Oslo Opera house

I walked down to the Oslo Opera House (“Operahuset” in Norwegian). The walk to the top was slippery as heck. I should have realised it was a bad idea to walk up there when I had to walk past a sign warning not to walk up there and clamber underneath a chain blocking access. But other people were chugging their way up, so I headed up the ridiculously slippery slope to the top and got an awesome view out across the fiord.

View of the Oslo Opera House from the Opera Thon Hotel.

View from the Oslo Opera House looking out into the fiord.

Steep incline, glassy smooth ice .... not the best combination!

Avalanche

Chris Laing and I saw a huge avalanche come crashing down off the side of Mount Joffre, or at least I think that’s which mountain it was. I don’t know the area well enough to confirm which exact mountain it was, but it somewhere very near at least. We were in Pearl flat a little further down the valley at the time. Glad we weren’t directly below it that’s for sure!

The photo was taken just after it occurred as I wasn’t able to get my camera out in time before the bulk of it had plummeted to the valley floor.

Bandy

I went to check out a game of Bandy here in Oslo recently. For those of you who haven’t heard of it before, Bandy is a sport which is similar to field hockey, but played on ice. The rink is huge, as are the goals. There is much less contact than in ice hockey and a small ball is used instead of a puck. There are 11 players on the ice and only a few subs. I’d love to play, but my shoulder will need to be in much better condition before I can attempt anything like this.

Game of Bandy being played in Oslo, Norway.

Giant ice groomer gizmo. Doesn't give as nice a surface as a Zamboni, but is a bazillion times faster!

Photos from around Oslo

I went for a walk around Oslo. Here are some snaps from my trip.

A small cemetery in Oslo.

Norwegian Parliament building in Oslo.

An ice rink I skated on near the Royal Palace in Oslo.

The palace where the King of Norway lives.

River in Oslo,

An Oslo T-blane station.

The road enroute to Metronet (where I'm working)

New Years with Cassienne

Whilst enroute to a new job in Norway, I stopped off in Christchurch to spend New Years with one of my favourite people in the whole world, Cassienne. After a few months of feeling like hell, this was a great way to pep me up before heading on to a new life in Norway. We celebrated new years eve at a crazy old church with an outdoor fire and lots of fun people.

Cassienne

New Years in Christchurch