Getting to Norway

I arrived to the Houston airport on Saturday night to find that my flight was delayed by 2 hours. This did not disappoint as I had a 9 hour layover in London. I suppose I had to wait somewhere regardless of whether it was in Houston or in London. The plane was only 20% full so I had my own row of 4 seats and I slept very well on the overnight flight.

When I landed in London I had 7 hours to kill. I felt very disconnected as I did not have my laptop or my cell phone. A huge feeling of disconnect and for me also boredom. I am grateful at least that it was a beautiful airport with lots of people, food and things to look at. I love airports for many reasons. The anticipation of going somwhere, wondering about the stories of those around me, watching people greet loved ones as well as the long good byes. I love being in the international terminal listening to the sounds of the foreign languges signing all around me and looking at the array of fashion.

The second short flight from London to Norway was short and uneventful. I arrived to Oslo at 10:30pm which only gave me 1.5 hours to take a subway to Oslo, then another subway in order to catch the bus before it finished its route by 12:00am. I found a kind friend (a gorgeous Norwegian man at that) who helped me figure out which track I needed to take (I am a bit notorious for getting lost and taking the wrong trains, so I have learned by experience to ask people to double check myself). I approached him because he was carrying a ski bag (OK, and also because he was hot) and that sent us into a fascinating conversation. It was too bad the train trip only lasted 19 minutes. He has walked from the south to the north of Norway and then bicycled back! We shared adventure stories back and forth. When I told him it was my birthday he offered to buy my bus ticket once we departed the train. He followed through and even escorted me to the next subway. He gave a quick hug and warm wishes for my holiday in Oslo. What a great start to my trip!

I took the next subway with no problems and I had to go into a 7-11 (they really do have conveience stores called 7-11) to buy my bus ticket for the final leg of my journey. I asked the girl standing in line behind me which bus I needed to take in order to reach my final destination. She responded, "I am going in the same place, you can just follow me." Perfect! I grabbed the bus with a meager 20 minutes before the bus lines shut down to reach my host by 12:00am.

It was a perfect travel day!

I would like to give a huge shoutout to all of the Norwegians who must take english in school. They make it to easy to travel here because everyone speaks nearly perfect english!