May 17; Part Two

After three hours of parading (KJ marching and D, T, K and I watching and shivering)
we went to Tiffani, a neighborhood favorite of ours for some warm drinks. It was fun and festive as not many cafes were open.
We headed home to regroup for the afternoon. KJ immediately changed and wrapped herself up in her comforter. The weather wasn't what we hoped for for in mid May but what do you expect in Norway??? I planned to be outside all day whooping it up with the locals.
Later in the afternoon we headed down around Karl Johan's Gate where T and D mentioned there was some traditional dance taking place. We missed it but we were just in time for the russtoget. (I think that's right?) All the kids who are graduating from high school are in a huge parade celebrating their hard work. Actually they've already been celebrating the whole month with barbecues and parties. The kids who are in year 13 wear a particular pair of overalls throughout the whole month of May. Most of them wear red for a general area of study but a few wear blue for business and green for environmental studies.
KJ found out from her buddies that all the younger kids collect cards from the seniors. The cards are the size of a business card and are the same color as their overalls. They usually have a picture of the person along with a little bit of humor. The little kids run up to the older kids whenever they see them in the street or the park and ask them for a russe card. KJ had a few before the parade but was shy to ask many big kids. During the parade she collected 62 more cards! She had a blast running around the parade asking for cards and finding them on the ground because the big kids were throwing them in the air. It was nuts but great fun!
We wondered around the city; it was great just to be among all the Norwegians on their big day. Teresa, Dan and Kent ended up at the new opera house which according to them is pretty cool. It opened in April and is very modern. They walked up on the roof where they had a great view...
KJ was pooped so we made our way home on the trik. The trik was even entertaining as we saw so many people partying everywhere! I was happy the weather improved in the afternoon. It was still rather chilly and I actually wore my down jacket! Crazy but that's me.
Later that evening the Chinese boys Jenn and Reyes came over to join us for shrimp, polser and lomper, and festive cake that Teresa and KJ made. Kent made the polser on the disposable grill that I bought at the market. (The Norwegians are big fans of these one time use grills. We see them at the park on warm days.)
We sure had a great time celebrating Norway's birthday. How often does your kid get to march in a Norwegian parade and wave at royalty???