And then it ended

It took me some time to recover from my trip so that I could write this last post. But I need to conclude before moving on to the next adventure.

My last morning in Oslo was an early start. We needed time to make sure we could pick up Lefse before we headed to the airport. It turns out that the box of Lefse to make up for the moldy package was left at the grocery store just down the hill from where Hanne lives. So that made for an easy stop. When she came out with the box it had a lot of Lefse in it. I decided to put in what I could and leave the rest for Hanne and Bjornar to enjoy, although Hanne kept telling me to take more. I'm sure when security checked my bag they were surprised to find frozen homemade Lefse from Bernie's mom, frozen Lefse that was packaged similar to getting a pop tart and then the non-frozen packages. I definitely had plenty of options for Carolyn and her family to try when I got home.

I was sad to say good bye to Hanne at the airport. I also realized that we had never gotten a photo together. So I asked a nice man inside the terminal to help us out.

Hanne and Me

Getting checked in and through customs went well. I still had some Norwegian money to spend before I left so I headed for the duty free shops. You cannot go wrong buying chocolate and postcards. By the time I was done I only had their equivalent of 50 cents left. Not bad. While I was in the Duty free shop I ran into Jenny Holden that used to be a co-worker and is now the Executive Director for Women's Ski Jumping USA. We discovered that we were on the same flight to Amsterdam so I said I'd watch for her at the gate. I was early enough to get a couple of seats near our gate. Turns out the chairs in Oslo are some of the most comfortable I have ever found in an airport. Jenny joined me a bit later and we caught up on things. At one point we realized that they might have moved our gate. I went to check and sure enough we had moved down a couple gates. So we moved down and found a new place to sit. Then the flight was delayed due to the weather. First it wasn't going to be until 11am instead of 10am. Then it was going to be at 10:30am but switched gates again. This time the gate was across from us so we just stayed where we were. Who would have thought that getting a flight out of Oslo could be such an adventure? The one thing Jenny and I never checked was where our seats were on the plane. So imagine our surprise when we ended up next to each other.

We made it to Amsterdam in time for our connecting flights but were rushing a little. I was determined to pick up tulips and alcohol before I departed. Jenny stopped with me for the tulips. And since we knew we wouldn't make it through customs with the real ones we bought wooden tulips which are just as pretty. That is where Jenny and I parted ways since she was headed for Boston and I was going through JFK. I made my stop for alcohol and then made it to my gate in time to sit and wait. Love that part of traveling. At least I had my kindle and a good book that I was finishing.

I have to say that now that I have done Minneapolis to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to JFK, I prefer the first option. The plane was bigger with more room on the first flight. The JFK flight was three on each side with four seats in the middle and completely full. I was unfortunately unable to get switched to an aisle and ended up in the middle. On the bright side I was sitting between two very nice women. One was from Holland and has her own jewelry store. The other was an American who is in the Peace Corp in Macedonia. She was headed to New York to celebrate her daughter's 30th birthday. I think I have a new plan for my retirement years now that I have heard her stories. I will also be adding Macedonia to my list of places to visit.

It is a lot harder to get through customs in our country than it is in Europe. That isn't to say that I had any trouble. But I did not have to fill out a form that just seems to try to trip you up when I reached Europe. Fortunately I made it through and was able to recheck my bag fairly quickly. Then came the confusion. I was so jet lagged that I allowed myself to get on the train between terminals without knowing where I needed to be. Once I was on I realized I needed terminal 2/3 and was headed toward 5. So I got off and took the next train back the other direction. Then it turns out the terminal I walked into was 2 and needed 3. I had the option of walking outside and down the hill to terminal 3 or I could go through security and then over. Since option two had moving walk ways I went that route. I was already tired of carrying my backpack and walking through airports with a knee brace on. It might not have been the quickest way since they had 2 lines for security and a lot of people, but I made it. My only mistake was not picking up dinner at Wendy's sooner. By the time I got around to it the line was too long. I ended up taking a bagel and apple juice on my flight. The JFK to SLC flight is almost as long as the Amsterdam to JFK flight. This time I ended up next to the window with two big guys between me and the aisle who both fell asleep. It was a LONG flight home. And I was trying not to completely fall asleep so that I would sleep when I got there. The one thing that kept me up was the inflight tv. I watched the Daily Show to stay awake.

The last adventure in getting home involved a ride from the airport to the apartment. I had tried to get mom to help me find shuttle info while I was still in New York. Unfortunately it was not working out. I had texted TJ about what he usually did and he said the taxi's were $25. So I knew I had one option. When I got to the airport there was an Express shuttle and it would have only cost me $16. Sadly it turns out that there is a zoning rule for my area that says they can't take me there unless I have a prior reservation. So that meant I had to take the taxi. Eventually I made it home but was too awake to sleep so I unpacked. The joys of traveling.

It turns out that after I left Oslo the weather did improve. In fact they had a sunny weekend. No reports of Northern Lights though. The USA finished strong but off the podium the rest of the weekend. The women finished 9th in the 4x5km Mixed Technique relay, while the men finished 14th in the 4x10km Mixed Technique relay. Then Liz Stephen had a personal best with a 16th place finish in the 30km Freestyle race, followed by Kikkan Randall in 18th, Morgan Arritola in 21st and Holly Brooks in 25th. So happy for Liz! (I still think my biggest regret of the trip is going to be missing the chance to see Liz race. Guess that just means I'll have to find another trip so I can see her in the future.) They say there were 125,000 people along the course for the Men's 50km Freestyle race to finish out the competition. For the USA my rookie Noah Hoffman led the way finishing 30th, followed by Lars Flora in 39th, Tad Elliot in 40th and Billy Demong in 51st. Not sure why Billy raced rather than Kris Freeman. On the Nordic Combined side the guys finished 6th in the last team event on Friday. I should have stayed, you could actually see the jumping that day.

Congratulations to all the USA Nordic Athletes! I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend such an amazing event and cheer them all on. I hope they all had a good time as well.


Here is a great article on Billy Demong.

http://skiing.teamusa.org/news/2011/03/07/demong-back-in-action/41270?ngb_id=3

Great video by Andy Newell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjf_QcYvfKI

Now it is time to start planning the next adventure. I have to be good for awhile, but looking forward to an East Coast trip this summer with my Southwest Airlines reward flight.

Last Day in Oslo

First thing when I woke up this morning I opened the shade and said, "Oh crap." Turns out my last day of events in Oslo was going to be a foggy one. I kept praying that it would blow over but no luck. Despite the weather I hurried to get ready and down to the bus since I wanted to pick up the World Championship stamps on my way in. When I got to downtown I ran over to the post office which happened to be next to McDonald's. Those directions from Hanne made it easy to find. (About to finish my first trip to a foreign country outside of North America without eating ANY McDonald's. Very excited about this fact.) After picking up the stands I headed to Holmenkollen. I got a text from Bjornar on the way asking what I could see. I told him I wasn't there yet but wasn't hopeful. I was right. I never even bothered going to my ticket area, and fortunately nobody asked to see my ticket.

When I got to the top of the hill I decided to stop in the sponsor area to use the bathroom. Turns out that they weren't being real picky about tickets in that area along the side of the big jump. So I found a spot with a view of the finish area and the video board. After awhile I realized that Tara was down below near the edge of the stands so I headed down there. It also put me in a position to actually see the guys as they came up after their jump. To watch the jump today you listened for the bell that indicated they were on the jump. Then you heard the slap of their skis hitting the ground and then finally you saw them ski up to the finish. Even when the fog thinned enough to see the red lines near the landing area you still didn't see the guys. I figured if I wasn't going to see the jump I could at least see them and cheer loudly. I think Todd is the only one that heard me as he came up the steps because he turned around, smiled and pointed in my direction. And I knew I wasn't reading the start list last night, but I didn't see Bryan so I thought maybe Nick was competing. But it was Bryan, Taylor, Todd, Johnny and Billy today.

Todd after his jump

The view at the jump today

Since I had opted to "watch" the jumping it was too late to get a good spot along the course for Cross Country. And that sport is so popular with the Norwegians I knew I couldn't fake my way into the stadium to see anything. So I headed into the cafe to warm up and watch on the tvs in there. I found a spot out of the way and settled in. I considered going out and finding a spot if the U.S. teams made the finals. But everytime I looked out the window behind me I couldn't even see the jump arena that was 20 feet away. So while I was thrilled that Kikkan, Sadie, Andy and Torin made the finals, I stayed put to watch it on tv. In the end our girls finished 9th and our boys were 10th.

My Cross Country view

When the cross country sprints ended I decided it was time to go back outside and find a spot to watch the Nordic Combined race. The amount of people leaving now that XC was over was amazing. So I decided to press my luck and see if I could get into the stadium area. I got over in that area with no problem and considered my options. The view wasn't much better than I would get in one of the standing areas and you couldn't see the video board to help. I had decided maybe I'd go back to my usual spot when I found the rest of the Americans. They told me to join them. I debated with Fred the pros and cons but decided in the end it would be more fun as part of a group cheering. The group included Penny, Fred, Todd's wife Sunni Lodwick and some of the Lodwick friends. We were situated right on the stretch when they came back into the stadium on each loop and the run into the finish line. Todd was starting in 12th position a bit over a minute behind the leader. Billy was in 20th, Johnny in 36th, Bryan in 41st and Taylor in 50th. We had high hopes for Todd and Billy to move up. And with each lap they got closer, but they needed a bit more time to catch the leaders. In the end Todd was 5th and Billy was 6th. Which did get them on the stage at the medal ceremony and a handblown Norwegian glass as a prize.

Todd coming into the finish

Billy finishing

After the race we moved toward the end so we could watch the flower ceremony. We were in a good position to yell to our athletes as they walked by. Some smiled and kept going, but others stopped to chat. We waited and waited but never did see Todd. I heard later that he had gone to a spot his fan club had previously used thinking they would be there. We all finally gave up and headed down the hill to catch a train into town. Grant fed us cheese while we were riding back to town. I have to recommend the Norvega white cheese. Still not a fan of the brown cheese over here, just too sweet. (Although it was better to eat on a waffle.) And so ended my Oslo 2011 World Championships.

Me and the Lodwick fan club



Penny & Fred

Me & Billy Demong

I headed for home and dinner with Hanne and Bjornar. Which was delicious!!! My compliments to the chef. We watched the medal ceremony on tv, and just for kicks I took pictures. I'm pretty sure if I had gone I wouldn't have done so well since I'm so short. I tried it the other night with bad results. So at least this way I got to actually see our guys receiving their prizes. I was also throwing things in my suitcases and trying to get organized. One of the requests I had was for Lefse from Carolyn. I bought a pack last night that did not have to be refrigerated. When we were paying Hanne noticed that it was moldy so she went and got a different pack. Tonight I looked and the package I had was moldy. Bjornar wrote an email to the company and the CEO called him. We are getting some replacement items in the morning on our way to the airport courtesy of the CEO. Impressive! I thought that Hanne and Bjornar might get a voucher or coupon, I never expected them to call. So hopefully I make it home with some fresh Lefse for Carolyn to try.

The picture of the boots below are the ones I borrowed from Hanne after I soaked mine twice. I am not going to mention what they are made of, but they are cute and warm. One of the girls that works for the Ambassador said she has a pair but will only wear them in Norway. She is afraid that if she wears them at home she'll get hit. I doubt I could afford a pair, but if I could I'd consider it.

Hanne's boots that I borrowed

My trip to Oslo ends in the morning. I had a fabulous time and cannot wait to come back and see this country in the summer. I hope also that someday I will have the opportunity to spoil Hanne and Bjornar in my country. They made this trip the most amazing experience ever. I couldn't have done it without them. Thanks so much! We are pretty sure now that I am heading home that our cross country athletes will podium and our nordic combined team will probably take gold on Friday. There will also be a display of Northern Lights as far south as Oslo. I told them they couldn't tell me if they saw the Northern Lights. The rest I hope actually happens. Tomorrow I'll be cheering in spirit for our women's relay team of Kikkan Randall, Jessie Diggins, Liz Stephen and Holly Brooks. GO USA!!!

Random thoughts and Men's 15km Classic XC

I was so tired last night when I had to rewrite the post that I missed a couple things. So I'm going to start with random thoughts and stories. Then go into today's events.

At the reception last night Ambassador White said a few things and then invited Kikkan Randall to come up and talk. He made a joke about hearing that she had trouble with a Norwegian snake in her sprint race, but that in this country it was more likely a troll. Her comeback was that the snake was trying to trip up the Swedish athlete but missed and got Kikkan. It is nice to see that she can joke about it.

I really, really hope that this link works for everyone. It took a moment for it to load the page when I tried it. Move the video ahead to the 2:38 mark and watch from there until 6:05. If it doesn't work someone let me know so we can keep looking for a link. http://www.nrk.no/nett-tv/indeks/253019/ This is the official dance of World Championships. They have everyone do it during stops in competition and at the medal ceremony each night. I knew that I knew the song, but it was three days before someone helped me come up with the fact that it was Everybody Dance Now. Since they put it into Norwegian it threw me but I'd had C&C Music Factory in mind.

Last year the team suits were red. Since everyone is red they opted to switch to black. It appears that everyone who used to be red decided to do that except Norway. So I have to thank Sprint and Nature Valley for their sponsor patches that stand out enough to pick the USA black suits out of the crowd. I always know when it is one of our athletes thanks to those yellow patches. Today I was wasting time before the event started. I realized that besides what I was wearing (courtesy of Farra) I was also a walking sponsor ad. So I put it all together for the picture below. Do I know how to support the cause or what? And you have to love that Snowboarding's logo ended up at Nordic Worlds. I'm guessing Ski team did not end up at Snowboarding Worlds.

High Sierra bag (ignore the SB logo), Sprint on the lanyard, Visa on the credential holder, Dermatone chapstick on the bag, Delta blanket.

I think for today a lot of people played hooky from work. It seemed a lot more crowded at the train station compared to yesterday. But not horrible. I headed up early on the off chance I would get to see Liz or the other girls while the course was open. I was glad when I saw the crowds to get a head start, but it turns out I didn't need it. Since I was making good time I decided to stop in the merchandise tent to see if there were any last minute things I needed to pick up. I have to admit, I really wanted the mascots, but they only come in one size and I was having trouble figuring out how I would pack them. So I picked up something smaller with the mascots on it instead. Then I headed up the hill to the W section and the spot I had found the previous day. Sadie had assured me last night that not only were the guys going past that spot for their course, but would actually go by twice when they added a 5km loop since they were doing 15km instead of 10km. I had barely gotten to my spot when I saw someone in a USA suit go by. Since I didn't have my glasses on yet I just yelled, "Go USA!". The person stopped and turned around so I waved. Turns out it was Billy Demong. He said he wondered when he would see me. Guess the other days were too foggy for him to tell. We chatted for a couple of minutes and I congratulated him on the new addition to his family before he skied off. I never did see any of the girls, but Noah, Simi, Lars and Kris all skied by with some of the coaches at different times. They all smiled or waved when I yelled good luck. Noah laughed and said thanks. I told his family I would fill in being loud and cheering for him today. They went skiing in Lillehammer.

Simi Hamilton

Noah Hoffman



Lars Flora


Kris Freeman

Since I had plenty of time I enjoyed some people watching and got to know the Swedish couple next to me. I had just cheered on one of our guys in the warm up saying good luck when the man said they would need it. Fortunately, he was teasing me. It turns out they had flown over the night before and were just here for today's event. They are big fans of the Swedish athletes. We agreed that we would cheer for each other's countries and also the Australians. We also helped each other out by taking each other's picture or watching our stuff so we could go to the bathroom or to get food. It is nice to make friends when traveling alone so I don't have to carry everything with me once I've found a spot. They were quite popular since they had printed a start list, which of course everyone wanted to see. I had written down the start #'s for our guys, so I only needed to check their list once. Eventually the race started and the cheering began. It was great having them go by us twice. More opportunities to take pictures and cheer them on. Toward the end of the race I was waiting for Kris to make his second pass by us when Paul that I met yesterday, walked up to the couple next to me and asked to see the start list they had. I told him a reporter should have his own. So he came over and stood with me for the last few athletes. We were both laughing that it is easy to pick out Kris even if you haven't met him because his sponsor is Eli Lilly and no one else has that one. As soon as the last guy went by I headed out. I was pretty sure that none of our guys were on the podium. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that Kris was 24th, Noah 30th!!! Lars was 39th and Simi finished 51st. I am so happy for Noah.

Me with the Normal Hill Jump behind

The walk down the hill went quickly, but the train platform was a bit crowded. This was actually a good day though.

Train station crowd

I was home by 4pm though so that is a good day. Now I'm trying to get organized with packing since tomorrow is going to be a long day of Nordic Combined and Cross Country Relays. Hanne and I are going to go shopping for Trinity this evening too. And after yesterday I'm thinking an early night to bed is sounding really good. For the relays, the women are team #12 with Kikkan Randall and Sadie Bjornsen. On the men's side we are team #17 with Torin Koos and Andy Newell. If I am reading the FIS list correctly it looks like for Nordic Combined we will have Nick Hendrickson competing instead of Bryan Fletcher. And then of course there is Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick and Taylor Fletcher. GO USA!

There is a Ski Jump!

I discovered today that there really is a jump at Midtstuen. I had been led to believe this might be the case but had not actually seen the ski jump on two previous visits. It really just looked like they were having the athletes glide out of the fog and calling it a jump. But it turns out it really is there.

Today's schedule included Nordic Combined team event and Women's Cross Country 10km Classic race. I decided to not take any chances on traffic and trains so I headed up early. I caught the Holmenkollen express which was serious. So when I got to Holmenkollen I walked over to the other platform and caught a train back two stops to Midtstuen. I could have hiked up and then down to Midtstuen, but I knew later I'd be hiking up and wanted to give my knee a break. I was inside and finding a spot on the railing by 9:30am. The trial jumps didn't start until 10:30am. It was me and the parents. I saw Johnny Spillane stretching so I yelled Good Luck across the jump and he waved. Then I spread out my blanket on the rail between the French and the Japanese parents. I tried to look big until some more Americans could show up and help me save the space. Eventually we had all the family members that I had heard were in Oslo standing with us. When Nancy and Chris showed up we swapped out my blanket for their flags. It was a perfect position. We had a good view of the jump, the video board and were close enough to yell to the boys after they jumped. All of them waved in our direction after they saw their score. I watched the trial jumps of all four of our guys, and then the official jumps for Johnny Spillane, Billy Demong and Bryan Fletcher. I bailed before Todd so I could get up to the Cross Country race in time. I did not want to miss the women again.

Things are nicer without the fog but the hike from Midtstuen to Holmenkollen is still rough and uphill. It was interesting to see how things were positioned now that we could see. The top of the jump and the Holmenkollen Chapel are actually very close to each other, we just couldn't see that before. I made it up in pretty good time since I left before the guys finished. There was still traffic heading up, but not too bad this time. When I got to the top I found a new direction to walk to the W section which was a lot easier than last time. I wandered around until I found a good spot that gave me a nice view. I was on the back side away from the stadium but I could see the girls coming and it was uphill. I had never seen a classic 10km so I asked someone how it worked. The girls start individually every 30 seconds. By the time they got to us (around the 8km) mark the #'s were mixed up and sometimes you got 2 or 3 athletes at a time. I took the start #'s for our girls with me so I could cheer them. Ida Sargent finished 51st, Kikkan Randall was 32nd, Sadie Bjorsen was 29th and Holly Brooks was 27th.

After the last woman went by our position people started wandering toward the stadium side of the section. As I walked slowly that way the crowd started to get excited and then went nuts. I realized that the announcer must have been telling them that Marit Bjoergen had won her third medal for Norway. Seriously, that girl needs a platinum coat instead of just a gold one. And then the most amazing thing happened. The fully packed crowd in the stands and the woods left. I have never seen a packed women's event thin out before the men's event. Norway was even in medal contention for the NC relay. It was unreal. But as I joked, the XC Ski goddess of Norway had departed and so did the crowd. I told Hanne that the one good side to Norway wins is that I didn't need translation to figure it out. The crowd is a dead give away.

Kikkan Randall

My new spot for the NC relay was only about 20 feet from where I stood on Saturday. Turns out we had a prime location, we just did not realize it with the fog. I could see a good chunk of the stadium area, a downhill section, a bridge and two straight aways in front of me, with an uphill just past. I yelled good luck and/or good job to Kikkan on her warm down and the Fletcher brothers, Johnny and Todd on their warm ups. Usually I got a smile or wave, but Todd actually stopped for a moment trying to figure out where it had come from and then smiled when he found me. Our guys had jumped their way in to the 5th position. I had high hopes until sometime during the third leg that we might climb higher. They pulled themselves into a very solid 4th place. Since every medal ceremony I had seen included 1st-6th place finishers I figured that at least got our guys on the stage.

Billy Demong

Bryan Fletcher

I heard one other American voice cheering on our guys in my area. I looked around and met Paul, who is working for Cross Country Ski Magazine over here. He had just flown in today and come straight up to the races. We ended up chatting on the way down to the train after the race. Today was actually an easy walk out and straight onto a train. I think I enjoy week day events the best.

Big jump at Holmenkollen

(I liked how it trails into the clouds)

It seemed easier to just go downtown rather than heading home in between. So I went souvenir shopping and then wandered past the City Hall and over to the water. I passed the Nobel Peace building. And then went into City Hall which is a pretty impressive place. After that I decided it might be smart to head to the stage area so I could get a spot. It was really early but I knew with Marit winning a medal it would get busy. Turns out my good spot was not so good once everyone filled in. But on my tip toes I could see Marit and the other athletes a little. But then the teams came out for the NC team event and only 1st-3rd came out. No USA team. Which also meant I had missed an opportunity to get a ride to the reception at the Ambassador's residence. As soon as I realized that I squirmed my way out of the crowd and called Hanne. And once again she rescued me. She got me to the right place to grab a bus. Then texted me the stop I wanted so I could see the spelling. Once I got there I called her and she directed me to the residence. She kept saying that maps weren't her strength but she got me exactly where I needed to be. I walked up just as the end of the team line was going through the gate check point. Someone asked where I had been and I said I didn't realize that 4th-6th wouldn't be honored so I'd been at the medal ceremony. One of the coaches, Gilbo, said they had just recently found that out too. So I guess I just missed the memo.

The US Ambassador's residence in Oslo is Villa Otium. It is a beautiful place and cost $125,000 in 1920 something. It was so expensive at that time it took an act of Congress to purchase. Ambassador White and his wife greeted the team. It was a wonderful evening and I was happy to have the opportunity to catch up with some of the team. I was especially thrilled to see Liz Stephen until I discovered that by missing the race the other day I missed my only chance to see her compete while I'm here. She seemed happy just to see me in Oslo, but I'm disappointed I missed cheering her on. Kikkan introduced me to her husband who is Canadian, works for the Australians and is married to an American. Sounds like fun. She said that the Aussie athletes took headshots that mimic those of the Norwegians on this huge semi trailor. Then they printed them and stuck them on their little van before parking it next to the Norwegian trailor. I hope I get to see pictures of that. I said I had wanted to take a photo of the big trailor so I could show our suppliers what opportunities they were missing with our team. That and I think we need gold jackets for when our athletes win big things. Liz also took me around and introduced me to the athletes who made World Championships but weren't on the U.S. National team. So tonight I met Tad Elliot, Jessie Diggins, Sadie Bjornsen and Holly Brooks. Hopefully some of them will end up in Rookie Camp with me this summer. It was great to see faces since I'd been cheering for them all week. It is hard to tell what someone looks like through sunglasses and earbands/hats.

I expected to just catch the bus home but Farra insisted I go with them until they dropped a group off at Majorstuen. Since I can catch one of the busses I need there I went with it. I discovered that DJ did get the bag of socks but did not realize the paper in there was a note. I told him it just said he owed me a drink for delivering them. He promised me one back in America. I'm holding him to that. One last hug for Liz wishing her good luck and I headed home.

Tad, Jessie, Me, Liz, Kikkan

Stephanie, Kikkan, Jessie, Sadie, Holly, Liz

Liz, Ambassador White, Me

It was an extremely long day. (Not helped by the fact I had to write this twice since the first time disappeared.) Tomorrow's schedule includes the Men's Cross Country 15km Classic race. Plan on cheering for Simi Hamilton (one of my rookies), Noah Hoffman (one of my rookies), Lars Flora and Kris Freeman. I plan on one of these guys pulling off an upset and making the podium. I'd really like to attend a medal ceremony with someone from our team actually there. Go USA!

Men's XC 30km Pursuit

After yesterday's adventures this morning was a bit of a slow start. Fortunately they had the transportation fiasco from yesterday cleaned up (after numerous apologies) so I didn't have to start out too early. The sun was out when I left this morning. My first glimpse of blue sky since I arrived. Hanne was kind enough to drive me into town so I could try the train. Since none of the trains actually say Holmenkollen I asked a young lady standing next to me. She promised to point out the right one when it came through. It turns out it was not hard to figure it out since it was already packed. We turned around and walked out of the station and got on the bus outside. The downside to the bus was the fact that it was only going to the path to the lower jumps, not all the way up to Holmenkollen which is where I needed to be for the XC race. On the way up the road though my brain kicked in. I realized that a short way up the path was the train station so I could see about sliding on when a train came through. This turned out to be a good idea. The first train was too full but the second had plenty of space for a few of us to jump on.

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!

The Hill from H*LL

Today was an experience. Nordic Combined was going to start at 10am. I thought if I caught the 8:15am bus I should get there with some time to hike up to the competition site. I never considered that a Saturday would be worse than a Friday afternoon. Or that maybe the fact that nordic combined, women's cross country and men's jumping were all going on today. I made it to the train in reasonable time. Unfortunately, when I got there I faced a wall of people that was not moving. Train after train came into the station and left empty if it wasn't going to Holmenkolen or was so full when it came into the station no one could get on it. I eventually texted Hanne and said that I wished I knew more about the area so I could figure out a plan b. She called me a few minutes later and said that there were issues with the train and to walk outside the station where I should be able to find a bus. Within 15 minutes I was on my way up to Nordic Combined. I double checked with a teenage girl and her mother to make sure I was in the right spot. They told me I was and we chatted while we waited. The teenager reminded me very strongly of a former U.S. Alpine skier named Kaylin Richardson. And just like Kaylin she was very friendly and helpful.

Those inside the station did not seem to figure out that there was a bus option right outside. Despite that fact the bus ride was extremely packed. I squeezed myself between two sections of seats over a wheel well and rode up that way so I could leave more room in the aisle. When we got dropped off at a parking lot I wasn't completely sure where I was, but figured that following the crowd was a good plan. On the way out of the lot I realized the group waiting for more members were American. Turns out they were a high school nordic team from the Boston area. They came over for their winter break and took advantage of World Championships being here to attend an event. We all hiked up the hill together. Eventually we came to the spot where the train lets you out and I realized how far we still had to go but we made it.

At the top it was not long before I realized that the weather was as bad or worse than the day before. I'm still not convince there is a ski jump there but those athletes keep coming from somewhere. When I walked in I saw a couple of people in our team jackets so I yelled to Tara. I had brought socks for the head coach to give some of our service guys and wanted to get them delivered. I left a note in the bag that said Toni told me that DJ would owe me a drink for delivering them. We'll see what happens with that. Tara informed me that our guys had not jumped and gave me their approximate start #'s. No sooner had I walked around to find a spot that three of our guys jumped right in a row. They did okay but not great. In fact, watching some of the guys I kept thinking the girls jumped just as far. Fortunately, Bryan Fletcher had a great jump and was sitting in 10th before the Cross Country portion. I had found Bryan and Taylor Fletcher's mom and stepdad in the crowd. I had met them the night before when they came almost straight from the airport to cheer on the women jumpers.

After the jumping we headed for cross country which was on the other side. This is when I met the hill from h*ll. I'm pretty sure it rivaled the hill we walked up at the Torino Olympics. In fact, if I can walk tomorrow I'll be impressed. It did switcheback. And since there was such a crowd headed that way the pace was slow which helped my knee. We ran into the high school team again. They were extremely impressed to be walking with Bryan and Taylor's mom. At one point we came around a turn and all I could see was people going straight up the hill. It definitely scared me a bit. My knee can take a lot now but that was going to be pushing my luck. Fortunately, it turned out those were just the crazy people who decided to take the "short cut" route. We had the option of another switchback. I took that option. Eventually we reached the top but still had to find a place to watch the race. That took so long that we only saw the last couple of cross country girls go by us. And then it was over and we had a new chance to find a spot for the nordic combined race. I was disappointed to miss an opportunity to cheer on our girls, especially Liz Stephen. Finding a location to watch became a whole new adventure but eventually we found ourselves on a fence that overlooked two sections coming and going. We could see the back half of the stands too. And at one point when the fog lifted for a brief moment we could see more of the stadium, and then it was gone again. The men were warming up and the girls were cooling down while we were standing there. A few times we saw some of the U.S. men go by. I kept hoping the U.S. women would go by on their cool down. Just so I could say I saw them even though I missed the race. Eventually an American uniform came our direction so I just started yelling, "USA, USA, USA!" I'm pretty sure it was one of the two girls I couldn't have identified that qualified. But then I looked up and coming our direction was Liz. So I started yelling for her. No idea if she heard me, but at least I got to see her go by. Turns out our girls finished 24th- Liz Stephen, 25th- Holly Brooks, 28th- Jessica Diggins, 43rd- Morgan Arritola.

With all the fog it is hard to know what is going on. So we realized the race had started when the first guy went by us on the lower section. We started counting so we could find our guys. No one ever did catch the guy in first. But it was quite a race with our boys. Bryan started 10th, Todd started 16th, Billy was 29th, Johnny maybe 34th and Taylor was 39th. We cheered as loud as we could. And I took pictures the best I could, but very few are actually good. In the end our boys finished 7th- Billy, 8th- Todd, 19th- Johnny, 22nd- Bryan and 26th- Taylor. A good day for moving up. Hopefully they will recover and be ready to kick some butt in the team event on Monday. I would really love to see them win a medal after performances like today.

I thought I picked a Fletcher, but this might be Johnny

The white hat is definitely Todd

Johnny again? (It was a confusing day)

Once it was over the next adventure, getting home, began. It was slow going working our way back up and then down the hill. We did make a brief detour to see the Holmenkolen Chapel which is beautiful. Then it was down we went. According to Penny and Fred my limp got worse as we went. Which is not good since I've been trying not to limp. Along the way two students asked me if I was from America and then proceeded to give me a high five. Turns out they are also Americans on exchange in Norway. From their attire you would never have guessed it. I had been confused when I first walked by them and heard their english but saw their clothing. Guess they were just trying to fit in. After what seemed like forever we reached the bottom near the train station. At which point we ran up against that human wall again. Penny asked someone about the wait while I asked someone about the option to get a bus. I was told there were no busses, just the train. She was told it would be over an hour of waiting for the train, but we could walk to the center of Oslo in an hour. With those options we decided to walk. I texted Hanne to let her know and off we went. At one point Hanne texted telling me to let her know when we got close on the train since they were in town. I sent her back a message letting her know we were literally walking so it might take awhile. When she called we had only reached the lower drop off point for the lower jump. She told us to keep going and she would see how far they could drive up to meet us. At one point we were optimistic that a bus was an option. But then we were disappointed again and kept walking. I was warm enough during this whole process, just annoyed because my boots had become so wet that my feet sloshed. I have never enjoyed it when my feet sloshed in my shoes (made for long spring soccer seasons). We finally reached a lower train stop that also had a coffee shop. Our theory was that we could get something hot to drink, check in with Hanne and see if we could squeeze onto a train coming down. Thankfully Hanne called as the 3rd train we would never have been able to fit on came by. She told us they were almost to us and to wait at the street. I have never been so thankful to see two people in my life! They picked up all three of us and took Penny and Fred to their lodging. That warm car with Hanne and Bjornar was the most beautiful sight of my trip so far. First Hanne saved me so I could get to the event, and then Hanne and Bjornar saved us returning from the event.

Back at their condo we hung out for awhile, ate some lunch and I tried to dry out. Eventually a run to the grocery store was in order. I think the closest way to describe their big grocery would be similar to a super Target or Walmart. It has some of everything. Although I think it is a bit more mixed together than our stores. I decided that I wanted to make them something since they have done so much for me. So walking through the store I was trying to remember what is in Derby Pie since it is about the only thing I can successfully make. We managed to find chocolate chips, opted for walnuts instead of pecans and bought some dough for pie crust. The rest Hanne said she had at home. Dinner tonight was steak on the grill, mashed potatoes and cooked tomatoes using the garlic oil that I brought them. It was all delicious! Then Hanne and I set to work figuring out how to make Derby pie with their temps and measuring cups. Fortunately, she found one that had our measurements on one side so I was able to figure it out. When I opened the bag of chips I realized they are much bigger than ours. But its chocolate and going to melt somewhat so I just went with it. They also have different measurements on their stick of butter so we were guessing and melting. We had a bit more melted butter than we needed, but definitely got what was required. I put it all together and put it into the pie crust Hanne had created. I tasted some of the mix in the bowl and it tasted like what I am used to. It turned golden like I am used to, but it did a few things I did not expect. Hanne seems to think that despite it's looks the taste will be great. So tomorrow night we will find out. I joked that I needed to take a picture of the pie, but I don't think I'll be sharing it with mom and Amber unless it really does taste great. The family already has enough jokes about my cooking abilities.

Tomorrow is the Men's 30km Pursuit. So tempted to skip it after today's adventures. But I have been reassured that it should be partly sunny and the Norwegians will be out in full force for this event. I guess I can't come all this way and miss that experience. So I will be out there cheering on Kris Freeman, Lars Flora, Tad Elliott and Noah Hoffman (one of my rookies). Go USA!

Wish it! Dream it! Do it!

I am going to steal today's title from Sarah Hendrickson's gloves (see the photo below). It seems like the perfect title for the World Championship Women's Ski Jumping. The girls today did more than just wish, dream and do it. They were true champions whether they finished on the podium or off. In fact every one of those girls are my hero for going out there and jumping in the conditions they competed in today.



I arrived at the competition sight around 12:20pm. As soon as I wandered up near the stands I heard my name being yelled. The girls were standing just a few feet away so I was able to go over, wish them luck and give them hugs. I was happy to have that opportunity to start off my day. I wandered around a little further trying to figure out where my ticket allowed me to stand. I noticed the team coach, Kjell talking to some people. I waited until he was headed back toward the team and stopped him just long enough to say hi. After he walked away a woman approached me and asked if I knew him or was with the team. I told her that I worked with them and she informed me that the whole group standing there were from Kjell's village in Norway. They were there to cheer on the USA girls. Pretty impressive. At the time the men's qualifying was going on. It was foggy so you couldn't see the top of the jump but you could see the OSLO across the hill just above the landing area. I decided that since we did not have anyone competing I would wander back toward the cafe and merchandise tents to see what was available. That area ended up being the best place to find people. First I found Blair who works with the women's jumping team and then I found the moms (Chris, Nancy & Dorie). Blair told me to look for them near the rail because they had brought flags to put up.

When the moms and I walked around to our standing ticket area we found the group and moved in. Thankfully the position was right across from the big screen because while I was gone the fog moved lower. You could no longer see the OSLO on the hill. We were able to watch much of the jumps on the screen and then you could see the girls as they entered the finish area. There were many times the judges held the girls or had them come off the bar and wait for conditions to improve. Despite this the girls put down some impressive jumps. For most of the competition we could barely see the lights at the bottom portion of the jump by the landing. And we never could see the landing.

Our view

Despite the conditions the crowd was enthusiastic. We all cheered for every athlete but you knew when an American or a Norwegian athlete was coming up. It went a bit crazy at that point. Throughout the event our group size grew as more American fans found us. A couple of the Nordic Combined parents had flown in this morning and they eventually found their way to the event and our group. The reigning world champion coming into today was American Lindsey Van. Unfortunately the wind and weather were not helpful and her first jump came up short. She did not qualify for the second jump. In the end our girls finished 14th- Jessica, 16th- Sarah, 20-Alissa, 24th-Abby and 34th- Lindsey. At the end I had the chance to ask Abby what their view was like from the top. She said it was exactly like ours. They could barely see their coach give them the signal to go. They couldn't see the end of the jump and they definitely couldn't see the crowd. But she said they could hear us. It was a tough day for all of them but I am still amazed by the perserverence and determination despite the odds and weather. These girls deserve the opportunity to be Olympic athletes. They certainly showed today that they will not let anything stop them from competing in a sport they love. I hope someday everyone gets a chance to see them compete.

The mascots


Abby and Me (after event)

Chris, Dorie, Nancy, Nancye

Nancye & Nancy

After the event I managed to get the parents all down the right route to the train. Since we had different stops they were on their own from there. I got off and picked up the bus back to Hanne's place. They made the most delicious homemade pizza for dinner. It was amazing. And then we watched tv and I did my knee exercises since I have been slacking off with moving and travel. I'm pretty sure now that they know I'm supposed to be doing them they will be cracking the whip. We hoped that during some of the jumping replays I could point out our group. They did show a shot of Blair on the tv and my hand waving a bell, but that was it. Which is fine, since I'm not a huge fan of being on tv. It is hard enough making myself do photos. But I want you to know I'm really here, so I posed for a couple today.

Tomorrow morning it is back to the hill. Here is hoping we can see it this time. There is Nordic Combined and Women's XC Pursuit to cheer for. Plan on cheering for Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane, Billy Demong, Bryan Fletcher and Taylor Fletcher. On the XC side we can cheer on Liz Stephen, Morgan Arritola, Holly Brooks and Jessica Diggins. GO USA!