Holmenkollen Ski Jumping

Hey everyone,

Last Sunday March 18th, a few colleagues of mine and other trainees that work here in Oslo attended a World Cup Ski Jumping competition that was held at Holmenkollen, which is located just one tram ride away from Oslo. I am not a huge fan of ski jumping because it is basically the same thing over and over again, but I thought it would be a cool experience. The atmosphere was terrific with a lot of crazy ski jumping fans. Half the people there were Norwegian and the other half were Polish and I think all of them were drunk haha. It started off as a very mild day, but it turned out to be very cold and windy which cancelled the last jump of the competition. There were jumpers from over 15 countries and there was even a Canadian guy in the competition. He came in 57th of a field of 60 jumpers but I have to give him credit for even jumping. When I see this competition at Olympics on TV, the slope doesn’t seem to be that steep but in person the slope is huge and I think I would crap my pants if I had to take the jump. It was a very cool experience but I’m not sure if I would ever go to another ski jumping competition again.

I have posted some pictures of the event which you can check out here
http://picasaweb.google.ca/chartrand.jason

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Ah yes spring is in the air! The snow has almost all melted here in Oslo and the temperatures are reaching 13-15 degrees. There is that springtime smell in the air that is very familiar to all Canadians after a long winter. People are coming out of their winter hybernation and are starting to creep on patios to have a few beers. There is a very nice area here in Oslo along the waterfront called Aker Brygge. There are bars, restaurants and street vendors along this strip which makes for a very cool atmosphere. I am really looking forward to a nice summer here is Oslo.

That’s all from Oslo for now. I would love to here from you guys, so please leave your comments.

I hope everything is well back home. Take care and have a great week everybody,

Jason

Hemsedal Ski Weekend

Hey everyone,

Last weekend I joined my roommates Bjorn, Hanne and their friends on a ski trip to Hemsedal, Norway. Hemsedal is considered the Alps of Scandinavia, so I was pretty excited that my first time trying snowboarding and downhill skiing would be at one of the biggest ski resorts in Norway.

I took last Friday off work because we had to take the bus 10 am to get to the resort. It was a nice 3 hour bus ride with plenty of beautiful scenery along the way. Once we got there we settled into the 10-person chalet and headed for the slopes for some night skiing/snowboarding. I tried snowboarding first, and to be quit honest, I didn’t enjoy myself too much. Having never tried it before, having no lessons, not being that coordinated, and having no one to really teach me the basics, I spent the night falling on my ass haha. Before I go snowboarding again I will have to get some lessons. After snowboarding we headed back to the chalet for a few beers.

Since I wasn’t too successful with the snowboarding, the next day I thought I would try downhill skiing. I have to say that I really enjoyed skiing even though, like snowboarding, I have never tried it before. I think the big difference was that I could actually control both of my feet when I was skiing as opposed to snowboarding. I still fell a bunch of times and was sore all week, but I can really see myself going skiing a few times every winter.

After a skiing, we went to the sports bar at the resort the watch the Man U vs Liverpool football game. It was a pretty good game with Man U scoring at the 90th minute and winning 1-0. Norwegians really love their football! After that we went to an after ski party at the Hemsedal Café and partied all night.

All in all it was a pretty cool weekend hanging out with all Norwegians. Also, I’m glad I did try both snowboarding and skiing because I got a chance to see which one I enjoyed the most. I would like to go skiing again, but I would like to take a few lessons before hand. Even though I fell a ton I really enjoyed the experience and I’m looking forward to the next ski trip.

Have a good week everybody.

Take care

Jason