Norwegian FOOD

If I hear Aaron say "Everything tastes better in Europe" ONE MORE TIME! He loves the food and really enjoys being in Norway....every minute. It's like Alaska & Europe in one, two of his favorite places.

Breakfast is at the main hotel and is included in the room. We walk about 10 minutes every morning through downtown Stavanger. The kids know this route all by themselves since most of the time they are running there every single day. Our hotel is so great for kids. Every morning the staff dresses up in animal ears or tiaras, and they transformed their lobby into a giant playroom for the summer with IKEA toys & movies playing on a loop. They have step ladder at the front desk so the kids can climb up & see over the top and talk to the staff too. There is a "kids only" breakfast bar, all at kid height so they can get their own drinks and pancakes. Logan loves these Norwegian cookies and when the staff sees him, they bring the cookies out. They also bring him straws to drink his smoothie, I don't see them doing that for any other kid. (part of it is that we are still that LOUD family, can't miss us LOL) Avery & Logan know all the breakfast staff and it's like Norm at Cheers...."GOD (goo) MORGEN" when they walk in...so great.

Norwegian breakfast is like the best SPA FOOD, fresh fruits, vegetables, Norwegian pancakes that are flat and folded like crepes, housemade jams, three kinds of eggs, meats, cheeses, best baked bread, tons of fresh juices & milks. Aaron's eyes *sparkle* when he walks in...its so great. Aaron had a baguette the other morning and told me it was the best ever, and that he has been searching for a perfect baguette in DC for three years, blah blah blah. Of course I looked at him with a doubtful face, rolled my eyes and tried it. OMG IT WAS THE BEST BAGUETTE EVER!!!!! Seriously was THE BEST...And as you walk out the door of the restaurant, you get complimentary Omega-3 chewables!? I mean who does that? The healthy Norwegians do! The kids gobble them up. We move to our house on Monday which means we have only 3 more hotel breakfasts left! We are not happy about this. At all.

We don't eat out much for lunch or dinner. It is way too expensive here to eat out. We went to a pizzeria and had a medium pizza, a large salad, and waters. It cost us $45. SOOOO we go food shopping on base (a 7-11 sized BX/Commissary combined) and I cook in our apartment. A new friend here lent us her crockpot so we make quite a few great meals.

This weekend is GLADMAT, the largest food festival in Scandinavia. It's literally out our front door along the harbor. Gordon Ramsay is here but I have not seen him yet. We've gone everyday so far. We have really no idea what we are eating or how to pronounce it but Aaron had some good meals like deer, raw fish, lamb. It is packed, can't get the stroller through the crowds. But to the Norwegians credit, it is the calmest, quietest festival I have ever been to. They just don't really get rowdy or too drunk. Everyone always seems to be on their best behavior. That's a good thing....

I can't help but compare Norwegians to Italians in all aspects...but especially the food. In general, the food to me here doesn't stand up to food in Italy. But if I were raised in a Norwegian home, I'd probably feel differently. All in all, Europeans have a way about them that I envy. They are so into quality of food & quality of life rather than quantity and I am so glad to be back in this European environment again. Life has gotten a lot simpler for me and our family and this is the MAIN reason I wanted to move back here. So far, my heart is happy here.

Oh...and Norwegians use a fork & knife like the rest of Europe. They keep the knife in the right hand, the fork in the left and never put them down. Americans usually put the knife down & switch the fork into their right hand to eat. I can't help it, I notice details...part of my DNA....

Like I mentioned earlier, we are moving into our beautiful house on Monday! We won't have internet for a while (what am I going to do without my FB!) We are ramping up for Avery's school that starts Aug 16th. Aaron is going on some training to some really great places soon too. His job is really exciting to me. We are almost done with this move! It's been a long road but we are almost back in the Team Allgeyer routine...and I for one can't wait for that!

**Cute story....Avery likes to make us all toast with our juice glasses at breakfast, and this morning, she said at the top of her lungs...."LONG LIVE STAVANGER!" then "TEAM ALLGEYER IS TOGETHER AND WE ARE LIVING IN NORWAY NOW......FOREVER!"

Things are Looking UP!

This week has been really an exciting one. We had lots of good news and our life just got a bit easier.

After dragging these kids to so many houses, we finally got word that the house we really wanted was ours. It originally was a little out of our budget, and we were told by numerous people here that Norwegians don't negotiate rent. They just don't have to, the market is so hot right now. But Aaron didn't listen and went ahead and discussed our issue with the realtor & owner and after a few days we got word that the house was ours at a lower price. And the owner said "your dog is also welcome" so as you can imagine...we are so thrilled and I am so thankful that Aaron has courage to break the rules sometimes! (I was going to use another term...ha ha) LOL. This is the house I wanted...and its location, view, space & light will help us through those cold & dark winters. Great job Big A! We move in Aug 2nd. Our stuff doesn't arrive until the end of August but we are getting loaner furniture for 30 days which will be great.

The base had its mandatory Newcomers Briefing this week and we all went. We were the only couple with small kids and the commanders secretary actually watched them for the entire morning in her office while we were in the briefing...she was so good to them. We sat through a few hours of briefings (legal, host nation laws, medical/dental, chaplain services, and Morale/Welfare/Recreation) ending with the dreaded drivers test for all of the international street signs. I was studying the sheet all morning during the briefs...because Aaron kept telling me that I couldn't fail LOL....but lucky us, the teacher was on vacation and because everyone in the room had lived in Europe before, we were all exempt from the test! Now I just have to drive...one of these days......

We have made a few friends, there is a Navy couple living in the hotel with us...Chip is a pilot from Ridgewood, NJ, of all places. His grandfather was a Paterson, NJ Police Officer in the 60s. (small world) His wife Ingelissa is a native Norwegian. They hope to retire here in 3 years after their tour. Ingerlise has been such a good travel guide, she tells us where all the good museums, playgrounds, restaurants are for kids. She translates and is just such a wonderful friend to us so far. They have two little girls Hanna & Solveig and they are fluent in Norske. They have lived all over the US but you would think those girls have lived here all of their lives. They are blonde beauties and Logan & Avery love them so much...we see them everyday at breakfast and go over the plan for the day. I really love military families...always looking out for each other.

The weather has been just beautiful. Sunny, warm and most importantly NO RAIN. I had to order rain jackets & pants for the kids. Norwegians do not let the weather stop them. So our kids will be the same! Next weekend is Stavanger's Food Festival. Gordon Ramsay of HELLS KITCHEN is the host and I hope to meet the SOB...we watch his show all the time here...they don't bleep out the curse words here so it is a blast to watch. I want to meet him...

Thanks for all of the great posts on FB with the pictures of the house. We are so excited. I am trying to add photos on the blog but having trouble...still working on it. Have a great week...we miss all of you. Thanks for thinking of us. xoxo

Our First Week of Norwegian Life

It has been a week since our arrival and we are doing great. The kids are almost on Europe time, and I am too...we are about 2 hours off of our regular routine but we are making progress. Our apartment is right in the middle of the old historic part of town and the location couldn't be more perfect. Steps to the old harbor, the swan pond, the Children's museum, playgrounds, restaurants, movie theatre (in English) all on cobblestone streets. Most (if not all) Norwegians speak PERFECT English so communication has been easy. Reading Norwegian has been really tough...but we have figured out that if you sound out many words syllable by syllable, slowly, it sort of sounds like an English, Dutch or German equivalent. The words look more intimidating than they really are.

Norwegians are nice, not overly friendly or easy to smile. Don't get me wrong, they are not unfriendly either, just quiet and reserved. So when the Allgeyer family (aka the LOUD family) walks or skips to breakfast which is at the main hotel we do get stared at a little but that's ok. That is just who we are! But Aaron and I do strike up conversations with the locals easily and then the Norwegians open up! They are so helpful, informative and LOVE kids. There is so much to do here for kids and it is obvious Norwegians value their children so much. These Norwegian kids are adorable...their white platinum blond silky hair is so gorgeous, you just want to touch it! Many of the parents we talk to say that foreigners do touch their kids hair a lot because they can't believe how beautiful it is LOL. Of course I had to touch it too!

As usual Avery talks to everyone and makes friends quickly. Logan follows her everywhere and they have a great time together. They are really bonding on this move. (And Logan is talking up a storm...must be his survival instinct kicking in) She & Logan were playing with Polish, Swedish & German kids who did not speak English. (Their parents did) It didn't matter...they all had a blast.

We have been busy in-processing the NATO base and house hunting. When we finally do find a potential house to rent, we pull up to look at it and people are moving in! The house hunt has been difficult so far. These houses rent fast and we are competing with other military families both US & NATO and families in the oil industry. We check the listings every morning at breakfast then call the realtor. They are a little slow getting back to us, but we are going to see two more houses today. We are hoping for some luck!

I am not allowed to drive yet until I take the Norwegian drivers test at the end of July so I am truly a military "dependent" at this point. That's ok with me...I am not a fan of all of the traffic circles. Aaron is a pro at them already...I still have to figure out who yields when...yikes! Aaron bought an old old old Mercedes (we call it the pimp mobile) to use as a commuter car as we wait for our SUV to arrive in September.

The weather changes by the hour...sun, rain, wind and cooler temperatures are the norm right now. Everyone says this is not a typical Norway summer. We carry jackets & sweaters at all times. There is water all around us, the harbor is right in town, the beach on the North Sea is a 10 minute car ride so it gets pretty windy. We hope to find a house on a fjord...I can handle the wind if I get to see the water everyday!

We are looking forward to school in early August for Avery. Logan will stay home with me a few more months as we get more settled here. Aaron's Norwegian physician attended Avery's school (the International School of Stavanger) as a child and said it has always been the best school, so we are excited we got her a place in the pre-K class.

Tahoe is doing great...he loves hanging out with us by the harbor and just being with his family. Boy did I miss him!! xoxo

Leaving for Norway

Aaron & Tahoe have made it safely to Norway, and now it was my turn with the kids. Aaron and I chose to travel separately in case Tahoe had trouble clearing customs here in Norway. Aaron would have shipped him back to me instead of the 4 month quarantine in Oslo (6 hours away from our new city). Happily Tahoe made it through and Aaron was getting things ready for our arrival in a week.

We are all ready to go…and I am not too nervous about the move in general. I really don’t like flying but our flight was an overnight one so I hoped that the kids slept during the 9 hour journey. I was a little concerned that Logan would have a hard time, since he just turned 2.5 but he was just great. Avery was awesome as his big sister and my little helper. She is a traveling pro, loves her new rolling pony luggage, and literally led me through all of the airports rolling along. They both slept on the plane a little and didn’t truly complain much at all. And if they did, it usually was because they were tired or hungry, and they got over it quickly.

The problems I had during the transatlantic journey were not from my munchkins…they were from everyone else! For example, the airport shuttle driver sat in the drivers seat as I packed his van, didn’t lift a finger to help me at my hotel or at the airport. We were authorized 2 bags per person so I had 6 pieces of luggage, a double stroller, 2 carseats & 3 carry-ons. I had asked him for help but he pointed to the sign that read “Passengers are Responsible for Their Own Luggage". A mom traveling alone and you can’t even get out of the drivers seat to help just a little? grrrrrr (I filed a complaint) I did have wonderful friends who offered to drive me to the airport, but I had already said goodbye and just wanted to pay for a shuttle since the government picked up the tab and because we had a lot of luggage. Big mistake…

After I checked in and dragged all the checked bags to the Xray machine at check in, (grrrrr) A TSA agent at security took over 15 minutes to swab my double stroller and test any residue with me helplessly looking on. Of course I couldn’t make any snarky comments, or I’d be delayed even more….but seriously, do I look like a terrorist to you? Traveling on military orders with State Dept passports, two children under the age of 5 and rolling Avery’s pony & Logan’s fishy luggage? A female TSA agent came to my defense and scolded the agent, but that made the male TSA agent work EVEN MORE SLOWLY, as to antagonize her. At one point, he found a chapstick in my stroller and put it in a cup and went to the Xray machine and scanned just the damn chapstick…before he would release my stroller to me. (I filed a formal complaint.) I won’t talk about the items taken from me at security by the same agent, I am working to get those back. grrrrr. It also didn't help that I was being paged by the airline "Allgeyer Party of 3, we are waiting for Allgeyer Party of 3...FINAL BOARDING CALL". Apparently this international flight finished boarding 30 minutes before takeoff. Mama was NOT HAPPY. grrrrr

We got to Frankfurt and had about 30 minutes to get used to the sunlight (it was 3am EST) and these kids were great. Avery & Logan found a friend and played with her until our flight boarded. All was well.

Next, at Stavanger airport, the Lufthansa personnel at the gate said she couldn’t find my gate-checked stroller and told me to go complain about it at baggage claim. She then walked away…huh? But how was I going to get there with two small children, 3 carry-ons, a purse and one carseat? The stroller was my kid & carry-on cart! At this point, I had had enough and loudly complained to any Lufthansa staff in the area within earshot….and miraculously, within minutes, my stroller was found and brought to me! grrrrrr

Needless to say we arrived in Stavanger safely, and as soon as I saw Aaron I burst into tears…I don't know why, maybe because I missed him, or the complete lack of sleep for me, or because we finally had made it. I just wanted everyone safe and together…and I delivered. But whew what a trip! I moved overseas 13 years ago for the Air Force, but it was just me, minimal furniture, no tears, no money and no clue....and it was great! It was much harder this time, with two little people counting on me…I was very cautious, concerned and so many events made me crazy. Boy how times have changed!

But we are here in Norway! Together and excited for the next THREE years! We are living in an apartment for the next two months, hopefully finding a suitable house to live in before 60 days of apartment living are up. We’ll see how that goes! Off to sleep for the next 3 days, which I am sure will help me shake the negativity... LOL!!!