15 minutes
is what stacy said she'd give me to write this (while she, presumably very thoroughly, brushes her teeth). [um, vince here] we are on our second night in the impossibly beautiful and impossively expensive country of norway. and as i believe my love said, it's no iceland. it's kind of weird. norway is a mish-mash of what most people in most parts of the US who go out doors are familiar with--lake and river and mountain and ocean and wood and some medium-sized snow-topped peaks. plus with some neverending days and nights thrown in. actually quite like southern alaska.
but iceland is something i've never seen anywhere else. seeing boiling cauldrons of mineral waters, bathing in a hot river that contains the runoff from them, seeing where the lava from a volcano eruption stopped flowing...or where the continents are drifting apart 2 cm a year--that's something you just don't stumble across on an average vacation.
but then our days in norway are just beginning.
but iceland is something i've never seen anywhere else. seeing boiling cauldrons of mineral waters, bathing in a hot river that contains the runoff from them, seeing where the lava from a volcano eruption stopped flowing...or where the continents are drifting apart 2 cm a year--that's something you just don't stumble across on an average vacation.
but then our days in norway are just beginning.
posted by stacy muszynski at 6:56 PM
4 Comments:
yay for what you are seeing....I wanna
Compared to Iceland, sounds more like "Snoreway"
Get it
Like, its boring
(hi, vince.)
stacy!!! remember me? how apt that i should go looking at blogs after a long hiatus and discover that you're in--of all places--NORWAY! aaaaaaccccckkkkk!
envy is me. :)
Vince here again. i can't figure out how to create a new post because everything is now displayed in Norwegian. anyway i just wanted to make some notes on accommodation in norway while they are fresh in my mind:
- did i mention this place is expensive? expect $200+ per night for very basic accommodation. the first night we were here we had trouble finding a place...eventually found one through http://www.bergen-guide.com/apartments.asp, which is a great resource. it was a nice place. eventually you will be able to find our photos but don't ask me now.
- anyway it was not very centrally located and it was only available one night (the main issue being the latter) so we called around and found a room with breakfast and a private bath (luxury!) at the local hotel Rica, which is a European (or maybe just Norwegian) chain, for about $200/night.
- however we also found what sounded like a better deal at Jacob's apartments (http://www.apartments.no/English/index.htm)--no breakfast, but very central, private bath/shower, and an actual kitchen! for ~$250 a night. this is where we ended up and i'm writing this from the bar there now. we are leaving tomorrow for the arctic circle by the way.
- so jacob's (that's "yack-obb's" to us amercanese speakers) is a lonely planet recommendation, and while it costs more you figure the free wireless internet, convenient pub/restaurant (with by Norwegian standards has decent prices), convenient laundry down the street, location, and in-room kitchen is worth the extra $50/night. it mostly is. however they don't tell you that the "interesting two-floor layout" of the third floor apartments means there are no windows, just a skylight you can't open because it rains here CONSTANTLY, and also btw the wireless doesn't really work on the third floor.
- still you find the place kind of cozy and cool and settle in and find out that, after paying $50 for an entree that would struggle to be an appetizer at any decent US restaurant--and the food isn't very good anywhere--the kitchen comes in handy. oh also a bottle of house wine, even in the relatively cheap jacob's kitchen, is $60, for what would sell for $7 in a US grocery store, and $20 or so in the Norwegian state liquor store.
- NB: the Norwegian state liquor store closes at 6 pm on weekdays and 3 pm on saturday. you can only buy beer (same hours) in the grocery store, not wine. also, in case you are interested, all hard liquor prices are at least 2x what they are in the US. Some are more (Smirnoff: $50/bottle)
- where was i? oh yeah, the kitchen. there's no microwave and no oven, just a dorm fridge and two-burner stove top. so then you go to the grocery store and/or fish market. buying salad fixings and fish for two costs about $50 there (I shit you not, a bunch of asparagus costs $10; a small package of arugula--oddly the cheapest greens they had--is $3.5). but along with that $20 bottle of tannic chilean sauvignon blanc, that's less than half what you'd pay for an equivalent meal in a restaurant.
- and i must say, the fish is very fresh and good, and even sauteed in butter and dill on top your stove, is lovely.
- anyway what really prompted me to write this was the internet. for the most part the service here has been good (as long as you don't expect anyone to empty your trash, provide new towells, or give you a second roll of TP after three days...after all, you're only paying $250/night). the people are mostly very friendly. however today i came downstairs to the bar to use the internet, since it doesn't work in our room (or on the stairs or anywhere near the room). i bought a glass of wine ($13, for the $7/bottle crap), not because i felt obliged but because i was thirsty. there was a very raucus private party going on but the bartender said me staying and working in the midst of it was no problem.
- oddly, shortly after the glass of wine was gone, the bartender actually came over and informed me that it was their policy that i should work on the internet in my room, not the bar.
he relented when i bought another drink ($13 pint of beer).
just wanted to share.
also, bring a good raincoat and waterproof hiking boots.
Vince
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