Live from Lyngby

Well, I'm back in the States.  Made it back yesterday for the wake.  Just in time because I ended up spending 5 hours in the Newark Airport.  Today was the funeral.  Got to be a pallbearer and a reader.

It was strange.  As much (or as little) as I ended up crying, it was difficult to really stay sad for long.  Times like these that are full of such sadness always seem to bring about a certain level of joy in their wake.  Seeing my family for the first time in four months is of course a joyous occasion but really everyone had a wonderful demeanor about them.  It was tough for my grandfather.  At the end it was really tough.  I don't know how long he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I'd say three years but I usually underestimate things like this because of how fast time always seems to go.  Still, there was such a great turnout and when you see all the people whose lives he had touched in one way or another it is really quite difficult to be sad for him.

The thing that really got me, I mean really got me the most was when Tom, the eulogist who is a great friend of the family, said that he envisioned Grandpere showing up and being greeted by his son (my father) Jamie and just sitting there and looking down upon all of us and smiling before my father took him off to show him the ropes.  This got me to thinking a bit more and gave me the confidence and calming notion that if I die tomorrow, it would be okay because waiting for me in heaven would be three of my greatest influences and the best people I know, my father, my grandfather, and one of my best friend's Tony and how it couldn't possibly be that bad if I could just hang out with them all day and catch up and sit at the beach or climb some mountains or do whatever people do in heaven that is completely free of pain and full of joy.  And yea, this is when I started to cry, and yea, they were tears not of fear or sorrow but of joy because I know it couldn't possibly be that bad where they are and my grandfather couldn't possibly be doing worse off than he was at the end of his life here.

After the service he received a veterans burial with a flag and TAPS just like his son before him.  It really was a pleasant event, if I'm allowed to say so.

We went back to my cousins' house afterwards and shared some stories and played some video games.  

Now we have sandwiches for the next week.  Not so bad.

T1 + T2 = Together?!?!?  Even Grandpere's laughing...

Yesterday I received word that my grandfather had passed away two days ago. He has been battling with Alzheimer's for awhile now and from what I had been hearing from home it actually is somewhat of a blessing (if such a thing can really be said). There is so much to be said but it is often difficult to find the right words. I have so many great memories and having been out of daily contact with most of my family for close to four months now things won't actually be so different for me right now. I know exactly when it will hit me though. The first day I make it down to the beach this year when he's not sitting there. That is when I'll realize it.

Do keep him in your prayers for me and I know he's gone on to a better place and he'll finally get to see his son again. He's been waiting almost twenty years for that.

Right now I have to focus on exams, which sucks. I wish I had nothing to do and could simply grieve properly. I have 2 exams and 2 projects to do over the next 2 weeks and they will be the sole determinant as to whether I pass or fail the courses or get high enough marks to be accepted back in the States. I finally finished one of the projects about 99% this morning so I can focus on studying. Still news like this tends to focus one's attention on the things that are more important in life. It makes it hard to worry about studying and exams and such. It makes you miss your family and friends more than ever.

On our trip to Norway...

Vincent: How long do you intend to walk the earth?

Jules: Until God puts me where he want me to be.

Vincent: What if he never does?

Jules: If it takes forever, I'll wait forever.

Vincent: So you decided to be a bum?

Jules: I'll just be Jules, Vincent -- no more, no less.

Vincent: No Jules, you're gonna be like those pieces of s#*! out there who beg for change.  They walk around like a bunch of f@#!in' zombies, they sleep in garbage bins, they eat what I throw away, and dogs piss on 'em. They got a word for 'em, they're called bums. And without a job, residence, or legal tender, that's what you're gonna be -- a f@#!in' bum!



~Pulp Fiction

5. The Oslo Train Station (Oslo, Norway)

Being moved in and out throughout the night and having to spend 3 hours in the cold make this the worst place on the trip.  At least we had our own personal security on the streets of Oslo.

Monday, May 5th

I would not recommend going to Oslo on a Monday if you only have one day.  All of the free museums are closed.  That being said, when we finally got around to moving from the train station around 8 o'clock we were able to keep busy.

We visited the tourist information outside the station, got some maps, and headed out to see the city.  We started by walking down to the Parliament building in the center of town, then turning left and making our way towards the harbor.  The harbor was nice with a mixture of both old ships and a new, there was even a large cruise ship (which i was told by cruising standards it may have actually been small).

Then we visited an old fort which also has some new buildings used for the current military.


After this, we visited the palace to see where the king and queen live.  I asked Luis which country he would like to be teh monarch of and his answer was Saudi Arabia.  Probably the single best answer he could have given and completely out of nowhere. 



We stopped by the Italian Embassy to see about getting Nacho citizenship.  Didn't quite work out.



Then we headed off to a big sculpture park that was really impressive.  I had never heard of it before but it is apparently quite famous and really took me by surprise.



The whole day, in the distance we could see a ski tower for ski jumping.  After the park we thought about walking there but found out that even by train it would take 30 minutes.  With about three hours till Daniel and I had to get back for our flight we decided to take the train.  It is a really old jump, dating back to the 1890s and has grown quite a lot over the years.  Nowadays I suppose I'd be a little scared to give it a try.  I think it looks even scarier without any snow.



And that was it.  We returned to the train station, then to the airport, then to Copenhagen, and Campus Village.  I don't know if I'll make it back to Norway but I know I'd love to.  It is literally the most beautiful place I have seen and was amazed at how integral the natural landscape is to there way of life.

Sunday, May 4th

Ok, I'm still doing the titles just to keep up with my trend.

Today was amazing.  It was full of train rides through beautiful country.  First was the ride from Flåm to Mydral which was fantastic and a masterpiece of engineering.  It is one of the steepest railways in the world or something and really provides some fantastic views as you wind through the along the cliffs overlooking the canyon.

Saturday, May 3rd

Ok, here's where the analogy completely falls apart.  No, we don't fight a big battle, or drown a ring in a pit of magma.  Rather, we took a boat ride and enjoyed the scenery.  However, we did see a troll.

We were off early and after leaving a note for our hosts we quietly snuck out of the flat and headed down to the main docks to grab the boat through the fjords to Flåm.  This trip was breathtaking and the views do leave you speechless.  It's quite difficult to find such pristine nature in east coast America and here it was everywhere.  Small hills dot the landscape but otherwise it is relatively undisturbed.

Here are some of them:



After the six hour ride we arrived in Flåm.  Flåm is a small town with nothing to do but the view is spectacular.  They warned us there would be nothing to do but it is highly touted for tourists to visit so we figured there must be some truth to it.  There wasn't.  Anyway, we got food, as the grocery store was closing at 3 and we had nothing to eat for the evening.  This hostel was a little worse but did have a range to cook on so we would be able to make some pasta.

We then asked for the most difficult hiking trail and started up towards the waterfall.


Following a fairly steep trail about 2/3rds of the way up the side of the fjord we were able to get some spectacular views of the valley and the town.



Once we got back we were all hungry so we made some pasta.  After this Daniel was tired and went to sleep while Nacho, Luis, and I went out to experience Flåm's nightlife:

Friday, May 2nd

Ok, as far as the Lord of the Rings analogy goes, today was the day that really quite possibly is the only one that truly bares much resemblance but that's actually of little importance to me.

This morning we woke up after sleeping a solid ten and a half hours.  We were well rested and ready for an adventure.  First things first, we went downstairs and grabbed as much breakfast as our stomachs could handle since:

a) Food is expensive

b) Our hostel was expensive

and

c) We had quite the hike ahead of us

After breakfast we quickly packed up and headed off to Spar (a local grocer) for some bananas, chocolate, and water for our hike that we had been told would take us about 6 hours.  Nacho headed back to the hostel to use the restroom at which point he ran into Simon who had nothing to do and decided to accompany us for the journey.

Here there is not much to be mentioned other than we climbed a mountain to a tall tower that marked the top of a funicular that is currently out of commission.  Then, we followed stone towers around the ridge of a mountain to Floyen, another funicular.  This journey is said to take about six hours but it took us about ten to eleven.  It was nice we stopped along the way to ski, take pictures, take in some sun, and just goof off.  This journey reminded me of that of the Ring in the infamous trilogy.  We climbed mountains, walked through snow, passed waterfalls, traveled through a forest, the whole time following these rock formations that reminded me those that are lit to signal an attack or something in the films.

The best way to explain this trip is through my pictures, so here they are...

 By the end of the hike we ended up a little confused as to which way to go but three Norwegian hikers kindly escorted us the rest of the way to Floyen.  On the way it was interesting to hear about the Norwegian way of life and give them a little insight into the differences I found between our cultures.  As we were getting ready to part ways we exchanged numbers to perhaps meet up for some drinks later in the evening.

After relaxing a few minutes, we bolted down the mountain (as we were at a place on near the top that provides a great view of the city) to make it to Rema 1000 by 9 pm to get food for the next few days as this was a cheap place to do so.  We made it with a minute to spare.  Well, an hour and one minute if you consider the fact that it actually didn't close till 10 which was nice because we were able to stock up on peanut butter, crackers, and bananas.
 
One thing that is important to find out in foreign countries is if there are bubbles in the water you are purchasing.  The last thing you want to do is get to the top of a mountain with 1.5 Liters of water and open it only for it to explode with carbonation and you to be left thirsty (as I did).  That's why at Rema I checked with some locals to make sure I was making the correct purchase, they were right, I was.

After eating some dinner and some ice cream around the main square we took in a local street performer.  He was great, if you consider he knew five songs, and we heard each one at least three times.  We later received a message from our hiking friend inviting us out to a bar.  Simon left at this point back to the hostel and we would go on in a little while to meet them for a few drinks.  It was really interesting to get to talk with people from the country we were visiting.  Your learn about local customs, their impressions of your country, the various strengths of their countries, their travels, even the town where the greatest number of Norwegian toilets are produced (I believe it was Porsgrunn).  

We had been planning on crashing outside on a bench because after last call and closing up it ended up being closer to quarter till four and we had to be at the boat at 7:30 to get to Flåm.  Thankfully, our friend was kind enough to offer us four couches in her flat and when we arrived there was even left over Mexican food that was given to us as a late night snack.  It is not often you receive this kind of hospitality from complete strangers but when you do it really is a wonderful thing.  It gives you faith in the innate goodness inside of people.

Thursday, May 1st

I liken this first day to the Fellowship of the Ring in that the four of us spend the night before partying and carrying away before spending the night in Kastrup airport to catch our 7 am flight from Copenhagen to Bergen, Norway.  Of course, when taking a low-budget airline you get what you pay for and thus we were forced to wait through two gate changes and a two and a half hour delay before the flight actually took off.  The captain forgot to remind the tower that we'd be taking off and this left us arriving in Bergen around 11:30 in the morning with no plans and just a few ideas as to what we'd like to do.

We went downstairs and spoke with a very friendly lady at the tourist information desk who gave us an idea as to what to do and what we could do and was very skeptical about our ability to do as much as hiking as we'd like considering we were all wearing small jackets and tennis shoes.  She directed us to the tourist center in downtown Bergen and was also able to get us a reservation at a hostel on the outskirts of Bergen.  We grabbed the shuttle from the airport to downtown and got off just outside the tourist center.

The tourist center was packed because most Scandinavians have a holiday for the beginning of May to celebrate the beginning of spring, I suppose.  We waited about an hour or so to be helped.  In the mean time Luis and I went outside and observed a peaceful protest for Palestinian freedom.  Later we would learn that May 1st is the International Worker's Day and on this day a lot of people take the opportunity to protest in Bergen.  

Once we were called we were informed that going to "the Rock" that we wanted to would be at least a two day excursion out of the way and since the one thing we had to truly budget was time it got left behind.  Still, we decided on two days in Bergen (the first seeing the city, the second hiking), one day in Flåm, one day in Geilo (a small mountain town with nice hiking trails; we were told), and then concluding our journey with an afternoon in Oslo before flying back to Copenhagen.  The lady was nice and was able to book our train tickets and after walking around downtown for a short bit we headed off to our hostel to drop off our things.

First of all, if you ever travel in Europe bring sheets.  In Norway, sheets for one night will cost you about $14 US.  I believe you could probably purchase a set for that price, but unfortunately we had no other option at this point.  Traveling in Spain I brought a set, which of course, I didn't use since in Spain they provide them free of charge.  Oh well, you live and learn.  The lady at the front desk was kind enough to book us a place in Flåm for Saturday night.  We headed upstairs rested for about half an hour and met a Polish guy named Simon who was in town getting a job and crashing at the hostel until everything was finalized.  He had been in town for about two weeks and offered to join us when we headed off to explore the town.

Bergen is small.  It is a lovely place but really quite small.  Two or three hours was more than enough time to see everything.  

Here are some of the highlights: