Their, and Back Again

Ursula and I had a good time in Frankfurt. After I wrote the last blog, we wondered aimlessly around the city and talked. Ursula was very impressed with Frankfurt. Eventually we hit up a restaurant so that Ursula could sample some German cuisine. Then we continued wandering and talking. We stopped into some churches, paused for coffee breaks, and took pictures of pretty buildings. I’ve been to the Frankfurt Airport so many times, that it was nice to finally get to know the city a little better. Urusla and I didn’t have a map, but Frankfurt is on a grid and has some tall buildings so it was pretty easy to navigate.

That evening our couchsurfing host Gautier made us a wonderful diner and then we went out for a beer. Gautier is a really open minded positive guy. He is French, and he is doing an internship in Frankfurt to complete his last year of school. Soon he’ll be traveling around Eastern Europe for a month and then he’ll start another internship in Berlin. Gautier is 20 and he is also in the “Where am I going next!?” phase in his life, so it was especially good to talk to him. He has a lot of interests and talent so I’m sure he’ll work something out. Ursula, Gautier, and I talked about culture, beer, language, teaching, materialism, travel, tobacco, politics, etc… It was wonderful.

The next day, (Wednesday), Ursula and I set out for the airport. She caught a bus back to Metz, and I caught a plane to Oslo. I met up with Fredrik, my couchsurfing host without a problem. I was grateful that he fed me right away, because I was so hungry! Fredrik is a well traveled writer, and an avid tango dancer. Talking with him and trying tango was really neat. We shared meals together, and I learned a lot. More on that later….

Oslo is great! All the museums are free in the winter, and the buildings are super colorful.
I spent Thursday chasing after Edvard Munch. I came to Oslo, because I fell in love with Munch. Traveling to another country is the craziest thing I’ve ever done for love. I hope too keep it that way. I started the day in the National Gallery, and then I went to in the Munch Museum. The National Gallery had some of Munch’s best paintings, along with other outstanding pieces. I was floating! It’s not a big museum but I spent over three hours their. Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in the National Gallery.

Friday, Fredrik was kind enough to share the fortress and the town hall with me. I felt so grateful that he came along and told me about some history and culture. I know he must have seen those things hundreds of times. Later that day, I ventured out to the exquisite Gustav Vigeland sculpture park, and Fredrik went skiing. I was so impressed by the sculptures. I tired to take pictures, but it was difficult because sculptures are huge, and they are best appreciated in 3D.

Saturday I saw a Contemporary Art Museum. I wanted to see the Modern Art Museum, but for some weird reason it didn’t open when it was supposed to. Oh well. I didn’t understand the Contemporary Art, but appreciated the posters that described the philosophy behind the Contemporary Art Movement. In an overly simplified sound bite, “Contemporary Art tries to appreciate art as a process while celebrating the intrinsic beauty of everyday objects”. I’m really into that philosophy!

After Contemporary Art, I caught my plane home. I came in at midnight and my lovely friends cooked a meal for me and we chatted it up until nearly four in the morning. I get so sad when I think about leaving my friends. It was wonderful to have someone to come back to at the end of the trip, I missed them so much! Living alone isn’t too terrible if I have friends like that. I can’t imagine coming home to nobody after a long trip.

Well I’m back in Metz, and work starts tomorrow. I’ve kept a simplified account of my travels, but I have more to share, and I’m still processing. I think it will be a blog heavy week. You can check out my pictures on Facebook. I’ve also accepted a job in St. Louis as a tutor with AmeriCorps. More on all that later as well!