Scandinavia Part One: On the track

Nov 6, 2006 12:05 PM

If my memory serves I left all of you in Paris. What a wonderful place to leave so many people. But I'm afraid that only a few of you know French, so I'd best bring you to Brussels. And away we go.

After Paris Jack and I took a night train to Frankfurt Germany. It was odd and circumstantial and we only spent one night there. It is , more appropriately called Bankfurt. Which makes sense considering Frankfurt is the financial center of Germany.

From Bankfurt we took a train to Brussels. What a wonderful place! And boy can they make waffles! It's like I'm here and there's chocolate and goodies and friends! We didn't spend any time in Brussels because we had to be on our way to Kristina's house. Kristina is a friend of my father's from his Up With People Days. Up With People is a non-profit organization that tours around doing community service and performing shows promoting unity. Jack and I stayed at Kristina's house for a few days.
The first day I went in to the university town near Kristina's house. I got my first Belgian waffle. They call them Brussels Waffles.
The next day Jack and I went in to Brussels for all the touristy stuff. We saw the Grand Place, got waffles, chocolate, frites (french fries, which are actually from Belgium). I ate all day long. It was wonderful.
The day after that, Jack and I headed off for Copenhagen. Jack had the best idea to go as far north as our Eurail passes could take us. Which turned out to be Narvic, Norway! We stayed a night in Copenhagen and saw the sights and grabbed Shawarma sandwiches. Two traveling travelers can subsist for quite some time solely on Shawarma sandwiches. An odd goings on was going on in Copenhagen. I couldn't figure out what the hustle and bustle was for. Quite some event was a foot. There was a giant setup being set up in the town center. Turns out the events were all for the European MTV awards.
That next day was sometime during the week that was before this one. We tried to get to Stockholm, but apparently on Sunday everybody in Sweden goes back to Stockholm. Which means you have a few million people using the rail system all headed the same place we were. So much said, Jack and I ended up spending an extra night in Copenhagen. Shawarma again.
We woke up on Monday and headed for Malmo, the jumping off point to Stockholm. A few hours later we were both on a train headed for Narvic. I was so happy to wake up the next morning on the train and see snow! Snow is meant to be seen, and cherished. Snow is cold and white and wonderfully delicious. I was extra careful on this trip not to waste all the sights to be seen. I spent hours staring out at the arctic landscape. It wasn't nearly as barren as I thought it would be.
We arrived in Narvic at 1 in the afternoon, only 20 some even hours since we left Stockholm. Narvic , Norway has to be the coolest Norwegian town I have ever been to. The Norwegian fjords, by the way are everything anyone has ever told you. Unless they told you that by drinking water from the fjords you gain infinite wisdom. In which case the Norwegian fjords would not be everything anyone has ever told you, but merely almost everything anyone has ever told you. Those dark blue waters. Those vast cliffs, falling, tumblin' into the ocean. The deadly beautiful cold they are stocked up on. So blue, almost black. Black and blue waters. Never waste a moment that could be spent experiencing something beautiful. Sweden and Norway were that experience, and for me an emotional one.
Jack and I spent the night in the nicest Hostel yet. Not that there were hordes of diverse people there, just that we had a balcony. And a kitchen. And a T.V. And very nice showers. And big comfy Down comforters. Duvets. Why is it a guy like me knows what a Duvet is?
I spent several times that night running outside to see if I could catch a glimpse of the Aurora. Around eight I started losing hope. Then this guy came into the T.V. room and said the lights were in their full glory. At first, I stepped outside and though there was a strange line of clouds stretching across the sky. But then the cloud began to dance. And dance it did! Changing green. Then this wonderful green cloud took on a more Northern light look.

If there's any other way to describe the Aurora Borealis without being surreal I'm not sure what it is. I guess we'll take a ride on a surreal boat for a while. It's time to set the scene. It's oh so cool. Slow at first, and then setup for the grand finale. Snow and ice cover the streets where you stand. You can't feel the first toe right of your big toe. Later tonight you'll have to massage feeling back into it. There are arctic houses all around. Arctic houses do not differ so much from other houses around the world, except from their location. So here you are! You've made it! Thank God. Really, thank God or thank something or someone, because it would have been impossible for you to get here on your own. I thanked God. It's been dark since three o clock this afternoon. The sunset lasted for at least an hour. The sky is very dark. Very black, a few stars are shining, but what are stars compared to the sight you're about to see. Now stare up at that black sky. Maybe you imagine constellations. I imagined infinity. Are you ready? Now, Imagine butterflies. Now, Imagine those butterflies lose their bodies, to blackness. Don't lose me now. So, bodiless butterflies flapping around the arctic sky. Giant butterflies. If you will, and please do because it will be well worth your time, imagine that these amazing creatures' wings have turned into vertical rays of sunlight. These rays are of various lengths and sizes. Take a break, maybe grab some popcorn and a coke cuz it's about to get crazy in the Northern skies. Ready? Bam! Just like that the butterflies and their divine wings start to dance. The light of their wings turns the most irradiate green. A dark, sometimes bright, haunting and somehow celestial green. They obeyed no laws of physics I'm aware of, they just danced in circles. Dancing butterflies? It's true. Maybe sometime some of you will get a chance to head up to the arctic circle and catch some rye in the northern sky. It's a great thing to see. If I learned one thing that night, it's that a beautiful moment should never be spent doing anything other than taking part in it. Unfortunately now we have to get off the surreal boat, and go back inside the Hostel. It's -15c, and I can't feel my face from staring at the lights for so long. Never have I slept with a greater feeling of life than that night I spent in Narvic, Norway.

I don't remember having any dreams that night, but my journey was far from over.