Mum and Engelbert in Oslo in winter

It was not even half a year ago that my mum and Engelbert came last time to Oslo to visit Marco and me [click here for the post]. This time they came four days from 21st evening to 24th of February, with the plan to discover Oslo once in winter. This should be combined with a visit of the Oslo Opera where my mum always wanted to attend a performance.
The only thing though that was on the programme during their two evenings in Oslo was a concert under the theme "russisk aksent" for which I had booked tickets for all four of us plus Mari.

 

After the concert at the opera we went all five to have dinner at a nearby restaurant, "Bella Bambina", in the East Hall of the train station. Good concert + yummy food + great company = nice evening :-)

As part of the "discover Oslo in winter" plan we had the idea to show my mum and Engelbert the famous "Korketrekkeren", the old bob sleigh track that allows you to have a fantastic long ride with sledges all the way from Frognerseteren down to Midstuen from where the tram would bring you up again for another ride down.

My mum didn't feel to much like sledging. So only Marco, Engelbert and me went to get equipped.

And then it was time for the first tour down.

Unfortunately our winter activity didn't last that long. The weather and in particular the snow conditions weren't good enough. The previous days it had simply been too warm. No new snow came and the remaining snow still lying on the track had become to slushy, to watery. This only slowed down the sledges which simply couldn't gain proper speed on their way down. Additionally the initial part of the track down hadn't been prepared, so instead of getting on the sledges rushing down from the very top, right from the platform of the tram, one had to pass some hundred meters of bumpy slope by foot before actually starting the ride.
All in all not much fun. What a pity. Because usually this is so much fun, simply "kjempegøy" as the Norwegians would call it.
So after only two/three runs down we were fed up and gave up. We decided to join my mum and Mari who in the meantime had sat together at a nearby hotel chatting and having coffee.

Soon Mari left (she still had some appointment later on that afternoon) and also we headed back home.

We actually had great plans for this evening. My mum had brought a 1,7kg roast "Spießbraten" from Germany to be cooked in the "Römertopf" (a kind of clay roaster) which I got hold of one day here in Oslo. It just waited to be used once. But meat being so damn expensive in Norway it had to wait until my mum brought something good along :-)

Ohhhh, that was so yummy!!!

Well, and that it was already, the long weekend with my visitors from home :-( Time had passed to quickly. The next day I had to go back to the office and they left during the afternoon.
However, I was happy they had come again!!!