WEEK 13 IN OSLO - ALEX

 

January 6 to January 12

Last week marked a return to normalcy after many weeks of traveling and holidays. Morgan returned to her normal work routine with the rest of her colleagues adding a social element to her daily life that she was beginning to miss. Even though a full office means that she has more frequent distractions she has started to make connections with her coworkers, even the Norwegian ones.

Morgan going for a pre-work ski where she came within 10-ft of a couple of moose eating breakfast to everyones surprise. A photo of the moose, shot from a safe distance and once everyone’s heart rate came down, is seen on the lower right.

I spent the week the same way I have come to spend most of my weeks here, trying to get outside and explore as much as possible. With the recent snowfall and the big storm this week this was best done on skis. Over the last month or so this has been my primary means of occupying myself throughout the day and I have enjoyed the opportunities to get out and explore the forest surrounding Oslo. If we were in a place with less outdoor recreational opportunities I would probably be quite bored by this point, which is one the reasons I am enjoying being in Oslo so much.

Photos of skiing adventures with and without Morgan in Nordmarka taken throughout the week.

Snowstorm in Oslo

A big snowstorm came through town on Monday and Tuesday dropping upwards of 18 inches with a good chunk of coming throughout Monday night when we were sleeping. When we woke up Tuesday we were expecting there to be some disruption to normal life here, but by and large things were pretty close to normal. Buses were still running, the high school across the street from us was open, and Morgan went in to work. We were amazed at how generally unfazed the city was by the significant snowfall. This was an unusually large storm, but needed as there have been less snow events so far this winter than compared to normal.

Leaving our apartment Tuesday morning after the snowstorm, the gusty winds made for some very deep snow drifts.

Overnight at Katnosdammen

Last weekend we went on another overnight hut trip. We left Saturday morning from Sognsvann with what felt like everyone else from Oslo. The trails were packed with people and it took a few miles for the crowds to thin out. I don’t know how they determined this, if it was hyperbolic speech, or if it just got lost in Google translation, but the Skiforeningen said that it was a record weekend. On our way we stopped at Kikutstua, an overnight lodge and cafeteria at our approximate midway point. We have no comparison to the norm, but it was definitely busy as we were queued up for over 30 minutes waiting to buy hot chocolate and waffles. 

Clockwise from upper left: Alex at the bus stop near our starting part at Sognsvann, action shot of Morgan skiing, the lake next to our hut at Katnosdammen, Morgan after climbing the final hill on our way to Katnosdammen as dusk approaches, a trail illuminated by the full moon, Morgan sporting white hair thanks to sub zero (fahrenheit) temperatures.

Our final destination was Katnosdammen, a DNT hut 18 miles from our starting part at Sognsvann. The hut sleeps 14, is outfitted with electricity, and is idyllically located next to a small dam at the edge of a lake. It lacked running water, but we collected and drank water from the nearby creek. Katnosdammen is further away from public roads or public transport than most of the other overnight huts in the area, which makes it harder to get to and therefore less popular. Including the two of us there were only 8 people at the hut, which gave everyone plenty of room to cook and relax. We had some nice conversations with a few Norwegians, in English of course, and also met a German student who was on exchange and whom we were able to bond with over our shared international experiences.

The following day we skied back to Oslo via a mostly different route and stopped by another hut for lunch, Kobberhaughytta. To our relief it wasn’t as packed as Kikutstua was the previous day and we were able to order, bump into one of Morgan’s coworkers, find a table, and sit and eat in the time it took us to order on Saturday. This part of our journey also served as a scouting mission for this upcoming weekend when we will be returning to stay overnight with a couple of friends visiting from the US. Most importantly, we picked up a pack of day-old kanelboller (cinnamon buns) for only 39 kroner, and have enjoyed snacking on them the past few days. We will be buying more day-olds this weekend.

Clockwise from upper left: A photo of the outside of Katnosdammen, an interior shot of Katnosdammen’s living room, a view of the lake from Katnosdammen’s kitchen window, Morgan standing outside Kobberhaughytta on our way back home.