Christian's Kindergarten Grad Photos

They are just the prelim photos before we order the final ones.  Christian has really torn up his classes this year.  He looks quite a bit like Jack Jack Dugan in these pictures I think.

Cup 'o' Heaven

This is what heaven looks like after too much machine-made coffee.  A double handmade cappucino - in a wifi area to boot. 

Lysefjord Cruise

On Saturday I went "on a three hour tour" (Gilligans Island reference) of a noted fjord (pronounced fee-yord) leaving the dock by my flat. I've posted some pictures below but certainly not all the ones I took. In English it's the "light" fjord for the granite shiny rocks gleaming from beneath the water. Hard to capture the scope of these as the fjords are usually narrow with rock walls on both sides thousands of feet high. Water is usually very deep too. 10,000 years ago Norway was under a mile thick layer of ice creating these fjords.  Recommended way to see Norway if you ever make trip as these fjords go deep into the country.

On the way to the fjord.  Got on boat top for pictures.  Wind made it quite cold.

Example of a rock wall from the fjord.  I think the water can be thousands of feet deep.

Three goats on the fjord hillside "grazing". They actually wait for ships to come by and they receive generous amounts of food thrown to them from people on boat.  Here they are picking some up. Moments later hundreds of seagulls came and stole much of it.

Waterfall into fjord.  They say it is 400 feet high, hard to gauge sizes.  See if you can watch video of it below. They collected some of the water from these falls in buckets and we drank it.  Fresh as can be!  All in all a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Random thoughts

Went bowling tonight. Pretty much the same as US but they call the lanes "tracks".  Also a nice restaurant inside it.  Cost for dinner + 90 minutes of bowling $90 USD. 

St.Svithuns on Sunday mentioned construction "funding issues have developed" and work has slowed. Well until today I never saw anyone working.  It's a shame cause they can't just leave it like it is. I don't know full story but based on some other comments it didn't sound good.

I heard the big cruise ships (Norwegian, Royal Caribbean) come here soon and dock just blocks from my flat.  This is hard to believe they can even fit in this harbor.  In US we're used to docking and finding dirt cheap prices at some Caribbean locale.  Here the people probably run back and eat in the ship!

I've been thinking they just need to go ahead and rename that fireworks show that kicks off the Derby Festival" for what it really is - Traffic around Louisville.

Tuesday

Yesterday I was able to get to the Oil Museum here - yes there is such as place - with all kinds of interesting artifacts and stories.  In the 1950's the Norwegians gave up looking for oil in the North Sea but the crazy Americans kept on it and now Norway is very well off indeed.  The prior generation was fisherman and farmers and now it's one of the most prosperous countries on earth.  I've already met people here in a few weeks who have permanently moved here from all parts but mainly other Euro countries.

Norway cost of living nugget for the day:  $20 USD to see a new release movie in theater.

There is also a maritime museum here but it's always closed seems like.  Here's the anchor by the front door:

Sunday thoughts

Just some thoughts while cruising the cobblestone streets of Norse country 1. Still haven't seen any chariots though Im keeping a look out 2. Very glad I spent thunder over Louisville night 5000 miles away from the traffic 3. There are no khaki pants or light colored coats in Norway. They just love dark everything. I went to work in khakis and people didn't know what to think. I really liked it strangely. 4. Manual labor is hard to come by. All drinks are from machines. Finally found place makes cappuccinos by an actual human. Boy do they need a Starbucks. 5. For a cold weather place they sure eat lots of ice cream it's all over the place 6. Sometimes this place feels like Disney World with the prices. But I can't seem to find the Pirates of the Caribbean ride anywhere... 7. There is a museum here devoted to the subject of and history of "canning". Seriously. Dont wait up for me to de-brief you all on that place...

Weekend Musings

This morning the temps in Stavanger were upper 40's with no rain which was more than ample to get the town abuzz and hit the streets in force.  Norwegians just need a slight crack in the weather, and I mean slight, to take advantage.  This is practically t-shirt weather.  There was some sort of things in city centre all these people were dancing to music from ABBA and the movie Grease. City is maybe comparable to a mid-size US city a few decades back - low crime and just....simple.

The lake by my flat this morning.

Then I came across this car which gave a good laugh:

If this car was even allowed to enter the state of Texas, I think it would live a short life.  If the owner could stand being laughed at incessantly, it would still be run off the road in no time. Many trucks and SUV's could run it over and not realize anything happened.  Have to be serious safety issues driving a car like that.  I saw some of those three wheel cars in the UK years back, you know one tire in front two in back.  Keeping an eye out for scooters and chariots now.

Christian Jersey

Saw this autographed jersey today inside a glass case outside a UK soccer sports bar in Norway.  This guy Christian must be some well known footballer in the UK.  Well there's a pretty big soccer player named Christian in my house too! I should bring back another autographed jersey for them.

Just a shout out on the 100th anniversary of the unsinkable sinking. 

St. Svithun

St Svithun's is just steps from my flat and you can see the work being done on the church so they had the only English mass today in the schools small auditorium.  Very large and diverse crowd. Stnading room only.  Not sure when this church will be done but probably take a while.  All went well.  Got there 15 minutes early and no seats left - at our Houston church the rush to get in usually starts about 3 minutes after mass starts! 
PS  I think Svithun refers to Swithun Wells, executed in 1591 in England.

Old Stavanger

Went walking thru "Old Stavanger" today.  Nice wooden homes, all white, there since 18th century.  Very tidy and almost like gingerbread man village.  Lots of little gardens and cobblestone streets - but those are in many places. I could've pasted a thousand pictures here but will just do a few..

Here is the old tower used from 1850-1922 overlooking the water and town.  They used to get up here to keep a look out for fires and "suspicious activity".

I just found it interesting to see a car stuck to the side of a building. Not sure why it's there.  Perhaps some nuanced artistic statement commenting on the perils of over-commercialisation in coordination with fossil fuel use in the post-modern world rendering society into a future of disarray represented by the car on the wall....Or it could just be a unique way to advertise the bank inside the building....

Picture of me in front of the 1,000 year old chuch near my flat.

There's something going on there Sunday (sign out front is in Norwegian - I think it might be some type of musical - I don't think it's an active church.  Also hope to get the lowdown on St. Svithuns on Sunday - the only Catholic church here.

Vanity question - don't I look like John with the hat on?

Euro Pricing Moment Quiz + Joke of the day

Here's a pop quiz to think about over the weekend, or not.  Which of the below shocked me the most regarding shockingly priced items in Norway:

a)  One month gym membership for $130
b)  A Burger King whopper meal for $16
c)  Some small strange type of definitely non-American snack resembling chips in a vending machine for $6 (with Snickers bar costing a paltry $5 next to it).

Answer:  Well you know it's all of the above.  And this is just tip of the iceberg. I'm sure more stories to come on this topic. 

On a lighter note - all this multiple choice stuff reminds me of an old joke - You've just been assigned to produce the gala called "Night of the 99 Stars".  You've just signed your 98th star when in walks Eva and Zsa Zsa Gabor.  What do you do?   a) Sign Eva   b) Sign Zsa Zsa   c) change the name of the show to "Night of the 98 Stars"....

Other famous blogs

Just a thought exercise to have fun with.  As blogs are everywhere now not to mention tweets, etc, it's a lot of peoples stream of consciousness.  Wonder what Cristopher Columbus would've blogged about?  I've read Reagans diaries which comes close to historical person blogging - but he was pretty straight-laced.  What would Hitler have tweeted about?  Better not try to give examples of that.

What about the disciple Peter?  "Saw the empty tomb today. Angry the other guy beat me to it!"
Little did he know that story would be repeated each year for eternity!!!

View from one of my balconies

Of course the sun came out this afternoon (first time this week) so I took this picture from my balcony.  The open sea is at the left but it's mainly blocked by a building or two so this lake will have to suffice.  Realized this blog needs a little more "color" and saw Theresa's comment re photos at same time.  I'm on the 13th floor....not superstitious or anything.   But it just crossed my mind  tomorrow is Friday the 13th.  Jus' sayin'. 

Brutal Weather

It's April 12 and you'd think things would be better even this far North but about 42 and light rain each day.  I know in the Texas and Kentucky it's been warm and sunny for most of Spring - I'm sure on Derby week it will go to 45 and rain though...

My flat is in great spot and is much larger than I thought (you know Europe - everything is small). There are no Starbucks in Norway - they say hard to be profitable given all costs involved. They are learning more about convenience though - when I was here in 90's everything closed by 6pm now there are many stores open till 8 or later.

Rebecca says the washer at home is having issues.  I leave home for two days and the whole place is in shambles...

Arrived this morning

Trip over went just fine - goes very fast in business class.  Had to wait a couple hours to get keys to the flat but now I"m pretty settled in.  Days are long already though still a little rain and chilly but not bad.  Was reading the Lonely Planet guidebook to Norway on the plane and noted it said going to Norway was a "trip of a lifetime".  Well, I've been there three times in three months so I'm not sure about that.  It also mentions how Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world, but lest they discourage their clientele they follow that up with "but Norway will pay you back with never to be forgotten experiences many times over".  Now let's not go overboard guys lol. 

Visited a grocery here today and they not only charge you for number of bags you use...they also make you do the bagging! Noted probably better to make more frequent visits with fewer groceries.

I went by what appears to be the only Catholic church in Stavanger this afternoon across the street from my apartment. There were no signs but it was definitely a church and was undergoing massive renovations - the entire church is covered in scaffolding - maybe it's new and just being built - but I highly doubt it.  I'm staying the city centre and there's not much new here.  The church I can see from window was built in 1100's.

Enjoyed lovely three day weekend prior to departure with wife and kiddos as well as Alfonso and Ana Maria as well as Mauricio who were in town.  Weather was perfect and got to enjoy a lot of time outdoors. Went to Kemah boardward Friday then soccer game and backyard activities Saturday. Smores!  Sunday was egg hunts, church and brunch.  Ate too much this weekend.  Prepping for trip.  Trip is being split in pieces so not all at one time.  Happy Easter everyone.

Intro

Thought I'd start this blog given a temporary work assignment I've received from my employer to go to Europe this Spring.  Mainly staying in Norway but other trips around Northern Europe are possible - likely even.  I look forward to sharing tidbits from the trip with you.