Vacation!

    This is yet another late post, dating back to the 8th which was the night of the open house at the school.  This marked the beginning of a long and amazing vacation.

    The plan for my weeks vacation.. Well it would start with a visit to my Bestmore and Bestefar's house until Monday morning where I would fly to Harstad to visit some family friends (top-most marker on the map).  I would then fly back to Bergen the following Thursday and stay the night at Bestmore and Bestefar's house again where I would catch a bus to Stavanger to visit a friend from Voss, Morten.  We would stay at his place and then drive his car back up on that Sunday and be back to Voss that night.



    Back to the start of the vacation.. I got a ride home with Bestefar after the open house and drove home around 23:00 (11:00pm).  Now the only reason I bring up how late we drove home was because that was the darkest car ride I have ever had in my life.  Even with high-beams on, the roads still were consumed by darkness.  This being said we still got home no problem of course.  I said goodnight to Bestemore and Bestefar and then slept.  That was just amazing.  I slept so good that night, but then again I always do when I sleep at their house.  They had of course made breakfast by the time I was up.. But I still got a chance to sit down and eat with them which is always nice.  That was a good day, just getting a chance to be with them and talk about what I've been doing in Voss and my upcoming plans and such.  It would soon be time for bed again though, this time being a bit earlier however because I would be catching a 7:00 flight in the morning.

    I got a early start to my day Monday morning, a little earlier than Im sure most of you would prefer to be up on vacation.  The flight was not direct so I would be flying from Bergen to Oslo and then from Oslo to Harstad.  The trip was a bit long but it was relaxing and gave me some time to myself.  I would be staying with some family friends that had previously been my grandparents neighbors and good friends in Askøy.  Lisbeth picked me up from the airport and drove me into the center of Harstad where we took a walk around town, seeing all there was to see.  Even just the drive was amazing.  The landscape was just great and the mountains, well I couldnt seem to take my eyes off them.  After doing some errands we drove to pick up the boys who would soon be having a birthday!  It was great to get to see them and they seemed to feel the same way about seeing me.  ".....Peter Pan?!" was the first thing I heard from them.  After explaining to them that I couldnt fly and that I took a plane up to Harstad I helped Noah, the littlest, put his shoes on and we were on our way home.  I got some time to play with the boys and practice my Norwegian by listening to everything they had to say along with answering as much as I could.
    Now, one of the reasons I came to visit was to get a chance to talk about the options in the Norwegian Military.  I got so much information and so many questions answered about just about everything there is to know (except of course those secrets that you can only know if your in the military ;) The rest of my time in Harstad was great too and I had a lot of fun!  Not only did I get to enjoy two birthdays, but also try an infrared sauna and fire heated hot-tub.  So many thanks to Lisbeth and her family for everything!

    I flew back to Bergen Thursday morning and arrived near 16:00 (4:00pm).  After sneaking in a few cribbage games with Bestefar I was off to bed because yet again I would be waking up early to catch a 8:00 bus in the morning.  Now let me tell you something... that was a long bus ride.  Its not like the ride to school I was so used to in Jr. High school, no this was a 6 hour ride.  It wasnt as bad as it sounds though.  I actually really enjoyed it.  There were 2 ferries that the bus had to take which was nice because it gave everyone an excuse to get out of the bus and stretch their legs.  And you know what.. before I knew it I was in Stavanger!

    My good friend Morten from school in Voss picked my up and gave me a quick tour of the town.  Its a nice place and was interesting to see because it was different from Bergen, Voss, and Harstad.  There wasnt anything important planned for the weekend except for us to have a good time and that we did.  It was nice to let loose and relax.  I also made some great friends that I am looking forward to seeing when I return to Stavanger later this year!  The weekend was great and I had a blast.  Sunday came too soon though and it was again time to leave.  So with the being said thank you very much to Mortens family for having me for the weekend!

    My vacation ends with Morten and I driving back to Voss.  This normally 7 hour drive took us about 8 or 9 hours.  We made a few stops.. some food and drinks to keep us going along with a friendly visit to my summer house in Askøy.  It was only an hour out of the way no big deal.  And there you have it.  My October vacation.  Now, I know this wasnt the most detailed post but there is logic behind that and im sure that you can understand.  I just wanted to give a brief overview to show the adventure because if you take a look at where I went, the people I was with and the friends I made, it really was a great vacation in that alone ;)