It's Raclette time

Last week was the French holiday of Toussaint on November 1 (equivalent to the United States' "All Saints Day" after Halloween), which meant a whole day off with the weekend for travel time. Literally everything shuts down as people rest the day at home, spending hours over a good meal with family and friends. I admire the way people can truly relax here. We get holidays and days off in the States, but nothing ever truly shuts down so it's easy to still 'multi-task' and get other errands done on those days off. Too many times, I remember being more tired after a holiday than before...

Here, you really have to rest because you can't go anywhere and even if you wanted to, everything would be closed so there's no point in moving around. Sooo I spent the entire weekend eating and sleeping, and it was absolutely amazing. I went with a friend of mine to her hometown of Angers, a couple hours away from La Rochelle. It's a beautiful town, with the ubiquitous castle, chateau, churches, and old houses. Best part of this trip was the raclette party we had during the weekend. A Raclette is an interesting combination of what I would call an American barbecue + French fondue + Japanese shabu shabu, of sorts.

Raclette originated in Switzerland, and it refers to the Raclette cheese that is used in this meal. Traditionally, the Swiss cow herders used to take the cheese with them when they were moving cows to or from the pastures up in the mountains. In the evenings around the campfire, they would place the cheese next to the fire and, when it had reached the perfect softness, scrape it on top of some bread. Nowadays people melt the cheese on a special type of heater called a Raclette grill, and the melted cheese is then scraped on top of potatoes, meat, onions, and other vegetables.

I'm hungry just looking at this photo. You literally sit for hours, spending time eating and drinking throughout the evening. I think I had more meat in one day than I have in one month, and by the time it was finished we still had a plate full of Raclette cheese left for another afternoon. The cheese has a distinct but soft flavor, and melts easily on the grills
These large black grills are called Raclette grills, and you place slices of cheese in small pans, known as coupelles, on the two levels of the grill as you wait for it to melt.

From Normandy to...Oslo ?

It all started with a trip to visit Normandy....until we sat down to look at train ticket prices up North, and realized how expensive they were going to be so that sank that ship. Which brings me to another awesome part about Europe: the super cheap flights you can catch anywhere from the west to the east. Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Air Berlin...you can easily get a ticket from 5 euros and up. Puts Southwest to shame :)

So when our trip to Normandy and Mount St Michel was no longer possible, we decided to go to Oslo instead. Too bad we hadn't checked hostel lodging before buying the tickets, because it just so happened to be one of the busiest weekends in Oslo because every single hostel and hotel was booked that time. Searching for a room had never presented a problem so far, and if it had been warm summer I think we might have roughed it in the train station or a park or something. But it was definitely edging on 0 degrees Celsius in Oslo so lodging was going to be a necessity for the 3 nights. Only possibility? Couchsurfing. It's something I had heard of often but never tried before...basically, it's a website where people from all over the world log-in and offer 'couches' or beds for other travelers. You don't have to know these people, you probably will never see them again after you've come and gone, but people join for the sole reason of wanting to communicate with others from across the world.
So we ended up staying with this nice guy who lived right in the center downtown, and he basically picked us up at the train station, gave us the keys to his apartment, and took off for the weekend. It was incredible. Maybe in the States we get too nervous or realistic about these situations, but here it seems quite normal to just pass your apartment off to random travelers. Granted I wouldn't have done anything wrong anyway, but still.

Marta and I wanted to get to Bergen, which is a good deal west of Oslo, but its famous for its views of the fjords and classic Norwegian landscape. As it was, however, we ended up spending the entire time in Oslo, with a small side trip to Drøbak. Drøbak is one of 6 cities in Norway that claims to be the 'home town' of Santa Claus, and it was an important town in the timber and shipping industry back in the day. It's name derives itself from the Norwegian words, Drøye bakker, which means long lasting hills. The town is one of Oslo fjord's popular summer resorts.

Oslo sentralstasjon (Oslo Central Station)...as you can tell, it was FRIGID. I thought I had checked the weather meter beforehand, but I guess I got the forecast wrong. It actually snowed the very week we arrived, and I hadn't planned on the cold temperatures...

The old port town of Drøbak. The town has its famous Christmas shop called Julehuset (or, the Christmas house), and you can send letters from the central post office with the official "Santa Claus postal address" here.








Mermaid statue near the old port. The statues were a gift to the city from a former resident.









Marta standing in front of the old lighthouse. Many of the homes in Drøbak follow this type of architecture, as it is a quaint picturesque old town full of small white wooden houses.




My favorite spot thus far: Akershus Castle. The fortress was built by King Håkon V at the end of the 13th century. It protected Oslo and Norway through numerous struggles, and later was converted into a Renaissance castle and the fortifications were extended. Now, the castle is used for government receptions and you can wander through the entire grounds and still see the changing of the guards.






We caught some of the beautiful fall foliage in some parts of the castle here

Another spot not to be missed: Vigeland Sculpture Park. It is one of the most visited places in Oslo (over 1 million visitors per year!), and for good reason. This amazing park is the life work of the sculptor Gustav Vigeland who created more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and cast iron. The statues are intended to depict the cycle of life as they depict humans in all forms of living -- playing, fighting, loving, eating, teaching and sleeping. It's an incredible sight: you enter the park from these massive cast-iron gates, and in front of you spreads an entire paved road leading up to the crowning achievement on top of the hill - The Monolith (a massive 46 feet high totem pole, of sorts).