Hei! fra Norge

10:04pm, and it’s still light outside…..

still can’t seem to upload photos.  I’ll work on it tomorrow.

Eighteen hours later, we made it to Norway without a hitch.  We were greeted by a handful of enthusiastic hosts.  I said, “Nice to meet you” in Norwegian to one, and she exclaimed “How interesting!”  I don’t know if she meant my accent or my Norwegian or my attempt.

Typing is a little problemmatic, because Norwegian has a few extra letters in their alphabet, making for a lot of backspacing. There’s æ and ø and å.  They use these letters a lot, so they’ve put them in accessible places, and moved semicolons and apostrophes to hard-to-find areas.

 Yesterday was spent walking around the neighborhood, which is right on the coast.  (No photos right now, because I’ve got just a few minutes before the meeting the mayor.)  Randi and I went up a rocky hill, the crest of which was the site of witch-burning and criminal-hanging.  It doesn’t seem to have any heavy impact on the feel of the area.  We went to the water’s edge, which is equally rocky, and then to the beach, which is about 25 ft long.

 There were a group of younger people playing “cube,” in which players throw sticks at targets and try to knock them (the targets) over.  The women were winning by far.  Apparently, this is an old game, from the Viking age, that is making a comeback in Norway now.

The question everyone asks is: have you packed for Norway yet?  The answer ranges from sheepish to resounding, but is always “no.”  Reece and I are still feverishly trying to settle our post-Rotary itinerary.  Everything sounds fascinating, beautiful, and/or fun, and we only have 10 days.

I leave Saturday, May 13, from Huntsville “International” Airport, with or without luggage.