Tuesday 19 October 2010

Ghost Walk

This week-end has been packed full of birthdays! Could be worse, right?
I decided to split up the blogging, because each birhday-girl deserves their own, right.
On Friday was my friend Jacks party.
This is the drawing for the card I made for her.

Since she's turning half a century she wanted to take the birthday party experience one step futher, and started up with a "ghost walk" in the streets of Oslo.
I was working until five, but called in some favours and got to leave early, so I was there just on time (to me that would mean "not that late"). And they all laughed at me because I was wearing hot pants... let me just mention that my tights were 80% wool!

We're not far enough into winter for it to really be dark at five yet, so the whole thing wasn't all that scary, but it was both entertaining and educational.
Amongst other things I learned that there was a real mass grave (I don't know what you call it in english? When you throw lots of people anonymously into one grave) right here in Oslo, from Napoleons time. And also, I learned that Oslo, back when it was called Christiania, was a safe shore for a group of pirates who had been given the right to plunder by some high and mighty dude. Just like Tortuga!

But most of the tour was, of course, inside Akershus Festning (the fortress of Oslo).
The old fortress is really a very beautiful place, and in summer we often gather here for picknics or barbeques. It is also perfect for romantic (and slightly dangerous) walks, and has an amazing wiev over the Oslo fjord (which, by the way isn't a real fjord, but part of the ocean XD).
But! As it is ancient, not to mention an old place of war, it is also widely known for being haunted.
Here we are on the bridge, leading in to the fortress.
And here's a guard, giving his phone number to some random guy XD
This is, believe it or not, the old entrence to the fortress. This tiny opening was the only way in!
I should have had a picture from the other side, because the door leads out into nothing now, and it looks kinda funny ^^
My friends, looking kinda nervous. I don't think they really were though, just curious.
And here's a picture of Norway by fall. It is really breathtakingly beautiful outside now. I wonder if the autumn always looked like this and I jsut never realized. Maybe my eyes have matured.
And here's the group, gathered in the place that is said to be the spot of the execution of Norways most famous traitor from World War II. The place have been kept secret for a very long time, because they didn't want nazis scum to make this into some kind of holy place. The tourleader had heard from an old man who came on the Ghost Walk once, and that man had actually served here during the war! I guess it's ok to say now though... maybe. I didn't mention it in my norwegian blog.

I always thought that the Fortress was the most haunted place in Oslo, but aparrently that's not true.
The end of the Ghost walk lead us to this hotel:
Grims Grenka, in case you ever want to go to Oslo and live in a haunted house XD
So many wierd things are said to have happened here, and the ghoswalk-dude, who was actually a real ghost enthusiast (I've heard him on the radio once) had done intervjues with old staff members and stuff. One person told him that this hotel had once changed the ENTIRE staff in one year, because nobody could stand working there!
He also told us about things that he had experienced in there, because earlier they had actually been allowed to take the Ghostwalk into the hotel!
I'm kinda bummed out and kinda happy that we couldn't go in anymore.

Even though it had been fun I think we were all happy when we could finally head for the restaurant, 'cause we were all very cold and very hungry.
On the way we saw this in a gallery. You can't really tell, but it's made out of the bags from cardboard wine XD If my mom ever gets married again I have to recomend this as her weddingdress XD She's like the goddess of red wine.
This is Ciliee, as always reluctant to having her picture taken XD

We were going to a restaurant called Lemongrass. When I've seen it from the outside I've always thought it was an expencive café, but it's a carrabean restaurant. I've never had carrabean food before, but since we were about fifteen people, Jack had sent us the meny the week before so we could order ahed.
First of all Cilliee and I got a lot of questions about our fancy drinks...
which were actually water. They let us keep the pre-order waterglasses, so we could feel more like grown-ups.
My dish was called Nut Chicken.
This picture was taken before I got my coconut milk. I'll forgive them for forgetting it, because it was obviously a very busy night, and all the girls around me also got the same dish. Except for Cilliee, who's got a very nasty allergy to nuts. She'd really picked the perfect place to sit XD
Also, out waitress was so sweet! And she apologized again and again for the slip up.
The food was delish! Only bad thing I could say about this restaurant is that they were very slow with the food. Even though we'd ordered ahed it took like an hour before we got our apetizers...

After a while we could skooch up the table to sit with Cat and Jack and Oda and Julie. And order dessert.
And Jack got her birfday-cake :D
This was my non-birfday cake^^
It's coconut sorbet with frozen chocolate, or Coco Choco. I even ate the cocktail berry, I've never eaten a cocktail berry before.
Coconut is so mai buumu.
Before we left I also had to get a picture of this:
Is that not the most amazing chandelear ever!?
The place was generally very my cup of tea. We even had big heavy princess chairs to sit in at the table^^

2 comments:

  1. It is called a 'mass grave' in English too! ;-)
    Sounds like an amazing trip. I loved Oslo when I was there that one time. I'd love to go back again. Pity it is very expensive! (for a British person! >_<)

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  2. Yay, now I know that XD
    Yes, Oslo is really expencive. Actually all of Norway is ^^;

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