Christmas holiday in Norway

So after clearing Immigration and getting our bags, we headed in the direction of Hertz to collect the Rav 4 I had booked. Upon arriving at the counter they offered me an upgrade to a Tesla Model S instead, for the price of 200 NOK per day. Considering it would give me free parking, free recharging and avoid paying the toll fees on the highways I decided to take it – it basically cost me nothing extra considering the extras that are included.

• Introduction – Christmas is Norway 2019
• Emirates Boeing 777ER Clark – Dubai business class
• Stopover in Dubai at Le Meridien
• Emirates Boeing 777ER Dubai – Oslo business class
• Christmas holiday in Norway
• Radisson Blu, Gardermoen, Norway
• Emirates Boeing 777ER Oslo – Dubai business class
• Emirates Boeing 777ER Dubai – Cebu business class
• Emirates Boeing 777ER Cebu – Clark business class

Unfortunately the weather forecast for the entire period we were in Norway was for mist, a couple of degrees above zero and rain. I had been excited for the kids to experience snow for the first time, but it seemed like that would be difficult to arrange. However, at Gardermoen Airport it was winter, and as we exited the parking garage there was some frozen snow outside, so I directly parked the car so the kids could go and play a little – they were very exited to see real snow for the first time!

The kids really enjoyed it, and even tried to slide a little on their butts too, even it was very cold for them 😀

After arriving in my parents house, bestemor and bestefar lit a fire in the fireplace, so the kids would not feel too cold. This was their first time seeing a real fireplace, and they enjoyed the heat from it so much 😀

Alexhandra was a bit worried that it would get cold during the night when they were sleeping, so she wanted to wear hat and gloves when sleeping, but after seeing how warm it was inside the bedroom she eventually agreed not to….

As the weather remained as forecasted and there was no change in sight, I decided one day to pack up the car with a couple of snow sledges and take the kids up into the mountains where there supposedly was still some snow to have some fun. Looking at the snow reports I decided Svarstad Skisenter would be the closest and best one to head to, so we set off for a day of fun in the snow.

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After a long day in the snow we stopped by Burger King for hot chocolate, nuggets and burgers, before we headed back to bestemor and bestefar to help them decorate the Christmas Tree.

Before starting decorating bestemor gave instructions about how to make the tree nice

Then Marcus was in charge of the lower branches

Then Alexhandra took charge of the mid-levels

And then they were all helping each other

Then on December 22nd we decided to go for a small cruise from Sandefjord to Strómstad in Sweden and back again, as they normally have a really good food buffet there, and it gave us something to do instead of just hanging out at home in the rain and mist 🙂

There is a nice play area on the ship as well, the kids enjoyed playing there for a while.

To give my parents a bit of a break from noisy kids, we then decided to go and stay with my brother for a couple of nights, and the kids got to spend some time with their cousins too – and unlimited Ipad time 😀

Unfortunately, that night Alexhandra got unwell, and she spent the rest of the holiday fighting a stomach bug, so that put a downer on the holiday.

The traditional day to celebrate Christmas is Norway is December 24th, so this day we headed back to my parents house, and Marcus quickly changes into his suit and tie, whereas Alexhandra was still not feeling well and just wanted to stay in bed.

With Alexhandra down with the stomach bug we missed one person partially for dinner, but we still had a fun evening together, and the kids uncle and cousins were also there for Christmas eve, so it was a good bonding time for the family – and even Alexhandra was ok for a while as long as she didn’t have to change into her Christmas outfit 🙂

Alexhandra was also very happy with her gifts, but really not feeling well after opening them all, so she looked quite sad and sick in the pictures….

Alexhandra condition was deteriorating after Christmas, so had to take her to the healt clinic for a check-up. She didn’t really want to go, she was worried that the doctor would prescribe her some disgusting medicine, but eventually she agreed to go. After the check-up was completed it was clarified that she just suffered from a stomach bug and low blood sugar as she hadn’t eaten for a couple of days. The medicine the doctor prescribed was chocolate, soft drinks and ice cream! Not exactly what Alexhandra had feared, and for one she happily ate her medicine 😀

After this she improved a bit, and on December 26th we had a make-your-own pizza party at uncle Truls house, and the kids had great fun making and eating their own pizzas.

Then the next day it our holiday was getting to an end, we went for miniature golf in the morning and then packed the suitcases in the car and headed for the Radisson hotel at Gardermoen Airport, to be ready for the flight back home the next day.

Overall it was a great holiday, with the exception of the weather, but that is kind of expected in Norway in the winter time, so not a big surprise really. And the kids did get a couple of days in the snow anyways, so hopefully they will not forget this holiday anytime soon 🙂