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AUGUST 4, 2003
I was up by 6:00 to do last minute things before I left for London.
Kevin, Richard, Laurie, and I took the tube together. We got off at one stop and said our goodbyes to Kevin. We then had to hop on another train to get to Victoria Station.
It was great staying at Kevin's. He has a terrific place and it was convenient having a home base. Laurie and I plan to go back there at the end of the year before we head for another continent. We aren't sure which one that will be. Our original plan was South America, but we think we might make some changes. You will have to stay tuned for that.
We arrived at Victoria Bus Station. We said goodbye to Richard. He is headed for Ireland for about a month. Laurie and I got our bus to Stansted. This is where we get our plane to Oslo. The bus was about an hour and a half ride. We supposedly received better prices on tickets by going there. We had to meet a couple of hours before our flight took off. The flight was about two hours. We then had to catch a bus to Oslo. The first bus was filled. We had to wait for them to send another bus. Thankfully they sent one, because the next bus wasn't going for another five hours. While riding on the bus I was looking up where the bus driver sits. He wasn't where I thought he should be. Then it hit me, we were back driving on the right side.
After all of that, we made it to Oslo. It was about 7:30. We made our way walking to the hostel. On the way we stopped at a 7-11 store. We were going to get something to drink. When we looked at the prices we decided not to. I might even have to give up my Diet Coke habit for awhile.
We checked in our dorm. It is a four room dorm. It is nice because it has the bathroom in the room. It also has a small two burner counter top and a refrigerator. The room is spacious and it has cupboards to lock things in.
The room was extremely hot. The sun was coming in full force. Laurie and I couldn't stand the heat so we went out. We found some tables at a minature golf place where we sat and looked at some literature to plan our days here. Traveling is so much work.
The next thing we knew it was 10:00 and the sun was still shining brightly. I think they get a few hours of darkness and even that is not very dark.
We went back to the hostel. I was tired and I went right to bed.
July 15, 2003
Today was a nice day. We weren't rushed to do anything. We relaxed and it was great.
First of all, I slept or stayed in bed until 8:30 or so. I can't remember the last time I did that. It felt terrific.
Once I got up, I had breakfast and read. Neither Laurie or I felt like doing too much. We have been on the go constantly and we just wanted to stay put. We finally decided that we needed to get out and get some things accomplished. We needed to plan what we were going to do while in Norway and when we would leave for Sweden.
We went to this place called Useit. It was an information place and it had free internet. Unfortunately, the internet was down. We did get some information though while we were there. We still needed to go to the tourist information center.
On the way to the information center we stopped at an information store for hiking in the area. A girl on the bus from the airport told us about it. We did get some information on a hike close by, but most of the things there you have to buy.
One thing I was having a problem with while walking was the traffic. Not because there was a lot, but because I was confused on what way to look. I have been training for four months to look the opposite way for traffic. Normal doesn't look normal anymore. I just try to look both ways to be safe.
We found the tourist information center and picked up more information. This is a lot of work, so much reading and planning. My brain fills up and gets information overload.
We decided to go back to the hostel. The two other girls in the dorm checked out. We were hoping that no one was there when we got back. We had lunch. Afterwards, I just wanted to lie down, read, and sleep. That's what I did. After a couple of hours I got up knowing that I needed to get some planning done. Laurie and I started planning our days. We realized we couldn't plan everything until we knew if we could get a train and a place to sleep. I went to the phone downstairs, but it only takes their phone cards. I found
