Sunday, August 22, 2010

Trondheim at First Glance

So now I've spent over a full week getting to know Trondheim, where I'll be for the next 10 months. Nate was a big help getting the hang of things and get settled into life here. It was really tough to see him go back to the States on the 16th!

Before he left we were able to get in a couple good hikes in Byrmarka, one of the two 'city forests,' with miles and miles of hiking trails and gorgeous scenery... similar to Minnesota's northwoods. Lots of lakes, trails, and cabins along the way. And, to make it better, all of the hiking trails turn into ski trails in the winter!


As for the city, it is filled with hills and high prices. My dorm is situated on a BIG hill, about an hours walk from the downtown area where I'll be working -- or a half hour's walk from the main campus where I'll be taking classes. Biking down is another option, but it gaurentees that I will be hiking up part way pushing the bike! If nothing else, I'll be in GREAT shape by the end of the year!


This past week has been filled with Orientation activities at NTNU, the university where I'll be studying. A good chance to meet some people (there are over 800+ new international students this year!), learn about the city and university, and go on a few hiking trips around Trondheim... imagine going on a group hike with HUNDREDS of people...
The orientation program wrapped up yesterday, which means that tomorrow (Aug. 23) is the first day of the semester. I'm planning on taking one, maybe two classes, but most of my time will be devoted to research.
More to come later! Cheers!



















The first two weeks... European Ventures!

Welcome!

I'll try to keep a (semi) regular blog to keep you all posted on my latest adventures in Norway.
I've been here just about three weeks now and have been keeping pretty busy so far! This is the first day with some time to sit... be warned that it might not last long because the hiking trails are beckoning!

So, what's been happening...

After the first few days of attempting to get settled in, Nate and I took off for a few days in Oslo for a Fulbright Orientation program with other U.S. Fulbrighters in Norway. We took advantage of the Oslo Pass which gave us the free reign of public transport in the city and free admission to museums. A couple highlights from the trip were a ferry trip in the Oslo Fjord to Museum Island where we saw the Fram Museum (ship pictured in picture below). Another trip highlight was a visit to the new Holmenkollen ski museum and ski jump, including a trip to the top of the jump! Too bad we didn't have our ski jumping skis with us...





From Oslo, Nate and I flew to Prague for a few days in the Old Country to visit our roots. We spent lots of time wandering the streets, visiting the Prague Castle, going to various museums, eating lots of good food and good Pilsner beer!



We also took a day trip to Plzen, about an hour by train from Prague, to visit the Pilsner Brewery. The tour was great and fresh Pilsner at the end was fantastic!





From Prague, we took the train to Berlin and spent two FULL days taking in the sites. Highlights included the Checkpoint Charlie museum, the DDR museum, a river cruise, the Brandenburg Gate, and lots of currywurst and visits to the Eiscafe!