New York, Helsinki, Oslo

First the long slog from Philadelphia to JFK. Once in New York, a woman with a bandaged foot and very long blue fingernails befriended me at the Long Island Railroad where I was puzzling over the ticket machine.  She was taking the same train, so she helped me buy ticket, took me to the track, and sat with me. There she told me her story...she was born in Saigon, the child of a Vietnamese mother and a black American soldier. Her mother kicked her out at 8 years and she lived on the streets until she was picked up and moved to an orphanage. At 15 she was shipped to the USA where she entered the foster system and was shipped from home to home until she found a decent family. 

Now she has her own family who know nothing of Vietnam. She goes to the Vietnamese nail salon and doesn’t let them know she speaks the language. She hates the Vietnamese for what they did to her. She was very nice to me!

The Finnair flight was comfy as I was miraculously upgraded to Premium Economy and given a coveted aisle seat. I think this was because I phoned and had a long conversation of carrying my hiking sticks without checking luggage. When I asked, “do you serve water onboard” during our conversation, perhaps she felt a need to upgrade their reputation. 

Fun fact: there is one sauna for every two people in Finland.

Helsinki airport was filled with Marimekko stores and a lot of interesting local liquors. No purchases, I overnight on my way home.

Our Oslo hotel is quite amazing...it’s a military hotel, designed for soldiers on leave and includes breakfast. It is only $45 per night each and we have our ow bathroom. Dinner in the cafeteria is only $11, so if we can control ourselves for a few days, we are beating the Lonely Planet’s 160 Euro budget Norway by quite a bit.

Below are photos of the military and their packs.

We spent our first full day doing a walking tour which included the fortress, city hall, parliament, the opera house, and more. The topic of the German Occupation came up for quite a few of the stops. It seems that WII is forgotten in the U.S., but still lives in formerly occupied countries.

Laura, Carmen (our guide), me, and Carolyn

Hard to resist bird on head photo

An image from the City Hall which is beautifully decorated with traditional Norwegian motifs. Some of the Nobel prizes are issued in this building. They had to add bulletproof glass when Obama won the prize.

A plaque identifying a seized Jewish home—the owner did not last long in Auschwitz.


We were hoping to connect with relatives here. The only family we could find are descended from my mother’s mother’s brother, who stayed in Norway. I can’t imagine how families were separated during this mass migration, but hunger is a powerful motivator. 

Birgitte, who is 26, is of the same generation as my children. She is a social media specialist for a Norwegian personal products company. 

We did have a lovely dinner with her and hope to spend more time with the family over the weekend. Birgitte is a real sweetheart, but how could I be surprised? 



Dinner with Birgitte, our twice removed cousin from Norway. She is a social media specialist in Oslo.