A day in the life

Up at the crack of dawn (7 am is early for our jetlagged selves) and out to catch the city bus at Byasen  Butiksenter for Day 1 of school.  The girls have to switch buses at the Sentrumsterminalen which is not really a terminal at all.  Buses just line up at different stops along two roads in the center of town -- so much for a nice heated terminal in winter when there is 1 m snow and -15deg C.  Anyhow, the school is temporarily located about as far away as one can get in Trondheim from our house until Jan. when their downtown school is finished with being renovated.  The only good part of this bus situation is that I met two very nice mom's on the bus ride back from the school.  Chris, a recent expat from Bath UK, and I shared some coffee at a Bakerei downtown.  Very fun to meet someone who is also pondering the prices in Norway (ouch!!), trying to figure out if we have enough "woolens" for the kids this winter and whether there is a store that sells humus.

The girls seemed happy after school, even though they both seem to think it was a bit more "babyish" than they are used to.  The teachers lectured on respect and responsibility and wanted them to raise their hands to be quiet -- something they had thought they had outgrown.  Melita made a few friends and a boy taught her to say "you are dumb" in Norwegian..so assimilating well.  Annaliese had many girls wanting to show her around at "play time" (which is the way they say recess) and she taught one girl how to say "eye lashes" in english -- wonder why?

I got a bit of work in between the bus riding and then managed to take a beautiful mountain bike ride through Bymarka- our backyard city park.  WOW!  I am out of shape, but becoming inspired by the buzzing norwegians on bike, foot, and even those wheelie cross country skis, as well as the sheep slumbering in the roads, horses, and beautiful views of the fjord. Then the girls and I went all the way to the end of the park via car and then hiked up the tallest mountain in Trondheim.  We hiked up and up through mud and stone and lichens to the tippy top (photo of Melita conquering the summit with a compass and sign to boot).  We want to drink in the summer while it is still here.  The good news is that the whole park is lit up in winter for xcountry skiing -- so no rest for the weary.