May 17th, the National Day of Norway

It's been a lovely day in Oslo and in most of Norway today. The sun was shining, people were happy and lots and lots of children walked in the big parade to cheer for the king and the royal family.



The royal family on their balcony, waving to everyone.


After a lot of walking and watching, it's wonderful to relax with nice food and a lovely cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NORWAY!

Springtime

I like springtime, the world turns nice and warm, green and sunny! And there are flowers! Weeeeeeee! :o)

Photo by: Stormel

St.Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland, and it is generally celebrated on March 17. The day is the national day of Ireland.

In Oslo the Irish celebrated the St. Patrick's Day with a parade downtown today. And these girls represented the Nordic Society of Irish Dancers.

Photo by: Stormel

Almost full

The moon over Oslo this evening. It says on the internet that it's 99,1 % full.


Photos by: Lothiane

AC/DC

Telenor Arena is a new multi-use indoor stadium being constructed at Fornebu in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, just outside Oslo. It will be used for football matches and will be the new home ground of the football club Stabæk, but also for conserts and other events. The stadium is scheduled to open ahead of the 2009 season in Norwegian football.

The Australian hard rock band AC/DC performed at the arena on 18 February. This concert was the first of the European Leg of their Black Ice World Tour.

Photo by: Stormel

No...!

The grafitti says "No to EU! Yes to a lot!" At least I think that's what they mean. ;) The last word "møe" is a dialect word from Southern Norway and means "a lot" (mye).

Norway is still not a part of the European Union. Whether or not the country should apply for conventional membership has been one of the most dominant and divisive issues in Norwegian political and economic debate for several decades. The Norwegian people have voted 'no' twice, both in 1972 and in 1994.

If you want to read more about this, visit Wikipedia.

Thank you, Doug, for letting us use his photo!

Blindern Studenterhjem

Blindern is an area in Oslo, but also the name of the main campus of the University of Oslo. Near the university is Blindern Studenterhjem, a home for 220 students. The home opened in 1925 and the architect was Nicolai Beer. The beautiful building is listed/protected.

Thank you Doug for letting us use your photo! :)

Melting!

My cousin sent me these photos, taken in Oslo yesterday. After a whole lot of snowfall and then a few foggy and grey days, we finally got some sunshine yesterday. The sun is starting to feel warm again and these icicles started melting.

Beautiful, isn't it!

Thank you, Løven, for letting us use your photos!

Cross country skiing II

Yesterday was a beautiful winter day, and lots of people went out skiing. This is from Bogstad, where the trail is crossing the lake.

Photo by: Stormel

Cross country skiing

A young skier taking advantage of all the snow. :)

Photo by: Lothiane