Or, the day I popped the question
The oddities
Kelly and I are not very normal people. I love that about her, and I rather do like it about me too. Originality is the spice of life I think. We have long been planning our wedding, and have for a long time known we were "the couple" so to speak. But - and I guess this is a big one - I never actually proposed! I have had plans alright, but still... Kelly and I have a wedding planned. She has the dress, and most of the decorations are already bought I believe. She has moved to Norway, and well... We have for some time been well on the way to a blissful marriage. Yay!
The silence before the storm
Through the months of knowing Kelly and falling more and more in love with her, I shaped up the proposal through time. This is how I popped the question;
The 24th of May I was at work. Kelly was in Hamar, and was supposed to come to Oslo later that evening. However, she had gotten off a lot sooner than expected and left on the three o'clock train, meaning I had only an hour and a half from when I left work at three till she was here. Normally, I would be thrilled. But this day I was going to make the salad, dressing and more for a picnic the day after. And I still lacked a few fundamental ingredients. Like a cucumber, tomatoes and.... The picnic basket :P
Thank goodness for good friends though, Ann Kristin, a friend and former teacher from Ecuador offered to make the food for me as Kelly came to my flat. So, I got the ingredients I missed, stuffed them all hurriedly in the basket, concealed the basket in a plastic bag the very moment Kelly rang my doorbell! So, when she entered my flat, I left with a concealed picnic basket with loads of ingredients for loads of goodies and left it at my friend´s place.
The rings I had left in a chest in my apartment. Firmly secured to a bible, neatly tied around it with a green silk ribbon, flowing in beautiful bows and curves. The bible was in turn carefully placed in a box and wrapped in a nice giftwrap.
Night came, and I left Kelly and the apartment as I went to my friends´ place where I stay whenever Kelly is in Oslo. The morning of the 25th I woke and went to the apartment. Kelly had prepared a tasty Albanian breakfast which we ate before I took Kelly out on our special day, unbeknownst to her I had our rings close by, and my heart trying to race itself. First I popped by Ann Kristin´s and picked up the picnic basket before we took the bus to the subway. Which lead us to the Oslo central station from where we took a bus to Vippetangen and a small boat lead us out to an island called "Hovedøya". An island where you will find an old monastery, or rather the ruins thereof. There are also really old military buildings on it, as shown on the link. Furthermore you find flowery meadows and lovely beaches ++.
We found ourselves a nice spot about fifty metres to the left of the building shown on the photo, and sat down. I pulled out food and drink from the basket, but before we served ourselves, I gave Kelly the wrapped up box, and said "First, I want you to have this gift. As a celebration of our relationship.". She opened up the wrapping paper and before she opened the box within it, I said "Wait." and proceded to take it from her.
Pop, goes the question
At this point my mind and heart were respectively scrambled and racing, so eloquent formulations vanished with a proverbial "poof" and I felt s if I stuttered and stammered as I told her;
"Kelly. You have been a wonderful addition to my life. You know I love you very much. Will you marry me?"
Her reply was a teary eyed "yes".
Oh joy!! I was very happy at this point! Kelly and I undid the silk wrappings together, loosened the rings from it, and I put hers on her finger, and she put mine on my finger. You see, in Norway we have a tradition I value very much; Both the man and woman wear engagement rings to symbolize their commitment. As proud as I am I cannot imagine not wearing a symbol of our love and commitment.
As the rings were on our fingers I asked Kelly to undo the last bits of silk ribbon from the bible. She did, and found I had had it engraved with her future name, Kelly Ottesen.
Post - proposal repast
As rain sadly proached the island upon which we enjoyed our delicious treats we decided to return to my flat. When we arrived I asked Kelly to please change clothes into something a bit more formal. She got dressed in a beautful green skirt and shirt, while I dressed up in my suit, and off we went yet again.
Once again, we took the bus to the subway, but this time we took the subway up towards Holmenkollen, a very large ski jump on the hillside near Oslo. We got off the subway, and I lead her to this restaurant "De fem stuer", or "The five livingrooms" which is the restaurant at "Holmenkollen Park Hotel". I strongly suggest having a look at the hotel´s website to get a little glimpse at the atmosphere we dined in.
A room with a view
We were lead into a room in the restaurant all to ourselves where we had a beautiful view of the Oslo Fjord and the hills and valleys around Oslo. We ordered a five course meal. First, we were presented with an apetizer which was very small. It was a shellfish soufle of some sort, in a ceramic bowl the size of about a spoon. Yet it was exceptionally tasty. This apetizer was followed by the first course which was... Hm. Well, something fancy in french or latin... It was a pate like substance looking like spam between two pieces of toasted bread. Oh, you are probably thinking it does not sound too good. But truth is; I have never had anything so tasty before in my life! It was amazing how it played
with my tastebuds. How it melted on my tongue! Yum!Third course was a shellfish soup. The waiter once again explained in detail the contents of the dish. He first produced two tiny soup bowls with a carefully (and beautifully) arrayed mixture of vegetables lay alone, until he poured the soup in. Once again, a culinary experience far better than any up until this date. Course three was pork, in a delicious potato soup - also a very small meal - followed by a lemon refresher to clear our taste buds and prepare us for the main course. Steak. It, too was very small. And exceptionally tasty. The meat in the steak itself was soft and nearly melted on my toungue. In addition to the meat there were spring rolls with ox tail in them. Also an incredibly tasty treat. There was also a perfectly round ball on the plate, a fried ball of celery and potato mash.
As desert we had a fairly large plate, with very little content. There was about a spoonful of raspberry sorbet. Half a raspberry, half a blackberry, half a blueberry and tiny slice of strawberry. Plus a little glazed mound of pineapple.
A day ends, having yielded unending, treasured memories
So, we left de fem stuer almost as hugry as when we had come, but seven large and extraordinary culinary experiences richer. It was a day to celebrate, and Kelly and I both love good and tasty food. De Fem Stuer certainly delivered. Not only on the purely culinary experience, but the atmosphere, the view and the way the waiters behaved and treated us.
It was a lovely end to a lovely day with my wife to be.
