We made it to Bergen!

After a long and beautiful seven hour drive from one side of Norway to the other, Paul and I made it to Norway's second largest city, Bergen. Bergen is said to be Seattle's sister city, and from our experience so far it's true. The city is right on the water and surrounded by evergreen covered mountains. It rains here about 275 days a year, but is beautiful this time of year. The people also seem to be much more laid back here and have a very relaxed way about them, just like in Seattle. There is also a busy fish market right in the center, similar to Pike Place Market.

We went to a Pub last night and it might have been in Seattle. Everyone was dressed in Seattle type relaxed atire, and the bar played music from Seattle based bands all night. The beers were a little cheaper (7.00 instead of 8.00 dollars) and we had fun talking to a lot of the locals.

We are here one more night and then we will take two days to make our way back. We might camp out in a cabin along the water front tomorrow night.

Oslo, most expensive city in the world...

Oslo is said to be the most expensive city in the world and yesterday we found out just how expensive. Here is a short run down of some of the prices we encountered:

- Meadium meal at McDonalds 12.00 USD
- Pen 4.00 USD
- Small Burrito 35.00 USD
- Beers (any beer) 12.00 USD
- Cocktail 15.00 USD
- Cigarettes 16.50 USD

So, with empty wallets we are off to a long drive through Norway's famous Fjords to it's second largest city, Bergen.

We made it to Oslo!

Well, after an all night ferry cruise, Paul and I made it to Norway's largest city, Oslo. The city is quite small but very beautiful. Everything is very clean and the weather is very similar to Seattle. We rented a car and tomorrow we will drive up to Bergen. I will try to post updates if I can find an Internet cafe.

Oslo here we come!

Last night, after a few hundred beers, Paul and I were able to book ourselves on an over night ferry to Oslo Norway. It's supposed to be beautiful up there this time of year and it's probably the only chance we'll get to make a trip before school officially starts.

We leave Sunday on an overnight ferry and arrive on Monday morning. We'll spend a few days in Oslo and then ride the train to Burgen before coming home next weekend. Oslo is said to be the most expensive city in the world, so again our expenses will probably be pretty stiff, but hey... we have to do it while we have the chance.

Today I'm going to work on getting a phone and month long Metro pass. Hopefully I can be more productive than yesterday.

Paul's up from Madrid...

Well, after a five hour delay Paul was able to make it up from Madrid and we have been spending the day running around Copenhagen. I still have a lot of things I need to do to get settled in, but last night we put those aside and went out for a long night of drinking. They aren't kidding about expensive either. The beers at a hole in the wall pub are 45 DKK or about $8 US. Today we sat down to have a beer in a near by court yard and again the beers were about $8.50 a pint.

The next four months are definitely going to prove to be an expensive proposition. I'm glad I imported a bottle of Jim Beam... it's worth it's weight in gold!

 

Bike your way to where you want to go...

Bicycle is the popular way to get around in Copenhagen. There are literally thousands of bikes parked on every building wall and in front of every establishment. You have to be careful not to get hit by cyclists with no fear as you are walking down the streets. At night, everyone parks their bikes in front of their buildings with nothing more than a lock that keeps the back tire from moving and somehow no one steals them.

During the summer, Danish women love to where skirts and this still doesn't stop them from getting around on their bikes. They just hop on and gracefully ride around town in their mini skirts on top of their bikes. Amazing.

I think I'm going to stick to walking though. I just don't trust that my bike won't get stolen and when the weather changes, I don't want to be caught riding in the cold.

I made it...

After a long flight I am finally here in Copenhagen. My apartment is adequate, a little dirty, but will do after some cleaning. I will be living in a shared apartment with four other exchange students - 2 girls and 2 guys. The entire apartment building is filled with exchange students, so I have the feeling the next four months could turn out to be a little bit like the "Real World"

The weather is much like Seattle. Today it was in the mid 60s and overcast. I have quickly found that I didn't pack enough of my rain gear and am going to have to get a waterproof jacket and umbrella. It's been raining all day, and from what I understand this is not uncommon. Internet accessibility has been easy, but getting around town has been a little more challenging. We have no vehicle and the public transportation is still a bit of a mystery. I was able to do some grocery shopping and this evening I am planning on having dinner with my new roommates and of course partaking in the Danish tradition of drinking beer.

My classmate, Paul, who will be attending the fall quarter in Madrid will be arriving tomorrow and we are going to try to venture up to Norway this weekend.

Mechanical Problems...

Well, it looks like it's going to be another day in Seattle for me. My flight to Atlanta was delayed this morning because of mechanical problems and therefore I was not going to be in a postion to make my connection to Copenhagen. After three or four hours of work with Delta, it looks like I will just have to try this whole thing again tomorrow.

So, I'll reiterate my last post in saying again... tomorrow I'll be off (fingers crossed).

Tomrrow I'm off...

Tomorrow I'm off to Denmark.

Copenhagen will become my home base for the next four months as I attend the University of Copenhagen Business School.

If all goes as planned myself and my classmate Paul will be hopping around Norway by next weekend. Other trips already on the tentative itinerary: Paris, Italy, Madrid, and Munich for Octoberfest.

Stay tuned... it should be an interesting close to 2006.  

Kingman in the News again...

Firefighters shot at for not helping cat

Associated Press Aug. 19, 2006 02:38 PM

KINGMAN, Ariz. - A man angry at firefighters who refused to rescue a cat from a tree was arrested after he started shooting at the fire crew, officials said. Jeffrey Cullen, 58, was charged with four felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Mohave County Sheriff's spokeswoman Trish Carter said. A three-person fire crew went to Cullen's home Thursday when he reported a tree fire, but found no blaze, Hualapai Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Sandy Edwards said. Instead, Cullen told firefighters he wanted a cat rescued from his tree and knew they would only respond to a fire call, Edwards said. A battalion chief told Cullen to call animal control or wait for the cat to get hungry and come down. Cullen apparently didn't like the response, Edwards said. "He went back into the house, got a small black revolver and came outside shooting," she said. The firefighters and a 12-year-old boy who had come to see the fire truck ran for their lives, Edwards said. No one was injured. Deputies arrested Cullen after a brief standoff and struggle.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0819shotsfired-ON.html

Kingman Goes National

I caught this Tuesday morning on CNBC's Squak Box and I was laughing so hard I had to get it on video. So with a little help from my Tivo and my fellow IBM pals, I was able to post this snipit on YouTube.

What a character to represent good old K-Town. Enjoy.

Back to the blogosphere

I'm back. The first year of business school is now behind me and I am just finishing up my summer internship at IBM.

From here I'm off to the University of Copenhagen Business School in Denmark for my fall quarter. I will be there for the next four months, so I plan on having the dirty martini fired up to log the trip.

Stay tuned!