Skandinavija se mi je uspešno izmikala vse do nedavnega. Nikoli se ne bi misla, da bom šla privč v skandinavske dežele sredi zime. In to po tem, ko že cel december in januar špilam odbojko na plaži v kratkih rokavih in se pizdim, da si je vsaj občasno vljudno pobrit tace. Je pa res, da se je enim tri mesce pa tri mesce Norveške raztegnilo že skoraj čez celo leto..
No, šlo je nekak tak:
- Ej Ana, dej prid na obisk konc januarja, končno mam plac, sama bom na farmi, ftrgalo se mi bo od dolgcajta. Dej prid no. Itak vem kak šiht maš.
- A ti res misliš, da pridem js sred zime na Norveško? (Sicer po defaultu nisem nek zmrzljiv človek).
- Ja, dej, pridi no, boš vidla kak bo fajn.
- Ja pa kaj bom jaz sred zime na Norveškem? Lovila losa? Pa zih ga ne bom vidla.
- Ej, mamo internet. Linija je zih boljša ko tvoja.
- No ja, težko verjamem, tam sred periferije ... no sej, v Barceloni imamo net za en k*, plačujemo pa kot da smo meter od čezatlantske megaoptike. Pošlji screenshot od speedtesta.
[čakam da pride slikca]
- Ok, karta kupljena, vletim čez par dni.
Potem sem seveda skenslala plane, ki so bili v zraku za čez vikend in klapa me itak pozna, da so očitno "boljši" plani na izbiro. Folku, ki živi v toplih krajih je pač težko dopovedat, da te dejansko pozimi na Norveškem majn zebe kot v Barceloni. Ja, gretje, kaj je že to?? V bistvu vsa ta leta, ko se potikam nekje po bolj mediteranskih deželah, pravo zimo res pogrešam. Tistih par dni okol božiča, ko sem navadno v Sloveniji, pa je itak vedno zelenih.
Sneg torej. Kolegica zagrozi, da naj si ne drznem prinest s sabo nič drugega, razen C2H5OH. Vmes ugotovima, da imama še isto številko šuhov in da za tisti filmski festival v Goteborgu se boma že spedenale in najdle dovolj cot. Glede vsega prinešenega alkohola sem se kar malo bala, ker zadnje čase res nisem takih pivskih nagnjen in vse skup je zgledalo kot tista zaloga v erasmus časih. No, sicer sem imela konkreten razlog, da se vsaj enkrat za čas Norveške pošteno ubijem in razkužim, haha .. "
wash it, flush it!" In ja, to moreš it nardit na Norveško, da si boš ja zapomno za vse večne čase.
Na srečo Norvežani nimajo evrov in s kolko moreš delit ali množit je tud boljše, da ne veš. Kar ne veš ne boli. :) Ko karta za obični vlak iz letališča stane 250 kron, pač ni panike, dokler ne vprašaš stica googla, haha. Sicer ni bil za vlak do Osla, ampak še malo dlje. In tud tisti davek na alkohol te ne ustavi, da ne spiješ vsaj pirčka, dveh ali treh, ko greš ven. Mhmmmm.. V bistvu, ko sem že pri cenah, sem odkrito povedano pričakovala stvari še dražje. Glede na to, da je povprečna norveška plača sorazmerna z večkratnikom 3+ od slovenske, je enačba slovenske norvežanke zelo kulj - deliš vse s tri, in dejansko je veliko stvari precej pod ceno slovenskih, glede na razmerje plač. Npr. liter norveškega mleka dejansko stane 1.2 € in ne 2.5. In potemtakem ima tudi pir skoraj ceno tistega v Ljubljani. Ene stvari so pa v vsaki državi malo dražje kot drugod, druge pa poceni. In ko šetama po Oslu, je glede na moje izkušnje cena kebaba ena izmed redkih univerzalnih cen v Evropi. Dokazano tudi v Oslu za 34 kron! Ha!
Kar mi je zlezlo pod kožo, je seveda kavna kultura skandinavcev. Med tem, ko je moj budget v Španiji za kofetkanje enak ničli, bom tu pač poskrbela za dvig letnega povprečja. Kava, leptop in free WiFi, to je to! In potem me zaposliš za nadaljnjega pol dneva. Da ne omenjam, da tudi s štekerji niso skopi. In ko smo že pri WiFiju. Free WiFi na vlaku, letališču in avionu, ko si pa kje v mestu pa imaš luštnih kafičev za delo na izbiro malo morje. In kar je najboljše (ali na začetku malo presenetljivo), ja, da navadno strežejo samo za šankom. In si potem v svojo kavo ali čaj sam dokončaš po svojem okusu in odneseš na mizo. Moj komentar na vse skup je bil itak - a za 50 kron si morem kavo še sama na mizo odnest?
Med tem nama na farmi tudi ni blo dolgčas, tisto zamrznjeno morje sem si itak že dolgo želela videt. Ja, eni so pač 5 min od fjorda doma. Obvezen dnevni sprehod v najbolj sončnem delu dneva, da dobima zadostno količino vitamina D tudi v zimskem času. In po prvih dveh dneh deža s snegom, ko se končno pokaže zimska idila, ugotovim, da sonce resda zaide že ob 4.15 ampak svetlo pa ostane tam skoraj do 6. Kdaj je bil vzhod ne vem, se mi pa zdi, da je blo okoli 8 res še vse temno. Tolk o tem, da kao ni nič od dneva. Po tednu dni farme in malo Osla, mojih ekskuzivnih prebliskov v interevalih na 10 min, krikov in solz .. Ja sej vem, prijatli so zato, da ko maš ti slab dan (ali več) ga "morjo" met oni tudi. Sicer pa se tisti najjači prijatli ne vdajo in poskrbijo, da slabih dni s travmami več ni.
Potem ko zlorabima cel net na vlaku za Goteborg - ja, eni so pač malo deloholiki :) jaz pa pridno igram tetris, eni še nimajo dovolj, tako da se sama sprehodim po mestu. Tisto, ko gledaš že prej, če imajo kak free city tour, ker se mi pač je malo turista za igrat in ne preveč razmišljat - pa ugotoviš, da so tu tudi bolj po koledarju (aka. samo poleti). In ko zvečer na festivalu eni ugotovijo "kak je tu poceni" in v to hoče prepričat še kakega Šveda, tud skor umreš od smeha - ja, eni so že dolgo na severu. Noč se seveda konča precej brutalno (ja, to se je dolgo nabiralo in se je blo treba razkužit), tak da sem še cel naslednji dan v lepi zeleni barvi. Potem ko sem vsa zmačkana v super duper kafiču vidim svoj slavni opomnik, da je moj let kao naslednji dan zjutraj - ma ne ti meni, če imam js let v torek. Nisem tolko glupa, to pa res ne. Danes komaj živim, zvečer je treba še za 3 ure na vlak in potem naj se zbudim ob 5h zjutraj? Ne, mislim, da se mam vsaj tolko rada in se takih igric ne grem.
Yei Norweigan, love you, love you, love you! To sem v vseh mojih prebliskih tekom tedna že ugotovila, da se da karte pebukirat kakor ti je volja do 2 uri pred letom. In ja mi je res fascinantno, za doplačilo 1 € prestavim karto za en teden v prihodnost. Bom še malo na farmi, ker je pač fino bit sred ničesar, tud če bomo kak dan samo jaz in moji imaginarni prijatelji. Točno to, kar nucam. :)
Vmes prijatlca zbira material za nov film o enmu metalskem bendu. Skandinavci in metal sta tudi zanimiva stvar. Po dveh dneh celo uspe povedat kateri za kateri bend gre in da bi rabla nekaj za pofotkat (ja, jaz definitivno ne zgledam kot kaka metal deklina). Sicer Satyricon ni med mojimi top 10 bendi, ampak jih definitivno poznam. Čez par dni tako pristanem kot uradni fotograf v studiu, ki je dejansko 10 min stran od farme.. Hehe. Norveška, kupla si me.
Severni sij je v Oslo skoraj nemogoče videt (pa to sicer ni bil moj trenutni namen) in se na drug konec Norveške najbolj splača letet, nehote odkrijeva še kako zanimivo destinacijo v regiji. Ja, kaj vse zraste na dveh zelnikih, ko je ena bolj trčena ko druga, si včasih niti mislit ne moreš. Severni sij bo zaenkrat še počakal, moje prebukirane karte pa bodo zaenkrat še šle nazaj v Barcelono.
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Oslo |
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Oslo |
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Oslo |
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Goteborg |
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Bikes in Goteborg |
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It's me there :) |
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Somewhere by the fjord |
Norway, baby!
For no reason, I actually never made to scandinavia - until now. I had never imagine that my first visit is going to be in winter. Especially after playing beach volley all December and January in t-shirt and complaining about to shave my legs (it is consider polite :)). Meanwhile for some people three months and three months of Norway became almost a year..
And it was something like this:
- Hei Ana, you should come for a visit in the end of January, finally I have some space and I'm going to be alone on the farm. And I will go nuts to stay alone for two weeks. C'mon, you should come. I know how your works looks like.
- You think I would really come to Norway in the middle of winter? (Actually I don't mind cold weather, but still).
- You should come. Is going to be fun.
- And what should I do there in winter? Hunt for moose? And in the end I'm not doing to see it.
- You know, we have internet. I bet we have better speed than you do.
- I almost don't believe that. You are there in the middle of nowhere, while even in Barcelona there is no fiber optic to our house. Send me speedtest screenshot.
[waiting]
- Ok, flight booked, see you in few days.
I had to cancel my weekend B plan, but my friends didn't mind at all. I just had to prove that my new plan is way better. And later explain to all the people that you actually feel less cold in norwegian winter than spanish. Heating system, what's that? After few mediterranean winters I really miss real winter with snow and cold and everything that follows. Those few days around christmas were always green in Slovenia in last few years.
Yei, snow! My friend forbid to take with me anything else except C2H5OH. Meanwhile we figured out that our foot size is the same. No excuses, we will find something decent and well enough for Goteborg film festival. I really brought a bit too much of alcohol with me, especially because I don't feel like kill it all in last time but it was actually nothing more than in good erasmus times. Just that I can't drink that much anymore. :) Well, I actually had a reason to get waisted at least once and "disinfect" myself in Norway, indeed it was the "wash it, flush it" moment. And yes, it is extremely important to go to Norway to do that - just because you will remember that night for awhile.
Luckily, norwegians don't use euros and the divide or multiply by rate is sometimes much better to be a secret. It doesn't hurt if you don't know. :) Meanwhile the regular train ticket from airport costs 250 kronas and until you don't ask uncle google for that number in euros is quite ok. It wasn't train to Oslo, but little bit further though. And also the alcohol tax doesn't stop you to have a beer or two or three while you are in a bar. Mhmmmm.. Since I am talking about prices I actually expected everything to be even more expensive. While to get average Norwegian salary you have to multiply average Slovenian one by 3+, my friend's equation to figure out the "real value" of the prices is to divide everything by three. After that you realize that many of the things are way below the prices of slovenian one, considering the salary ratio. Liter of norwegian milk costs 1.2 € and not 2.5 €. And to go out for a beer in the capital is going to cost average Slovenian exactly the same as average Norwegian. While some things are cheaper in one country other are more expensive in another. And from my experience, price for a kebab is almost universal in Europe. You can get it even in Oslo for 34 kronas. Win!
What I really love about scandinavians is their coffee culture. While my "coffee outside" budget in Spain almost equal to zero (I really don't like spanish coffee) I would definitely change it to unlimited in scandinavia. Coffee, laptop and free WiFi is it! And half a day is already over. Not to mention all available electricity plugs. And free WiFi on train, airport and airplane, hell yea - so many cute cafes also! What I found funny (in a positive and negative way) about cafes is that they don't serve at the tables. And you should add many things of you choice to the coffee yourself. And after you take it to your table. My comment to everything was - so 50 nok is not enough and I have to bring the coffee by myself to the table?
Meanwhile we weren't bored at the farm neither. Frozen sea looks amazing. Yes, some people actually lives 5 mins away from fjord. There was always an "obligatory go for a walk" in the sunniest part of the day to get the sufficient dose of vitamin D. After two days of snow with rain the landscape around finally looks like winter fairytale. Sun really goes down at 4.15 but light stays at least until 6pm. That much about "short days". Yes, don't ask me what time is sunrise, I'm not that morning person. After a week at farm and in Oslo, my exclusive special edition flashes (doesn't happen that often if ever), screams and tears .. Yes I know, friends are those people, when you have the bad day(s), they should have it also. But the excellent friends actually don't want a bad day and make your one way better. Tnx for it!
While some people are abusing internet on the train to Goteborg - oh, those workoholics :) I'm playing tetris. And while someone's work is still not finished I go around Goteborg myself. Just for fun I checked if there is any free city tour as I feel like to be tourist and not think to much - and I figured out they do have them in when summer timezone apply. While at the movie festival in the evening, someone realizes that "Sweden is actually cheap" and tries to convince some Swedish guys to agree on that. I am just laughing - someone already spent too much time up north. Of course my night ends up brutally (yes, I desperately needed some proper disinfection) and I was literally green all next day. With the great hangover in a cafe I get my reminder about the flight next morning - I don't have my f* flight tomorrow, google you are stupid, I'm flying on tuesday. I'm definitely not that stupid. I would never do that to myself. Super hangovered, still need to catch 3 hours train up north and I should wake up at 5 am? No, I actually like myself and I am not playing that game.
Yei Norwwgian, love you, love you, love you! I already figured out in the flashes and crazy moments I had in last days that I can do whatever I want with my tickets up to 2 hours before departure. And I change my flight for price of 1 € for a week in the feature. I will spend another week at the farm in the middle of nowhere and there will be just me and my imaginary friends for last few days. Just what I need. Lovely! :)
My friend actually started to work on their new movie about a "local" metal band. It really amazing to see that scandinavians are so keen on it. After two days of scrabbling material from the internet she actually mention the bend (yes, I don't look that much metal girl (anymore)). Few days later I end up in the Satyricon's studio, which is actually 10 min away from the farm. Hehe. Norway, you bought me!
Aurora is almost impossible to see in Oslo and surroundings (but this was actually not my goal this time) and flying is the best way to reach other part of Norway, we found out an interesting destination in the region by incident. Yes, i you put two crazy people together you are definitely going to get even crazier things out. Northern light are going to wait for now and my rebooked ticket is going back to Barcelona in awhile.