Nidaros and dinner with the Skaus.

Today was Saturday and we headed off early for a trip to the Nidaros Cathedral and museum. The cathedral dates from 1030 and is built over the grave of Saint Olav. We spent some time just looking sculptures of the saints, apostles, and other important figures that covered the front of the cathedral (St. Olav is in the center of the close up picture) . We took a walk inside the cathedral (no photography allowed) including the crypt which was in the basement. They had several tombstones that dated back to medieval times, however most tombstones of the period had been broken up and were used to for other buildings (so we learned). After the cathedral we went over to the museum where we first saw Norway's crown jewels which date back to the early 1800's. Gwyneth purchased a small frog with a crown with her "allowance" that we have given her. She is getting 100 kroners per week (about $15) to spend as she sees fit. At the gift shop they had a machine where you can put your coins that you are using to pay with. The woman behind the desk told Gwyneth she could put "it" in and before I knew it the frog was in the coin machine. Luckily with the use of 2 pencils we were able to retrieve it despite the fact that the machine was churning and trying to suck the frog down as payment. I was just happy that we didn't break the machine. So she got the frog back and inserted the coins instead.

After the crown jewels we headed to another part of the museum which contained original items from the cathedral that were too valuable to have out in the open. The most interesting thing was a coin mint that was unearthed in 1991 on the site. The mint dated to 1500 and had the original tile floor. The did not excavating of the site and left it as they found it and just built the museum over the top. They were keeping the ground moist to preserve the site as it was. By this time we were ready for a little snack and had a picnic in the courtyard. Well actually Nic and I tag-teamed between the picnic and the museum since Ethan was hungry and not cooperating very much.

After lunch we walked around the cathedral waiting for the 1:30PM organ recital. We were enjoying the gargoyles and such that were adorning the outside. The cathedral has two organs - one built in 1739 by Joachim Wagner. We heard a short recital (15 minutes) on the other built by Steinmeyer. We were a little worried about how Ethan might behave but he did sit quietly throughout the 3 songs. Now I said quietly, but I did not say that he sat still. The first two songs were mellow and even so Ethan started feeling the beat and shaking to the music a bit. The third song almost sounded like something you would hear at a carnival and then Ethan really broke loose. He was "air conducting" his orchestra, he was wiggling in his seat, he was curling his tongue and sticking his finger down the middle. It was all I could do not to laugh, all the while I could hear Nic giggling to my right and see Gwyneth giggling on the other side. I didn't dare to look at the people who sitting across the way from us. Of course Ethan was enjoying every minute of it!

After the concert we headed for home to get ready for our 4PM dinner date with Christian and Siri Skau. We also had to hit the grocery store as they are closed on Sundays. Chris picked us up on time and brought us back to his house. Upon arrival Ethan was asleep and took about a 2 hour nap. Gwyneth quickly jumped into the kitchen and learned how to make Norwegian waffles from scratch as well as how to make lefsa into a tasty treat. In one form lefsa comes as a dry cracker and you put it under running water and then let it rest. Once it is soft you spread it with melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon and then you say yum!

We were treated to a dinner of pizza followed by some waffles, lefsa, and ice cream! Oh and we had some beer and wine too. You could say it was a high carb dinner. After dinner (Ethan woke up in time for a slice of pizza) the kids watched The Wizard of Oz (in English) for the first time ever. They both enjoyed it - Christian was amazed that they could sit for that long, especially Ethan. Nic and I talked with Christian & Siri about the car trip that we are going to take next week while Christian is in Oslo. Christian is very keen on sending us south to some fjords and to Sandane where Nic's relatives come from. We got the name of Nic's great great grandfather from a geneology site (Anders A. Odven - the "O" has a slash through it) and before we knew it Christian was on the phone calling someone named Odven. It turns out the person was not in Sandane, but has a brother still there and gave Christian another number to try. He also recalled some Americans visiting a few years back and so that very well could have been Jonathan & Marina as they had been to Sandane before. Christian didn't have luck on the phone, but he promised he as going to keep trying this week and somehow I think that we might be meeting some long distant relatives in the near future.

After some running around on the outside by the kids and Nic it was time to go. Here is everyone (except me) in the front of the Skau's house. Oh, I forgot to mention that they have there own sauna in the basement! And right behind their house are some hiking trails that are also cross country ski trails in the winter. The trails even have lights. So they like to go for a ski a night and them come in for a sauna. Now that sounds nice! By 9:30PM we were one our way - close to when this picture was taken and you can see how light it is outside still. Christian dropped us back at our apartment and here we are. The kids played a little on the computer and I played Bejeweled a handful of times but enough to increase my score (134000!) so I can happily go to bed now. Good night!