Sitting on the lovely train from Oslo to Bergen. The scenery is majestic and I havent even gotten to the best part yet. I suppose there is a reason that this is called the most spectacular train ride in the world. It also fills me with conflicting emotions. I delight in being here but I also know Bergen is the last leg of my journey, which fills me with melancholy. Since I’ve been in Norway thoughts every now and then have creeped in about my return home and what awaits me there. I’ve managed to push them aside but it doesn’t change their reality. Soon I will once again be my soulless self. I will once again be dealing with people in distress, figuring out sales tax, and the upcoming Holiday madness. For most people vacation rejuvenates. It is said that travel nourishes one’s soul. But travel doesn’t simply nourish mine. It forms it, builds it, defines it. For the last 17 years I have devoted my life in service to others, to people in need of feeling God’s love. Accordingly, my soul should be filled with joy, but it could not be emptier. But now, exploring a new place, interacting with locals, I feel alive. I have not been bitten by the travel bug. I AM THE TRAVEL BUG, hoping to infect others with this joy. Unfortunately, to realize that I will soon be trapped in the confines of my relatively small surroundings for many months, winter months, is just suffocating to me. I could never go to jail! So I look out the train window and enjoy the sights of timelessness and creation, trying once again to reconcile my fulfillment with the upcoming emptiness.
Traveling independent and hotel free is an interesting concept for this trip. Theoretically it is a great way to meet people, especially important when one is traveling alone, and a good way to get insight into the local culture. Furthermore, it’s a good way to save a buck. Mixing airbnb with couchsurfing has gone as expected and not. For the most part my hosts have been great. The couple in Copenhagen were really nice and we had a long interesting discussion about our cultures, but really only saw them the one day out of 4. Thankfully I got adopted by many people in bars so I never felt alone in that city. In Stockholm my airbnb host was a young guy who needs to have a calendar as he booked me one day by accident. I had no choice but to book a hotel that night. The room I got when I arrived the next day was quite bohemian but comfortable. He seemed like a nice kid. Now I have to mention something else, the flights of stairs. I’m in decent shape so hauling luggage up numerous flights of stairs is fine for me, burns off all that I drank the night before. I just hope my hosts didn’t mind the sweaty mess I was when I arrived. But carrying up luggage is not for everyone. Some places had lifts, some didn’t. Good to know beforehand.
My second host was great. He is a musician and the place was kind of messy. Not dirty. Just not ordered. However, he was really nice and gave me one of the highlight experiences of this trip, the climbing of the bell tower and watching him play the carillon. I couldn’t have seen that staying in a hotel! It was just a shame that he was so busy that we didn’t spend much time together. That’s something else to consider. I didn’t expect to be on my own as much as I was at certain parts of the trip. What I expected were my next 2 stops.
In Gothenburg my host met me at the train station, made a suggestion about the evening and asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner or stay in. I figured a home cooked meal would be nice, so over wine we made dinner, well he made it, I just helped. A local everyday meal that is typical for the modern Swede. My first host in Oslo apologized for only being able to host for 1 night as he was going away. But he too met me at the station and then took me to his amazing penthouse, where I had a guest room with a balcony and a killer view of Olso Harbor. He then treated me to an amazing meal at a very nice local restaurant. They knew him there. He likes to take his guests there to give them a sense of traditional Norwegian cuisine, but with a modern twist. We had 3 local courses (local cheeses, locally harvested shellfish, reindeer), each paired with a different wine. I couldn’t believe this man’s generosity. But I think if I had his money I would be the same way. Then we hit a bar afterwards for drinks to sample Oslo’s infamous nightlife (I insisted buying drinks). I mentioned I wanted to see a Munch & Van Gogh exhibit and the poor guy accompanied me and stood in the 2 hour line in the rain with me. Normally I would’ve balked at that line. But he assured me the exhibit is wonderful and what else would I do on a rainy Oslo day anyway? He was so thoughtful and a real example of a travel host! I paid for it the next night.
My next host lied about the accommodations, lied about letting me in, and wasn’t even upfront about the flat’s lack of electricity (he didn’t pay the bill). Mr. Thoughtful arranged with a neighbor to have an extension cord run into his flat for television and one light. He arranged some very strange woman, who is renting a room there, to let me in, after me ringing the doorbell for 30 minutes and my “host” assuring me he was there. Turns out he was in Sweden. After assessing that the creepy woman was harmless, I pitied her actually, I locked my room nonetheless and stayed out as late as possible. When I awoke I left as quickly as possible. I did the research, I looked at the profile, I read the reviews. Just goes to show that there is a risk to it. Hotels are usually a known quantity, airbnb’s are not, no matter how much research you do. Incidentally my free experiences turned out better than the paid ones. I have one more host, a young woman who has been quite helpful already in trying to help me see a fjord. Hopefully that will work out and so will this final place. Needless to say, I’ve reported my Oslo guy to airbnb and there will be a review. Have to help someone else with their research. Travel courtesy you know… And maybe just a little bit of vindictiveness!
I do love trains, especially European ones. America is so far behind in this technology it is embarrassing. Still they are not perfect. Just finished eating a Norwegian Stew of salt pork and root vegetables… On the train. It was quite good. Earlier this trip I blogged that I ate tasty Swedish Meatballs on a train. Sandwiches are comparable to what you would find on Amtrak, but the coffee is most definitely better. Of the Scandinavian trains, Sweden gets the highest marks. Most comfortable seats, timely, and great wifi. This is where Norway is sorely lacking, the wifi on Norwegian trains might as well not even be advertised, though it is heavily. The crew told me they don’t even bother with it, surprising since Nordic countries are highly wired. So Amtrak, you at least got Norway beat on that one. As this train is one hour late I had hoped to contact my next hosts for the delay, but they will just have to be patient and caffeinated. That’s the problem with one track lines, you get delayed somewhere and it just snowballs. 15 burns into 45 minutes. In any case, you can’t beat the scenery of Norway’s Bergen Line… Anywhere. Shocking to me how many passengers on this packed scenic train are not looking out the window. I’m blogging in tunnels or boring landscapes, but gawking at and trying to unjustly photograph the views. Too bad the lateness of the train is going to cut my opportunity short, as daylight is running out. Of course I am sitting on the wrong side of the train. My side has occasional glimpses of grandeur, the other side seems to be a constant nature movie! Might not be able to take pictures, but at least I can still appreciate it… Even if the people across from me in those seats seem oblivious to the beauty. Mental note: sit on window seat on left side of train. Luck is wasted on the wrong people. Moreover once the light fades the views on my side of the train start vastly improving from what I can tell in faded light. D’oh! You’ll definitely need that little word when traveling. Then laugh. At least the train made up 40 minutes of that hour of lateness. Norse Gods I suppose.
