The biathlon World Championships were held this year in Oslo, in legendary Holmenkollen ski arena. We had no other plans for a weekend in March, so why not to fly to Oslo and have a look how the Finns are doing!

We have our good friends in Norway, they live nearby Oslo, and we got to stay in their house. The tickets from Helsinki to Oslo Gardemoen airport are relatively cheap (about 100 euros). So, off we go! No need to take any extra holidays, as it was a short two-night trip only from Friday to Sunday.

Tip! As in Iceland, the same goes with Norway; buy your alcohol from the airport once you land! So much cheaper and easier!

On Saturday we spent the whole day in Oslo center, it’s a cold and big city, and not that much things to see. But this weekend was very busy as the biathlon had taken over the center. There was a market square with biathlon stuff and lot of little kiosks selling something to eat.

Tip! Yes, it’s expensive in Norway, but, when you a little bit think, you survive. “Pølse i lompe” (kind of a hot dog) is actually really good food, and it’s cheap. Also, in the shops they sometimes go crazy over one random product, this time it was the candies, those were a lot cheaper than in Finland.

 

On Sunday 13th March was the day for the race! We took the metro to Holmenkollen to watch women (12,5 km) and men (15 km) mass starts. We think mass start is the coolest race out of those all. You can follow so easily who is leading and it’s so intensive. Our tickets were for along the track, in the forest next to famous Chappel hill. The situation on the shooting range can be followed through mobile phones (the tickets to the arenas are always more expensive). It’s also nice to see the skiers so close. We got really good standing places just next to the track. It was a whole lot easier to find a spot than in Germany (and Italy) as it was not so crowded.

It was great that Kaisa Mäkäräinen got her medal on that day! Go Kaisa!

After the race we were hanging at the arena area and got to take few photos with the athletes. Our youngest team member, Filip from Czech Republic, is an enthusiastic fan of biathlon, and his favourites are Emil Hegle Svedsen (as he has so cool hat and the same first name as his little brother) and Martin Fourcade (because he always is the winner, and has the same first name as Filip’s father). Filip wanted to send them a letter and a drawing of biathlon track. So, our task was to pass these to the heroes. Sure we didn’t catch them in person, but gave the stuff to their coaches. And what more, Martin Fourcade even replied, he sent his card with the signature to little Filip!

There was also one bigger boy who had his moment. Jukka got a signature from Dorothea Wierer! The signature went into his arm wrist, which is needed in prone shooting. Perfect!

All in all, if there are any sport happenings nearby, always go and see! The athletes are so happy for the cheers, the atmosphere is cool and you meet new friends!