17th of May

The 17th of May is Norway's Independence Day, and we spent it in Oslo on the palace grounds. All I can say is wow! I used to live in Chicago, and I have never seen so many people out in the streets in my life! The main street of Oslo, Karl Johans Gate, was swarming with life--there was a huge parade and thousands of spectators. The royal family came out onto the palace balcony and waved to the crowd for hours as the parade passed by. There were many people in the traditional national dress (bunad) and the clothes were so interesting and beautiful. The bunads from the various regions are really different from each other, and Oslo was full of people from all over Norway. We were thrilled to find my friend Heather (from norskkurs) and her husband among all the people, and of course Heather and I had to pose for a picture with our little Norwegian flags. After the parade, we headed back to Gjovik to rest, and then drove down to Raufoss for fireworks at midnight. Such an amazing day--I'm so glad we were able to be here to experience it!