Today the plan was to hike from Frognerseteren (the end of the #1 metro line) to Songsvann (the end of the #3 metro line). It's a peculiar part of Oslo that many of the T-bane lines end in hiking trailheads. Not suburbs or shopping malls, but hiking trails. It's ridiculous to be sitting on the metro watching a full blown forest go by.

The trick today was that with the unseasonably warm weather we've had, with temperatures going over 40 degrees Farenheit (4.4 degrees Celsius) everything on the mountains and in the woods was ice. The trails were ice, the streams were ice, the bridges were ice, the rocks were ice, the snow was ice. Even some layers of ice had more ice on top. I hadn't fallen once this winter, but halfway down the mountain, I succumbed and fell down, then slid down a rock before the trail flattened out. Everywhere you stepped, you slid a little, and early on, you could slide down a whole section of the trail in half the time just by sitting down. It was pretty fantastic.

Eventually, Songsvann was reached. It's a beautiful small lake north of the city center, which is very popular because it's so easy to get to. Tons of people were out enjoying the weird weather, (warmest November in 150 years, maybe the warmest December too?) including these kids who were busy kicking stuff around the still frozen lake. I didn't go so far out, but these kids were probably fine. A bit farther out though and it'd be dangerous.

Speaking of dangerous, last night a titanic storm ripped through the middle of Norway, Sweden and Finland yesterday. It looks like a hurricane came through. Apparently, winter storms in Norway can be named like hurricanes elsewhere in world, and winter storm Dagmar has done a ton of damage. Hundreds of thousands are without power, and at least one person was confirmed dead this morning. Awful stuff. I don't know anyone up there, but hopefully that's all for the damage.