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Tusen takk, Norge!

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By Madisyn Thurley, Business Alas, it is the last day of our travel course in Norway. We started the day bright and early to meet in the lobby of the Anker Hotel at 5:00 am. Moving slowly, we all boarded the airport shuttle and made our way to Oslo International Airport. After collecting our boarding passes, checking our bags, and making our way to the gate, a moment of reflection hit us all almost simultaneously. Discussing our initial impressions of one another prior to the trip, reminiscing on our favourite memories, how we will miss the luxury of Chef Andreas’ food, and the pure surrealness of how close we had all become in such a short period of time  - it was all so bittersweet. Excited to go home, yet already missing Norway, everyone was feeling a sense of poignancy. An early morning shuttle ride to the Oslo airport Before we knew it, we boarded our flight to Amsterdam. Greeted by clear skies, rainbows, and snow-covered peaks, the ride was peaceful. As we exited the plane, w...
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We could just stay here

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By Natalya Brown, Economics and Manuel Litalien, Social Welfare and Social Development We have been in a little bubble these past few days in this extraordinary place, flanked by beautiful forest on three sides and the icy Bunnefjorden on the remaining side. We’ve used our phones primarily to take photos, post to social media, and check in with each other. We haven’t been doom-scrolling, or checking in on the news as such, so the current geopolitical drama has not been top of mind. From our arrival, Breivoll Gård has felt like home. A huge reason for that is the warmth and care given to us by Catia, Rikke, Astrid, and Andreas. Although, we were able to briefly see Anne and Tore when we arrived, they remained in our thoughts throughout. Views of Breivoll  Gård and the Bunnefjorden As we pack our bags and have our last meal together at Breivoll Gård, it is slowly dawning on us that we have a lot of things to get back to in Canada. The students chatter about mid-terms, group assignm...
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Last Full Day at Breivoll

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 By Grace McDiarmid, Child and Family Studies and Geography Today was the last activity day of the trip. It is crazy how close this adventure is coming to an end. We started with an 8 am morning, with beautiful weather, perfect for our hike. At 9:15 am we left for the Coastline trail to the Sherpa steps. We hiked approximately 5 km in total, stopping along the way to learn from Glenn Menkin, Head of Outdoor Activities Department at DNT Oslo. We also stopped to take our last few photos of Norway's beautiful scenery. Along the way, Glenn pointed out shelters that were made by DNT volunteers and are used by families for campfires. He also taught us about Norwegians' right to use the land policies, allemannsretten , which are quite different from Canada’s land use laws. In Norway, not only is it allowed, but it is encouraged to stay and walk on any property as long as it is 150 m from a house, but only for 1-2 nights. If you stay longer, you have to ask the permission of the land o...
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Free Day

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By Roshni Seeraj-Turingia, Mathematics  Today, everyone was able to go about their own journey as it was a free day! So, my twin sister, Priya, Sammy and I decided to start our venture as early as we possibly could, after a delicious breakfast of course! After breakfast, our little travel buddy group headed down the misty, winding trail, awaiting the day ahead of us. While waiting for the bus, Priya and I talked to an older Englishman named Timothy who’s resided in Norway for 30 years. Timothy shared his experiences being an immigrant in Norway. We also talked about Norway’s sustainability efforts (e.g. adding more taxes to petrol cars, bamboo straws, adding deposits for soda cans, etc.) and what the true impacts of these actions have, for both consumers and the environment. However, our engaging conversation was cut short as the bus arrived to take us to downtown Oslo. The Fram at the Fram Museum We arrived in downtown Oslo, eager to start our museum adventures. We walked outside ...
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Back at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences/Norges Idrettshøgskole

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By Ayla Patterson, Psychology Today was an early morning start with breakfast by 7 and leaving for our bus by 7:55 but due to the normal craziness of travelling we didn’t end up leaving until a bit later. The walk was rainy and cold but didn’t seem to affect us much as we were all so excited for the day ahead of us. I remember calmly walking when I heard everyone yell “ bus” and everyone starting to run so naturally I followed suit. Unfortunately we were too far from the bus stop and missed it. Lucky for us, another one came within 20 mins. After finally getting into the Oslo bus terminal, we made our way on the train to the university. Even after the slightly rough start to our morning, we were all still very eager to get to go back to NIH, the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, and sit into a few of Dr. Simon Kennedy Beames's lectures and meet some Norwegian students.  Walking from the farm to the bus stop We ended up being a few minutes late but Simon being the easy going perso...
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National Museum and Norske Folkemuseum

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By Samantha St. Pierre, Social Work We are at the halfway point of our trip and today we got a treat of sleeping in a little bit. We met for 9am to have some breakfast and then we got ready for our museum adventures. The group meals have been a nice addition to the busy activities everyday. We are getting chances to connect and learning that we have a lot more in common than we realized.  Our group at Breakfast Our first stop of the day was the National Museum in Oslo. It was completed in June of 2022, but the history of the museum itself dates back to 1856. The first museum we were at today is the largest museum in Scandinavia! It spans over 54 000 square metres and has enough space for 100 000 different works of art within. As we met our tour guide, Kachun Lay, he told us he would be jumping through time with the artwork he selected for us. The works he showcased would not be in a chronological tour, but were selected in order to connect us to Norway’s history and the nature with...
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From Oslo to Breivoll Gård

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By Priya Seeraj-Turingia, English Studies  Norwegian Parliament at the Storting Building   While the rain was falling in Norway, our energy didn’t! Today was the day the group was checking out of the hotel, but first, we had to fuel up. After a scrumptious breakfast at the Anker Hotel, we also got to do some activities before leaving Oslo for the DNT cabins at Breivoll Gǻrd. The group split up, with some going shopping or on a fjord cruise. I went with my sister, Roshni, to explore the streets of Oslo, with the mission of seeing the City Hall. It was a 20-minute walk to Oslo’s City Hall. Still, it definitely seemed a bit longer as Roshni and I kept stopping to take pictures of different buildings or going into different shops. It felt like everyone was on a mission, the streets were busy with tourists going on walking tours and people doing some shopping. Roshni and I kept zigzagging as we didn’t want to be in people’s way. On the way to the City Hall, we stumbled upon Norway’...
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