Oslo

Oslo

Similar to Naples and Brunssum, there was a US contingent working for the NATO Allied Forces Northern Command (AFNORTH) in a bunker outside of Oslo Norway. I made a few trips up there in support of this group. I also supported their eventual move to High Wycombe in the United Kingdom when NATO realigned into Allied Forces Northwestern Command (AFNORTHWEST) and moved from Norway to England.

My first trip to Oslo was in May 1992, and the weather had just recently broken from the long dark winter to warm spring days, so the flowers were in bloom and the people were too! Lots of partial and total nudity around (in parks and courtyards) as people soaked up the sun's rays. At the airport, my rental car attendant had to put a bathrobe on and come in from the front lawn so she could rent me a car!

The dock area on the harbor called the Acker Brugge, much like Baltimore's Inner Harbor or Boston's Fanuiel Hall Market, was teeming with tourists. A great place for people-watching too.

The Oslo Opera House
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A Replica of a Viking Ship, Docked At The Acker Brugge
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Palace of the Norwegian King in Oslo
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Oslo Harbor as Seen From the Fort
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Another trip was in September 1993. The trip was not very eventful, but the weather was cold! It felt cold enough to snow, but I did get to walk around a lot and sample the Scandinavian cuisine. I ate salmon, and moose, and reindeer! Breakfast was mostly pickled herring in about six different sauces, most of them a lot like the Sil we used to have at Christmas-time when I was a kid! I brought some home for Lynn and the kids, as well as some Norwegian caviar! Delicious! The kids ate most of it, though.