06/01-02: Rosenborg BK and the Drive Home

Our morning plan was basically to go and see the church and then see the town for a little more. The karma connection I mentioned came when I realized that I left my card at the bar. Unfortunately they didn't open for a while so we were forced to wait. On our way to the cathedral I saw this which reminded me of Sandeep:


As Richie and I found out when we went to the San Diego Zoo and as was confirmed by this sign:


pandas, particularly of the Gene Simmons variety, love the taste of human blood.

Aside from this, the beginning of the day was relatively low key but in the evening we went to a Rosenborg Ballklub match. The team is actually incredibly successful for a Scandinavian team, having gone pretty far in the Champions League last year and having had a few other successful years.

Here's Katja and I, biggest RBK fans ever! I even have a scarf



Here's the appropriate quote from "stuff white people like"
Many white people will tell you that they are very into soccer. But be careful, it’s a trap.

If you then attempt to engage them about your favorite soccer team or talk about famous moments in soccer history, you are likely to be met with blank stares. This is because white people don’t actually enjoy watching soccer, they just like telling their friends that they are into it.

In fact, the main reason white people like soccer is so they can buy a new scarf. As you may or may not know, many soccer teams issue special scarves, and white people cannot get enough of them!

Most white people choose a favorite soccer team based on either a study abroad experience or a particularly long vacation to Europe or South America. When they return, they like to tell their friends about how great “football” is and that they are committed to ‘getting more into’ now that they have returned home.

At any rate, I am truly committed to getting into soccer when I go back to the States ... the Seattle Sounders FC are my favorite team to never suit up for a game!

But the match was good, although quite controversial. It was 0-0 tie for much of the match (I know, you're surprised) until a Rosenborg player tripped in the box on his own feet. Nonetheless he got the call and scored on the PK. Later in the 2nd half a lucky bounce turned into a breakaway as Rosenborg looked in prime position to score. The goalie came out and basially tackled the guy, getting red carded in the process.

However, the unworthy adversaries were out of subs so one of the players on the field had to play goalie and take the PK. What was amazing is that this secondary goalie made the block with RBK only scoring on the rebound. Katja I think was enamored with Mr. #10 (I think that was his number ... who knows), and I'm sure they'll meet again and live happily ever after.

Here's a shot of the 20,000 stadium, although I guess estimates had it at only 15,000.


After the evening was over we headed back (I got my card eventually) and we had dinner at Mari's. The night then ended with watching Fight Club as we one by one passed out.

06/02
The next morning we basically had a quick breakfast, exchanged pleasantries with Mari and the four of us drove bound for Oslo's airport. We took the scenic route which was definitely beautiful. The mountains still don't quite rival what we've got in our backyard in Seattle, but definitely gorgeous.










We then stopped at an old wooden church called Ringebu Stave Church near Lillehammer (site of the 1994 Olympics).


It is my goal before I leave Sweden to steal one of these signs:




We ultimately arrive in Oslo with plenty of time, saying goodbye to Hilde. I waited in the airport with Darcy and Katja. Katja was headed back to Helsinki to resume her work with Finnair (I asked her if she had been back to Japan this summer, and apparently she has 3 times, plus Hong Kong and I'm sure other crazy places). Darcy and I both hit a flight back to Copenhagen followed by a train trip to Lund before calling it a night.

Thus ended our Norwegian adventure.