Oslo

Well, if Amsterdam was the most crazy-busy place I've ever seen, Oslo is the most crazy-CRAZY. It might have something to do with my hotel being in a vaguely sketchy part of town, but so far everyone seems totally NUTS. In order to turn the lights on in my hotel room, I have to insert the key card in a special slot. Without it, no power to the room. Sounds like a good way to forget the key and lock myself out.

Oslo's not very English-friendly either. Often I see signs in 2 or 3 languages, but none of them are English. I guess that's what I get for assuming Imperialism would save me, no matter where I go in the world. Damn you Norwegians for being your own dominant force and rejecting the Anglo ways!

Flying in, Norway wasn't at all what I expected either. From the air, after you pass the fjords, all you can see are rolling hills and dense forests. They are first speckled with lakes, then a few towns, then farmland, with nothing but wilderness in between. Not exactly what you'd think would be so close to a place the size of Oslo.

When I got settled, I didn't have any specific destinations in mind, so I just wandered out toward what looked like civilization, and of course ended up in a shopping district. In general, Oslo has kind of a Seattle vibe. No, not like Ballard! What I mean is that it seems pretty laid back, and while it's a densely populated city, it still feels small. And instead of Starbucks on every corner, there's an H&M store.

By the way, for those who think I exaggerate about the... erm... interesting nature of my mother, here's an unedited e-mail she sent the day before I left Seattle:

I just had a tour group from Norway and they said to tell Starbucks that people in Norway LOVE Starbucks but they don't have any stores in Norway. One woman said everyone asked her to bring Starbuck products back as souvenirs for them. Check it out when you are in Oslo.

Indeed. I did "tell Starbucks" and am now "checking out" the lack of stores here. Good thing I brought my own coffee... Anyway.

After avoiding temptation at several stores, I grabbed a few snacks and came back here for a break from the heat -- it's sunny and around 70 here, but with the low sun again, it's brutal for a pale girl like me to take for long. While in the little convenience store, a guy said something to me in (I assume) Norwegian, and motioned toward the counter. I thought he was telling me to go ahead, so I smiled and moved forward. He repeated whatever he'd said earlier, but angrily this time, so I told him that I was sorry, and I only spoke English. This seemed to piss him off even more. "English! Get it out faster! I need to know where is the fastest toilet! I have to go to the bathroom!" When I shrugged, he turned to the store clerk and yelled louder, "I need to know where is the fastest toilet!" The guy behind the counter shook his head, and the angry man stomped off, cursing everyone in two languages.

See? Crazy-crazy.

Meanwhile, men in cars keep slowing down and looking at me as they go by. It might have something to do with the dodgy area I'm staying in, along with the fact that my messenger bag has given me a noticeable purple hickie-like spot on my neck, in return for shlepping it from country to country. Regardless, I don't think I'll be staying out very late tonight, even though the sun won't go down until around 10:30. Don't worry about me, I might be mildly insane, but I'm not stupid.

It's a shame, because I only have the one night here and don't want to waste it. Maybe later I'll find some non-shady dinner and pick up a few gifts in the decent part of town. Off to Sweden tomorrow afternoon...

Naptime

At home, I can never nap. It's not from lack of desire, I just don't have the ability. On vacation, I always nap. I'm not sure why, I guess the relaxation just gets the best of me. Today, napping was a big mistake.

After my last post, I plopped on the bed to put my feet up for a few minutes before going out again, and immediately crashed out. I woke up feeling a mess. I've been completely adjusted for the last 3 days, and suddenly now I've given myself jet lag? After having it together since Day Two, now my shit is all apart?

Not cool. I blame the creepy people on the headboard.

I figured I'd be fine if I just went out and got some dinner, got to walking around again. But the moment I left, my head was in a fog and my attitude surly. The streets I'd been walking all day, that I had gotten to know, were confusing and unfamiliar. I hated everyone walking around or lounging in the sun, and wanted to punch the cyclists who zoomed by too closely. I had to come back to my room; I was officially a danger to myself and others.

This is a bad sign. I don't want to have to readjust every other day, or be punished for relaxing. I also don't want to miss out on enjoying the places I visit, just because my sleep patterns are so screwed up.

I'm drinking a nice Westmalle dubbel in an attempt to rally; if anything will make me human again, it's beer, right? Right?!

(sigh)

Amsterdam

Having spent several hours over the last 2 days wandering Amsterdam, I've come to one conclusion: I feel weird being a tourist here.

Today I checked out Dam Square, which is a big mess of construction right now, and happened past the Anne Frank house and a couple of museums, but I didn't go into the places, or take a single photo. I could see myself living here, working here, but not visiting historical sites and taking pictures of buildings. I feel strange doing it, so I haven't.

I've shopped, had lunch, got holla'd at by a couple of guys with dredlocks (I don't speak dutch, so I have no idea what they were saying, but they were clearly upset that I wasn't responding), and just generally been here. I don't know what else to do with myself.

It's a beautiful sunny day out, mid-sixties temperatures, so I guess I'll just continue to hang out and feel weird being a tourist for the rest of the day. I'm thinking it will be pretty boring: dinner, beer, sitting around in the sun, then back here to get ready for my flight to Norway in the morning.

I know, I just can't be pleased. Too touristy, then not touristy enough! Maybe one of the next 4 cities will get it just right for Goldilocks.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. And Amsterdam.

After a bus back to the airport, three hours on a plane, a train ride, and a brief walk, I'm finally on the second leg of my trip.

Amsterdam is by far the craziest city I've ever been to. The airport is a zoo, the train station is chaotic, and the streets? Well. The sidewalks aren't much around the canals, so you find yourself walking down the middle of narrow brick streets, dodging cars, scooters, and motorcycles. And whether there are sidewalks or not, you're constantly contending with tons of maniacs on bicycles. So far all I've done is wander the canals and get a bite to eat, and I've already almost been run down a few times.

Oddly, though, I think I could like it here... if I ever got used to the insanity.

For now, though, cramped seats and constant walking have my joints in pain, so I've come back my hotel room for a brief respite. The place I'm staying is called Chic and Basic, but it's definitely more basic than chic. Luckily I always book double rooms, even when traveling alone, so I at least have a bit of space to open my suitcase and still take 2-3 steps in either direction. I think the chic part of room lies in the modular Ikea furniture, and the fact that this is the headboard of my bed:

Creepy, no? I hope it doesn't give me bad dreams.

Reykjavik, Day Two

I've just had a dinner of Hakkbollur (lamb meatballs) in gravy, with mashed potatoes, and with that, I think I'm officially over Iceland.

At this time of year, Iceland's days are roughly 20 hours long, and the "darkness" is more like dusk for the other 4. Apparently I was so worn out that I failed to notice any of this and slept for 12 hours last night. When I woke up, I felt totally refreshed, and was completely adjusted to the new time zone. I'll say it one more time: having screwed up circadian rhythms can be a blessing, but only when you're traveling.

After breakfast and coffee, I spent my afternoon wandering beautiful downtown Reykjavik, in the wind and drizzly rain. I saw lots of churches and statues, walked around the pond, bought some souvenirs, and took a few pictures. And now I'm pretty much done with this place.

It seems that Iceland is a country like no other in many ways, but that's because of the variety of natural wonders all within this small island. I'm probably 90% City Girl and I couldn't justify spending $150, and a whole day, exploring nature with a tour group. If I ever come back here, I'll rent a car and go find nature on my own. This time, I stayed in town, and there wasn't all that much to see.

The oldest building in Reykjavik was built in something like 1745, so it's not exactly filled with the historical sites of other European cities. The streets in the Old Centre are one tourist trap after another, and I was finding myself hard pressed to spot any locals. I'm a sucker for water, and there's plenty of that, so I quite enjoyed sitting on the various banks. It's a nice, friendly place and absolutely worth the trip, I've just had trouble experiencing anything distinctly Icelandic here.

Because of that, combined with the kitchen facilities in my hotel room, I decided to save money and not eat out much. I have tried local brews and foods: the aforementioned lamb dinner (meatballs a bit gamey, but fantastic gravy!), and skyr (sort of like yogurt, but technically a healthier form of cheese). I figured the (many many!) bars were full of other tourists, and skipped them for a couple of beers from the 1011. As a side note, every third store front seems to be a pub here, but I haven't seen a single store selling liquor or wine, and the grocery stores don't even have beer. The convenience store (1011, the Icelandic 7-11?) has only light beer with 2-3% alcohol. Very odd to me.

So I've foregone the drunken antics and am in for the night, especially since I have to get up at 4am to get back to the airport for my flight tomorrow. Next I'm off to Amsterdam. It's unfortunate that I no longer partake of any of the typical activities tourists visit the Netherlands for, but I'm sure I'll find something to get up to...

Reykjavik

Looks like my first day in Reykjavik will be ending early. It's a gorgeous day here, blue sky, a bit of a wind chill, but nothing I'm not used to. The sun is low to the horizon, so it's always in my eyes, and I'm sure I'm already a little sunburned.

So far I've spent some time down by the water near the harbor, and wandered all around the City Center. I'm on foot, so I haven't gone far from my hotel, which is right in the middle of the touristy area. Everyone is friendly, and automatically speaks English when they see me. Am I that obvious?

There's still plenty to see, and wow, are there a lot of bars to visit! It's reminding me a bit of the same type of area in Edinburgh, only here there's no castle looming above it all.

Unfortunately I'm so sleep-deprived that everything's a bit surreal. I'm having trouble taking it all in, and engaging with other humans. Since I have all day tomorrow to explore, I gave in and accepted an early bedtime. I picked up a few groceries -- it's so awesome that I have a mini kitchen in my room -- and I'm back to relax and plan out everything I want to see in my second day here.

More tomorrow... which I hope will make more sense after I've had a good night's sleep and can get my wits about me.

The Beginning

It's about 9:30am in Reykjavik, and I'm sitting at the desk of my (upgraded to studio!) hotel room, trying to figure out how to get into the wifi. This is probably being posted much later than I'm writing it.

I didn't sleep much on the plane, or for the two nights before I left, so I'm completely exhausted, but I need to adjust to the new time zone. I'm trying to pretend that I just woke up, rather than just arrived. I took a shower, ate a breakfast bar, and now I'm drinking some coffee. After this, I'll dig into my guidebook and figure out what I'm doing for the rest of the morning. My brain is starting to play along, but my eyes are refusing to buy it. They don't want to be open anymore.

I'm also listening to Catatonia, but wishing I had some Sigur Ros on my iTunes. The in-flight system had a large selection of Icelandic music, which I've always loved, because it just doesn't sound like anything else. As we descended, I looked out the window at the big pile of rocks and glaciers we were heading toward, with Meo Blodnasir in my ear buds, and it just made sense. All music from this country has a strange and ethereal quality that fits the unique place the artists come from, but if Iceland has theme music, it's Sigur Ros.

My first photo of the trip was taken out the window of the bus between Keflavik and Reykjavik. I kept seeing these amazing scenes out the window, so I finally grabbed my camera, and ended up with a photo that could easily be the Washington coastline. It's really so different, and yet so much the same.

The main international airport for all of Iceland is only a few scattered buildings and runways in the middle of rocky terrain. The town of Keflavik is visible in the distance, with a backdrop of the sea. Turn around, and it's all mountains and plumes of geothermal steam. The smell of sulphur is in the air from the moment you step off the plane, but soon becomes so commonplace that your senses fail to register it -- until you turn on a hot water tap and the distinct odor again rises in the steam.

As you get close to Reykjavik, the rock and moss disappears, and it seems that you could be in any North American suburb. There are large houses with foreign cars parked in the driveway, and American fast food joints peppered throughout. Reykjavik itself is more like any European town, with narrow streets and quaint buildings crammed close together. It's clear the tourist industry has become huge here, seeing all the businesses catering to us. I'm sure I'll find out more about that as I venture out today.

I may be dead tired, my neck may hurt from 7 hours on a plane, but I'm so glad I'm here.