Norwegian Saga

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything substantial. So I’m going to try and make this post interesting. However, it won’t be so much about Norway as it will be about Italy.

Anne and I were in Milano from the 15-18 of November. I have a good friend who’s studying there for a semester and I’ve been periodically checking prices on plane tickets. When I found a round trip for two to Milan and back for $50 with RyanAir I couldn’t say no. Nevermind the fact that checking a piece of luggage cost $60.

Photos here.

Upon landing I immediately felt like I was back in Canada. If it weren’t for the Italian writing everywhere I’d have trouble thinking I was outside of North America. It was flat (a big change from Norway), the roads were wide, cars drove fast and didn’t watch for pedestrians, and it was congested. Not the quaint cozy, snuggle type of congested you find in Norway. I’m talking about the lots of people, lots of cars, and lots of buildings everywhere congested. Which was alright and somewhat welcoming to me as Norway sometimes makes me feel like I’m on a different planet with a tiny population.

The hotel room was nice, breakfast was included in the price which was 60 euro/night. The only problem was that the hotel was in a slightly questionable neighbourhood. Anne even went so far as to say she’d feel uncomfortable walking there alone at night. But, she wasn’t alone, and we didn’t really walk around much in the night.

The first evening we arrived late and only had time to eat. Michael took us to an eatery nearby where we had pizza. It was nothing like the stuff in Canada (or in Norway). Picture pita bread with fresh toppings. They have alcohol available almost everywhere so we also ordered wine. It was a bust though, tasted horrible. Though I didn’t speak out about it, none of us did, because our knowledge of wine is rather limited.

On the 16th the first thing we visited was the Duomo. Wiki says “Duomo is a generic Italian term for a cathedral church.” A cathedral of course is the seat of a bishop or archbishop in the catholic church. The cathedral in Milan is stunning. I cannot begin to imagine how people in 1386 could have conceived such a thing. Wiki says that the cathedral was completed in 1969. My little book about Milan says the finishing touches were added under Napoleon in 1813. Whenever it was finished there is no doubt it was a massive undertaking. Apparently it is the third largest cathedral in the world (however they arrived at that). It has more than 3500 statues on the exterior and is supported by 52 incredibly large columns inside. To add to that it has a statue of flayed St.Bartholomew by Marco d’Agrate. The statue shows him wearing his skin like a cloak of some sort, quite hideous. I was unable to get any photos of the inside because there were no cameras allowed. But that just means that you’ll have to go and see it.

To add to the structure’s awe-inspiring exterior, it’s possible to climb a the 50 or so metres to get on the roof. Now, I’m not exactly a fan of heights and the thought of climbing about on a roof that weights hundreds or thousands of tons (it’s all marble) supported by 500 year old construction made me incredibly nervous. However, I did have faith in both God and the engineers which is why I went. Though I didn’t get to the very top. Anne went went up there without me. The stairs were too close to the edge of the building.

After the duomo we went for a short walk through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It’s basically a covered avenue with some nice high end shops. Built c.1875.

Then my friend Michael took us for a walk through the town fortress. Milano was a powerhouse in its day and needed a fortress. The building still stands in fantastic shape and is open to the public. There is a museum which we didn’t get to visit on account of the lateness of the hour. Once again, I was very impressed with the scale and imagination of the builders. As a student of history I’m well aware there is a up-and-coming view over the last 20 years or so that humans in the past were much more similar to us than we commonly think. Every time I’m confronted with the evidence however, I’m still amazed. They could build massive structures! What a concept, they had the brains for it.

The day after on the 17th we went to the Pinacoteca di Brera. It’s an art gallery. It houses two famous pieces, The Kiss and Lamentation over the Dead Christ. The entire experience was amazing. Once again I was confronted with direct evidence of the willpower and determination (as well as skill and ability) of those that came before me.

We then visited the Leonardo DaVinci science and technology museum. It was a former cloister or monastery (I’m not sure what the difference is). It was shot up by Napoleon’s troops but restored. A very serene place. And of course it had models of DaVinci’s works.

We took a short visit to a very old church the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio. Apparently it was built sometime in c.379. Of course it has since been added and restored but I think some of the very old constructions were still visible. Of course I couldn’t tell for sure but it did look very old in some places.

Leaving Milan to bus back to the airport we left through the Stazione Centrale di Milano. The long time construction of the building meant that Benito Mussolini even had a say in what went into it despite it’s start year of 1906. So it is peppered with all kinds of fascist imagery and symbols.

Other than the Milan vacation I’ve been sitting at home reading and writing. I’ve got my Northern Crusades essay due on the 18th of December and my Marriage in the Sagas essay to complete for the middle of January. Everything is quite good for me and I’m enjoying the onset of winter here. The sun sets at about 4:30pm and it makes everything really cozy and sleepy. I love it.

Of course I wouldn’t forget the photos of the Milan trip (in case you missed them at the top). I hope you enjoy them.

Today’s weather is perfect.

It’s the kind that if hidden from the sun the night’s frost remains throughout the day. One’s breath forms lingering clouds that dissipate before one can imagine a shape in them. It is not quite cold enough that one needs gloves however. One doesn’t feel burdened by the extra clothes and fumbling for keys is not a problem. As cars pass they leave the smell of diesel exhaust that only this kind of weather can cause; the smell that is oddly reminiscent of days past when engines were about helping man work, worries of efficiency and the environment non-existent. The sun is brilliant only because it is so low but it shines with a comforting yellow not the painful white of summer that hurts the eyes. The air is fresh! One feels as though one can breathe twice as deeply for the air doesn’t stop in one’s throat or mouth for being too soggy and hot or icy and biting. The weather is more perfect because we know it won’t last, winter is just around the corner. Every morning has the expectation of snow and one waits with bated breath. To take the gloves or not? One treasures every second spent outside as it will change from this perfection. Then we’ll have to wait an entire year until we have it again.

Yes, today’s weather is perfect.

The latest news is that the I received my residence permit and that’s a relief for me. I had started to have visions of getting dragged out of my abode by Norwegian police officers.

Another bit of news is that I’ve got my bank account. I have a student bank account (no fees) for five years. I guess every student gets a five year account even if they’re not doing a five year program. When they asked me when my program ended I told them June of 2010 which didn’t seem to affect the term of the account. This is unlike in Canada where yearly I had to humble myself and reaffirm to TD that I was indeed a student for that year.

I’ve taken to hiking around the city a bit. It’s incredibly relaxing. On my hikes I’ve learned that I don’t really mind being lost in a city just as long as it’s got public transport. Two of my walks, each of about 2 hours, took me to two different parts of the city.

The first included a nice subway ride up to the highest station in Oslo. (The Frognerseteren station and a few below it are actually under construction so I didn’t really take the sub all the way, halfway up we had to switch to buses.) From there I hiked a bit farther up the hill to the highest point on which sits a lovely (read ugly) radio antenna. There was a wonderful little lake there and in the middle of the forest a ski jump, which to me seems really out of place nevertheless this is Norway and people actually do that here.

The second walk was simply through the city from one subway station to another, Ulleval to Sinsen.

Yesterday was my first payment for food from my bank card. The process is much more streamlined here in Norway. You don’t have to wait for the cashier to do anything you can just swipe the card at any time during the transaction, even when they’re still scanning your items through, it’s weird.

Two more pics from Frognerseteren. One looking inland and one out to the fjord, and yes those are all sailboats, there was a regatta going on.