Blogs from Norway, Europe - page 162

Hi Friends and Family, It seems that everywhere I go I'm surrounded by Vikings. There are all sorts of treasures and ships at some of the famous Viking landing points in Denmark (such as Roskilde) and in the capital of Norway: Oslo. After a night out at the Trivoli Gardens (Disneyland meets Scandinavia), with an Aquarium, China Town, Rides and a Rock Concert, I arose before the sun to leave for Norway. In Oslo, I found more museums an new palace for their relatively new monarchy, a harbourside castle in the Oslo fjord and one angry dinosaur at the back of the history books. I have lots of exploring and plundering still to do. I will be visiting the Viking museum and taking a 2 hour cruise of the fjord tomorrow. Intresting fact: The Sea Stallion ... read more

So we resolved to take some trips. Little did we know how stressful it would be. Honestly. Worrying about money and school and timetables and destinations is too much for me. I know we need to JUST GO (as my friend Sam pointed out--lucky for him this is his general life philosophy, and it doesn't come so easy for others among us). It was particularly frustrating last night when we managed to decide on going to Stavanger, found really cheap tickets for next week, and then couldn't buy them online for a mysterious reason. I thought maybe it was the American credit cards, but that wouldn't make sense for a travel company, right?? Who knows, but I hope we can still get the inexpensive fares. Of course it is hard when you're on a budget--especially one ... read more

Hey guys it's been a while...separation anxiety.. haha! Jen and i made it here safely and have already had three practices. They are quite different from the one we have at home, we always go for a 1/2 hour run first, then come inside to change for practice then warm up for a bit again and warm up goalies, do 1 maybe 2 drills, then scrimmage. There is way more live game play in practices here than the work on individual skills that we're used to and take for granted… haha. Things are going well over here; we both have nice families, and are starting to get settled in. Jen plays her first two games this weekend with the div 3 team having a home game on both Saturday and Sunday. My transfer did not go ... read more

Upon reviewing our pictures from the last couple of weeks, Danielle and I were kind of dismayed but not at all surprised to discover that most of them were of food we had cooked. Certainly homemade farfalle and magenta curry are more photogenic than your average meals but the fact remains: we've become a bit too cloistered. It seems understandable, mostly a reaction to the price of food and entertainment here; the cheapest activity we can engage is cooking (mostly) from scratch. It really accomplishes a lot: cuts down on food costs, allows us to eat things we otherwise can't find here, challenges to cook with minimal gadgets, space, utensils, etc., kills a good deal of time probably otherwise spent obsessively reading about the election, and on occasion serves as an excuse to interact with people ... read more

Monday, September 8th I'm back on my way to Norway. Due to incessant rain, is taking me ages to make a crossing of a few hundred kilometers. It would have taken me less to cross from Nepal to Tibet! Temperature remains low, around 12°C, and today I was forced for the first time to wear my winter stuff, with thermal, full lenght suit and padded jacket. Day of climbs, not harsh but numerous. Rocinante complains and cracks like an old port brothel bed. I grease it, check screws, gears and spokes, but my mechanical knowledges don't go further. I'm afraid this will be its last adventure. After crossing the Norwegian border, I saw the post Rom (Rooms), and after several days of free camping I thought I could well afford the luxury of a soft bed ... read more