Norway Trip

So awhile ago (December) I had the chance to go to Stavanger, Norway for a big NATO exercise that was going on.  I jumped at the chance and was super excited to go.  My trip there was perhaps one of the worst experiences that I have had thus far traveling.  As I left Izmir they told me that I wouldn't make my connection in Munich so I got to Munich and had to spend the night without any bags.  The next morning I had an early flight going through Copenhagen, then onto Norway.  When I got to Norway I found out that my bags didn't make it.  This was super bad due in part that all my uniforms and warm clothes there in my suitcase.  All I had was a short sleeve shirt, a wind breaker and the pants and shoes that I was wearing, survivable if the weather is 50 to 60.  But when the weather is 15, that posed a bit of an issue for me.  After about a week my luggage finally got to me and I finally got warm.

The rest of the trip went off without a hitch.  I had some time to walk around Stavanger and visit some of the sites there.  I went to an oil drilling museum and some of the old fishing village.  Otherwise there wasn't much there to see.  After I was done in Stavanger, I took a train overnight with some friends to Oslo, where I was able to spend some time walking and seeing the sites there.  Oslo was really nice.  Clean, friendly and everyone speaks English!  What a bonus!  I wish I had more time to visit and see some of the sites.  Of the sites we did visit we walked downtown and saw the state buildings, we visited the WWII Norwegian Resistance Museum, the Viking Museum and the Oslo's Art Museum which was really cool.  This was the first art museum that I'd been too and it was well worth it.

Pictures below are of both Stavanger and Oslo.

The main church in Stavanger, Norway.  This is in the center of town there.

Same church just Black and White.

Me on the train from Stavanger to Oslo.  I look weirded out because I just spend 9 hours on the train and didn't get an hour of sleep.  It was a long night.

Old Catholic church in Oslo.  This was right downtown among a shopping mall and lot of other shops.  The place was really neat and clean.  A place I would love to visit again.

This is taken right outside the train station.  Oslo is or was known as the city of the Tiger.  I'm not sure why but that is why they have this statue of a tiger.

One of the state buildings.  We were able to watch the changing of the guards outside this building.  It was super cold, snowing and very windy.  I'd hate to be the guys standing guard during the winter there.

One of the old Viking ships that was found here in Norway.  They found 3 of them and this one was in the best shape of the 3.  The other ones were heavily restored and still not in this good of shape.  

This is the bow of one of the Viking boats.

Same picture just in Black and White.

"Scream" by Edvard Munch.  This painting was in the Art Museum that I visited.  Other big name paintings were done but Van Gogh and some other people that I can't remember.