RennyBA's Terella

Sunny winter Sunday in Oslo Norway

RennyBA — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:25:28 +0000

A sunny winter day with fresh, crisp air and lots of snow just calls for outdoors activities. In Norway the whole family, dressed for the weather, loves to go out and have fun. Today was a day like that: -5C (23F), blue sky and we’ve had quite a lot of snow in January – so all was perfect for another quality time with my wife DianeCA. I had my camera on hand of course and gladly take you along. Let’s start with the beaches at Kalvøya (Calf Island), where we go swimming and tanning in the summer time – and today:

_{Look at the row of people in the middle walking on the ice of Oslo Fjord.}

I’m often talking about the significant four seasons in Norway, so let me show you photos at the same beach from today and last summer:

_{From tiny bikinis to solid winter clothes but still recreational}

Her are some more photos from our recreational days at the beach:

I talked about the whole family having fun and then there is much more to do than walking of course. Since in Norway, let’s start with our national winter sport and our saying about Norwegians born with skis on their feet:

_{Okay, these too boys are not new born, but still}

_{Family ski fun on a hill in our local neighbourhood.}

Then of course and other fun winter sport is skating of all kinds. I so much remember how much fun my sister and I had together with Mom and Dad on a sunny winter day like this:

With all this talk – almost bragging maybe? – about families going outdoors on a cold winter day like this, I have saved the best for last: While at the local neighbourhood hill, I spotted this nice family: Mom, Dad and their young boy enjoying a winter picnic and hot cocoa of course. I showed them my “blogcard” (I have a business card for my blog) and explained that I was photo hunting for a post about how Norwegians enjoy the winter time and they were more than willing to pose for us:

_{Proper dressed – In front: thermos and waist pack – Right: sled}

Although this has been an especially cold winter many places with lots and lots of snow, it is important to remember that snow means more than delays in reaching your destination on the highways, snow and winter also mean exercise, fun, fresh air, childish memories, and even water reserves for the summer season. Today was just a wonderful day to be outside, and I am happy to have the opportunity to share it with you.

However those coming to the Oslo Blog Gathering 2010 – I can almost promise you that you will not have to worry about ice and snow, unless you are visiting the Ice Bar of course! I have added some summer beach pictures so you can get more of an idea of what to expect in the lovely summer time!

Life with a twist at Ice Bar Oslo

RennyBA — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:10:35 +0000

ICEBAR Oslo by ICEHOTEL gives an experience that will chill you to your bones.
It’s made of large blocks of ice from the Torne River in Jukkasjärvi, ~~Finland~~ Sweden (thanks Mrs. Lifecruiser, for the correction!) which helps to give the bar its uniqueness and special expressions. Total bar area is a total of 500 square meters, making it the world’s largest Icebar by ICEHOTEL. It’s built of nearly 60 tons of ice, and the “cold” part of the bar is 100 square meters. Inside the bar it is – 5 ° C all year long, and thanks to energy-efficient LED-light bulbs the ice doesn’t melt even with lots of indoor lighting. The light goes in numerous tones of blue and green, reminiscent of the aurora when it hit the crystal clear ice.

I haven’t been there myself – YET – but I got a good impression of the spectacular interior at the Norway Travel Fair 2010 where they had quite an impressive and authentic stand:

_{Stine serving ice cold drinks at Norway Travel Fair 2010.}

Planning for the Oslo Blog Gathering, of course I had a special talk with their Booking Manager, Stine (serving drinks in ice glasses in the pics) and explained about OsloBG. She was excited to hear about bloggers from all over the world meeting up in Oslo this August and of course would love to see a group of us at her bar during the gathering.

She explained that guests arrive in this ice area in groups of 60 and are in the ice bar for 45 minutes at a time. Before and after the stay in the cold section, guests can enjoy good food and drink in a “warm” part of the complex. The ice bar provides special clothing to keep you warm in the bar, so you do not have to pack a parka if you will be joining us in August.

DianeCA and I will most likely be making it part of our agenda at OsloBG (click to read the official program site) after enjoying the long summer night in a park, and those who are interested can join us for a unique experience! What do you think, sound like fun?

For Oslo Blog Gathering at Norway Travel Fair

RennyBA — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:12:26 +0000

Planning for the Oslo Blog Gathering, Norway Travel Fair 2010 gave inspiration, impulses and make some new contacts which can help as well. Exhibitors from all over the world make this Norway’s largest arena for the travel trade and visitors. Their aim is to be an inspirational market and meeting place for all Norwegian travellers by providing information as well as face to face personal contact. Europe is the world’s leading tourist region, with 500 million arrivals per year accounting for 53 per cent of global tourism. Of course Norway has a lot of potential in the world travel market, both within and beyond Europe. The fair’s PR strategist Bjørn B. Jacobsen, said at the opening: “Our biggest challenge is to build better awareness about and greater knowledge of the travel trade as an industry of the future. That also embraces the importance of idea, product development and concepts….” and I was thinking: let us show them how to make use of social media as communication channels too

My wife DianeCA and I were there to meet some of the OsloBG’s associates and get inspiration and of course we invite you along as well. Let’s start with the gatherings key contributor; visitOSLO:

Not all the staff at visitOslo knows in detail about OsloBG, yet – but all at their stand do now It was inspiring to discuss with them this experiment of using the Blogsphere and other Social Media to gather people from all over the world for three days of exploring Oslo and Norway; our culture, history and traditions.

Their site is an excellent start for your exploration and to find out what you would like to see and experience while joining us in August! Their site has an English version, and of course it is all free!

Visitnorway.com:
Not only Oslo, but Norway’s tourism organisations as a whole are aware of the internet as the most important travel information channel. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has given Innovation Norway the responsibility for the development and maintenance of the official travel guide to Norway: Visitnorway.com. The site includes several means of planning your next trip to Norway and in a lot of languages: visitnorway.com/es or, …./fr, /de, /uk, /us etc!
Of course we had a visit to talk about OsloBG at their stand too, with some spectacular show to attract visitors:

_{Left: Looking at OsloBG website – Right: An acrobat’s performance}

Having fun at a travel fair:
To introduce, promote and have fun, there were of course entertaining attractions as well. To make it short, in pictures:

_{A needed massage – Glass blowing}

_{Fun for the children too of course.}

I hope you will stop by the sites of both VisitOslo and VisitNorway and check out the information they have on travel and tourism. These are two official channels for tourism and give thorough information on what to see, what to do, and where to go when visiting Oslo and Norway in general. Some people coming to the trip may want to extend their stay to see more of the country since they have already travelled so far, and this is a good place to get information in planning your trip. If you are definitely planning on joining us for the Oslo Blog Gathering 2010, I hope you will remember to book your program fee soon! Only the first 50 booked will be able to participate in the reception in the City Hall with the Mayor due to space restrictions.

Oslo Blog Gathering Planning Kickoff

RennyBA — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:53:00 +0000

Plans for the Oslo Blog Gathering in August are really taking shape now. First Hotel Millennium – the HUB of the gathering – invited us to hold our plan meeting last night at their hotel. We wanted to get the assistants together and brainstorm on how to make this gathering the adventure of a lifetime. To set the mood, our charming hosts at First Hotel Millennium, the Sales manager and her staff, set up a warm and welcoming tapas dinner. The atmosphere was relaxing and personal, and of course the food was delicious.

_{To the left; The Sales Manager – at the end of the table: First Hotel chain’s city manager – and the rest planning gang.}

We began with a little information of what is planned so far, followed by a guided tour of the hotel and all agreed; The First Hotel Millennium is a perfect resort, HUB and meeting place for the gathering; the service is outstanding, the rooms are excellent and there will even be a gathering information stand in the reception. Even more, it’s situated in the heart of Oslo, close to the main street Karl Johan and all sources of public transportation.

Let me then share some highlights from our plan meeting and brainstorming last night:

visitOslo’s massive contribution:

visitOslothe city’s tourist marketing and service institution, is a key contributor to this gathering. Their Convention Director joined us and shared her knowledge and experience. She emphasized how much information the participants could find on their website beforehand to prepare and make sure each and everyone gets what they want from their stay. A good example is their Oslo’s top 10 attractions. To give all the gathering assistants a head start, she even distributed the Oslo Pass to everyone so that we all could try it out and prepare as local hosts.

The Oslo Pass:

Oslo is a compact city and most attractions, museums, woods, mountains and the fjord are available by foot or public transportation within 30 minutes of the city center. The Oslo Pass – included in the gathering’s program fee! – gives you free entry to more than 30 museums and attractions, free travel on all public transport, free entry to outdoor swimming pools, free guided walking tours, and special offers in restaurants, shops, and entertainment.

The Local Hosts:

The response has been overwhelming: Blog friends from all over the world say they will meet up, plus: Expats and other Norwegian bloggers want to enrich the gathering by volunteering as local hosts. So instead of making a fixed program and guided tours that everyone has to follow, participants can chose their favourite spots and the local hosts will invite you to join them in different routes.
Here is the link to these wonderful OsloBG assistants and local hosts – go visit them and read about how it is to live in Norway from an Expat’s perspectives:
Nothern Natterings – A Canadian in Norway – An Alien in Copenhagen (One year in Norway) – Return to Norway – American in Norway – Wandering the World – Irish Nomad in Norway – My Grand Adventure Part II + TorAa from Norway.

Booking is open:

Don’t hesitate, meet up with bloggers from around the world in Oslo. The booking is open and the first 50 participants will even be invited to meet the Mayor of Oslo at the City Hall. The program fee is mandatory (including the Oslo Pass, the guided tour; Highlights of Oslo, joining the local hosts choice of the day as well as the casual gatherings in the long summer nights evenings). Accommodation is optional and of course we recommend First Hotel Millennium for a favourable price! Click to book now!

Wordless Wednesday – Bargain Madness in Oslo

RennyBA — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:52:45 +0000

RennyBA’s Terella contribution to BlogSphere’s Wordless Wednesday; There is a season for everything – did you find a bargain this year?

Walking down Karl Johan street the other day – always with my Nokia mobile phone at hand – I could not resist capturing the bargain madness

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