How not to send a package

So, shipping a package to the north of Sweden, under a deadline would seem easy. Shipped last week Thursday, for a cost of about €100, with a guarantee of arriving at its destination by the end of the day on Monday.
A bit tight, but still within the deadline I was working with of by Tuesday the 15th of February.
I also ticked that little box for offsetting the carbon footprint of shipping your package.
Yesterday morning the 'updated' scheduled delivery time was by the end of the day Tuesday the 15th.
This morning, the 'updated' scheduled delivery time was by the end of the day tomorrow, Wednesday the 16th.



-UPS Tracking info - FAIL

I really don't think a package from the Netherlands to northern Sweden via Germany, China, Thailand, India, and Germany again, can reasonably arrive with a properly compensated carbon footprint, although that wasn't exactly the main concern for me.

Long weekend in Oslo

For my birthday this year, decided to go to Oslo for a long weekend trip.  My idea seemed contagious as a small group of friends here in Utrecht also liked the idea and came along too.  Flew in on Friday night, Feb 4 (my birthday), and flew back on Tuesday evening.

I'll try to keep it relatively short and just the highlights, as I think I took more than 600 photo's over 4 days.  This is a selection of the many photos.



-View from the hostel room - Sentrum Pensjonat and Hostel

-Oslo Cathedral - Interior - Dating from 1697





-Oslo Cathedral - Doorway detail - I liked the style of the stonework around the doorway, kinda art-deco-ish I guess





-Karl Johans Gate - The main (touristy) street of Oslo, looking toward Det Kongelige Slott (Palace)





-Stortinget - Built in 1866, Norways Parliament Building





-Det Kongelige Slott - Home of King Harold V





-Aker Brygge - The newer, modern, (and I'm guessing yuppy) area of Oslo, that's super nice and chic and trendy





-Aker Brygge - nice architecture





-Our first glimpse of sunlight while in Oslo





-Aker Brygge - Some more modern architecture





-Aker Brygge - Copper facade on this building, really caught the sunlight nicely





-Aker Brygge - Another cool building





-Copper facade catching the sunlight





-Oslo waterfront





-Rådhus - Oslo City Hall





-Rådhus





-Late afternoon on Oslo harbour





-Stainless steel words in the street - reminds me of what I saw in Stockholm





-Operahuset - Oslo Opera House - arguably the most iconic and tourist attracting building in Oslo, by Tarald Lundevall for Snøhetta




-Operahuset - rooftop detail





-Operahuset - Friend checking out the texture of the facade on the rooftop





-Operahuset - Interior





-Operahuset





-Olde Oslo - some of the older buildings in Oslo





-Apparently the spot where King Christian IV declared after the fire that burnt the city down in 1624, that it would be rebuilt





-View of Oslo Rådhus from Akershus Fortress





-Akershus Castle





-Akershus Castle and Fortress





-Operahuset  - late evening





-Operahuset - panorama





-Operahuset





-Operahuset - yeah, visited it again in the late evening (I think it was at least), had a nice glow inside at this time of day





-Operahuset - nice contrast of shapes, colours and materials





-Operahuset - decoration by Olafur Eliasson in the foyer





-Operahuset - ramp going up to the auditorium





-Operahuset - outside looking in (from the roof, as you walk on the roof of most of the building)





-Oslo Rådhus - doors detail





-Nobel Peace Centre - didn't actually end up going in, but this art installation outside was definitely interesting/provoking, and made me question, was it intentionally flickering between 'slaughter' and 'laughter'?





-DogA - When I looked this up ahead of time, I kept reading it as 'Dog A', while really it was D og (norwegian for and) A, for the Design and Architecture museum





-DogA - student work on display





-100% NORWAY - I think this was a permanent collection at DogA





-Wood Veneer lamp





-Wood and felted wool armchair





-Norwegian wood furniture





-Wooden dining chair - Nice lines on this chair





-Norwegian design task chair - interesting, looks ergo/comfy





-felted wool wall panels - interesting, honeycomb-ish, cool





-Norske Folkemuseum (Norwegian Folk Museum) - Norway's largest open air museum, with period buildings from around the country





-that 70's interior - featuring some cool Norwegian shelving





-Wooden Norwegian House - I really liked the details on the roof peak, so very Norwegian (viking?)





-restored stave church circa 1200 in Gol





-Norwegian stave church





-Norwegian stave church - crazy hand carved wooden detailing




-Norske Folkemuseum - another period building




-some unwritten tradion? - not sure what the deal was with the bundles of (I think it was) oats outside the doorways to a number of buildings at the open air museum





-when in Rome - er Oslo, then you eat the super good salmon, mmmm





-routes taken by the vikings - as illustrated in the Vikingskiphuset (Viking Ship Museum)





-Vikingskiphuset - pretty impressive to see the 3 really large viking ships on display here, and learn about the vikings and some of the history





-Icebar Oslo - by IceHotel (yup, it's a licensed concept, of the official Ice Hotel from Sweden)





-Some great words remember - the bar is redone once a year





-Icebar Oslo - the bar, and an (ice) glass on the counter, which are tossed in a tub to melt after use, no washing of ice glasses, and they ship in however many new ones, from Sweden as needed, crazy - but a great way to drink some Akvavit





-Th!nk - Norwegian electric city car, interesting to see in real on the streets





-Oslo Cathedral - with better light on our last day in Oslo, snowed some 10cm or so the night before, and nothing but blue skies and sunshine on the morning after





-T-Bane (Metro) Station, downtown Oslo - brilliant, absolutely brilliant! loved this sight, seeing people waiting on the metro platform right downtown, with their ski gear (to step out again some 20 minutes later, and go skiing)





-on the T-Bane (Tunnelbanen) - another sight, all the kids hopping on the metro with their GT's, I guess it's common after a nice fresh snow - awesome!





-T-Bane Holmenkollen stop





-T-Bane Holmenkollen stop - I couldn't get enough of this, such an outdoorsy city, so great





-fresh snow and sun





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump - finished and opened just this year





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump - amazing cantilevered architecture, fresh powder and beautiful blue skies





-Holmenkollen - mid jump





-view of Oslo fjord from Holmenkollen Ski jump





-prepping the jump - a bit later in February was the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships





-not me - statue/figure/prop above the entrance to the ski jump simulator, which sadly, was not open :(





-a meter or 3 to the left of what the view is for someone about to make the jump





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump - view from the viewing platform at the very top, looking behind





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump - view from the viewing platform looking over the jump, and greater Oslo and Oslo fjord





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump - gallery behind where the jumpers go from, looks down to all below





-Norwegian winter driving - this is how they do it in Oslo I guess, VW Scirocco with big rims, winter tires (I can only assume), and roof racks for the skis - awesome! 





-Holmenkollen cross country course - situated right next to the jump is a cross country course, which is also set up for Biathlon (I believe)





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump and the cross-country/biathlon gallery





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump - it's just that impressive





-Holmenkollen Ski Jump - the view from the opposite end (of the viewing platform)





-T-Bane back into the city - was just quite the view, riding back down the hillside (mountain?)





-Colosseum Kino - opened in 1928, the 2100 seat cinema was the largest in Scandinavia, by architects Jacob Hansen and Gerhard Iversen (didn't have time anymore to go inside)





-Frognerparken





-Vigeland Park - the centrepiece of Frognerparken, showcasing work by Norway's best-loved sculptor, Gustav Vigeland





-Vigeland park - the sculptures here were from granite




-Vigeland Park - the centrepiece, a 14m (46ft) monolithic sculpture carved from a single block of stone, consisting of 121 writhing human figures




-more Norwegian winter driving - I was just intrigued in seeing a Mini Cooper S Countryman on the street, 'in the wild' for the first time, and surprised it's actually still quite 'mini' (in size)





-Th!nk - another one





-Oslo Gardermoen Airport - a really nice airport in typical Scandinavian fashion, sleak, wood, modern, minimalist, calm, beautiful