guess they didn’t want to annoy people with a further announcement :S.

On Sunday, I decided to take it easy and limited myself the to Munch Museum. This holds the largest single collect of any one artists (in this case Edvard Munch) in the world. Unfortunately, it does not hold his two famous works, The Madonna and The Scream, as they were stolen from the build in broad daylight two years earlier. The evidence of this is obvious when you reach the medal detectors and air lock style doors as you work through the exhibit. Even without the paintings though (I knew they weren’t there before I went), the tour was quite informative and I feel I gained a better appreciation for the art.

Monday it was back to work, which was highly productive (thankfully, since it was the main purpose for the trip), but I will spear you the details. On Tuesday night, Bjorn, Yens, Knut and I went of for kind of a farewell supper. We decided on a place called The Mona Lisa, which server both Norwegian and Italian food. So, keeping with my “try new things” resolution this year, I decide to try a traditional Norwegian dish, reindeer. It may even have been Rudolf, but they don’t serve the nose, so I have no way of knowing.

Wednesday was my last full day in Norway. I took a little time in the morning to get some pictures of the harbour and then headed over to the National Museum. It was there I finally had a chance to see The Scream and The Madonna (the copies that were not currently in the hands of criminals). Then I headed to work, after which I headed to my new hotel to get some sleep for the flight home.

Before our trip last month, Lori and I spent a fair bit of time trying to determine what we wanted to do in Australia. One a whim I decide to try and find out if David Helfgott would be playing any concert there, since he lives there. Just my luck, he was not.

When I got to Oslo however, my luck changed. I was given a entertainment guide for May at the airport and to my surprise, David Helfgott was giving a recital the first Tuesday of my trip. A few questions to various people later, and I found where it was and there were tickets available (at least I thought I knew where I was going).

On the way to the concert, it started to rain and in my rush I took a wrong turn. I ended up in the area of Gamle Logan (the concert hall), but I couldn’t figure out which build was the one I wanted. So, I decided to ask a woman standing under a tree, shielding herself from the rain. “Can you help me?” I asked. She replied, “I think I can,” with a smile on her face. That’s when I realized I was talking to a prostitute. Boy, was she surprised when I asked her for directions.

I did finally find the concert and, at the risk of over using the word, it was amazing. I have to admit, I have not seen many pianists play live, but like wine, I know what I like. I like David Helfgott.

The event was more of an experience that a concert. If you don’t know the story of David Helfgott, I suggest you rent the movie Shine which will give you a Hollywood version (with an great performance by Geoffrey Rush). For now all you need really need to know is he was a childhood prodigy who’s career was almost end by his battle with Schizoaffective Disorder. This affects his communications and relations with the people around him.

After being introduced, David ran out on to the stage giving the crowd two thumbs up, with a look of pure joy on his face. He then shook the hand of everyone in the front row, bouncing from person to person, before sitting at the piano. There he played works by Beethoven, Listz and Grieg, all while talking singing and muttering to himself (a side effect of his disorder).

For two pieces, he was joined by Maria Goldberg, a young soprano, who performed works by Puccini. During her performance I saw something quite unique. After missing a note early in the first piece, she collapsed to the ground in embarrassment. David quickly stopped playing, though he was not embarrassed or mad. He simply went over to comfort her and rally the crowd around her, returning to the piano only when she was ready. After this she performed quite well (I would say flawlessly to my ears). When she finished her pieces, David continued by himself, playing three encores, finishing with Flight of the Bumblebee which was astounding, and will be one of my fondest memories of my trip.

After a brief, and busy three weeks back on the rock, my employer has sent me to Norway. After an overnight flight Saturday night, in the early afternoon (Norway time) feeling like crap. I really have to learn how to sleep on planes. After getting somewhat straightened away and a chat with Lori over Google Talk (btw… both it and Skype rock), I headed out for supper. Not feeling to adventurous, I decide to go to The Hard Rock Cafe for familiar food. The ribs were a good choice.

After a great nights sleep (albeit 2hrs too long), I was picked by Bjorn, one my Norwegian counterparts and we headed to the office. I will spear you the details of work, I’ll just say the office, people and day was good. After work Bjorn drove me up to Holmenkollen, the Ski Jump from the 1952 Winter Olympics. It is situated at one of the higher elevation (if not the highest) in Oslo, so the view is great. As for the ski jump itself, quite impressive, however there is not enough money in the world to get me to try.

I said I would post regularly, but to save time, I am working with Lori on her blog. So you can check out what’s happing with us there.