It’s great that Anya is well enough to be out. Her last fever was on Thursday, and the cough is subsiding. However, Anya had a bought of “cabin fever” and was eager to get out.
On weekdays after 5 (1700, as they use “military time”) and on weekends, up to two adults and three children can travel for free on the bus with a Flexi Pass. So, we were able to travel today at no additional cost.
We took the bus to Kvadrat, the 2nd largest mall in Norway, when a factory was re-purposed. It is large, but not as big as Bellevue Square, and only one rather large store, which was H&M. Here was her favorite find at H&M. She wanted to buy it, but $30 was a bit much for this fake American team.
The mall did have real American Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (at least the brand is American), which Anya was eager to have. With a 2 for 1 Valentine’s Day special, Anya had 2 scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone for $4.60. (That means that typically 1 scoop is that price!)
We checked out several stores and lots of mental notes about where to find things. There was a nice Asian grocery, where we splurged on a lychee juice for Anya and soybean milk for me (like my early days in Hong Kong), at $3 per 12 oz. can! It was a nice time to explore and get out.
In the evening, one of Anya’s friends from school (from her 4 days of attendance last week), invited her to participate in a Fastelavn ritual. We were clueless about what was going on, but Anya came home with birch branches with colorful feathers tied on.
Here’s an explanation from http://mylittlenorway.com/2010/04/norwegian-easter-traditions/
Carnival – Karneval
- In Norway there is a slow run up to the Easter celebrations. Carnival is the first event and is the Sunday to Tuesday before the fast season. It is called fastelaven, ‘eve of the fast’. It is now a children’s celebration with parties and fancy dress costumes in schools and kindergartens. However, in old Catholic tradition in Norway, before the reformation, carnival was the last feast before Lent. Carne- vale, meaning ‘meat good-bye’, was a time to indulge before the fast. People wore masks and costumes and paraded in the street before stuffing themselves silly with rich foods. However, after Norway became Protestant, the holiday lost its religious meaning.
- Fastelavensboller, (bread buns) are popular to make at this time. They are traditionally boller with butter and sugar but today it is usual in some places in Norway to have sugar-coated donuts. In pagan times the Norse put up birch trees inside the house to invite the smell of Spring. The Norske sanitetsforening, a Norwegian women’s humanitarian organisation founded in 1896, renewed the tradition by selling birch twigs with feathers attached to raise money for their charity. Nowadays feathered birch twigs are a decorative feature in the Norwegian home.
It was a beautiful day with a warm sun, but especially because Anya was well enough to get out and enjoy it.