July 23, 2010: North Norway back to Oslo

Waking up Friday morning, I knew I was going to find myself on a plane. I followed enough travel folks along the Twitter route to hear them gripe a wee bit about security lines, planes, airports, and non-stop travel arrangements. I love travel, I love the building excitement and the take offs and landings of planes. I love trying new things, meeting new people, and the experience. But Friday morning as I sat near the window of my room watching the rain fall and listening to water rushing down a mountain from the nearby hidden stream, it occurred to me that I really didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted this peaceful moment at this amazing house to last another eternity. The world was perfect in that fragile moment and I feared even the sun breaking through the cloudy skies would shatter it.

My entire trip North was covered in light drizzle and clouds. There were no huge thunderstorms rolling through during my stay and the clouds never gathered en-mass and hit the land. My time in Norway was mainly spent with a lot of bruised-tinged clouds hovering above, between, and below the mountains. Everyone in Norway kept apologizing for the rain and drizzle, but the dry heat Central Texan in me soaked it all in. My favorite clouds were those layered between the mountains. You could see a cloud half way up the mountain, but it was light enough to see through it and above to the peak of the mountain where heavier clouds lingered dusting the tops. Back home we have clouds way above our heads, or morning clouds at our feet; but we don't have clouds whispering half way between soil and sky.

Following another fine breakfast, we planned the day. My plane was scheduled to leave around 7:30pm from Tromso. The original plan was to take me swimming, unfortunately, the swimming pool was only open in the afternoon and would have to be missed. That just gives me a reason to return for another visit. We determined the whale would be cooked for luncheon.

Birger, Jimmy, my little friend, and I took a walk around the property. I learned more about the family history in the area as we walked the grassy property. We walked down to the fjord, listening to the rushing water always beside us or in hearing. At the fjord I quickly remembered why I don't skip stones -mine plopped and sank quickly. Birger took his smooth stone and had it glide and hop six times across the cerulean violet-blue water before sinking. The fjord water was clean and crisp, but not as cold as I expected.

When we returned to the house, I asked for the Uno game to be brought down. The younger Holm was game to play, but it took a while to convince her Dad to join in. We tried to convince her Mom, but she kept shaking her head and laughing, "no". Uno really is best played in a larger group, but the three of us made do. We didn't keep score, but I went over the instructions and point values for future play. As the whale cooked, we continued play. They picked up on the sarcastic remarks we use back home, such as "I thought you loved me" decreed by the receptive opponent after a player slams down a "Draw 4" card. There was much giggling, laughing, and comeradery as we continued the game until lunch was ready. Her school chums are going to love the card game.

Whale is intriguing. The minke whale is one of the smaller baleen whales usually growing to no more than 35 feet weighing about 8 tons. The Norwegian government allows about 300 minke whales to be caught annually. The whale was bought from a reputable shop in Tromso that also sells seagull eggs (which I didn't get to try because they were out of season). The whale meat itself was speckled, but looked a lot like beef. When cooked, it holds a similar texture to beef in toughness and knife usage. It wasn't particularly gamey, nor did it taste much like liver. It was full of flavor, but in no way tasted fishy. Still being full from breakfast, I didn't do justice to the whale even with the perfectly cooked onions and potatoes with it. Luckily, Jimmy was available to help eat my portion.

Following lunch we prepared for my leave from Tromso. I attempted typing on a European keyboard again with little success, but did manage to load the photos we had taken on their computer for them. Leaving Girlinde and Fredi was difficult after a perfect few days. They were sweet enough to say I could return to their home in the future. Friends are precious gifts, especially when they treat you like family.

Driving to Tromso we parked at the mall. U.S. parking garages usually have slanted or straight parking spots; this garage fit parking spaces at all angles. We wedged the car in what I considered the scariest spot I've ever seen: it was carved out between poles at a slight angle with parallel cars parked on either side with straight spaces directly behind.

We walked past Mack brewery and the British Consulate on our way to the Norsk Polarinstitutt. Birger pointed the institute out to me on Wednesday from atop Storsteinen. The Norwegian Polar Institute is an education and research institution founded in 1906 which today includes a museum. The museum exhibits and displays include live seals and fish for visitors to watch and learn more about. They also show a couple different films. We saw the panoramic film about the Arctic birds and animals. Beautifully composed, the film follows the path of a small Arctic tern as he travels around Svalbard. The film was without voices allowing the scenery speak for itself. It was a delightful introduction to what I might see over the next week in Svalbard.

Leaving the museum we walked toward the Roald Amundson statue. In the US, everone knows Shackleton's survival story, but few know the importance of this early 20th century adventurer. Amundson was a Norweigian explorer whose many accomplishments include being the first to reach both the North and South Poles and the first to cross from Spitsbergen to Canada's Northwest Passage via the Arctic.

Making our way back towards the mall, we stopped along the boulevards shops. An open market sold US Confederate hats next to buttons with red lines crossing out a Nazi swastika along side Metalica t-shirts. The sweet shops were amazing: walls of homemade confections next to Scandinavian chocolatiers, Jelly Bellies, and the occasional Hershey product. I was gifted with several pieces to savor as we made our way to the mall.

The mall was typical of what we have in the states, only the names were quite different. Shops owned by Swedish companies sat next to Finish or Norwegian owned shops, but nothing from America. We went to the bookstore for school supplies. I wasn't too interested in the adult books, but went to the small teen selection. Barnes and Nobles spoils us with huge displays and lots of books at our disposal. The selection in the shop included the usual current popular selection of Harry Potter and Twilight books. I did find Catching Fire for Ruth, but the exorbident fee of over $40 American dollars for the book made me think twice. I took a photo of the cover for her instead.

We made our way to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I made the luggage check-in with plenty of spare time. After the Holms left, I discovered in going through security my mistake and not packing the knife in the proper bag. Quickly stressing out again, I had a brilliant idea of mailing it back to Texas. Rushing to the Norwegian Air counter, I asked if there was any place I could mail the package. The attendant looked at me like I was an insane American. He said my other bag couldn't be retrieved, but if I had another piece of luggage I could put it in, I could send it on the plane. He nodded sagely when I said, "I guess that would be cheaper than mailing it to Texas." I rearranged my two carry on bags, wrapped the knife in the sweater, and paid the fee to have the backpack make the plane. I figured if the backpack didn't make the flight, I could always collect it Sunday morning on the way to Svalbard.

Feeling much more secure in how to handle the Norwegian plane, I made my way with the rest of the people onto the plane. I determined while boarding it was great traveling in a country where people understood your language; but it was awful still having weird jet-lag experiences when you just don't plan things right.

The flight back to Oslo was relatively uneventful. The crew offered food and beverages again as we glided over the landscape. As we neared the Arctic Circle, the pilots announced it was coming up. I've never seen any cloud formation like it. Literally at the Arctic Circle the clouds disappeared. Looking behind the plane toward Tromso, the clouds were a thick blanket covering the land; in front it was open to the fjords and land below.

Landing in Oslo without any delays, I quickly passed all the lanes of traffic and made my way to baggage. I waited for my bags remembering what they both looked like, hoping the tear in the backpack was not exacerbated by the flight and the orange tape we slathered on at the counter held.

The bus was waiting at stop #28 after I retrieved my bags. I obviously had no concept of time, because after rushing toward the bus, we still sat for 15 minutes waiting until it was time to leave. I charged my bus fare because on the plane I discovered I was 15 NOK short after needing to spend the money on the checked bag.

The Solheims came and collected at the station. While I waited for their arrival, there was a nice man who was out walking his dog. We chatted about dogs and America. His dog was about 50 times larger than Jimmy.

Back at the house, I (re)met Anne who was in town for a few days. Anne and her family live in eastern Norway. It was two of her children I met with Inga at the airport. They had saved dinner for me. While I ate, I learned all about Dr. Jan-Erik's trip to Easter Island for the eclipse and caught up on news about Anne's family. I hadn't seen her in 20 years when she baby-sat me in Austin. It was a marvelous evening.

I returned to my room, unpacked the one bag, repacked the larger suitcase, made sure all items security would disagree over made the sealed inside pocket where I could happily forget about them, and went to bed. It was good to be back in Oslo where the sun still shone at 1am, in two days I headed for Svalbard.