Strolling Through Scandinavia

There are so many reasons I love teaching at ISB. I love the diversity in culture and nationality. I love the different perspectives and experiences students bring to the classroom. And I love, a little more self-indulgently, the holidays. Though our various weeks and days off throughout the year are compensated at the end of the year when the school isn't dismissed for summer until the end of June, the holidays scattered throughout the year are little gifts straight from heaven to teachers that, upon reflection, I can't imagine ever teaching without.
The first holiday of the year is a week off for our half-term, otherwise known as Fall Break. To see a new part of Europe, and to pay homage to our collegiate roots, a group of friends and I decided to scamper up north to Scandinavia and visit the capital cities of Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway (the country from which Luther's founders came). Each city seemed vastly different from each other, and each gave my group of friends and I a different taste of Scandinavia.

Stockholm can only be described as a picture-perfect, quaint European paradise. Timeless in its architecture and street design, I found that Stockholm is to Scandinavia what Salzburg is to western Europe: perfection. Its narrow, cobbled, pedestrian roads would wind throughout its old town, leading my friends past various cafes and shops uniquely Scandinavian, seemingly unscathed by American chains or commercialism. Its mostly bleak weather did nothing to break our spirits, but in fact gave us an excuse to by Swedish mittens and stop into more cafes to escape the cold. With an incredible group to travel with, my trip to Stockholm will always remain in my head as one of my favorites I've taken since arriving in Europe.

After visiting Stockholm, we knew that Oslo had a lot to live up to. And boy, did it not. After such a charming city as Stockholm, the big, dirty city feel of Oslo became even more prominent. Its one major street, Karl Johan's Gate, became our only means of finding entertainment. If I were to sum up our trip to Norway with one word, it would be "wandering." Wandering to find things to do, wandering to find the coast to watch the sunset, wandering to find things to do at night. Throughout our trip to Oslo, we found ourselves in a perpetual state of lost. Had it not been for the amazing company I found in my traveling companions, Oslo would have been a complete bust. I am being harsh. There were some enjoyable parts to Oslo as well (and even more so if we had been there in the summer when more things, like ferries to the fjords, had been open) like a really cool sculpture park on the outskirts of the city, or the island of Bygdøy and it's charming tea room, or Grünerløkka, which is considered to be the "Greenwich Village" of Oslo with its square and charming restaurants. But overall, Oslo left a bit do be desired. What our trip did for me, though, was give me more of a reason to go back and visit another Norwegian city, knowing the charm of Decorah, Iowa, which reeks of its Norwegian heritage, must have been inspired by a village somewhere in Norway.
In the meantime, I will always look back on our trip with fond memories. Though the cities themselves had somewhat of an impact on how much we enjoyed the trip, the group with whom I traveled were the major contribution to how much fun I had during the week. I think one way to measure how a trip went is to identify which emotion emerges when reminiscing about that trip. And when I look back on this trip, I will always remember it with a smile. And often with a laugh. :)