Leaving Norway

The IPY Conference is over and this conference represents many firsts for me. This was my first trip to Oslo, Norway, the first time I attended an international conference, and the first time I was a speaker at an international conference.

The conference was a huge success and the people of Oslo were friendly and always ready to help me find the correct train. Oslo is a very clean city- there are hygiene meters in the public restrooms at the airport! I would like to return to Norway and tour the fjords on the western side of the country.

Thanks again to the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska and the National Science Foundation for providing travel funds to Oslo. Although he did not attend the Oslo Science Conference, Dave Marchant's presence is always felt in any talk I give showcasing Beacon Valley. I will always be grateful to him for giving me the extraordinary opportunity to work with him in Antarctica.

I flew over the fjords of Norway and believe it or not, over Iceland before crossing the Atlantic to come home. This afforded me the opportunity to photograph landscapes that I had only seen in textbooks for years. The end of another exciting adventure.

Jackie at the Oslo International Airport.

Leaving Norway looking towards the Atlantic Ocean.

The End of the IPY Conference

The International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference is coming to an end. I am looking forward to using the data that scientists working in Antarctica were able to collect thanks to support from many organizations that gave support to International Polar Year. The researchers will continue to discover new technology and find ways to apply existing technology to facilitate the collection of data in polar areas. With the freezing temperatures and high winds, I am always amazed that some of the most sensitive equipment often survives several seasons in the harsh weather at the poles.

I had a chance to pick up some souvenirs and visit the Nobel Peace Museum and the outside of the King's Palace. The Nobel Museum is very moving and today was the 5th Year Celebration of the opening museum so it was quite festive.

Mike Parsons, Program Manager of the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Karl Johans Gate is a major street in Oslo. I took this picture from the palace on Saturday during a flea market.

The King's Palace is around the corner from my hotel so I stop by to say hello.

The King's Palace Guard

The Nobel Peace Museum in Oslo, Norway

The Museum also hosts art exhibits from photographers and painters.

The Nobel Prize Winners exhibit is in a dark room with a display of lights surrounding each winner.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

The tribute to the winner is translated into different languages.

The Viking Ship Museum

I am standing next to the Viking Ship Oseberg built around 820 A.D.

Thor Heyderdah's Ra II (1970) is made of reed wood.

Thor Heyderdahl's Kon Tiki (1947) raft made of balsa wood.

The conference as well as my train anxiety continues. It seems that each time I think I am on the express train I am on the local, and just when I think I understand the schedule, the train arrives on the opposite side of the track. Still, I manage to make it to Lillestrom every day and back to Oslo at the end of the day.

This was a good conference day with remote sensing data sessions. The remote sensing sessions are very popular and crowded, so it is diffcult to get a seat. The session on sea ice in Antarctica was particularly interesting. Also, the Program Manager of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder was the Lunchtime plenary speaker who spoke on the "State of Polar Data".

After years of teaching Oceanography and the significance of the Viking explorations to the history of Oceanography, I would not leave Norway without visiting the Viking Ship Museum. I took the afternoon and toured the Viking Ship Museum and the Kon Tiki Museum. The Vikings and Thor Heyerdahl are prominent in the history of Oceanography. You can select the links below to learn more about the Viking Ship Museum and the significance of Thor Heyerdahl to Oceanography.

http://www.kon-tiki.no/e_aapning.php

http://www.norway.com/directories/d_company.asp?id=671

The Polar Ship Fram, Poseidon, and the Ice Bar

The conference is in full swing and I am attending lots of informative presentations. I went to a poster session today where the author presented a new geologic map of Antarctica - very timely and useful for me.

A barbeque is being held for the conference participants after the proceedings of the day. The barbeque is being held at the museum complex which means I have to take a public ferry across the bay to the complex that houses the Maritime, KonTiki, and Viking Museums. On my way to the boat, I run into Poseidon (who by the way, is not a statue) and manage to get a photo and a magic stone that will bring me good luck.

The Maritime Museum is open late for the conference participants and after a barbeque that includes Norwegian Elk and wine, I tour the museum and get a photograph of the Polar Ship Fram. Select the link below for information regarding the significance of the Fram and the famous explorers (Hansen, Sverdrup, and Amundsen) associated with the vessel.

http://www.fram.museum.no/en/

After the barbeque and museum tour, another teacher and I stop by the Oslo Ice Bar on the way to my hotel. The bar is made completely of ice as are the bar stools and the glasses. We put on the heavy parka and gloves provided and head inside for a drink. And I thought I had to go to Antarctica to get this cold!


The bartender mixes drinks in glasses made of ice.


I have the "Scandanavian" special.

The IPY Conference Begins

Opening Ceremony Stage at IPY

June 8 was the Opening Day for the IPY Conference. I left the hotel and headed to the train station and after a great deal of confusion, managed to find the non-stop train to Lillestrom, our conference venue. Lillestrom is approximately 20 minutes away by express train. When all else fails, follow the crowd of people with badges and blue conference bags.

You would not think that I have a lot in common with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Noway and His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, but we all gave our talks on the first day of the IPY Conference. I was loading my presentation in the Speaker's Service Center when HRH Prince Haakon spoke at the opening ceremony, but I did see and listen to HSH Prince Albert II's morning closing remarks. Environmental awareness is a passionate cause for HSH Prince Albert II and he made a month-long expedition to Antarctica in 2009 to assess the impact of global warming on the South Pole.

The stage and conference venue is quite impressive and the opening ceremony included a mix of scientific award presentations and entertainment that set an upbeat tone for the conference.

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco

I just finished my talk and can relax!

IPY Opening Icebreaker

The IPY Opening Icebreaker was held at the downtown Oslo City Hall Monday night at 1800. City Hall has beautiful murals and each mural tells a story about a piece of Oslo history.

The mayor of Oslo opened the IPY Icebreaker and commented on how important our job is as educators and thanked us for making a difference. He really made the teachers feel very special. We were served champagne and wine and wonderful appetizers (salmon and local cod, meatballs, fresh veggies, and Norwegian candy) which served as my dinner for the night.

I was happy to see friends and colleagues from the PolarTREC and NOAA Teacher at Sea Program. We are planning a PolarTREC dinner in Oslo on Thursday night.

The Mayor of Oslo, Norway

How is my hotel room?

This post is for my sister so she can see the hotel room. It is a family thing so bear with me. I often take pictures and send them to her to solicit an opinion, but it generally involves shopping.

Others may also be interested in what a "B" category hotel looks like in downtown Oslo. Here are photos of one of the convention hotels, the Thon Europa. The hotel has a cooked breakfast and free WiFi as part of the room rate.

The hotel is plain and sparsely furnished, but amazingly clean has really comfortable beds. Breakfast comes with the room and there is also a restaurant adjacent to the lobby.

A personal greeting on the room TV when I arrived.

The bathroom is spotless.

The view from my hotel window - Norwegian grafitti?