You will please have to excuse the massive gap in between posts. Little known to the outside world, Norway has a thriving troll population who remain infuriated about their inability to use the internet and other convenient technologies on account of their too big fingers and overall lack of mental capacity. In protest, they raided all internet conveying stations in Norway and soiled the equipment with their too big… well; they used the stations as toilets. However, they have been appeased with flocks of goats and sheep that they may do with what they like and the Norwegian Army, for lack of anything better to do, was dispersed for an expeditious clean up.
Now that I am connected to the ether-web again, instead of sharing with you the trivialities of everyday life, I would like to share some photos with context from some of my recent adventures.
But first, a brief example for those of you planning on visiting the beautiful country and wondering how interaction will be with the locals.
You and a Norwegian are approaching each other walking opposite directions on the sidewalk.
You: [Walking comfortably holding your head up, looking cheerful and smiling]
Norwegian: [Walking with determination, eyes to the ground, hands in coat pockets]
You: [Still walking comfortably holding your head up, looking cheerful and smiling, try to make eye contact]
Norwegian: [Pace quickens slightly, eyes divert to the imaginary scene on the other side of the road]
You: [cheerfully] Hello!
Norwegian: [trips slightly out of surprise and glares even more precisely at the ground, may have soiled his pants, studdering] Ugh ugh…
You: [slightly perplexed, smiling, continue comfortably onward]
Norwegian: [practically jogging away, confused, to himself] What the fuck was that?
The sketch of one troll who was not content with what the Norwegian government offered in goats and sheep as seen by a witness.
These next two photos are views from the top of Bø’s local mountain Lifjell (lee-fee-ell). My “Friluftsliv”, or outdoor life, class went up for a morning of skiing and we were all stunned, finally seeing the dramatic landscape we go about our everyday lives in.
I’ve desperately wanted to go to school near mountains since my first time visiting the Rockies. This suffices just fine. This picture is taken from the student-housing village where the majority of students live. I don’t live there but I get up there enough to appreciate the staggering sunsets that illuminate the small mountains.
This mountain that looks like it got its slope cut off creating a sheer drop is “the beast”. I named it that at least. The lowest cliff jutting out off of it is insanely tall. There are a couple of farmhouses at the base of it that look like a child’s play toy sitting in the shadow of this behemoth. My goal: climb up there with my thermos, sit down, and have a cup of good coffee enjoying the breathtaking view.
Just about two hundred yards away from my dorm is the Bø River, an awesome place to hike.
This photo captures what the majority of the river’s banks look like, or did at least when I took the photo. Awesome sheets of ice oozing down the vertical sides of rock face slip into the river.
What the small town of Bø lacks in restaurants, shops, and bars is made up for ten-fold with outdoor opportunity. These next few pictures of waterfalls, endless mountain landscapes and big skies are all just outside your door no matter where you live in town, or all of Norway for that matter, even Oslo.
The final three photos were taken on a class excursion to Rauland. This popular Norwegian skiing destination is manifested over a thousand meters above sea level. The clouds blanketed and smothered the mountainous plateau for our two-day stay creating an eerie and psychedelic disorientation when skiing, being unable to discern the difference between land and sky or up and down. You surrendered yourself to the land in a sense and could only stand at the ready for whatever terrain you found yourself gliding over.
Thanks for checking out the blog, especially if you read it instead of just looking at the pictures. Gotchya! Love to my family, friends, and girlfriend back home. Maybe we'll all get wild here one day.
Until next time. It will probably be a while so don't hold your breath.
