Norway is a beautiful country…deep blue fjords, mountains stretching up to the clouds, roads that wind through green and pleasant landscapes. One thinks of the Vikings and the ancient history of the Norge folks and their forays out beyond their borders to other lands.
But, have you ever thought about how the current political landscape was established in Norway?
Being friends with a former politician and journalist allows great opportunity for awareness of recent history. You might not know that Norway established their independence from their Scandinavian neighbors barely 200 years ago in 1814 after the Napoleonic Wars.
17 May is their constitution day. But, if you talk to a Norwegian it is ’17 Mei’ or as my friends taught our kids, it is ‘adults can’t say no to children day’. It is a day full of joy and vitality as children march in parades all over the country. 
It is also notable that there is no military presence on this day. The entire country, and I do mean, the entire country dresses up in their national colors, school uniforms or traditional dress passed down from generations to walk and march and then eat as much ice cream as one can possibly stuff in themselves. Okay, maybe that was more my boys’ experience. However, being able to have a lot sweets is a big part of the fun.
The older kids end their Russe Busse at 11am when the parades start (see previous blog). The parades march around the neighborhoods and town and city centers all over the county.
After watching local parades, our hosts secured all of us tickets to be in the courtyard of the Royal Palace in Oslo where we patiently awaited the appearance of the royal family all while watching the endless stream of parade participants march by and admire the local costumes. 
Oakley was particularly excited and was sure that the King had waved directly to him as the entire royal family came out on the balcony.
There is something calming and magical about dressing up along with everyone else in colors of blue, red and white. Having a bit more thought into our dress took some doing for us since we’d been traveling for so long we didn’t have much variety.
I wore my lone dress I had made in Vietnam and borrowed a shirt for Canyon and Oakley got a new collared shirt. Dressing up seems to give us a sense of grace.
After the royal courtyard experience and watching over 100,000 people proudly milling around we went for a luncheon at our friends Brita and Eva’s house. They had been preparing for this meal for a week.
A true smorgasbord of delights as well as a lazy afternoon of snacking, wine sipping and light napping before we found our way back to Marianne and Tore’s house on public transport packed with others finding their way around in their nice dress as sated smiles. It was a sleepy, peaceful commute home. 
The next day we had to recover some before we headed on to our next destination, grandparents along for the ride.
Our time in Norway was magical and we are eternally grateful for our experiences there. We will be back and especially on the day that one can unashamedly eat A LOT of ice cream and celebrate Norway and their people. 
We arrived in Brussels on a blustery March day after a daylong journey from Hamburg, Germany via Koln. It is delightful to experience the German precision timing of the trains complete with markings to let you know exactly where you need to get on your train compartment.
Our continuing world schooling agenda was punctuated by a visit to the 
We had been doing this for awhile. Learning please, thank you and the first 10 numbers whenever possible. In Belgium, my effort stalled when we met French speakers as my French is very, very, very, very weak but, folks were very accommodating to my Dutch.
Ahhh, it was delightful. The sampled frites, organic markets, gorgeous chocolate and sumptuous coffees not to mention the beers. Connecting with long time friends and hopefully, creating some connections for our kids in making friends that I hope will last their life times. That is part of the purpose of this trip.