Norway Explorers

Goodbye to Iceland, hello to Norway! 

I expected Norway to look very similar to Iceland, but it has surprised me. It's warm! The highs have been in the low '70s, whereas in Iceland the highs were in the '50s. And there are trees trees trees as far as the eyes can see. It's hilly here, and so green.

We're living right on the Oslo fjord, with a view of the water from our windows.

Our flight got in to Oslo after midnight, and it felt like it took five hundred years to get our luggage, find the car, drive to the neighborhood, and then actually find the house. Thankfully the kids slept in the car, because it really did take almost two hours to drive here and then find the house. But we're here!

Our first day we laid low, bought groceries, and tried to get our brains on a normal schedule.

Today we ventured out and went to the Kon Tiki museum!

A gift from the country of Peru

In 1947 a Norwegian adventurer/scientist named Thor Heyerdal wanted to prove that the Polynesian people could have migrated there from South America. The scientific community laughed at his theory that they could have built balsa rafts/ships for the journey. So he built one himself and did the journey!

The actual raft itself is here in Oslo, along with another ship he built for a different voyage.

Can you imagine 101 days on open ocean in that thing? Peru to Tahiti! And Thor himself did not like water and was not a strong swimmer, ha. They had adventures with a whale shark, lost a man overboard (they got him back), etc. They built the raft using only materials that would have been available to pre-Columbian Incans, balsa wood, hand-made ropes and sail, etc.

The actual footage of the journey was filmed and made into a documentary, which won an Oscar. The book, written by Thor himself, was very widely read and is still popular.

The actual Oscar!

There were artifacts from the Easter Islands in the museum, both real and replicas. Thor first got his ideas while doing research in the Easter Islands.

Replica

Real

Thor (I just like calling him Thor, ha) also made a journey in a papyrus boat from Egypt to Barbados to test his theory that South or Central American people came from Egypt. On the first attempt the boat sank, but they tried again successfully. This boat was called the Ra II.

This was such a fun and inspiring place to go! I have not read the book nor watched the movie, but I definitely will now. A great reminder that adventure awaits. When Thor was a kid, he told a teacher he wanted to be an explorer when he grew up. The teacher laughed at him and said, "Hasn't everyone already been discovered?" He knew better, and the world loved him for it.

Unfortunately, Levi was not on board with buying all these magnets of Thor for our fridge, hahaha.

In other news, the kids have continued to be adorable.

Poor little sleepy child. She still sucks those fingers when she's falling asleep.

Levi J was chatting while we were driving today, and it made my heart pitter patter. This was about what he was saying:

"Five things I love and hate. Love, step one: I love that we go on adventures. Step two: I love that we see everything. Step three: I love our house because we can see the ocean. Step four: [I can't remember what he said here]. Step five: I love that we do everything together as a family. Now, hates. Hate, one: I hate that there are not always kids stuff when we go places. Step two: I hate that the Blue Lagoon was deep. Ummmmm, that's all!"

I was so happy to hear him saying all on his own that he loves our adventures and loves the things we see, and of course, I especially adored that he loves doing it all as a family. Someday he might not feel the same, so I'm cherishing this time with him.

Sometimes I wish the kids were older on this trip because it would be so much easier. But then I remember how excited they are to see anything we take them to. Someday we'll have older kids who can pack their own suitcases, sit in the car for hours without screeching, wipe their own bums, but then we'll be subjected to, "Not another waterfall! I don't want to go to that museum! Ug, Mom, leave me alone!" For now, they adore being with us anywhere we want to go.

I hope that some of what we see and do sticks with them, and inspires them as they get older. At very least I want them to feel that the world holds no borders for them. They can go anywhere, do anything, be anything they can dream of. Thor Heyerdal had eyes like that, and what adventures life held for him!