I wish I had more time to explore Oslo! Because of our
cross-country traveling, we only got to spend one day here. Courtney, Maddy
(she could be a real life impersonator of Merida from Brave) and I decided to
spend the day together. Thanks to our wonderful location, we were already in
the city center when we first stepped a foot off the ship. We tried to go
souvenir shopping, but most of the shops were close partly because it was
Sunday and partially because it was “early” in the morning (10:00 is early for
Europeans).
We then went to Oslo’s famous Viking Ship Museum which
holds one of the world’s best preserved Viking ships. We had to take a ferry to
get to the island where the museum was at, and that was really fun! The museum
was also really neat. Although it wasn’t very big, they had a lot of
interesting displays. We’ve learned a lot about Vikings in my religions and
architectural history classes, so it was fun to see pieces of actual Viking
history that has been so well looked after.
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| The Viking Ship Museum |
When we were done there, we took the ferry back to the
city. We had a quick lunch at a nearby 7-elven (don’t judge us for not eating
locally, Norway is expensive!). I had a thing called a Bjork (sp?). It was
basically like a cinnamon roll but instead of cinnamon sugar it was made with
spinach and feta cheese. It was delicious! We also had some frozen yogurt. Yum!
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| The MV Explorer |
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| Norwegian Flag |
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| Feta cheese and spinach Bjork |
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| Maddy and I are Vikings |
Our next stop was the National Gallery. We were running a
little short on time, but the Gallery is home to Munch’s famous Scream
Painting, so we had to stop by just to see it, if nothing else. I wish I could have
spent more time there because I’ve found that I really enjoy looking at art. We
all had a couple more souvenirs to buy, and we wanted to be back to the ship a
little early (thank goodness we did this as you will shortly find out why).
We stopped at a few stores, but we finally found one where
we could pick up some last minute items. I found something for Cailey and Zane,
so I paid for the items and left. The ship was only right around the corner, and
we were a full hour early before the time we had to be back on the ship (6:00).
Once I got back to my room, I set my stuff down and almost left the room to go
find my friends. For some reason though, I decided I should go through the
things I had bought them and put them away (thank God for my excellent sense of
responsibility!). As I was going through my bag, however, I realized that I
couldn’t find my wallet.
Now, this normally this would have been bad because my wallet
had all of my money and IDs and credit cards, but much worse because it also had my
passport in it this time as I was traveling cross-country through Norway. Normally,
we can leave our passports on the ship when we’re in country if we don’t plan
on staying the night anywhere. So Norway is the first time I’ve had to have my
passport with me since London. And I found out it was missing….
I panicked. I started throwing my stuff around. I took
every thing out of my bag, I shook out my bed sheets, I checked the bathroom. No
wallet. I checked all of my draws, triple checked my bags, looked under my bed.
No wallet. I retraced my steps out of my room to the gangway thinking maybe I
dropped it on the floor. No wallet. I ran to the gangway where our security was
set up. I told them I lost my passport and I was freaking out. I thought it had
to have been in that last souvenir shop we were at. That was the last place I
bought anything and the last place I know
I had it. But the fricken security wouldn’t let me leave the ship! They have a
rule that they can’t let students off after 4:00 (2 hours before we had to be
on the ship.) I tried telling them that I DIDN’T HAVE MY PASSPORT AND I HAD TO
GET OFF OF THE SHIP TO LOOK FOR IT, but they weren’t listening to me.
Thankfully, a nearby faculty member heard me talking to them, and she demanded
that security let me go.
The faculty people are so awesome here! Two women (I
think they work in administration) calmed me down and asked me where I had last
seen it. I told them that I thought it was at the last souvenir shop I was at.
I told them it was just around the block and I could get there in less than
five minutes. They were really concerned, and they told me to come back as soon
as possible if I didn’t find it. Then I ran. I ran like the wind. Dressed in my maxi dress and sandals sprinting down the streets of Oslo. I’m sure I
was a magnificent site. I rushed down the street, around the corner and down
another street. I saw an SAS student named Cole who I had seen in the same
souvenir shop that I had been in. I hurriedly asked him if he had seen a black
wallet in the store. He said he hadn’t and asked me if I was missing it. I told
him I was and that it had my passport in it. He immediately understood the
gravity of the situation. And he started to go with me to the shop. I told him
not too. I told him to go back to the ship in case he was late. He refused
though. He said he’s help me find it! It was so thoughtful.
Together, we found the shop and low-and-behold there was
my passport! As soon as we walked in we saw the two ladies behind the counter
holding it. I could tell they were having a rushed conversation, but as soon as
they saw me burst into the room they said, “Oh my goodness, thank God you came
back! We were just getting ready to go to the "cruise ship" to try to find you!”
It was so sweet! They knew that we were all students from America, and they had
talked to some SASers earlier who had told them we were docked at the port while studying abroad here. I
hugged the lady and thanked her so much for finding it. She said she had just
found it on the floor, so I think it must have fallen out of my backpack or
something. It’s not like I set it down on a shelf or anything (thankfully or I
would have felt really dumb). We were
all super relieved and laughing. I thanked the ladies like a billion times, and
then Cole and I hurried back to the ship.
On our way, we ran into the faculty members who I had
talked to earlier. They said they were just coming to look for us. I told them
I found my wallet and my passport, and they were so relieved! I’m a very lucky
girl!! I couldn’t believe that had actually happened. Losing your passport is
like the number one no-no for SAS. You can’t travel anywhere without it! And I
DID NOT want to have to go to the US Embassy to get things figured out. The
ship would have left without me, and when that happens it’s your responsibility to get to the next
port. Which means I would have had to try to catch a plane to Russia. Which I
wouldn’t have been able to do without my passport and my Russian visa. Which means I
would have had to go home early. I am so thankful and so appreciative of the
people who helped me! The faculty women, Cole and the ladies at the store were
awesome! The whole ordeal lasted only 20 minutes, but it felt like 2 hours. And
it was probably the scariest 20 minutes of my life. (You might think I’m being
over-dramatic, but I don’t agree. I think this is a perfectly justifiable
reaction to losing and then finding one’s passport in a foreign country.)
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