June 23, 2015 - Heading from NYC to Oslo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
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Currently Traveling In: NYC

The beginning of my journey

Greetings from NYC on Travelin' Tuesday!

I left SoCal yesterday and arrived here in New York at first light this morning. 

I'm writing to you from my Grandma's house; 
Being that I packed for all of my east coast trips in one big bag which include: Europe, Road Trip to the MLB All Star Game, Cousins Road Trip to Niagara & Toronto, and lots of lots of visiting throughout New York, New Hampshire, and down to Virginia. 

So therefore I have quite a few things to situate with my luggage before heading off to Oslo!!

Yup you can say that I'll definitely be putting on plenty of miles this summer! 

And then off to Oslo I shall go! 
Do you realize that this'll be my 2nd time to Norway in the past 10 months? 
Can you believe that? 
Well, Norway is very beautiful country so I can't complain :)

In honor of my trip, here are 15 interesting FACTS about Norway:

1. Norway was ranked the world's #1 country in the 2014 Prosperity Index for wealth and well-being.
2. Norway is the 6th largest country in Europe, but only ranks 28th as far as population.
3. Even though Norway is one of the biggest exporters of oil in the world, Norway has some of the highest gas prices in the world!
4. Food prices are so high in Norway that many people travel to Sweden to buy their groceries.
5. The official Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square in London has come from Oslo for over the last fifty years.
6. Norway's public Universities are free for students from anywhere in the world.
7. The monarch of Norway's title is "Norway's King" rather than "King of Norway", signifying that he belongs to the country and not vice versa.
8. In 2008, Norway donated US$1 billion to help save the Amazon rainforest.
9. Norway has over 20,000 km of coastline.
10. There are about 450,000 lakes in Norway, 200 or so that are 4 square miles or more in size. 
11. Sognefjorden is the largest fjord in Norway and third largest in the world. It is the longest ice-free fjord in the world and stretches 127 miles (205 km) inland from the ocean. (I was fortunate enough to visit and cruise this fjord in 2014)

    12.   If caught driving under the influence, there 
           is an automatic 30 days in jail, lose your 
           license for a year, and pay fines up to 10%
           of your annual income! (I LOVE this one! 
           Come on USA time to get on board!) 
    13.  There are as many Norwegian descendants 
           living in the US as there are Norwegians 
           living in Norway, especially the states of 
           North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
    14.  Norway gets 98-99% of its electricity from
           hydroelectric power, more than any other 
           country! (Again, come on USA - let's get 
           with the times!!) 
    15.  Sweden is so good at recycling, it now runs
          out of garbage to recycle and now imports 
          garbage from Norway to fuel its energy 
          programs! (AMAZING!)

More on Travelin Tuesday...
I'm happy to announce that Breckenridge is BOOKED! Yay! 

Normally do an annual ski trip to Vail and Breckenridge but based on our full calendar I didn't schedule a Colorado Ski Trip this past ski season. 
I know that Cosette had especially missed it - she just LOVES the resort that we stay at in Breckenridge. My girlie has great taste!

However, the resort tends to book up early, so I'm glad that our reservations are all taken care of! Whew.

Breckenridge is quite a lovely little town and the location and amenities at the resort are just perfect!

Be sure to check out Elisa's side for plenty of information about Vienna - our 5th city on our European Rail Trip - which begins in 2 days!!!

AND...
If you're not already subscribing, then I hope that you at least bookmark this page and stay posted on all the SCOOP!

Also know that we are always open to your comments, and suggestions. 
We WANT to hear what you have to say :)

That's it for today!

Catch ya back here from Oslo,
-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
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Travelin' Tuesday: Spotlight:
Vienna, Austria

Hey there,

Well, lots to talk about today.  

First, are you aware that Tanya left last night for the “Pre-trip” portion of our Eastern Europe Trip?  That’s right.  

She had a stop-over in Oslo, Norway and instead of connecting to go immediately to Prague, she opted to extend her stay in Oslo to do a day of touring.

What a great idea!  I can’t wait to hear all about it!

Alright, so on my end, I have one more day before I leave for Prague.  My flight is a direct one straight from New York City, departing at night.  I’m happy to say, I upgraded my flight to business class, so I know, I’ll be as well rested as possible.

I’m going to move right on to the business of Travelin’ Tuesday, featuring some of the key sights we’ll be visiting in Vienna, our fifth and final city on our Eastern European trip.
 

The Hofburg

The grounds of the Hofburg

The Hofburg -the centre of the Habsburg empire. Three museum attractions provide historically accurate insights into the tradition and daily life at court: the authentically-furnished Imperial Apartments, the tasteful Sisi Museum and the Silver Collection as a comprehensive collection of Imperial utilitarian objects.
 
Cafe Central
This Cafe has 130 year history, having been patronized by such famous individuals as Arthur Schnitzler, Sigmund Freud, Peter Altenberg and Leo Trotzki.  We will hop over there for some afternoon tea and perhaps a few sweets!!

St. Stephen's Cathedral
St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. This is the number one tourist sites in all of Vienna with more than 3 million visitors per year.
 

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

The Spanish Riding School 
For more than 450 years, The Spanish Riding School has been training the art of classical dressage and has been home to the famous Lipizzaners.

During my trip to Vienna in 2014, I was fortunate enough to see the morning exercises of these amazing horses. 
 

Spanish Riding School

I think you will love this video - just look how these unbelievable creatures move so elegantly and gracefully! 

I can't wait for Tanya to see the morning exercises! It's truly breathtaking.

Vienna Opera House
The history of this opera house dates back to the mid-19th Century.  In 1920, with the replacement of the Hapbsburg Monarchy by the First Republic of Austria, it was renamed the Vienna Opera.  


Our hope is to get tickets once in Vienna. 

Vienna Opera House (credit: viennaconcerts.com)

Hundertwasserhaus 
The Hundertwasserhaus is an apartment house in Vienna that was built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It has become a tourist attraction by this artist who became increasingly more interested in architecture in the early 1950's. 

Hundertwasserhaus (credit: mts-vienna.com)

 The Prater
The Prater, also known as the "Wurstelprater" is the oldest amusement park in the world.  

The "Wiener Prater" and the "Wurstelprater" are open 24 hours each day - 7 days a week. Entrance is free of charge. Attractions, restaurant businesses, arcade shops and other leisure facilities are all part of the Wurstelprater.

The Prater (credit: Wien.info)

Well, folks, those are some of the key attractions we'll be seeing.  Tanya and I will also be going on a  bike tour around Vienna, which is very exciting!

Only 1 more day, and I'll be off!!

Today, I'll be taking Gianna, Kelsey, Julian and even Denise's little girl Madison to the movies.  We are going to see Inside Out, which they have been wanting to see.

I still have not seen Spy, but I'm kinda hoping, it will be one of the movie offerings on the plane tomorrow night.

I'm off to spend my last full day with the kiddies!!!

Talk to you tomorrow!!!
-E
xoxo