Once I got off at the Holmenkollen station it was a slow climb up the hill to the competition area. Along the way I enjoyed the people watching. Part way up I realized the people in front of me were speaking english and one member of the group had the same warm up jacket on that I did. Since I am in the home country of Bjorn Daehlie I can not assume much from the jacket. While most Norwegians that I have come in contact with speak english, they don't tend to do so until you ask them a question in english. I asked the man next to me if they were from America. He said yes and as his wife turned toward me I realized she had a U.S. Ski team logo on her headband. I asked if by any chance they were Noah Hoffman's parents. Turns out they were. I guess they could have been any American fan or parent, but I knew that the Hoffmans were in town since Penny and Fred had asked me if I had seen them. Before today I had never even met them. I just knew Noah from Rookie Camp. Our ticket sections were right next to each other so we hiked up the hill trying to figure out where to stand so we could actually see some of the course. Eventually we reached their area which was somewhat better than my area so they had me slid in with them. The area was like a bleachers only it was for standing instead of sitting. We were directly lined up with the big jump, which you could actually see. This put us somewhat off to the side of the Cross Country stadium and course.
The big jump
Holmenkollen Chapel with sun on it.
It was hard to tell how much we were going to see. There was a video screen down by the jump so we had that option. The binoculars helped make the screen easier to read. Luck was on our side and we saw more than we could have hoped for. So in the pursuit they do 15km of classic skiing and 15km of freestyle skiing (or skate). The classic route had three laps but the only time we saw them was when they came through the stadium. During this portion of the race Noah and Kris Freeman were in the pack of top 30 racers. The announcers said Noah's name a couple times during the race. Once they mentioned that he was a surprise addition to that group. We all cheered and those around us turned to look. The skate skiing had many more sections that were within site of the stadium. We could see them go through, across and out of the stadium, behind, up a hill and across a bridge. So during those laps we had more opportunities to pick out our guys. Although after awhile we did lose track of Tad and Lars. Kris stuck with the first pack most of the race and Noah lost a bit of ground but was in a follow up group. Toward the end Kris fell off the back but stayed in position for 30th. In the final run into the stadium he kicked into gear and finished 29th. Noah finished 27th for the day which was great for him. In the end Lars finished 53rd and Tad was 55th.
Kris Freeman in the black (between the red athletes)
Noah Hoffman
Skier from Kenya
(He has been around since the mid-1990's. This is his last.)
We realized early on that our guys were probably not going to be on the podium, so we were very excited while the Canadian athlete was leading the race, even if they did take one of our coaches. Sadly, it was not meant to be. In the last lap the Norwegian skier over took him and controled the end of the race. You should have seen the crowd when the announcer started going crazy with that news. I have absolutely no idea what he was saying but you didn't have to. You knew that Norway had the lead based on the fans. The excitement was huge, the flags were waving and the cheers never stopped. I kept joking that I was going to the Super Bowl for Nordic. That is seriously what it felt like to be in the midst of all those Norwegians when their athlete took the win in today's race. Hanne had warned me that this would be a big day for them and they would all be out in full force. I do not think you can imagine what this was like without experiencing it someday for yourself. If you ever get the chance I highly recommend it. No one in America would believe that all that excitement and cheering was for a Cross Country ski race. It was an amazing day.
Afterward we slowly made our way toward an exit (you always hope anyway). Noah called his family and asked them to meet him in front of the Chapel. We had to laugh because that meant going against the tide of traffic for them, but he could ski over. They asked if I wanted to come but I was going to meet up with Hanne and Bjornar so I said to tell Noah congrats for me. I pointed them in the right direction and headed downhill. On the way I had to stop and see the sponsor tents. One of these days I need to go into the merchandise tent up there (just have to check my account first). I made pretty decent time down the hill until I hit the wall right above the train station. You could tell when a train came in because we would move a few feet forward. I texted Hanne to let her know that I would update her when I got on a train. It took some time, but once we reached the ramp it went surprisingly quick. They did a much better job today getting us out of there. But they also had jumping in the afternoon and you needed a separate ticket so they needed us gone.
When I reached downtown Hanne and Bjornar were waiting for me. They took me over to Vigeland Park. It is a beautiful area with some amazing sculptures. Everyone who has been to Oslo has been recommending it. I loved everything. It is hard to believe that the big sculpture is one piece of stone. The detail is unbelievable. They kept telling me how nice it is during the summer. But I really enjoyed it in the snow. We walked from one side, around the center point and down the main walk with the line of statues, including the angry child which is famous, and stolen often. I kept asking questions that they did not have answers to. Although we did find out that the building I was asking about was Frogner Manor and was from 1790. We went into the Vigeland Cafe to see if they had postcards. Not only did they have postcards but they had Holmenkollen postcards that say Oslo 2011 Nordic World Championships. I stocked up. But they cost 190 kroner which comes out to each postcard being about $2 each, so guess what everyone is getting as a souvenir?! I was assured that this is the cheapest cost I was going to find for postcards, and they are perfect, so I went with it. If you get one plan on treasuring it.
From there we tried to go to the Viking museum but it was closed. Instead we drove out to Bygdoy area which also has some museums that were closed. We were still able to walk around though and see some boats and the water. At least I'm sure it is a beautiful water area when it is not ice. It was actually kind of cool. On the way back we stopped so I could take a picture of the royal barns with the former king's symbol on them. I also enjoyed the drive back among some of the older areas that were really beautiful. Hanne had run into a bakery real quick and picked up some bread and Bolle which is a sweet roll with raisins. Delicious! It was a nice afternoon in Oslo.
Tonight for dinner I got to try their version of hotdogs. These were special ones named Kollen after Homenkollen. So I had hotdogs that were world championship dogs. And instead of buns we ate them on lefse which was yummy. When we are ready for dessert we are going to try my derby pie. Lets hope it tastes better than it looks. Hanne just said it looks like an earthquake. I was a bit nervous while cutting it, but it tastes good. Phew.
I have to admit that I'm glad I went to Freestyle World Championships before I came to Oslo. The difference between the two is night and day. Someone told me that going to Nordic Worlds would be as big as the Olympics. They were not kidding. Besides the crowds you can see the comparison in the medal ceremonies. There is a huge, beautiful stage downtown with a podium that looks like ice (it might actually be ice). The top six finishers come out, although only the top 3 are on the podium. But all six athletes receive what looks like a crystal or glass trophy cup. I hope one of our athletes wins so I can find out what it is. Each night includes concerts and victory celebrations. Members of the royal family have shown up at the flower ceremonies and the medal ceremonies. It is all done on a very grand scale. The best part is that when a member of the Norway team wins a gold they get a gold coat. I can just see Spyder doing that down the road for Lindsey. Overall it has been an amazing experience. I'm really glad that I took the suggestion from Billy to come to Nordic World Championships in Norway.
Tomorrow is the Nordic Combined small hill team event and Women's Cross Country 10km Classic. Our NC team is going to be made up of Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick and Bryan Fletcher. For the women's 10km it will be Ida Sargent, Sadie Bjornsen, Holly Brooks and Kikkan Randall. Since I missed the women's race while hiking up from jumping the other day I think I will head up early this time. Might have to skip Todd's jump. Shh, don't tell on me. GO USA!
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