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Day 10
So, walked around today, and that was really about it. I read a magazine, hung around the house, and did a whole lot of nothing. I was not going to sit and do the same thing in Mosjoen.
I spent some time thinking about how I was going to bring this up. While walking, I did show up at the train station, purely by accident, and I decided to check on ticket prices. A ticket from Mosjoen to Trondheim runs 637 kr, which is tright around $100. Cool, I thought this would be very spendy.
I talk to my grandma and explain to her what I "plan" on doing. I think the idea that I'd be fairly bored up north if I stayed for too long is sinking in. She's still nervous about driving a stick, but I can fix that.
Later on in the day Berge came over (He's one of Aasta's kids, and works at a Hyundai/Mazda car dealership from which we are renting a car), and he picked me up to take me up to the dealership. We drove a ways out, and tried to pay special attention to how to get back. I had, at this point, walked pretty much all the way around this town, and so I wasn't terribly worried, aside from the fact that we were driving out into the country.
We got the car, filled it up with gas, and I was free to drive a manual transmission for the first time in about four years. No problem. My Probe and my Galant were manuals, and I'm sure my next vehicile is going to be one too. I hopped in, started her up, no problems. I pressed down the clutch, shifted into first, let up on the clutch, and accelerated....a little jumpy for about half a second, but no problem. (You thought I had a horror story, didn't you?) I got home fine, parked, and emerged triumphant. I might actually look at getting one of these little cars. I am driving a Hyundai Matrix btw. Small, sporty, a lot of kick (at least in this diesel version), and a decent amount of cargo room for the size. Much of a Euro-styling to it, but its not bad.
I went inside, and told my grandma how easy it was to drive.....^_~
Day 11
I get up, and pack all the clothes I think I'll need into my carry-on bag instead of the small suitcase that my grandmother and I were going to use jointly because I won't be with them the whole time! Ima heading to Trondheim! (When you read this it'll be because I've arrived.) The plan is to come to Huestraesdan ((Hoostraysden) Which is actually where the place is, Mosjoen is the closest large town)) stay up there for Wed and Thurs, and go visit Mosjoen on Fri, on which I will take the 4:40 p.m. train and be on my ~5 hour trip to Trondheim. Anyway, back to today......
We load up the car, and start the trip. BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. I'm driving, so its impossible to take pictures, but on the train ride back I hope to be poised to take some. There are farms, mountans, small towns and rivers, its breathtaking. The rivers, which should be full and raging, have been reduced to a trickle of their former selves with the drought that has been plauging the country. Actually, I should restate that.....The northern part of Norway (Nordland) has not been getting enough rain. The southern part of the country is being ravaged by huge flooding.
We make a couple stops on our 4 hour trip, once for coffee and another time for food. I should mention that one of these stops cost me $80.....We stopped just to use the bathroom, and I didn't really need to go, but I went anyway, just in case. Well, the key for the car is on a carabinger (sp?) and I clipped it to my shorts, and apparently my shirt, and ripped it when I went up the stairs. *sigh* There's $30. Then, in the bathroom, I bent over to pick up something in the bathroom and my $50 bottle of colonge that I brought last minute and put in my shirt pocket fell out, and cracked in half. *double sigh*
Anyway, we head out on the road, stop at a grocery store to get some food for tomorrow, and head up the narrowest dirt road going up a mountain EVAR! Of course, its low traffic, meaning almost none, and doesn't bother me a bit. I'm cruising along at 50km/hr and looking at the scenery (much to the dismay of the grandmother). Very nice drive. We get there, it looks much different than I remember, but we're here. In between two mountains, next to a river, with almost no other people. Cool.
I looked around a bit, walked over to the old farm area, took some pics, and walked down an old service road. I'm just checking things out, you know? I hear something in the woods, to my left, pst a bog area and up the side of the mountain in a heavily wooded area. It sounds like bells.
So, what do I do? Ignore it, and head back? Of course not, sill. You don't know ME very well, do you? What kind of person would I be if I didn't live up to the expectations I set for others, hmm? Time to do a little exploring......
Now, I've written everything in this entry today, and I still have a neat adventure to tell you about.
I found my way across this bog, and to the woods. We're talking heavy undergrowth, semi-thick mountainous terrain. I climb up a ways, and I find myself standing infront of undreds of wild blueberry and lingonberry plants. They're everywhere! I can still hear bells.....they're close. I climb up, then down, then up again, and climb around a big tree to find.....
SHEEP! On the mountain side, in the thick brush! Now, o.k., I understand this is not the "find of the century" and sheep can be found anywhere, but its kind neat when you find them in the woods, just being, well, sheep. They're all sheep! They're also across a small ravine, and a little startled when they see me. I snapped some pics, talked with them for a while, and apparently said something to offend, because its amazing how quickly they can move up a mountainface.
Alright, time to head back, take a shower, and figure out what the hell I'm gonna busy myself with tomorrow.
Day 12
So, I get up, have breakfast, and decide I'm going to take the car and go further up this little road. I guess there are lakes and cabins up there. I guess we'll find out.
So, I drive up, and this already small road in which you can fit two small cars on turns to one lane. ONE lane. This does not include a shoulder, or a lane going the otherway someplace else. ONE lane people, got it? I found a few places where you could pull over on the way up, but otherwise its heavy woods, drop-offs and mountainside.
So I'm chugging along, make a stop whenever I can to check out the river, which is all but dry, and I keep going for about 9 km. I'm still moving up, and these mountaintops seem to keep getting closer and closer to my reach. I'm watching for places to stp, found a large rock I can drive onto, you know, the kind in car commercials (Without the cliff), and park. I get out, and look at the vieew, which is nice, but I'm entertaining myself for the day, and I need "spectacular." I turn my sights to the untouched mountain staring down at me, check out the terrain, and decide that if I'm going to climb one of these things on this trip, now is the time. This one looks easy enough anyway.
So, on the road of life, keep this in mind.....If you take the easy road, and you find out its more difficult than you expected, remember, just remember....you chose the easier path. *laughing*
My journey starts as I move across this dam, and find a four and a half foot tall section of concrete blocking my path. This would be the shorted wat across the river to get to my mountain, but I decided to go back and climb down the rocks into the riverbed, and then climb back up to get across. Maybe it was the Large jagged rocks 10 feet below or the murky, algae filled water on the other side, or maybe I've lost some nerve, OR maybe I've matured and don't take unnecessary risks that led me to my decision.......I think it was the fact that if I fell, and hurt myself, I was pretty damn sure any ambulance in their right mind wouldn't come up here and would be happy to let me die rather than rick themselves. Yep, that was it.
So, looking up, this mountain is a peice of cake. Past the riverbed, it looks challenging, but very do able.....and that is the right assumption, but you start to wonder when you make it halfway up and you heart is BEATING OUT OF YOUR CHEST and you want to DIE.
It wasn't that bad, but I knew I was at my maximum heart rate, so I stopped, took a breath, and I saw the view. Cool. Very cool. I had to keep going.
I chugged and chugged, huffed, puffed and got the bejeezus scared out of me by some damn grouse (stupid grouse), and after two more breaks, made it to the top. The view was awesome. I couse see the river that I had walked on, the road I had driven on, and the car that I parked on the rock. I saw the first lake, with it's cabins, and the road winding wistfully through the trees and onward through the mountains. This was definately worth it. Then I turned to look over the other side....
What, another, taller addition to this mountain!? DAMN YOU EARTH IN ALL YOUR GLORY!!!
So, I had another choice....I could call it a victory and just stop here, or I could go the "short distance" to the next peak and see the the OTHER SIDE OF THE FRIGGIN MOUNTAIN DAMMIT!...in case you were wondering, I chose the latter.
Alright, no problem. I'm already dying, what another few hundred feet at a 38 degree grade? *huff* *puff* No problem.
Well, it was a few hundred feet, but eventually they come into thousands. It's amazing how easy it is to underscore a mountain's height from the bottom....especially when you just climbed one. One thing about this mountain.....Blueberries and Lingonberries everywhere. I'm walking on them because I have no other place to step. *Fast forward*
In about 15-20 minutes (I was kind of delerious at this point, it might have been more) I reached the peak I had been shooting for. YES! I did it, and I was happy. I looked down and realized how far I had actually climbed that day. I did a damn fine job all by myself, thank you very much!I llok to the otherside, triumphant, finally. No otherside. I can see a veiw, but no "downside." *sigh*
O.K., am I missing it? The answer is yes, yes I am. there is a light grade going up for a couple hundred feet, and and it's pretty flat up here. So, I take off both of my shirts, (The undershirt, btw, semms to have been sitting in a pool of water, which is conceald somewhere on my person.) and I hike up to the other side. Now, THIS is what I was working towards. I have my "otherside", and a damn fine veiw of a valley I couldn't see before. There are mountains far off into the distance, a little bit of a waterfall, and a small cottage on the mountainside. There are trees, mountaintops at eye level, and even what looks like snow in the distance. Hell yeah.
I sat down, and took it all in. Then, almost as a signal of my victory, a hawk flew around the mountain, crying as it scanned the hillside for lunch.
So, I have to leave my mark, right? Prove I was here? I need to see if it stands the test of time so that when I come back in another 18 years I can prove I was here.
Now, in Norwegian folklore, if you took and made stacks of rocks it was supposed to keep Trolls away. I thought this would be fitting. So, I made one stack on one side, and then another on the otherside. It was kind of neat, because looking at the river and the mountains, I'm finding that they are FULL of milky-white quartz, and I was able to find quite a bit of it for "building"
I made a few more on my way down the mountain. Now, anyone who is thinking this is an easy process, just hold your tongue. "Easier" might be an applicable word, but hiking boots would have helped. I found that the boots are most helpful, not going up, but coming down. It's a good thing they were new shoes, otherwise I probably would have ripped right throught them.
So, I made it down safe, panting, across the river to the car. drove home, had dinner (it's about 3 o'clock) and took a nap. I would have preferred a "nap", but you can't have everything. It was the best nap I've had in a long time. I had a stomach full of food, a cold room, and down blanket, and an exhaustion you can only get from doing what I had just done. I fell asleep, slept for about a half hour or so, and wok up to the sound of light raindrops hitting the roof of this small mountain cottage and on the river outside.
This was PERFECT, except for the fact that I was all by myself. I laid there for about an hour, just listening to the rain.
The rest of the day was low key, which was fine. I drove the ladies to the farm, and drove them back, we had coffee, and we watched the news. Then I took 2-3 hours to put the last few days on "paper."
I hope my time in Trondheim can beat this, but this is turning to be a very, very fantastic trip. However, I find myself more and more excited to come back and work, and to see all of you. It's too bad that my birthday is on the sixth, when I'm here....I'll just have to plan something when I get back.
Have a great night!
....btw, I was able to get online in Mosjoen...It's 11:30, and I leave here in 5 hours....^_^Current Mood:  happy Current Music: DJ Sammy - Heaven (Candlelight Mix) |
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Day, what? 9?
So, I spent all day in Verdal today, and I've decided that if I need to spend a couple hundred dollars and spend hours on a train just to get away and have a good time, so be it.
First, the good news: Aasta's (the sister) dentist appointment was bumped up to today. This means we can leave early. Also, I did get my grandma to say that if I'd rather go to Trondheim, I could do that. She's nervous that we have to try to meet up in the middle. I KNOW she wants me to come along, so I told her of my plan to drive them up to Mosjoen, spend some time up there, take the train to Trondheim (a six hour train ride), party, hang out and do my thing, and then a: Let them drive back and just meet them in Verdal or b: Take the train ALL the way back to Mosjoen and drive them back. This caused her to talk about how she can't drive a stick, how she'd like me to come, and how I really want to see it.
Now, o.k.....The scenery is fantastic there, and I would like to go back. The town is twice as large as Verdal, and has more shops, cafe's, etc. I know, however, that with no one my own age, I will KILL MYSELF sitting around and visiting. That is why I'm willing to go to such great lengths to accomodate everyone. She told me that my plan wastes money; I told her in response that my intention "Is to spend as much time as possible with my family." Good, right? It's true. I've thought about the long term consequences of doing this, and I still think she'd see this as a very good trip, and I could (I feel terrible saying this) "condition" her memory by bringing up the great times we had, and bring up the times I WAS in Mosjoen, to soften any unhappiness towards me in there. Sound highly manipulative, right? It is, and I feel bad, but I can't handle wasting a whole week up there being bored. I just can't.
I guess I lumped the "bad news" into that. Oh well.
Anyway, I need opinions people. Tell me that you agree, or tell me I'm a selfish bastard. All the email I get is junk mail anyway, and when I can't talk to people, a note in the email is nice to find.
Anyway, we went to town earlier today, and I bought a couple things, and we came home around 2-3 ish. I haven't done a THING since then except for about an hour was able to get online next to an apartment complex down the street. There is only so much walking around that a person can do without wanting to rip off their leg (albeit well toned from walking) and beat themselves to death with it.
My grandma had a nightmare once before we left thinking that I was going to be bored the whole time. I told her it wouldn't happen, and that I could make sure I had a good time. I feel this is a good time to do so.
G'night all.
VinCurrent Mood: contemplative |
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Day 5
I headed into town again, filled with confidence that I now had this whole bus-system thing worked out and that I was the master of my own destiny! *Insert trumpets here*
Oh......stupid man. Life just isn't going to stand for that level of arrogance, is it?
Alright, so my day is fairly uneventful till about 6:30. I woke up, had breakfast, watched a movie, sat around, jumped on the net, etc....all in waiting for after diner when I could free myself and head into town to do a little shopping.
So, I did. I hopped on the bus and rode it into town. So proud I am!
I got off too early. *sigh* No worries, however, because I had a semi-gloss idea of where I was and I wasn't going to let it stand in my way. I was on a mission. I was going to really enjoy myself this time, and nothing was going to stop me. So, what do you do when you want to go downtown and you're in the wrong spot? Why! Walk through someplace you've never been before that might be a VERY long dead end of course!
I got off the bus near a university. Coeds playing volleyball, kissing, frisbee, etc. A campus. So, I walked by it, and followed what I thought was a back-roads pathway to downtown.
As I walked throught the streets, hundreds of students lined roads, balconies, and rooftops. THey were coming, going, standing still and doing nothing. They were everywhere! It was a very energetic place, much different from the mountainside homes I had been accustomed to. I liked, it, but I couldn't stay. I was on a mission.
So, I continue trekking, further and further down towards the sea. I didn't really know where I was, or if I even had a chance to get where I was trying to go, but apparently that doesn't stop me.
Walking, walking, walking, until I finally come to a bridge going over the river that leads to the sea. I never thought I'd find one. I half expected to have to walk back (which would have been quite the walk, I tell you what.) It starts looking more "downtownish", and I'm back on track. I wind my way through the streets, reach my destination, and look around. It was time to find some gifts for people.
I did no such thing. I found myself walking around, staring aimlessly at the shops, not really seeing anything that begged me to come in. After that exciting day, I stopped at Bruk Bar and had a drink. The #5 passed right by the bar, so I was safe when I wanted to take a ride.I sat there for about 10-15minutes, saw the bus, and ran out, hopped on, and went home.
Or so I thought......
Shortly after being on the bus, I realize that I've never seen any of these places before, which is O.K., because I've never gotten on at the bus stop I did. Of course, a little longer into the trip, we're climbing up the mountain! This would be great, if weren't on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY! *sigh* I decide I might as well sit back and enjoy my ride until we turn around.
Of course, things haven't been going my way, so why should they start now? I'm sitting in the back, and I notice that the bus is turning around, and then, it stops....and turns off. So, I walk very non-chalantly up to the driver and ask him the state of things. He says that if I need to get back, I have to get off and take the next #5 going the other direction. *sigh*
Basically, this should've been the end of it, but when I hit Bruk Bar again I decided that I had earned another drink, walked around for a bit more, and took the next bus home. Time to plan my next day, lol.
Day 6
Today I have to travel, so I'll make this one short. Besides the fact that I forgot my camera at my grandma's sister's house when we went to the train station.
It was a nice train ride over, I wish I would have had my camera. There was a lot of good scenery, and I could've gotten a shot of "Hell" Norway. The town is named Hell, and apparently they find it as funny as everyone else.
I get to Verdal, which was our next destination, and we are greeted with open arms by our family there. FINALLY, people who aren't too old to walk! Actually, the first real fun I've had in Norway was about to begin.
Instead of staying at the house with my grandma and here sister (different sister, she has three left, total), I was whisked away t Barbru's house, the daughter of this sister. So, this woman is my mom's age, but I know she's cool because when I met her 6 years ago she had an "adult" store and made moonshine. Yeah, wicked sweet.
BTW, this entry is going to be VERY long, because it's been days since I've had an internet connection.
Anyway, I'm days behind in my log so I'll have to rush through this a little, or my trip will end trying to catch up to myself.
I headed over to her house, with Bjorn, who is her boyfriend, AND Barbru's daughter, Isabella. Isabella looks like a young Claudia Schiffer (sp?). When I say young, I mean a very deliberate "hands off" sixteen, almost seventeen. Very cute, however. btw....I don't want to hear it. She's like my third cousin or something, and it only takes second cousins in the states for it to be legal.
We head over to the farm. Oh....My....GOD. They have a beautiful little farm nestled between two mountains with a salmon river running through their property. This location rivals any other homestead I've ever SEEN. THey just bought it, witch includes a lot of land, a large chunk of the MOUNTAINSIDE, this salmon river section, and much more land beyond that, for....$1,000,000 kr. Alright class, get out your calculators. The current exchange is $1 = 6.5 kr. ....waiting.... Alright, for all of you who are mathmatically challenged, it runs about $140,000 U.S. I had a small heart attack when I heard that. </heart>
So, we headed to the house, had food, Victoria (Isabella's 22 y.o. sister (who is also on the Norwegian national dance team)) and her boyfriend Andre came up from Trondheim (where they both go to school), and the six of us sat around in the living room of this farmhouse ad talked differences in our countries, American politics, Norwegian Politics, school, etc. till quite late. We went to bed, Day 7, got up, had a great breakfast, and went out and Bjorn, Andre and I worked on a fencing for a dog yard for most of the day.
Now, they have dogs, and by that, I mean they have four large Alaskan huskies, and a small Chinese something that rules everyone. These are Odin, the father, Mira, the mother, Tula, one of the orginal litter pups (female), and Storm (original litter (male), and the Chinese pure-bred something is Kaiser. You wake up in the morning to howling and snarling. These dogs act very much like wolves. There is a strong pack mentality here, but they will welcome anyone in to the family. THere is also a very established hirearchy, which was very fun to watch.
Everyone gets along, we have a good time, we have a HUGE barbeque when my grandma and her sister come over (which was the first time I've really gone to town and eaten, and I'm so glad I did. The food was amazing!), and then sit around outside and talk at the picnic table for hours. ow, alot of this "talking" is in this mystical language called "Norwegian" so I sit and smile and enjoy the company. I get my chances to shine, and I'm am very pleased that I can be entertaining even in other countries. I also took this time to learn some Norwegian pickup lines, of which I will not repeat here because they were teaching me things as a joke, and they were very wrong.
Day 8
The next day, had breakfast, finished the fence, ate a bit, and packed up and came to Verdal. My grandma, her sister and I took a cruise through the fjords on a relative's boat (don't ask me relation), and I took MANY pictures. Now, this is where I'm a little frustrated.
When I was back at the farm, Victoria and Andre pretty much begged me to come stay with them and party in Trondheim at the college. YES! Fianlly real fun. It took some planning, and I decided, after being given the chance to stay at the farm some more or come to town and stay with grandma and sister, that I would stay in town, spend time with them, and then SKIP Mosjoen and head back to Trondheim with Berit (another cute cousin who will be here in a few days). Then my grandma would travel north with her sister, with a small suitcase that she could handle, and everything would be copasetic. All I had to do is work this into a conversation and get things smoothed out. I was, after all, there to make travelling easier for HER.
So near the end of our boating excursion, I asked her about the conversation her and Barbru had about it (I had found out earlier that she had told my grandma about the invitation). My grandma promptly told me that she had been planning on renting a car to get to Mosjoen and that she didn't think I would want miss going back to Houstracen, the place where she grew up (which is a neat place btw, or at least was 18 years ago when I was there.) I then asked her questions about trains, fares, buses, when she was planning on going, how long, etc. The more I asked the more I felt like I was screwed. We can't leave till Thursday, because her sister has a stupid dentist appointment she can't, or won't, change, and she wants to be there through the weekend. Fuck. I was supposed to head back with Berit on Thursday, but I thought I could take the train from Mosjoen (which is pronounced "Mooshen" btw), to Trondheim early and make it.
I was even willing to spen the hundreds of dollars to get there and back.
*sigh* Not going to happen. They're going to be VERY disappointed (Victoria and Andre, Berit too.) I'm really upset about it. Now, I could just say "screw it, and let my grandma drive up there with her sister by themselves, and it would turn out o.k., but I can't help but feel I have a responsibility to her, and not to my own wants. GODDAMMIT.
Anyway, I'll find a network where I can post this tomorrow morning, and let me know what you think.
G'night all!Current Mood:  mixed |
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Day 4
I'm finding more and more that if I want to make the most of my trip, I can't rely on grandma. That being said, I decided today to take things into my own hands.
After a fairly uneventful day chatting with people back home, I decided I needed something a little more interesting to write about than the restaraunt we went to. *The restaraunt was fantastic by the way! I could do an entire entry about it, but what happened after was much more interesting.**
So, around 6:30 ish I decide that I need to get out of the tiny house and go for a walk....I've already gone up, and I've already gone west, so I decided to head down and east.
Essentially I'm walking down a mountain with an asphalt walking trail, but it was fun to see all of the little homes nestled in the bluff and creavaces. They are very tightly packed, and share the same "city block" feel we have, but modified for mountainous living. Most of them would be seen as "cute" by Americans, like the little bed & breakfasts that everyone sees and never goes to. All of these homes overlook a fairly wide city, but, the city isn't scycrapers, it is made up of beautiful stone buildings, cobblestone roads, and church steeples that poke up as the highest points. The have a prodigous port, but you'd be hard pressed to see the fenced off miles of concrete that we have in the states.
Anyway, I'm getting very far from home, winding through the roads, and I find myself on a road that is bringing be very far to the east, and still at a very sharp angle. The further down the mountain I get, the thicker the air is. Dense air with humidity coming from the ocean below. As Iwalk down this road further, I think about turning back, and decide that "this is my adventure....so back of sense of reason!" Seriously.
So, further down I go, and I find myself in an industrial district I never knew existed. Old broken-down homes line this thin road, and large concrete buildings line the other side. The homes are plain, retangular, but have a rustic fishhouse look (which I'm sure most of them were at some point.) The industrial buildings are, of course, industrial buildings, but, I mistook one for a modern church. I found myself looking down on this magnificently white stucco building, with towering arched windows and tinted glass. I decided this walk wouldn't involve my camera, so that I could enjoy myself, and not be worried about pictures.
Sorry if this is wordy, but people have been telling me that they like the entries, and I've decided to try to really convey this adventure I had....
Now, I'm just a little concerned now, because I've been walking for quite a long time past trolley repair buildings, train hubs, machinist shops, etc., and I'm thinking I'll eventually hit a dead end (I've been walking for about an hour at this point maybe a little more, the sky is dimming, and I've made no effort to turn around.) I do notice that there is a fair amount of traffic on this road, going both ways, including bikers and people walking. It must lead somewhere I decide, and onward I march.
Huzzah! I'm begginng to see what looks like and "old downtown" district. This is good news. I had decided earlier that if I can get downtown, to a pay phone, and call for the name of the stop, I could take the #5 bus back home. (This is my only means of escape at this point. It's dark, and it'll be murder on my feet.) I've also decided I need a good pair or walking or running shoes before the trip is over. ^_~
People, people everywhere! This is perfect! I'm less worried now, however, I still haven't called, and I'm sure there are two very concern old ladies out there. When I left I had told them I was going for a walk....I didn't tell them that this included picking a direction and not stopping. That might've worried them.
By now you must be getting tired of reading, as I'm getting tired of writing. Keep with me though, we're nearing the end!
I'm in another Calvin Klein commercial now, so I'm less worried, and paying more attention to coeds. I find a phone booth, drop 10 kr in for a 5 kr call, and dial in to let my grandma and her sister know I haven't died yet. I call, she answers, I can't talk with her. I hang up, and call back with the remaining 5kr. Same thing. Stupid broken phone booth.
So, I start off walking again. No idea where I am, how I'm gonna find the bus, where to get a taxi, and no one to keep me company. I kept my spirits up, an continued to tell myself that the worst thing that could happen is that I spend the night wandering downtown Trondheim.....and to be honest, it didn't worry me a bit. I crossed a bridge, looked up at the mountainside from whence I had came, and realized "I'm damn friggin far away." *sigh* My feet hurt now, but gotta keep on trucking. I found another phone booth, call the house and actually got through. I explained where I was, and to two older ladies who have a hard time getting around, you would have thought I swam there carrying a small family on my back. I explained that I would be later than I expected, and not to worry. It went over better than I expected. I figured they'd want to rush out and get me.
Now, on that phone call I DID get a very important piece of information: the address of the bus stop. Keep in mind that when I left the house I had money and ID, that's it. No map, no address of where I lived, and no idea where I was going. I would suggest it to anyone, but know where you're staying. I did this in an effort to push myself out of my bubble, and I certainly took a crash course in getting out of my bubble. I was in a city I knew very little about, I can't speak the language, I can't READ the language, I don't know where I live, I don't know how I'm getting back.....The only thing I was missing was someone to be lost WITH. I think then it would've been a riot.
So, I stopped a couple of local walking down the street and asked where I could catch the #5. (I knew that if I backtracked a bit I'd seen a bus stop where it stopped, but I hoped for a closer option. My feet hurt in some distict places, and they weren't small. I'm hoping against hope that they don't turn out to be massive blisters. They tell me I can catch it downtown, apparently now I'm on the outskirts. I ask them how to get there, and they tell me to take any bus. ooooookkkkkkkk....look, I don't know how the buses charge, when they stop, or where they go. Its late, and at this point I'm not hopping a random bus.
I thank them, head back towards my previous location, and the #5 rolls past me. Well, I'm on the right track, I think to myself, but I bet I just missed the bastard. Sure enough, if I had been 5 mins earlier, I would've gotten the bus. I check the schedule, and not knowing what time it was, hope that I'm reading that it still runs 3 times this hour, so I sit, and wait.
15 mins later it arrives. I tell the driver where I'm going, he says yes, I ask how much, He tells me, I pay, He gives me change, I sit down. I wait. I get off, and walk home. I live to tell the tale.
I really wanted to stop by the pubs I walked by, but I didn't know how to get home. We'll be here for one more night. I'm going to party a bit tomorrow night. I've got this Trondheim-downtown-bus ridin'-waking around thing down pat. Time to spice it up. ^_~
Alright, move along now, nothing else to see here.
I should have pictures tomorrow. ^_~Current Mood:  accomplished |
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Day 3
Travelling seems to bring out many people you haven't talked to in a while. I'm hearing from people who I haven't talked to in months, it certainly gives us somethng to talk about.
Well, we went downtown today, which was nice. I finally got to go out and walk for a bit. Grandma still doesn't get around well, and cant walk for long before she needs a rest.
I snapped a few pics of the city, as well as some of the locals. Tere are so many GQ looking people here. I thought at one time I was walking through a Calvin Klein commercial. Its definately a different place. I am enjoying myself, watching what I eat, (Take that you weight-bet-indulge-all-you-want-bastards) and taking in the scenery. In a few days we'll most likely hop a train and head north.
Few things about Norway:
1. Very clean. Holy crap, people can be responsible!
2. Richest country in the world, when accounting for debt. *Third largest exporter of oil in the world, and therefore the government has roughly $80,000 (U.S.) per capita in savings. Looks like a good place to send some troops.
3. Fish, fish, fish. Seriously. Salmon is like lunch meat here.
4. Mass transit works! People walk everywhere! I haven't seen a single fitness center, yet.....well, see previous comment about Calvin Klein...
5. The whole "no liquids on planes" thing? Yeah, that's just us.
6. Keep to themselves. If you walk by someone on the street and say hello, you'll scare the hell out of them. *Currently my favorite passtime.
7. Very 'net savvy. I'm surrounded by wireless access points, all encrypted. Damn Socialist bastards.
8. There was something else and I can't remember right now.
Lets see.....Oh, I have the coolest Undcle out here. His name is Truls, and he stops by the house one night. Actually, it was more of a kidnapping. It was around 9, and I had decided to crash for the night, and he comes bursting in an say for me to come with him. Apparently he is impressed by my patience and explains that while he loves his mother (My grandma's sister), he would never last an entire day with her. He then hands me a key to his house, tells me to come over anytime, and that I need some internet for the night. Cool guy. That was last night.
Today, after being downtown, I was dropped off by my my grandma and her sister at Truls's house, of which no one is home. I fire up a DVD, jump online, and begin to troubleshoot a computer trojan on Truls's comp, which, of course, is in Norwegian. The Norton removal tool failed miserably, twice, as it always does. I had to navigate the whole system from memory alone and remove it manually. It only took 5 hours for the whole process. Not bad.
So, tonight I wrote out some postcards, which will be sent airmail. They're a bit spendy with postage and all, but I'll send you one if you'd like. Just give me your address. There are a few people I need to get addresses from.
Well, its become a long post, but keep in mind, I'm a little short on things to do. It's one o'clock where you are, and that means it 8:00 here. I'll probably hit the hay early, as I had trouble getting to sleep last night. Jet lag finally catching up to me.
Have a good night!
VinCurrent Mood: content Current Music: DJ Sammy - Heaven (Candlelight Mix) |
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Day 2 con't
Well, End of the first day, not much to report. I spent most of the day at my grandma's sister's place. My day picked up a few times when I went out for a couple walks.
The first time I went out I stopped at the corner store for some shaving cream. Its a little intimidating not to be able to read or recognize any of the products on the shelves, but I finally found what I was looking for. The cahier was friendly, and we chatted a little. She was early-twenties, and was very fluent in English. That was fun.
The second time I went out I walked throught the neighborhood to the top of the mountain (These neighborhoods are on a montainside btw). from there, I came back down, and headed, ummm, to my right. I guess I'm a little fuzzy on geographical direction at the moment. I walked for miles....or kilometers. I don't think miles are allowed here. ;-) Anyway, found a video store, and bought a couple bottles of water and headed back. I snapped a few pics of a beautiful but faint rainbow coming up from the fjord. I'll upload one when I get a chance. There are a lot of wireless networks out here, but finding an open one is proving difficult. I will persevere.
Tomorrow we have plans to head downtown. I might just have to grab a few souveniers, and a couple of postcards. Maybe I'll haul the 'ol lappy with and find an internet cafe'.
Have a good one.
Aug. 21st, 2006 @ 04:25 pm
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| » Finally... |
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DAY 1
It's about damn time I get here....30+ hours of straight awake time, most of that extremely cramped accomodations on the plane, and there wasn't one mutha-fuckin' snake. (Sorry. That's the extent of my "funny", right now.)
Anyway, on the way here, I passed throught checkpoint after checkpoint, met obnoxious North Dakotans, hit some more checkpoints, saw a well-fed Jesus, found that the U.S. now is really the only one *not* allowing drinks on planes, and that checkpoints suck.
So all that and the fact that my grandma is 72 and you think she was 90 by the way she acts. *sigh* I also *stilll* don't have an internet connection. ( I'm writing and saving this just to make sure I do it.) I hope this doesn't end up as "oops, I'm back now* fodder.
The scenery is beautiful, and the mountains and trees are nice too. There is no shortage of attractive women here. Iceland, well....Maybe they just don't let them in the airport.
Yeah, so, hot girls, beautiful scenery, utter lack of sleep preventing any cognitive function, yeah, its a great time. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee <- Sorry, fell asleep on the keyboard. I hope to find a place where I can get online and post this. I'd like to keep you updated.
I find I'm missing "people", and its got me nervous.
Oh well, I just got here and I'm over tired, and bet I'd jump in the fjord if you asked me too.
If you want a postcard, drop me a line and let me know, but make sure you leave your address. If you don't wanna leave it here, leave me a message in my email, and if I can get online, I'll try to get you one.
DAY 2 I slept for 18 hours. Holy crap. That's like, 3 days worth of sleep for me. Of course, I was forcing myslef to sleep till someone came to get me because I didn't want a weird sleep schedule out here, and the sooner I can get on a correct one, the better. I'm 7 hours ahead as far as time goes, so its not a huge gap, but it's about 65% of the way to the other side of the world.
I had bread with scrambled eggs and salmon for breakfast this morning. It was good, but its a little bit of a wake up to have fish in the morning. I also had a couple pieces of fish with jam as well.
Remember, I'm going to put whatever I can into this, and try to get some pictures up too! If you decide that you are going to live vicariously in Norway through my posts, that's fine, but don't tell me how boring they are. ^_^ I hope things'll pick up once I have a chance to get into town, and see some of my other family.
By the way, if anyone wants an update on how I'm doing, give them my blog address. It's O.K., and its the easiest way to keep myself updated. Thankx!
Aug. 21st, 2006 @ 06:31 am
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| » Hello world! |
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I'm leaving for Norway on Saturday. I'll miss you guys.
Aug. 17th, 2006 @ 11:41 am
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| » What's better than waking up to a ringing phone....??? |
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Why, waking up to a ringing phone while your little brother is banging on your bedroom door because he and his family spent the night after visiting and he needs to find the closest hospital because his fiance' is doubled over screaming in pain and the baby doesn't even cry....
You know, ( better )
What a way to start out the morning.
Jul. 10th, 2006 @ 01:39 pm
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This is to inform you that there will be a reunion-type party at Vinney's place (aka Isachar) on July 1st. I understand its the long weekend for a lot of us and that means people will be travelling, but after making numerous phone calls and testing the waters, it seems there are enough people to make it a great get-together. There may (if all goes well-there has been complications up till now) be a viewing of the Joseph production video! The final cut and DVDs may not be finished by that time, but hopefully, and thanks to Andi's help, be ready for the big screen at the party.
In addition to all of that, Ben and Matt have been very hard at work collecting all of your photos for the photo cd. Thanks to their effort, the screenshots sent to me of the photo cd look incredible. If possible, chip in to help cover the cost of the cd's, as I'm sure neither Ben or Matt would ever ask.
I will be sending out more information such as directions, photos of the place and other information later, but for now, here are the basics:
Address:
Vinney's Place
*****************
Shorewood, MN 55331
Things to do:
-Drink
-View video
-Sit around the bonfire
-Sample some of Vinney and Greg's homemade schnapps
-Dance
-Sing (sorry, no karaoke setup)
-Drink
-Relax
-Did I say drink?
You are welcome to crash here if you need to...We have plenty of space for passing out, and I'd rather you stayed instead of driving drunk. If there are enough people staying over that we know of before hand, maybe we'll have a big hangover breakfast in the morning. ^_^ ....maybe just water and ibuprofen. ;-)
Anyway, please, please, PLEASE RSVP, and let me know if you're interested. If you can't come, LET ME KNOW! PEOPLE WILL ASK ME!
Anyway, it's late, and I'm still preparing.
I send more info later.
Have a good weekend folks!
-Vinney
Jun. 22nd, 2006 @ 11:45 pm
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