Our flight from Bergen to Oslo then connecting to Vienna on Norwegian Air departed at 8 a.m. Which meant a 4:30 a.m. wake-up to load the car and drive to get to the airport by 6 a.m. The sunrise was at 4:01 a.m. so our body clocks were in sync!
Oslo Airport is very modern and sleek yet still has natural elements of wood and stone in the architecture. We will miss this unique and beautiful country…but we won’t miss the $4 coffees, $12 beers and $14 sandwiches!We are leaving cool and rainy weather for an expected high of 30c (87F) in Vienna which is Wien in German.The Norwegian Air ‘bird’ getting ready for boarding in Oslo.
Just as we left the baggage claim in Vienna airport, we were greeted by a Convention Welcome Desk. We received a special “Don’t Give Up” badge and lanyard and were directed to our bus transport to the hotel.
This felt a little like getting a Welcome Lei when you arrive in Honolulu airport!Our brother Sebastian greeted us warmly in his Lederhosen (leather short trousers) and directed us to the right bus.Ready for the 30 minute bus ride to the Renaissance Vienna hotel.Our brother and sister were waiting at the hotel to ‘check us in’ for the convention; provide us a welcome gift bag; and answer any questions. Super welcoming and organized!Included in the welcome bag were maps, convention invites for the ministry, postcards, bookmarks, journals for taking notes, invitations for the dinner, and even a “Don’t Give Up!” fleece blanket.A close up of the invitations, lanyard and fleece blanket. They really put a lot of effort into the planning of this special convention.After unpacking it was time to board the bus at 6 p.m. for the Welcome Dinner. The Austrian brothers formed a welcome line to shake hands and greet us.The signature color for all of the volunteers is this bright orange on the scarves and ties. You’ll see it again in the umbrellas used by our tour guides. We were given our table assignment and escorted to our table.Each table was hosted by 4 or 5 Austrian brothers and sisters along with a group of international delegates. Our table had sisters from the Polish and English congregations who were very friendly. We were delighted to find the welcome gift of hand knitted socks. Inside the cards we found a handwritten note with the name of the sister who knitted them, their baptism date, and favorite scripture. Mine were from Sister Elfi who was baptized in 1997 and whose favorite scripture is Phillipians 4:13. Very personal and touching to receive the gift from those we haven’t met but treat us like family! Later during a video presentation we saw scenes of ‘knitting bees’ when the sisters got together to work on these for us.
We were asked not to post videos or photos on social media of the actual dinner, the traditional dance and song, and other entertainment (including a very good Elvis impersonator), so we will be happy to invite you over when we get back to Arizona and show you personally!
