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Journey Southward

After a couple days bumbling around in a fog courtesy of jet lag and a long travel schedule, we’re all starting to feel a bit normal. We started our day with a killer hotel breakfast at the Radisson Blu in Trondheim. More options than one could possibly imagine at a free breakfast buffet and all of high quality. I quite enjoyed the crepes and the petit pain au chocolat. While my boys enjoyed the eggs, fresh fruit and croissants. Post breakfast we hit the grocery store and made a quick Starbucks run where we met a nice barista from Brazil, who ended up in Trondheim after meeting a boy in California.

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The weather was cooler this morning, but drier so it felt warmer out than the thermometer suggested. We headed south through some light rain for a bit before we hit some sunny weather. We took a different route back to Oslo that had incredible vistas of mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and valleys. The beauty of the drive is impossible to describe adequately with words, so I’ll add some photos.

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The downfall of driving so far is that the kids get stir crazy and start to fight over things like who has more leg room proportionately and who should have more leg room based on their size. Needless to say the Mayor and Goalielocks were without their phones for much of the drive.

 

We stopped in Lillehammer to have a picnic lunch at Olympic Park, which looks almost abandoned although we did see a team come in for training. It was a nice break in the drive and the boys enjoyed the opportunity to see the ski jumps and the torch. We hit the road again for the final leg of our journey to Oslo, which included our first experience with an undersea tunnel and AirBNB. It took us awhile to find the key pick up place and navigate the city, but we made it and our apartment is fantastic. We’re looking forward to our stay in Oslo.

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Exploring Trondheim

We spent our morning exploring Trondheim with my parents, my grandma, my brother and his family, my cousin and her family and my aunt and uncle. Trondheim is a great walking town, so we haven’t needed the car once since we got here. The weather is quite a bit colder than Florida, a refreshing and rainy 55 degrees.

One of the coolest sites in Trondheim is Nidarosdomen, Nidaros Cathedral, which is the northernmost cathedral in Europe. The cathedral was built on the burial site of St. Olav and work started in 1070 as a tribute to the King and was completed in 1300. The church’s denomination (as with the rest of Europe) was originally Roman Catholic Church, but post reformation it’s denomination is the Church of Norway.  It is truly a saintly place.

We stayed for the organ meditation where many of us fell asleep courtesy of a long travel day and some jet lag. The kids were only hushed once, which was a complete miracle. My boys lit a candle to honor Debbie. Each of the kids lit a candle to say a prayer, threw coins into the wishing well, and left a note of gratitude with a stone on an alter. Only two of them burnt themselves on the candles, another small miracle.

 

After the brief nap, or the 1:00 pm organ meditation, we made our way down to the crypt. Its much different from the catacombs of Rome or Notre Dame in Paris. In Norway, the burial practices were much different. In medieval times, they did not embalm people and they reused graves. This means the headstone would change when they would bury someone else in the grave. These headstones, some of which were for knights and other dignitaries, were what was kept in the crypt.

In the Nidaros Complex there are several museums including the crown jewels, the Archbishops palace where you can see the actual excavation sites, and a military museum. We were able to go into all of them on our combined ticket. The boys favorite was the military museum while mine was the Archbishop’s Palace and the military museum.

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Post cathedral, we took a nice nap. For those that know me that will come as quite a shock as I am not a napper. Tomorrow I’ll grab some pictures of the free breakfast, which is absolutely incredible.

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True Grit and Determination Wins the Day

After a transatlantic flight with little to no sleep for everyone, we hopped on a train, the T to get our rental.   For the next eight hours we hit the road from Oslo to Norway.  I’m not convinced that Waze sent us the best route, but hey nothing wrong with a little adventure.  Who doesn’t like driving on two lane mountain roads on no sleep and with three boys fighting in the backseat over the lack of legroom.

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Adventures and travels don’t always come easy,  they call from tenacity and grit sometimes, but that is also what makes them worthwhile.  There was a payoff was the view for the two-lanes drive.  The scenery has been absolutely breathtaking and we’re no worse for the wear.   Time to get some grub before calling it an early night.  Sending much love from Trondheim.

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Sunset

There is nothing like witnessing a beautiful sunset Mike’s above the earth to remind you of how big, vast and beautiful our world is.  Enjoying nature’a beauty as we cross the pond.

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Adventure Beckons

Greetings from 37,000 feet!  After two years of anticipation and planning, we’re off on our Norwegian adventure.  This trip promises to be quite the caper.

 

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Savage Beast

We took a trip to the Glades this evening so I could test out my camera before our big trip.  If you’ve never been to the Everglades before, it is hard to imagine what it looks like.  It doesn’t look like a swamp.  It’s a peaceful, beautiful, slow moving river teaming with wildlife.

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The most savage beast of the glades is the American Alligator.  Fishing here comes with the added challenge of having to reel in the fish before the gators can steal it.  The big gators will often sit below the fishing dock waiting for someone to reel one in and then they’ll pounce.  Tonight we saw several large alligators in the water, which was great.   Additionally, we also saw several baby gators hanging close to shore in the weeds hiding from the larger gators and other predators.

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The Mayor had a lot of luck fishing for blue gill and tilapia with worms.  Goalielocks was fishing for bass, but the bass were not biting.  He had a near miss with a gator and gar.  Gars are a pain in the butt to catch as they’ve got very sharp teeth (and a lot of them) and they’re hard to get off the line.   The gnats were out in full force, so we only stayed out for about an hour and I got plenty of practice with the new camera.

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Our Night With Sir Paul McCartney

Last night’s Paul McCartney concert was one of the most incredible, amazing, wonderful experiences I have had to date and honestly those superlatives don’t describe the night adequately.  A living legend, whose talents are as timeless as he is, put on a show many half his age couldn’t muster.  I grew up listening to the Beatles, their subsequent solo projects and the music they inspired (like jangle rock), so his music has been a significant part of the soundtrack of my life.  When I danced with my father at my wedding, it was to the Beatles’ In My Life.  (Yes, I realize it is a John song.)

He recounted many amazing moments he witnessed throughout his career.  Including how Jimi Hendrix played Sgt. Pepper’s at his concerts a mere two days after it was released. While that in itself is impressive, the best part of the story was how after using the banger bar Jimi’s guitar was out of tune and he started calling out for Eric.  That Eric was Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix was trying to call him up on stage to tune his guitar.

For my son, this was the chance to see an icon and one of his musical heroes.  He could guess the song based on the guitar they handed Paul.  He was thrilled when Paul opened the show with a Hard Day’s Night and even noticed when he ended You Won’t See Me with the song’s opening chord. Paul played songs from across his career including the earliest song recorded by the Beatles, which Jacob knew right away as In Spite of Danger a Quarryman song.

More videos and stories to follow tomorrow.

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Baby I’m Amazed

In honor of our 16th wedding anniversary yesterday, this song is for you Luke.  I’m amazed by you each and every day.

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Fan Girl Friday

Happy Friday!  Another successful work week is in the books.  This morning, I am feeling like a fan girl.  Tonight I am heading to the Paul McCartney concert with my oldest.  An absolute legendary song writer, whose prowess with the quill of a pen, is second to none.  To see one of the Beatles live is an absolute dream.  I cannot wait to share our experience with everyone!

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Winds of Change

One of my favorite songs growing up was the Scorpions Winds of Change, this power ballad by a rock band best known for heavy rock anthems became the soundtrack for the end of the Cold War and the reunification of East and West Germany.  The song is inextricably linked to that seismic shift in our world, but I think of it often when a major change is coming down the pike.  After all, the only constant in life is constant change.

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Change is tough, even when it is a change for the better. In order to be effective at change management, you need to embrace that change is inevitable and change is good.    One of the things that is toughest about change is that you cannot control it.  You can, however, control your reaction to change.  I love the Thomas Monson quote of controlling the wind.   You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.

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Ultimately, if the winds change course and you refuse to adjust your sails, you will be blown off your course.  If, however, you adjust your sails to the changes in winds, you can maintain your course.  Be flexible in your path and understand that change and obstacles are a part of the journey.  Focus on your end game, set sail, adjust your sails when needed and you will find success.