Jump and freestyle

Did you know that Norway's national sport is skiing? Skiing was invented by the Norwegians - the first prehistoric traces of skiing are found in Norway, and they're damned proud of it.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump is a professional-only jump - so apologies to you if you as a tourist wanted to come skiing here like we did! In the spring to autumn it's a bare slope with a 36-degree inclination at its steepest point with lots of rope and netting, probably to catch the snow when it falls. Although there's no skiing going on from spring to autumn, the sheer size of the jump is enough to impress you.

Imagine professional skiiers going down this at crazy speeds ;)

There's a museum of skiing located in the main building of the ski jump, which is pretty cool. I never knew that skiing had such a long history and that there's so many steps and factors to take note of when building a set of skis; the amount of effort put into making a good pair is impressive.





Norwegians ski so much - apparently one baby even had skis on at 9 months old! Learning to ski before he could walk, it seems Norwegians are born with skis on :p

After the ski museum you can visit the top platform of Holmenkollen ski jump, where a diagonal lift takes you to a gorgeous 360-degree view and you can see the whole of Oslo - waters, buildings and all.

I love how you can see the whole city!

I think it's great that a country both has a sport as cool as this and that they're proud of it. I have to admit - I never quite understood the whole national sport thing, like cricket for India Sri Lanka and Pakistan; football or rugby for Britain; American football in the USA. I never got it because Singapore doesn't have a national sport, although lots of guys still love football and would rather be asleep at work than miss the FIFA world cup final.

The presentation podium for ski competitors.

I'm really not a sporting person except for perhaps tennis and figure-skating. I'm rubbish with stamina and I've got awful muscle coordination. But somehow there's something about sport which seems to draw magic into the air for spectators, isn't there?

Maybe it's the common sharing of highs and lows, the empathy - the athlete's emotions projected onto the crowd, the way in which everyone seems to feel the same way and be joined in the effort of cheering a fellow human being on for being able to perform feats we never ourselves would.



It was freezing at the top - so, so cold, with the wind blowing in your face and messing your hair up and making you feel like at any moment you could be blown off balance. But the scenery was beautiful, Oslo was all around and the sunlight was bright, so it was worth it.



You know what, next time I think about going skiing I'll probably head to a slope a bit less steep than this.

Opening hours:
June - August: 9 AM - 8 PM
May and September: 10 AM - 5 PM
October - April: 10 AM - 4 PM

Admission for the Jump tower and the Ski Museum (joint ticket): adult 110 NOK, children 55 NOK, family 260 NOK

How to get here:
In order get to Holmenkollen you can take Metro 1 towards Frognerseteren. Stop: Holmenkollen. Follow the signs to the Ski Museum and Ski Jump. This is a ca. 10 minute walk from the station.

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In Norway without a Kronor

You know that Visa advert that says that it's alright to be in any country without their currency as long as you have a Visa card? Adverts lie.

I've developed the bad habit of forgetting to change currencies before I fly, because these days I'm running on such a tight schedule with travel-school-travel-school that I just carry pounds with me and hope to be able to change currencies when I get there, only to find that the conversion rates are exorbitant or that you need to change about £200 worth of money before you can bypass a €4 minimum charge rate or things like that...

So really. Just prepare your travel money before you get there or you might find yourself in the awkward position of having to pay for your airport transfer without actually having any local currency. (Thank goodness Visa was right about being able to pay for stuff where my airport transfer was concerned - the bus had a card machine.)

When I got to Norway I met my friends Anabella, Samantha and Reuben who are all from Singapore and in Oslo on student exchange. Here is a nice picture of Samantha taking a photograph.

It's kinda crazy because Sam and I were primary school classmates when we were both seven years old. SEVEN! That means we've both known each other for two-thirds of our lives now. How crazy is that?

And here are Anabella and Reuben on the T-Bane, which is the Oslo metro train service.



The Oslo Opera House is a beautiful clean structure on the edge of the Oslofjord, in central Oslo and a gorgeous modern white building that stands out in such contrast to its architectural neighbours.



Rivalling the Sydney Opera House, even?

There's usually a guided tour that you can take backstage into the Oslo Opera House, but I couldn't really fit it into my schedule so I had to skip it sadly :(

The Oslo Opera House has a spectacular view out into the harbour.



When you walk onto the roof of the Opera House (yes you can walk on it! And it's really fun to, too) you're greeted by an amazing view of what seems like all of Oslo. Houses and buildings on rolling hills - and the beautiful clear blue sky made everything seem so magical.

Spectacular views of Oslo!

It was October when I went to Oslo; I was lucky, because on my first full day there it was nice and cheery and sunny and blue skies. And it was windy on top of the Opera House, because it's a large open space next to a large body of water, so I was keeping my scarf wrapped tightly around my neck.

And then suddenly, before I knew it I was being pelleted by little bits of white fluff.



That's right - it was October in Oslo, and it was snowing. Completely mindblowing!

I love, love, love snow - because we don't get any of it in Singapore, ever. The thing I'm enjoying the most about being here in Europe now is that we have seasons, because when it's year-round summer it does tend to get a bit boring. So I love snow, I love the white blanket it lays on the ground, and I love how different it makes the world look.

Basically, I went batshit crazy and happy once it started snowing. I started screaming and jumping and yelling all over the place and giggling like a five-year old. Bella Reuben and Sam pretended they weren't associated with me at all :p

The face of happiness.

Norway is expensive; it's the 18th most expensive place in the world to live in although I have to admit that the standards of living in Norway are amazing and justify the exorbitant prices and taxes on everything. A McDonald's Big Mac Meal costs around 800 NOK, roughly £8 or SGD16. SGD16 for a Big Mac meal?!?!?!!?

I do believe it's possible to find cheap or free things to do while on holiday in Oslo though. Eat in instead of eating out, to save a lot of money; lots of museums have low prices or are free on entry, like many others in Europe.

Norway has beautiful wild scenery - slightly over 5 million people live in a country 385,000km² large. Compare that to Singapore's 5.3 million in 710 km² of land. There's so much natural beauty in Norway, right alongside developed cities like Oslo, you could live and work in the urban area and take the afternoon to go hike on a hill.

And then of course there's always the happiness that comes with sudden and unexpected snow showers.

So you know, even if you've forgotten to change currencies and find yourself with pounds instead of kronor in Norway, I can safely say that there's every possibility that there's free stuff that you're really going to enjoy anyway :)

What's your favourite season?

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I MADE IT!

Hi everyone! This is just a quick update to let you know that I have finally completed the Race to Amsterdam, and I survived.

56 hours, countless car journeys, two police cars, a bus and crossing country borders on foot later, I am alive with no significant harm and finally out of dangerous situations.

The story of the hitch (which is the story of a lifetime by the way) will be up soon, but right now let me just say I am so glad to be safe and sound. :)

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Norwegian Wood

Note: This is a scheduled post - this is published, I'll probably be somewhere in France or Belgium, slowly making my way up to Amsterdam! WISH ME LUCK! Also, please remember to donate ;)

Norway is beautiful. It's the land of aurora, fjords, and Santa Claus (although any country in the arctic circle will dispute that last point). Unlike most of Europe, Norway does not belong to the European Union - it has consistently voted against joining the EU.

One of the Beatles' most famous songs is Norwegian Wood, which has now lent its name to a famous Japanese book by Haruki Murakami and film of the same name. I couldn't help but think of Norwegian Wood while walking through these Norwegian forests - song, book, and movie.



Flying overhead and nearing Sandefjord airport, the first thing I noticed about Norway was how beautiful the colours in the leaves were. In the thick of autumn, the leaves were every colour of fire imaginable - blazing reds, burning golds, in all stages - crisp, fresh-fallen, stamped to a pulp by shoes treading on them on the pavement.





One thing which I absolutely loved about Norway was how beautifully the sunlight lit up the place. Since we're now moving into winter, the sun never rises high in the sky any more - the whole place is swathed in a perpetual glow of golden morning or late afternoon sun.

Plus, there actually was sun, something which we certainly aren't getting too much of in the UK!

Beautiful scenery at Vigeland Sculpture Park.

Some of Oslo's first snow of the season, still collected on the woodland grass.

And yes - it snows in October in Norway. Freezing cold country!

Frozen puddles at Frognerseteren.

Most of the trees here are coniferous, growing straight up with perfect trunks and a conical silhouette. To me they just look like forests full of Christmas pine and fir!


Have you been to Norway? What do you love most about it?

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You guys are amazing!

WE ARE PAST THE £200 MARK!!!!!!

I can't believe this! The hitchhike to Amsterdam is tomorrow (where on earth did all the time go?!) and already we've managed to raise £202 for the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Breakthrough Breast Cancer!

Words cannot express how grateful I am to all of you for helping Jasmine and I get to this point. There's still some time to go before the hitchhike tomorrow, so please please donate!! (Clicky here!) To be honest we were both unsure whether or not we'd be able to raise anything at all for these charities, but thanks to you guys we're more than halfway there, meeting our target goal of £350.

The link to donating will stay open for six months after the event date, so if you would like to, you've got until April 2013 to donate - and donate again, if you would so like!

Yesterday my team met up to discuss potential routes and strategies both for raising funds and for getting to Amsterdam. We're a little freaked out now - now that we know that this is really happening, we're just in a mild state of shock. Hitchhiking from Edinburgh to Amsterdam is probably the last thing we expected to have happen to us while we were here on exchange!

This goes without saying, but also of course don't forget to stay tuned and watch this space, because I will be blogging about it after the race is over. If you want to, also keep an eye out for my Twitter, because (3G and phone battery life permitting) I will be live tweeting my race and hitchhike! The race kicks off 9AM at Bristo Square on 9 November, this Friday.

Thank you everyone for giving so generously to help the cheetahs and to fight breast cancer. It's all thanks to you that we've come this far already, and we have so much more of a way to go before we hit our target of £350! It doesn't matter if you give £2, or £5, or £10 or £30 (Keren my dear thank you so much for being our top sponsor!!!) anything that you give comes from the heart and will go a long way towards helping these causes.

So once again, don't forget to donate - and remember to spread the word about the hitchhike to all your friends. See you in Amsterdam!

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Samhain Festival

Just a reminder: in two days I will be hitchhiking to Amsterdam to raise funds for the Edinburgh Student Charity Appeal and associated charities! If you haven't already, you can donate to me via Virgin Money-giving here. I am so eternally grateful to you for helping me help these charities!

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Most people know that October 31 is Halloween, but it's less commonly known that October 31 is also the Mexican Day of the Dead, the neo-Pagan Samhain, the Catholic All Hallow's Eve, and lots of other festivals. There's a common theme running through these festivals: they've got lots to do with dead people.

It's a traditional belief in many places that the time around October 31 is the time when the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest. During these times communication with the dead is easiest, so it can be a good time for divination or seances. You guys already know what my thoughts are about ghosts - and Edinburgh is supposedly the most haunted city in all of Europe, so hey!

Here in Edinburgh, the Samhain festival is an annual event that celebrates the modern continuation of an ancient Pagan tradition: Samhain (also spelt Samhuinn), a harvest festival that marks the end of summer and the coming of the cold winter months.

I know it looks a lot like him, but I promise you that's not Darth Maul holding the flaming torch.

Costumed performers in every colour of face paint and technicolour costumes.



In the picture above, this woman is cleansing or clearing the space with branches for the people to walk on - in the neo-Pagan tradition, this removes negative energy from the space and readies it for magickal work.



As you can see, the crowds turned up by the thousands to see the parade! Everyone was out in their Halloween costumes, so vampires and werewolves and Mary Poppins and hell-devils were out in throngs to see the Samhain parade.

It was so squished though - I could barely move, everyone was trying to get to the front to get a good look! To be honest, most of my pictures of the evening were of the top of people's heads than anything else... So these are the good ones which I'm putting out for you guys to see ha ha ha!

Friendly performers posing for photos afterwards!

What do you think? Does Edinburgh live up to its reputation as a festival city?

Samhain 2012 was organised by the Beltane Fire Society, which aims to sustain Celtic traditions and integrate them with the art of street performance; apart from the Samhain festival, it also organises the Beltane festival which is held on Calton Hill in May every year. To get involved with the Beltane Fire Society, email volunteers@beltane.org at any time.

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Little comforts of home

Just a reminder: on November 9 (four days!!!) I will be hitchhiking to Amsterdam to raise funds for the Edinburgh Student Charity Appeal and associated charities! If you haven't already, you can donate to me via Virgin Money-giving here. I am so eternally grateful to you for helping me help these charities!

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A few days ago I got a package in the mail!! I love getting stuff in the mail, it makes your heart sing and it's so fun to rip something open.

I don't know if you've ever seen this super-cheesy advert for Milo - the strange thing, though, is how true it is. Milo is such a huge thing if you've grown up in Singapore or the South-east Asian region. It's comfort food, like macaroni and cheese. Only better.

 

If you don't believe how much we nuts love Milo, just look at this - the epic Milo party that my flatmates and I had when I was living in NUS.



Milo everything - Milo packets, Milo cereal, Milo tins, Milo sachets... If anyone from Nestle is reading this, do you want to sponsor me for some Milo please?! I think this picture proves our obsession.

Also, first girl from the right is Katie, who was an exchange student for that semester - and when she flew home to the USA, she brought 2KG of Milo powder with her because you can't find it in Florida or Texas. (Milo conversion: success!)

So anyway, back to my mail package. I'm pretty sure you guys've figured out what was in it by now.



So, Celeste and Phyllis, thank you so much for the Milo!!!! When you're 11,000 miles away from home and a tiny can of Milo costs £3 at the Asian food store, getting Milo in the mail is like getting a giant hug from home. There's nothing like this chocolate malt drink - hot chocolate really doesn't compare.

If you haven't tasted Milo, I insist that you do. Cold Milo (made super thick, not the thin watered-down crap) is like drinking heaven in a cup.

And if anyone from Nestle is reading this do you want to sponsor me for Milo at all?! Ha ha ha!

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