Kasblah

Big Sky Country
Last weekend we went hiking in Rondane, a national park area a few hours north from Oslo. We hesitated a bit because the weather forecast was so lousy all week, but Friday morning we had blue skies and we set off. The drive took us through Lillehammer where we purchased some fantastic silk lakenposer at the local hiking association shop. The lakenpose is the preferred sleeping accessory for Norwegian hikers; a double sheet shaped like a sleeping bag, with a pocket for a pillow. The cabins all have beds with pillows and blankets, so all you need is your lakenpose.

Our base was Rondvassbu, a large full-service cabin, and we arrived just in time for a delicious trout dinner. Not only Norwegians make their way to the mountains, our table had both Germans and Swiss travelers. The place was pretty packed and we got beds in a room with a chronic bedturner and a guy who apparently really wanted to sleep outdoors since he decided to set the window wide open in the middle of the night when it was like -5C outside. At 7 AM there was too much racket to sleep anymore so I went out and snapped the sunrise on the peak behind Rondvassbu. Evidence of the cold night is still on the roofs; winter is always just around the corner in this part of Norway.

Rocky Road
On day 2 we set out to conquer Storronden, a peak of 2,142 meters (coincidentally the peak right above Sabine’s head in this photo). It probably doesn’t seem so high compared to what you find in the Alps or Rockies but it’s fairly high for Norway, where nothing rises much above 2,400 meters.

The treeline in southern Norway averages around 1000 meters so when you get above that things start looking pretty barren. Soon our feet had to navigate a vague trail through a landscape of rocks. There is almost no vegetation here, yet we still spotted a lemming scurrying about among the rocks. My mind wandered…

The prevalent organism is Map Lichen, a thin colorful crust that grows on the rocks. This lichen is so hardy it can survive in the icy vacuum of outer space! We, on the other hand, are less hardy and when the weather turned and snow started drizzling we abandoned the peak and headed back to Rondvassbu for warm coffee. With little hope of improved conditions we returned home that evening. A short but intense late summer hiking experience. Takk for turen!

(Download a Google Earth view of Rondane)

When in Athens

So I was the fortunate winner of an office draw for a free trip to Athens, to see of all things the Champions League soccer finals! And I’m such a huge soccer fan . It was a fun trip though, but seriously brief (only 2 days!). With one day practically dedicated to soccer there wasn’t much time to do other things. But I got a chance to visit that most famous of famousesses: Acropolis and the Parthenon.

It was raining when we arrived, and the Acropolis tour seemed in doubt. But Zeus smiled on us and the downpour ended promptly as we got off the bus. Guided by an expatriate Swede full of witty anecdotes we ascended the hill. Restorations are ongoing and the whole Acropolis has the feel of a building site, but it’s still impressive. The restorations are done with marble from the original quarry, but the new pieces look quite different in color. Fear not says our guide, a few years of Athens smog and they will be indistinguishable from the rest.

The view from the hill of the city is spectacular, a mixture of ancient ruins and dense urban growth stretches out in all directions. Our guide tells us that Athens has seen a lot of changes as a result of the massive efforts surrounding the 2004 Olympics:improvements in infrastructure and an overall clean-up of downtown areas has modernized the city, leaving some of its grimy charm behind. My limited impression is that it still feels different than the other European cities I have been to, a bit chaotic (traffic is pretty insane), more exotic perhaps.

Soccah

Must not forget some words about the real purpose of my trip: to watch a soccer game! The teams competing for the cup this year were Liverpool and Milan, and both teams played well but Milan dominated much of the second half and the game ended in their favor without the need for extra time or shootouts.

Thousands of hardcore fans were conveniently seated on each end of the stadium, we had seats in the middle, and the sheer volume of the crowds was amazing. We had the obligatory streaker that ran out on the field during the game, having a blast for about 30 seconds before he was pummeled by security and booted from the stadium.

 

Nifty Tech:

Practically every rooftop in Athens had one or more of these solar water heaters. Two panels, a tank of water, and lots of sunny weather probably saves Athenians a bundle on heating their hot water.

 

Our first touristy stop is going to be the British Museum. Standing on the doorstep our bellies growl and our plans change slightly. It’s lunch time and we want to sample British cuisine, so we look for a pub. The appropriately named Museum Pub beckons, and we order some traditional fare: Shepherds Pie and Fish & Chips! Plus some tasty brew. Verdict? The pie filling tastes like it came from an old tin, and the peas have a neon-green sheen to them, pretty basic stuff. Fish & Chips pass the test (plate empty). Next time we need to go to a Gastro-Pub, a new trend in British cooking apparently.

The British Museum is pretty amazing. I saw the Rosetta Stone and most of the Partenon friezes, highlights from the hoards of loot collected by colonial administrators in the heydays of the British empire. The museum, in an attempt to ward off criticism, has a glossy “why they should stay at the British Museum” handout ready. But its not very convincing, and the Greeks are building a huge new museum next to the Partenon specifically to house these big marble blocks so you have to wonder how much longer they’ll be in London.

On to the Eqyptian section I spot this charming kitty-mummy! Some ancient Egyptian animal cults worshipped various animals, and placing these mummies into the tombs was supposed to be a good thing. A related exhibition looked at afterlife traditions in various cultures and I really liked these wooden hentakoi figures from the Nicobar Islands. They help ward off the spirits that keep returning to pester the living. (with their annoying thumbs-up positivism )

We continue the obligatory tour of the touristy things down by Big Ben (doesn’t look much different than the pictures). We check out Carnaby Street (too Gap-py), eat some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (do they fly it in from Vermont?), and finally eat a tasty Indian dinner.

Next day its Millenium Wheel (line too long, expensive), Tate Modern (powerful art…get it?), and shopping. Check out the funky soap store. And where else a store dedicated to tea?

We’re tired of the London bustle and get a trip into the countryside on our last day. Destination Bath, ancient Roman city a few hours sw. The first thing you notice is they built everything with local sandstone, quite a contrast from the brownstone. Bath has a lot of neo-classical architecture and ofcourse the famous Roman bath. Nobody bathes there anymore but you can get a taste of the water in the pump room.

May is turning out to be travel month. First Cologne, then London, and now I’m on a plane to Athens (more on this later). London was purely holiday, 4 nights visiting friends and sightseeing. First time in the UK for me, was about time to see if all those British stereotypes are true!! Sabine has been a few times before so she was my guide, together with our splendid hosts Fleur, Ian, and Kerima.

We arrive late in the evening, first impressions are big motorways, vast suburban expanse, finely manicured lawns and housing developments. It feels vaguely like the US, yet a little more unkempt. And the houses are all built with dark red/brown bricks. Tired.

Next morning our hosts drop us off at the local train station on their way to work. We wait around a while to get off-peak tickets, trains are so packed during rush hour that you can save a bundle by going later. Trains are modern and streamlined, none of those old carriages where you had a door for each compartment that you always see in movies. We arrive at Waterloo Station, the largest in London with dozens of platforms and connections both far and near. The Eurostar arrives here from Paris, which apparently got one French politician upset, claiming it was “humiliating” for French travellers to arrive at Waterloo! Never mind they are moving it soon to the dreadfully named St Pancreas station.

We rush into the London Underground to get further into town. The “tube” nickname is quite appropriate: the dimensions of the corridors and tunnels are very much tubular, and the train itself is shaped to fit hand-in-glove inside the tunnels. It’s actually quite diminutive compared to other cities subways and feels somewhat claustrophobic, with the walls passing about 2 inches from the window. If you walk into one of the tunnels and meet a train you will be minced meat!

Surprising things about England #1: the British move on the left. I already knew they drive on the left, but was fascinated to see that they also walk on the left side. Trains run on the left side. Escalators, doors, etc anywhere with 2 directions of traffic they move on the left side. Londoner vs tourist showdowns are inevitable

This week work sent me to Cologne, Germany to attend Telestream training. I had a really nice room at a downtown hotel called the Dorint, a swanky 4 star locale. From my room I had a view of the cathedral and a roman-style building. I later learned it was a swimming pool open to the public! In the background you can see one of the city landmarks, the Colonius tv tower. Didn’t make it up unfortunately.

But the real landmark is the Kölner Dom, a massive cathedral. Apparently it is the most visited tourist attraction in Germany, but the hordes must come later in the season as it was fairly quiet when I went. It’s hard not to be amazed by the scale of the place and you can only imagine how impressive it must have appeared to the citizens of Cologne when the they built the thing. Started in 1248 it took 600 years to finish!

Otherwise the city has a charming old-town around the cathedral, however it was all rebuilt after WW2 bombing so its a funny mix of styles, and not really old at all. One night I noticed this funky mosaic above a door, he was part of an art exhibit going on in the city. The project, called Space Invaders, has visited many cities around the world and this year it happened to be Cologne. Another invader is Starbucks! I saw a whopping 6 of them just in the small part of downtown I walked. Had to check it out of course, and for those concerned they tampered with the formula, have no fear. It looks, smells, tastes like any old Starbucks. Eine Grande Double Latte Skim bitte!

When our hosts one night invited us for a “traditional” German dinner, I imagined a giant beerhall, complete with lederhosen and lots of sauerkraut. But that didn’t pan out; instead we ended up at a small “artists cafe” called Kleine Glocke (small bell), possibly deriving its name from the street it was on (Glockengasse) and its diminutive size. “Artists cafes” are apparently where German artists disgusted with the large public beerhalls used to go for their beer and sauerkraut. We feasted on a wide range of local specialities, including horse filet (very good), blood sausage, (I heard it was very good), some squishy reconstituted potato balls (initially dubbed horse-testicles), aspargus soup, more potato dishes, and of course varieties of kraut. They also served beer but in surprisingly small 2cl glasses. The glasses were emptied so rapidly that the waitress had an almost constant job refilling the them. And since she did a good job at that the deceptively small glasses quickly led to a good mood around the room.

Speaking of aspargus, the giant white ones were in season and we received a generous helping at almost every meal. Good thing I really like them, enough in fact to bring a kilo with me back home. With all the security fuzzyness at the airport these days I decided to ask when I checked my bag if I could bring them onboard (would be a real crime to toss them at the security checkpoint ). This caused a lot of confusion and several employees had to be consulted before they determined that aspargus on plane is ok.

Nifty Tech:

This machine looks like luggage storage for one bag, but somehow in Tardis fashion manages to ingest thousands of backpacks, suitcases, bags, whatever you place on the tray. Not only that but later you can swipe your card and it actually delivers your bag back. Amazing! I picture a giant underground cavern populated by little elves that shuffle luggage around.