As the old Norwegian Proverb goes:

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes". I also found it said by Sir Ranulph Fiennes - the guy that was the first to visit both North and South poles, walk across Antarctica, and climb Mt. Everest at 65! But, this isn't about him. You can read more here if you like. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulph_Fiennes
Anyhow, this is a quote that I first heard here in Oslo, and have heard many times since. The Norwegians live by it and are proud of it. No matter what the weather, they are out and active. People don't generally make plans around the weather, they just continue on - I'm sure there are some exceptions. I've seen people running, biking, street skiing, walking, and just sitting in the rain. I even talked to people that were fishing in the cold rain just for fun. And that was without beer. Wow.

The other day I went hiking up a small mountain in the rain. (It wasn't exactly my idea, but I figured it would be fun). I went up with the same couple I hitched a ride with from Bodø. He is from the Czech Republic, and she is from Oregon. We were just making a "pit stop" before we continued the drive. We were told it was an easy hike, taking about 2 hours up and back. It went from sea level to roughly 2300ft. Piece of cake. Well, little did I know that the Czechs are like mountain goats. As he ran up ahead, I huffed and puffed my way up with his girlfriend. She told me they had gone on a hard hike the other day and that the Norwegians are even faster. No sooner had she said that than we ran into a few Norwegians on the trail. On their way down. One pair was a couple in their 60s, dressed in running gear (spandex type stuff) and they were jogging down. I am really glad we caught them on the way down, since I don't know if my pride would have survived them running past me on the way up! But I digress.

Moving on up

Nearly two weeks ago I began my journey, starting in Oslo and knowing that I would continue on North. Norway is a long country, not very wide, but long. From Oslo to Tromso (where I was going) is about the same distance as Oslo to Rome. In other words, it is pretty darn far away.

Tromsø is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle at 60,000 inhabitants. By American standards it is a town, but here in Norway, it is considered the "Paris of the North". It has one University, one hospital, and MANY bars and nightclubs. For comparison: I grew up in a town of 125,000 people and there were a handful of bars, and only two were ones that you would go to. Here, there are bars for the the ones that want to strut their stuff (think Scottsdale), there are bars for the ones that want to watch an underground band, and there are bars for those that just want to enjoy and be themselves. There are festivals, and there are concerts. It is a vibrant town where there are only two the three months of true summer meaning the sun actually shines and the rest of the time it is dark most of the time. But it is actually ALIVE at night, not to mention beautiful during the day.

View of Tromsø

Downtown Tromsø

I had a dream...

No, this is not a Martin Luther King reference. I really did have a dream while I was sleeping. When I had it (about a year ago) I was already planning my adventure around the world. At the time, I had no idea where I was going to start or even exactly WHEN. One day I was thinking about starting in South America, and the next day, I was sure it was going to be Asia the next. As my friend Steve said, I was a "candle in the wind" - and he always said it complete with hand movement flickering back and forth. Anyhow, this dream was very vivid. I was in a smallish town, or even a village, along the water. It was a slightly overcast day and I just walked down onto the pier and got onto a small ferry/boat. it was a short boat ride that took "us" on calm water in between/among islands or coast with trees. I got off the boat at a stop and walked towards the trees... And that's where it ended. To me, it was just another dream. I have many dreams, although not always as vivid, so I thought nothing of it. 

A few days ago, in Oslo, I went for a ferry ride to one of the many islands in the Oslofjord. Initially, I was not hit with an overwhelming reminder of the dream. In fact, it was the furthest thing from my mind! Part of it was that I was running late so I was running to catch the boat. I knew what time it left, but I didn't know the exact departure location as there are many boats on this long dock. Even when I asked somebody, I was given well-intentioned misinformation, but I made it anyway!

The $12 beer

I've been in Oslo for a little less than a week now and it has been great. I knew it was going to be more expensive here, but little did I know when I first planned this trip that Oslo was THE most expensive city in the world! This of course depends on which list you consult - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo. I did however cross reference the Per Diem rates and found that the daily meal allowance set by the US Department of State is $168. As a comparison,Abu Dhabi is $157, Hong Kong is $144, and NYC is a whopping $71. And here I thought New York was expensive. Ha! Thankfully, I am staying with family and have many meals at home.

One however, must go out and experience the nightlife and even daylife. On the first day here, my brother took me to a spot that could be compared to Scottsdale. A number of restaurants to chose from, some higher class than others all in a row set in with nice modern (expensive) condos along a cobblestone road. We went to one that was very casual called the Beach Club. He said it was neither the cheapest nor the most expensive. So we ordered our first afternoon beer. When I calculated the conversion, I realized that it was just over $11 USD. Once you factor in tip (tax is included) it is a $12 beer. By the way, tip is a lot less here, 10% would be generous. Nice. Being the trooper that I am, I ponied up time after time. After all, I am saving money on lodging right? 

The silver lining is that every place after this will seem very inexpensive! Yay!

From fantasy to reality

Two years ago I had a vision. I was snowboarding in Mammoth, CA and I came around a bend and saw a breathtaking view. I thought of how few hard working people take advantage of the small wonders all around us. Two days later I was watching the sunset in San Diego, sipping a beer and thinking that I had to be back at work in two weeks. How awesome would it be to enjoy that view without that "work" thought in the back of my mind? I made the decision then that I should go travel, now the only thing I had to do was quit work, the Marines, sell my car, rent my house, store my things... Piece of cake. Two years later, I've taken the plunge!