Nordic Freeze: First Taste of Winter Wonderland

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel who alone does wondrous deeds.” - Psalm 72:18

When traveling abroad and you’re not part of a tour group or have a personal tour guide with a van like we had in our Japan trip, it’s strategic to book a hotel at the city center. This is one of the most important lessons I learned in our Nordic trip: MAKE SURE OUR HOTEL IS CONVENIENTLY LOCATED.

For the Oslo leg of our journey, my elder son and I were billeted at the Anker Hotel. It was walking distance to the Oslo Central Station and there were  tram and bus stops right beside it. Eating places and convenience stores lined the street it was on. Very convenient especially upon arrival and departure with our luggage.

Waking up in our hotel with a view of the ice floating on Akerselva River further reinforced the awareness we were not in Manila anymore. (As if trudging through streets cloaked by evening’s dusky mantle at 4:00 in the afternoon was not enough to convince me the day before.)  Today is our first outing in winter wonderland.

 

Akerselva River

Stepping out of the hotel, we took time to marvel at the icy panorama that is Akerselva. The river flows through Oslo starting at Maridalsvannet, Oslo’s largest lake and into the Oslo Fjord. An 8-km. walk along its course goes through parks and small forests. My post trip research showed that there are historical buildings, fishing and swimming spots, waterfalls, culture and art hubs, and a foodie paradise to make the trek worthwhile. Although we saw people trudging along the riverbank, a winter walk would have been too much for tropical me. I uttered a small prayer that I may be able to visit my younger son again during summer so I can explore its banks.

Akerselva Riverbank Walk

First on our itinerary is the Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) in Bygdøy, Oslo.  

Norsk Folkemuseum The Countryside

It presents life in Norway from the 1500s and displays an extensive collection of artifacts from all social groups and regions of Norway.

Norsk Folkemuseum staff dressed as a farm girl

What made us truly feel the Norwegian way of life is the large open-air museum with 160 buildings relocated from towns and rural districts from around the country.

 

Historic storehouse with  ornate hand-carved wooden loft

We trudged in the snow through a Nordic countryside with farmhouses,

 

had a scare sliding over an icy patch as we searched for the Stave Church,

“roped the reindeer” outside a goahti or gamme (hut) in the Sámi Site (the Sámi are an indigenous Finno-Ugric people of the north),

 

viewed the permanent exhibits showing folk art, folk dress, church art, toys and Sámi culture in the Parliament Hall,

 

Norsk Folkemuseum Torget & Parliament Hall

and ate lunch by a cozy fireplace at Café Arkadia, the museum cafe.

Cafe Arkadia

Snow, snow and more snow waited for us after lunch at the Akershus Slott, a medieval fortress and castle overlooking the Oslo fjord.

 

It was built to protect and provide a royal residence for Oslo. At the time of our visit it was serving as the temporary office of the Prime Minister of Norway.

 

Standing guard at Akershus Slott

Blessed be the Lord, our God, for answered prayers and showing us this winter wonderland.

Nordic Freeze: Simbang Gabi in Oslo

 “Sing joyfully...the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear...Fear not...be not discouraged.” - Zephaniah 3:24-16

In 2018, I prayed God would grant my wish to go on this Nordic trip. My younger son had left to work in Norway middle of that year. I wanted our small solo parent family (my two sons and I) to still be together for the Christmas holiday.

“Be specific with your prayers”, we would always be reminded in teachings. So specific me had been badgering God at my daily mass routine with the tiniest details about all my travel concerns. I wanted a stress-free perfectly perfect holiday. But it got to the point I became anxious about nothing going wrong that I developed fears for myself and my family. It became so bad that every time one of us would go out, I had insane fears of bad things happening. My chest would constrict from the anxiety.

Then a few days before our departure, my Caring Group sister, Beng, posted a reflection in our chat group. A line from it struck me: “Lord, Your Word says You desire to prosper us and not to harm us.” It was then I realized that the fear gripping me was an oppression from the evil one. Suddenly, the anxieties just vanished. And even if there were last minute stress-inducing hitches, here we were, together as a family, listening to “Simbang gabi simula ng pasko, sa puso ng lahing Pilipino...” in a church with a snow-covered courtyard. It was indeed a reason to sing, for God was, is and always will be in our midst.

St. Olav Katolske Domkirke 

Let me backtrack a bit to how our Nordic trip began.

When I travel to other countries, it takes time to register that I’m stepping out of the airport to a foreign land. As we drive to wherever we’re staying, I have to spot the difference between the Philippines and the country I’m visiting. Only when I see the dissimilarity do I feel that I’m really in a different place. I’ve been to other Asian countries, to North America and Australia but despite being in different continents, that experience never changed. Obviously, the seasons had something to do with it. I’ve only traveled during spring, summer and fall (yes, it still took time and travelling quite a bit to see leaves turning yellow in the US and Australia).

But as we landed at the Oslo Lufthavn, it already hit me that I was in alien territory. Whizzing past the plane window were grounds covered with snow and trees glistening white – a scene I will definitely not see in the Philippines. At already past 10 in the morning, the sun was just beginning to dance around in its light-yellow gown.

First glimpse of snow from the train window

Another I’m-in-a-different-continent experience was the early dusk (just after lunch) that descended upon us as we walked to the Oslo Central Station to buy transport passes and sim cards.

Oslo Subway Station

In the early evening, after dashing through the snow (well, walking briskly through snow flurries would better describe it), we got to St. Olav Katolske Domkirke (I guess that means Catholic Church). Our arrival in Oslo was a Sunday and what better way to end our first day than with a mass. It was a heartwarming experience!

My son, who is working in Oslo, did say that in the church where he attends mass, there were many Filipinos. True enough, I heard Tagalog being spoken as we entered. And the lady beside me requested, “Ate, paki reserve naman ng upuan ko. May kakausapin lang ako.” (“Sister, please reserve my seat. I just have to talk to someone.”)

 

Kababayans in St. Olav

What I did not expect was that about 90% of the full-packed church were our kababayans (countrymen). But more incredible was that the choir burst into song at the priest’s entrance with the very festive “Simbang Gabi” (a traditional Filipino Christmas carol). So far from home, yet I was blessed to still attend our traditional simbang gabi (night mass), the 9-day novena before Christmas. It was something I thought I’d miss because of our family’s Nordic trip to spend the holidays with my younger son.

Capping our first Nordic Freeze day was dinner at the Pink Fish in the Oslo Subway Station eating…what else but…salmon salad, salmon burger and salmon bowl. We definitely were not in Manila anymore.