Sunday, May 16, 2010
Norway Day 5 - To Florø
This is an after-the-fact transcription of the journal I kept on a two week trip to Norway.
May 16, 2010, 8:10 am
The restaurant in the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania
Man, I am gonna miss this breakfast. I eat every well here, and I hope that all the walking I've been doing is balancing the calorie intake. All those cheeses, cured meats and buttered breads. The herring is okay, but salty. I like being able to sample a few things that are usually not on my radar.
I'm a little sad to be leaving today. There are a lot of places I haven't seen, but those will be for next time. Rain has finally come, and it looks to have settled in. Last night there was even some lightning.
I don't have much to write about this morning. Most of what I had to say came out of the marathon writing session last night.
In about an hour, I'll be off to Gardermoen, so maybe will have more to say there.
May 16, 2010, 10:30 am
Oslo Lufthavn, Gardermoen
This airport is a heck of a lot bigger than I thought. It's one long hall and the gate I'm leaving from is at the very end. It might not be that long, but it feels like I walked at least a kilometre from the security gate.
I'm now enjoying a coffee and muffin while waiting for my flight. This country has the best coffee ever.
I got packed up and out of the hotel shortly after breakfast. I rather like that my hotel was prepaid. I just told them I was off and that was it.
I walked the block to the train station through a light rain, but it's rather nice out otherwise.
At the station, I wandered through to the far side to fine the train to the airport. There was a guy helping people at the ticket machines and he walked me through the process.
Out on the platform, I walked down a ways, and sat on a bench. The schedule was up on an electronic board beside me, and a raven was doing his noisy thing from a support beam over the tracks.
The train to Gardermoen runs every twenty minutes so it wasn't a long wait. On board, I had the entire car to myself.
Twenty five minutes later, I walked off the train, and had a bit of an issue with the gates. The ticket you buy has a magnetic strip, but after you buy it, you just put it in your pocket. It's at your destination where you have to swipe it to get through a gate, or you don't get off the platform.
Up the escalators and not a very long walk, I got to the Danish Air Transport (DAT) counter,. Almost no one was there, so I was through quick. The line up at the security gate was almost non-existent, but I did get held up for a minute. The guy in front of me was lucky enough to be randomly selected for a full search, and I had to wait while they patted him down.
A line jumper charged past me while I stood there, figuring, I guess, that the rest of us were silly for standing and waiting. He didn't get very far, and was chased to the back of the line.
After that, the long walk to Gate 4. Being a propeller driven aircraft, and in the pouring rain, I will have to walk outside to climb into the plane from the tarmac
Still an hour to go, so I'll go explore a little.
May 16, 2010, 12:25 pm
Aboard DAT DX35
Oh my gosh! No cookies served on board this flight. No peanuts, no pretzel mix. Instead a small packet of lefsa! Wonderful lefsa!
This was the standard (wonderful, delicious) recipe - butter, sugar and cinnamon rolled up in a potato crepe. Delicious! I'd totally forgotten about lefsa.
I've been told my grandmother used to make it for Christmas. My grandfather would bring a scrubbed steel plate to place on the wood stove, to provide a flat surface to cook the thin pancakes. I've also been told she was not fond of the job.
It's a pretty scene-less flight. Early on there were some glimpses of the country side, but now it's all featureless cloud. This twin prop can't climb above it.
There is only half a load too, maybe half a load. Unless they are in a pair, we each have a row to ourselves. I'm sitting ahead of the wing, just behind the propeller, probably a noisier place to sit. Maybe way in the back, it's quieter.
Almost no English has been spoken, but the procedures are much the same with all airlines. They did say in English that the safety procedures had just been given in Norwegian, keep your seat belt on and we'll be round with coffee in a moment, to paraphrase.
Sunshine! We've broken through the cloud for a moment, but it's still pretty white below. I think we'll be down within the next half hour.
May 16, 2010, 11:50 pm
The Comfort Inn at Florø
I seem to have interesting timing, as I walked into a party. It's the 150th anniversary of Florø being established as a town, and there were people in traditional dress, and live entertainment, and speeches.
Unfortunately, the entertainment is really loud, but it appears the finally called it a night a few minutes ago.
It's been a long day.
May 16, 2010, 8:10 am
The restaurant in the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania
Man, I am gonna miss this breakfast. I eat every well here, and I hope that all the walking I've been doing is balancing the calorie intake. All those cheeses, cured meats and buttered breads. The herring is okay, but salty. I like being able to sample a few things that are usually not on my radar.
I'm a little sad to be leaving today. There are a lot of places I haven't seen, but those will be for next time. Rain has finally come, and it looks to have settled in. Last night there was even some lightning.
I don't have much to write about this morning. Most of what I had to say came out of the marathon writing session last night.
In about an hour, I'll be off to Gardermoen, so maybe will have more to say there.
May 16, 2010, 10:30 am
Oslo Lufthavn, Gardermoen
This airport is a heck of a lot bigger than I thought. It's one long hall and the gate I'm leaving from is at the very end. It might not be that long, but it feels like I walked at least a kilometre from the security gate.
I'm now enjoying a coffee and muffin while waiting for my flight. This country has the best coffee ever.
I got packed up and out of the hotel shortly after breakfast. I rather like that my hotel was prepaid. I just told them I was off and that was it.
I walked the block to the train station through a light rain, but it's rather nice out otherwise.
At the station, I wandered through to the far side to fine the train to the airport. There was a guy helping people at the ticket machines and he walked me through the process.
Out on the platform, I walked down a ways, and sat on a bench. The schedule was up on an electronic board beside me, and a raven was doing his noisy thing from a support beam over the tracks.
The train to Gardermoen runs every twenty minutes so it wasn't a long wait. On board, I had the entire car to myself.
Twenty five minutes later, I walked off the train, and had a bit of an issue with the gates. The ticket you buy has a magnetic strip, but after you buy it, you just put it in your pocket. It's at your destination where you have to swipe it to get through a gate, or you don't get off the platform.
Up the escalators and not a very long walk, I got to the Danish Air Transport (DAT) counter,. Almost no one was there, so I was through quick. The line up at the security gate was almost non-existent, but I did get held up for a minute. The guy in front of me was lucky enough to be randomly selected for a full search, and I had to wait while they patted him down.
A line jumper charged past me while I stood there, figuring, I guess, that the rest of us were silly for standing and waiting. He didn't get very far, and was chased to the back of the line.
After that, the long walk to Gate 4. Being a propeller driven aircraft, and in the pouring rain, I will have to walk outside to climb into the plane from the tarmac
Still an hour to go, so I'll go explore a little.
May 16, 2010, 12:25 pm
Aboard DAT DX35
Oh my gosh! No cookies served on board this flight. No peanuts, no pretzel mix. Instead a small packet of lefsa! Wonderful lefsa!
This was the standard (wonderful, delicious) recipe - butter, sugar and cinnamon rolled up in a potato crepe. Delicious! I'd totally forgotten about lefsa.
I've been told my grandmother used to make it for Christmas. My grandfather would bring a scrubbed steel plate to place on the wood stove, to provide a flat surface to cook the thin pancakes. I've also been told she was not fond of the job.
It's a pretty scene-less flight. Early on there were some glimpses of the country side, but now it's all featureless cloud. This twin prop can't climb above it.
There is only half a load too, maybe half a load. Unless they are in a pair, we each have a row to ourselves. I'm sitting ahead of the wing, just behind the propeller, probably a noisier place to sit. Maybe way in the back, it's quieter.
Almost no English has been spoken, but the procedures are much the same with all airlines. They did say in English that the safety procedures had just been given in Norwegian, keep your seat belt on and we'll be round with coffee in a moment, to paraphrase.
Sunshine! We've broken through the cloud for a moment, but it's still pretty white below. I think we'll be down within the next half hour.
May 16, 2010, 11:50 pm
The Comfort Inn at Florø
I seem to have interesting timing, as I walked into a party. It's the 150th anniversary of Florø being established as a town, and there were people in traditional dress, and live entertainment, and speeches.
Unfortunately, the entertainment is really loud, but it appears the finally called it a night a few minutes ago.
It's been a long day.
# posted by Kelly @ 11:59 p.m. 
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