The three hour plane ride from Dubrovnik to Oslo hugely understates the stark difference between the two regions. After spending days basking in the Adriatic sun, our arrival in chilly Norway was surprising to say the least. Our plane landed at 11 PM, and it was still light out.

During the summer months in Norway, there exists only two hours of total darkness (from about midnight-2 AM). The opposite is true in the winter – it is mostly dark, with only about two hours of light. It is a strange feeling, going to sleep and waking up in a bright world, and I wondered how these seasonal changes affect the circadian rhythms of locals. Thankfully, I had one I could ask.

On our first night, we met with an old au pair of mine, who we would be staying with for the entirety of our visit. We were ecstatic to be in the presence of an adult, no longer responsible for figuring our transportation, directions, and currency exchanges all on our own. However, it was the company of her two little girls, ages two and five, that we enjoyed the most. We spent our first full day exploring Oslo, including beautiful salt water views from the Opera House, showy Royal Palace, and world famous Vigeland Sculpture Park, all the while enjoying the company of our Norwegian hosts and laughing at Amalie and Live as they explored along with us.

Though we loved seeing the city, we were even more excited to spend time in a home after our long weeks on the road. We clamored onto a bus, stroller and all, which would take us an hour into the country to a town called Kongsberg. During our stay, we toured the town, jumped on the trampoline, watched Disney’s “Frozen” in Norwegian, and did four loads of laundry. As per usual, our stay felt too short, and we were sad when the time came to say good bye to Anette, Vegard, and their adorable youngsters.

We caught a plane to Zurich, where we stayed just long enough to enjoy a bubbling vat of fondue before heading to France by train.