Legal non-resident alien

After a few trips to the Apple store to replace my broken Powerbook with a hot new MacBook, I'm back online. Don't get too excited. I'm also back in DC with a legit status and a job start on Monday. More Lofoten musings to follow, after I get tired of playing with the new features.

Lofoten Travel Diary Day 3: Henningsvaer

Breakfast in Svolvaer: yogurt, cheese, and bread bought the day before at the grocery. Can't stress how much money you save if you stick to home cooking.

Tired from yesterday's trip so a late morning start. The sun setting at 11 pm also messes with sleep patterns. Today's mission = get information and form a plan. We take the German tourists' lead and rent bikes for 200 NOK/person/day. It's a little pricey, but saves us a lot of time.

Tourist bureau is a largish office located at the town center square. There are large green flags marking the spot. Finding town square took a little searching without a map, but not impossible. After reviewing our options with the more than helpful, but slightly overworked staff, we decided to go all the way to Moskenesoy, the southern most island accessible by road. The guides describe it as the "most dramatic." Let's not waste too much time elsewhere, lest we regret not spending enough time down there.

Since there are several more hours of sunlight (it's only about 1 pm) we decided to head to Henningsvaer, an island city appearing only a short distance away on the road map. 21 km over cleanly paved rolling landscape by bike is hard on my legs, which haven't peddled for 10 years. But the closeness to the landscape cannot be experienced through bus windows. Many photo stops. The ride made easier by the view.

The weather really clears up for Henningsvaer with postcard scenery including the rainbow. A well-deserved meal at Fiskekrogen . Super gourmet dining with very fresh seafood and amazing view of the harbor. Our late lunch completed, we're back on the road for the 21 km return. Knees aching. Some paracetamol from the gas station provides relief.

We don't take our own advice and eat out in Svolvaer. The main square has a pizza/kebob place, which is relatively cheap and half-not-too-bad. Searching for a good bar scene on Saturday night hampered by exhaustion. Sleep early.

Lofoten Travel Diary Day 2

08/17/2007

Summary of Travel Points:
- It's probably better to pass through Narvik quickly on your way to Lofotens. Though make sure you do all the essential shopping there.
- Bus ride from Narvik to Svolvaer takes some time, but it's worthwhile. You should book a place in Svolvaer in advance, since you will be arriving there around 22:00.
- We stayed at the Lofoten Rorbuer which was very pleasant and affordable. I would spend the long distance charges and call to book rather than email.

Woke up surprisingly refreshed to the listing and jerking of the Narvik train. Out the window all the trees are stunted, giving the landscape a miniature quality. Even the passing cottages look as if the Travelocity gnome had settled his family by the pooling lakes. Crossing from Sweden into Norway, the landscape transforms dramatically from rolling lakescape into deep fjords. (Didn't think that through the window photos would work too well here. sorry.)

An hour later, having not passed any border/customs review, we're standing outside the train station in Narvik. Maybe it is the overcast sky or the sudden shock of being transitioned away from Stockholm, but we are ready to head out of Narvik tout suite. However, two significant points to make:

1) Narvik is the last outpost for any of your more complex shopping needs. Thus, if you have not brought a water proof jacket, waterproof pants, or water proof socks, purchase those items in Narvik. The expense is VERY worthwhile, if you plan on enjoying the outdoors in Lofoten.
2) Here you will get access to some helpful tourist information for the Lofotens. Since it will be late when you hit Svolvaer, you'd might as well pick some info up to read on the bus. Norwegian Kronor also available here.

Narvik: stopover to everywhere else?

Tali purchases a Gortex jacket. We buy beer and food since it will be 21:50 when we hit Svolvaer. The bus to Svolvaer takes 5 hours. Student fair is half price. The bus driver fails to mention that round trip tickets are cheaper than paying each way separately. He is nice to switch my single way trip into a round trip ticket. The bus route bends along a winding highway and we get our first glimpses of what's to come.

The Lofotens, seen here from Vesterland.

The bus makes stops on the Vesterland islands before boarding a ferry at Melbu, which takes us across a channel to the northern most Lofoten island of Austvagoy. As the bus zooms through the narrow fjords towards our destination in Svolvaer, a thought, 'nothing I can write can adequately describe what I'm seeing without sounding trite or melodramatic.' This is the part of that everyone will have to see for themselves.

Several bus stops in Svolvaer. We take the first one located beside the grave yard that lies directly below the "Svolvaer goat." Our inn or "Rorbuer" is conveniently located near the stop. We marvel at home the owner managed to snag the name "Lofoten Rorbuer." Good marketing. And an even better price (200 NOK per person/night is about standard for late season). The owners Ruth and Torbjorn show us to the corner room, which contains five beds separated into two rooms. Kitchen area, bath and shower are shared. Mushrooms and pasta sauce bought in Narvik serve as our dinner as we contemplate going out. But the Svolvaer night life will have to wait.

Latte Day 2

Day two was actually on Wednesday, but I didn't have an internet connection to document it up at Max's cottage. OH, actually the monster mansion-cottage beside Max's has a wireless network, but it had WEP encryption!!! On a lake in rural Canada... loser.

Went to three places:

I Deal Coffee (84 Nassau St.) Foam had a good creamy consistency. Milk was warmed to the right temperature. The coffee flavor was not overwhelming, but it did have a very distinct flavor. Best latter so far.

Luna Cafe (181 Dovercourt Rd.) The latte was adequate, though not the best. After the I Deal Coffee, every other well-balanced latte tasted bland. The cafe itself gets my recommendation for it's atmosphere. Good place to meet for coffee.

Poor John's Cafe (1610 Queen West) Same comment as Luna Cafe about the latte--good but not as flavorful as I Deal's. Nice place to sit down and read/coffee date.

The search continues tomorrow with a run at Roncesvalles and maybe a run over to Bayview

Latte Search Day One

Jet Fuel - Very strong espresso shot, which may work for bike messengers, but not me.

Roastery - Burnt the milk. I knew as soon as I felt how hot the cup was. Lame.

Tequila Bookworm - Good temperature, foamed milk had a pleasant consistency. As one commentator put it, "I judge a good latte by whether I need to add sugar to make it taste right." No sugar required.

Today's winner: Tequila Bookworm, 519 Queen Street West

I've decided that Stockholm's primary advantage in Latte making is the quality of Swedish dairy products. The milk foams with a slightly sweet and creamy finish, giving the entire drink a smoother finish.

Air traffic control

It's one o'clock. Although there are only a couple of clouds in the sky, there remains whitish haziness covering the deep blue. In a few seconds I should start hearing the barking of an F22 Raptor fly overhead (not pictured here) towards the airshow.

Lofoten Travel Diary Day I

I have written the following travel diary/guide using my furious scratchings during the Lofoten trip. Also included are reflections and commentary made in retrospect to make these writings useful for anybody considering a similar venture into Norway.

Day One: Stockholm
Traveler summary:
- Traveling to the Lofotens via Stockholm to Narvik is possible and recommended because Stockholm is awesome.
- Eat sandwiches, drink lattes and people watch in Stockholm.
- The train from Stockholm to Narvik is relatively cheap, but very comfortable.
- Bring your own food onto the train and if you get a private cabin, bring booze.

Online resources as well as bookstore travel guides describe several approaches to the Lofotens. For the sake of international travels, the most often mentioned approaches involve a train from Oslo and a ferry from Bodo. Svolvaer and Leknes, the two largest towns on the islands have domestic airports for those who are too inpatient for ground travel. Our approach, which I call The Stockholm Approach because our journey originates from the island city is conspicuously absent in published guides. It is the most obvious route to take to the Lofoten islands.

Stockholm's superiority as an urban playground is self-evident. Aesthetically pleasing in its architecture and its people, the city's residents move about with just the right balance of serious concern and playful ease; as fashionable as Manhattan, but as easy going as the small fishing communities that awaited us in Norway. Sodermalm, one of the more hip urban neighborhoods in Stockholm is almost too laid back. Not so much so that restaurant and cafe owners can ignore the fierce competition, which gives rise to some of the best lattes and most imaginative sandwiches I had ever tasted.

Tali, Richard and I spent most of our time in Stockholm people watching, lattes in hand, as trendy-looking denizens zipped past. The perfect weather accentuated the feeling of being in a fantasy land that refuses to betray a sense of being contrived for the purposes of urban chicness.

An immigrated Manchester cab driver drove us up to the train station from Yvonne's apartment in Sodermalm leaving us with an impression that reindeer frequent his suburban home just 45 minutes out of Stockholm. The stations fairly intuitive layout led us to our train several minutes before it left on a twenty-hour-ish journey all the way up the East coast of Sweden and then westward across a mountain pass nearly 200 km above the Arctic circle. The cost for a private three-person room on the sleeper car was equivalent to a roundtrip ticket from Washington to NYC on Amtrak. The bathrooms and shower were shockingly sanitary Public garbage bins were constantly renewed suggesting a high standard of clean. While the dining car was cramped, our room was very sufficient with our very own private sink and fold down, three-tier bunks.

Photo: view from the top bunk. The room locks, therefore we were able to consume alcohol despite rules against booze outside the dining car.

The private bunks were by no means the cheapest configuration. The "lie down" cars resembled the Hogwarts express with six people per cabin, and six beds that folded up during non-sleeping times. There were also regular non-bed seats, which offered zero privacy and looked rather uncomfortable for sleeping. Another way to save cash is to do as we did by bringing your own food (for us: chips, chocolate, cheese and bread) onto the train. Sleeping on a bumpy train ride was as pleasant as can be expected. They even gave us pillows, sheets and towels.

Bump on the head

Francesca has a bump on her head. A man tipped her over and the bouncer got involved. Apparently there was a loud thump when she hit the street. Then we went and closed Sweaty Betty's.

Back from Lofoten

I have two note books full of Lofoten writing. I guess I will gradually post that information online. First, I have to work out how to present the information. Just some fun stories and adventures? Travel tips?

Books!

Currently finishing off "Xenocide" by Orson Scott Card. It's the third in a series of four books written about a fictional character named Ender Wiggin. The stories are set far into the future in a fairly original universe concept. The books become increasingly character driven as you proceed through the series. Sometimes the descriptions of character thought processes in "Xenocide" become frustratingly internalized, extending through several paragraphs before throwing the reader back into real time. Although the author insists that the individual books in the series can stand alone, I would read them in order. Start with "Ender's Game."

Relaunching

I have deleted all the old postings because the last ones were all written in 2006. This way I look far less lazy. I am now making an effort to reduce the number of gaps in posting.