Sunday with the King

We knew something was up about town on Sunday.  First of all, the Festning (fort) was flying its huge Norwegian flag.  Second, around 10am, they fired off their cannons.  Third, the high bridge was lined with Norwegian flags.  We figured it must be a national holiday of some sort.  Turns out, we bumped into the reason for all the celebration later that morning.

We usually attend the 11 o'clock service at Nidaros Cathedral, and this Sunday was no different.  Since we have little ones, we don't like to arrive too early, so we were strolling up to the cathedral about five minutes to 11.  The bells of the church were ringing joyfully nonstop.  I was a bit behind the family because I was video taping part of our walk and the lovely sound of the bells.  There was a crowd gathered in front of the church and a large array of police.  Dave and the kids stood among the crowd and watched as King Harald got out of his car and entered the church.  I wish I could say I got his entrance on vidoetape, but I was too busy filming the family.

Once the police pulled back, we started to enter the church.  But at the door, the accolytes told us the church was full.  Turns out at that service, the Norwegian church was installing its first archbishop since the reformation (a woman!)  So the king was there to take part in the ceremony.  The church can seat 1800 people.  1000 people at the services were invited, so that left only 800 seats for the common people.  I guess we needed to get there a bit earlier to get our usual pew.  No room at the inn.

The service was shown on tv in the cathedral's welcome center.

All the action was in there

Riding on the glow of nearly touching royalty, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day to eat lunch in the revolving restaurant atop Tyholt tower.  It was a lovely walk, mostly uphill, to the tower.

Sam spied this truck as we were leaving church.  It belongs to the Royal Norwegian Air Force Band.  Sam got a big kick out of the band members pictured on the wing of the plane.  This is his "surprised" look.

It was a gorgeous day.  The weather forecast had predicted rain, but it was clear and warm - a wonderful surprise.

We brought some extra friends along with us.

Climbing up the hill to the tower.

As we were climbing, we could turn around and see breathtaking views of the fjord and the fort.  You can see the extra large flag flying at the fort.

Tyholt tower.  It's full of telecommunications equipment, but it also gives a magnificent 360 degree view of the city.  The restaurant is in the glass covered portion.

Katie and Isaac enjoying the view.

The kids spotted their school and Munkholmen (the island we previously visited).

One of our Lego tag-a-longs helps secure a balloon.

Pizza buffet - Katie outdid us all and ate 6 pieces!

Sam shared some pizza with his friends.

Another round of pizza!

We walked by this cute playhouse on the way home.  It had a mini forest growing on its roof.

Enjoying the flowers

Full and headed home

Dave stayed at this house last year when he visited for the month of June.

Katie found three snails on the walk home.  She set up a lovely living place for them.

She brought them to school on Monday morning to show her class.

Perfect Saturday

Saturday started out foggy and it didn't burn off until after lunch.  That gave plenty of time for Lego building before we hit the hiking trails.

One of Sam's custom-made Clone Trooper weapons

And the ship the little guy rides in

We spent the afternoon hiking in Bymarka.  We took the number 10 bus up to Skistua, which is at the base of the downhill ski area in the forest.  It was an interesting bus ride.  The bus was 15 minutes late, and the bus driver seemed to get lost on the drive up the mountain.

Dave and his miniplaid-me

Grace loves riding the bus.  She giggles and smiles the entire ride.  Sam and Katie scored the seats up in front, right behind the driver.  Already, they have no need or desire to sit near Dave or me. 

The crew in the forest.  Katie brought her survival guide, and made sure she kept it open to the page on what to do if you encounter a mountain lion on the trail.  I forgot to tell her that there are no mountain lions in Europe.  

At the base of one of the ski lifts

The trail was well-traveled 

Our tree climber (Katie) couldn't resist 

Isaac is a proud rock climber 

Grace was a cranky hiker, so she and I headed back before the rest of the crew.  Dave, Sam, Katie, and Isaac went further on.

Sam insisted on making his exhausted face. 

Isaac is a dependable hiker.  He keeps up, doesn't wander far, and clearly enjoys being out and about.

Heading back to the start 

No mountain lions sighted yet

Having a snack at the Skistua cabin after the hike 

Ah, waffles!

Mountaintop smile 

Post-hike chocolate smile

Undeniably Gracie smile 

Back to reality once we got home.  One of Sam's chores is to take out the recycling.  We have three different bins outside the house - paper, plastic, and general trash.  One bin is picked up each week, alternating between the different bins.  We don't even take the bins to the curb - the recycling truck folks do it for us.

Breaking down the paper boxes

Dave's graduate student, Denise is visiting for the week.  We indoctrinated her by taking her for grøt on Friday.  She was a good sport.

Dave shows Denise the proper grøt technique.

The foggy weather made for a nice walk along the Nidelva to pick up Isaac.

The fall colors are really showing.

At Isaac's barnehage in the pillow room 

Isaac, Amelie, and Hedvig Ingebjørg go for a boat ride.

A favorite Viking statue we pass each day 

Katie had her friend Lily over for a playdate after school.  At one point, they had been upstairs for a while and very quiet.  When I called up to ask what they were up to, Katie said, "Oh, we're just putting on stylish things."

This week in school, Katie's class has been working on self portraits as part of their unit of inquiry on faces.  They explored faces in the style of Picasso and Andy Warhol, then created their own self portraits.

1st grade self portraits inspired by Andy Warhol 

Katie's self portrait

 Katie takes her artwork very seriously - on Friday night, while the rest of us were reading before bed, she was downstairs doing another self portrait, this one as a gift for her class' student teacher.