Tents with Windows and 1 Liter Steins...

The other day a couple of friends and I took this quiz found about 75 things to do before you die. The list had quite a few things on it (well, 75 to be exact), and as it turns out I have already complete 29 of them. One item that was not there, though an argument based on personal experience could be made for its inclusion, was taking part in Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Yes, what I am implying is that I have experienced, in person, the real Oktoberfest. I am sure some of you already knew this, as I have posted many, many pictures both on Flickr and on Facebook, but I thought that I would still try and recount the experience a bit.

And I think that that is the best word to describe it, an "experience". Before going in I did not know what to expect. I knew all of the stereotypes about how there would be lots of tourists, no Germans, lots of messy drunks, etc. and to be honest, that wasnt exactly my idea of a good time. But as the weekend went on I was pleasantly surprised by the event.

Our (myself and four other friends from Uni here in Oslo) trip started with a flight into Frankfurt, Germany on Friday afternoon. For those who are wondering, no, Frankfurt is not really that close to Munich. In fact it is a few hundred kilometers north west, so we rented a car (a Fiat Punto to be exact) and set off down the German Autobahn with a map and a vague idea of where to go...and since I was the only person among the 5 of us who drives on the right side of the road at home, I was the only person among the 5 of us who was going to be driving while in Germany. After 4+ hours of flying down the Autobahn (in many areas there are no speed limits, so I was free to drive as fast as the car would allow) at an average of 90+ mph, we finally arrived in the Munich suburb where we would be staying, Dachau. I suppose I should qualify that statement, for the first night (and really the entire weekend), we were not exactly sure where we would be staying. We had a friend of a friend who we thought we might be able to stay with....but in all reality we were prepared to sleep in the Fiat. Luckily the friend of a friend came through and we had a roof to sleep under for the weekend (even if it meant sharing single beds).

After arriving in Dachau late Friday night, we were up early on Saturday and into Munich to get in line for one of the famous beer tents (my alarm went off at 6:30 AM and we were in line at 8 AM and beer was first served at noon). You might ask, why get up so early just to stand in line? Well in order to truly experience Oktoberfest, it is imperative that you find a seat at a table inside a beer tent, for it is inside these tents where the traditional atmosphere of the festival is found. The "tents" are massive structures that are really more like temporary buildings (they take 4 months to set up and 1 month to take down), and each one can hold at least 1,000 people, most of who are dressed in traditional German dress, also known as lederhosen (the amount of traditionally dressed Germans depends entirely on the tent you go in...we sought out the tents with more Germans to get a more traditional atmosphere). Some tents have bands playing in the middle, there is dancing both on the ground and on the tables, there are different kinds of food (both traditional German and other) being served, lots of singing, and of course there is beer. Each tent is run by one German beer company, so each tent is serving a different kind of beer....but it is not just any beer, it is really good beer...and it comes in large quantities (the beer is served in "steins" or 1 liter mugs, and the waiters or waitresses carry them out by the dozen...a very impessive feat considering I had trouble picking up 5 at once, much less 12). As I have been in Europe and tried different kinds of beer, some good and some bad...but nothing compares to the beer served at Oktoberfest. It is far and away the best beer I have ever had (granted my beer tasting experience is relatively low...but I have a feeling that I have now reached the pinnacle of beer quality and it is all down hill from here). Each brew was a full, smooth, beautiful tasting beer that went down very nicely. So as you might be able to imagine, with a beer in hand and lederhosen clad Germans all around, the atmosphere was a lot of fun.

In addition to the beer tents at the Oktoberfest ground, there is also a massive carnival taking place (again, see pictures). There are more rides, carnival games, lights, and giant stuffed bears than you can shake a stein at...I would imagine that it was something like the Minnesota or Wisconsin State Fair, only it was taking place concurrently with one of the largest beer festivals in the world. Now, some of you may be wondering, did I go on any rides? And the answer is no, I decided given the amount of food and beer I consumed, that any ride where I am being spun in circles 60 feet off the ground would be a bad idea (for the record, I think being spun in circles 60 feet off the ground is a bad idea anyways). But despite not going on any rides I still thoroughly enjoyed wandering through this massive carnival people watching (Amy, Andy, Meg, and Sarah this event blew Summerfest out of the water in terms of people to people watch) and taking it all in.

After a very full and eventful day, we made our way back to Dachau for a good nights sleep, only to get up and do it all again on Sunday. Which sounds crazy I know, but in the grand scheme of things we were only at Oktoberfest for 2 days out of the three weeks it goes on. And yes they were action packed, carbohydrate filled days, but my motto is that you only live once, so I could not pass up this opportunity to experience a German traditional festival....and thats what it was...an experience.

"home"

Over the past few years my definition of the word "home" has changed, morphed, and matured to a point now where it is much different than what it used to be.

In the days leading up to my departure for college my freshman year, I had a "mental breakdown" of sorts as I came to the realization that "home" as I had always known it was about to change. I was leaving the neighborhood, the street, the bedroom, the city, the people, the lifestyle, etc. that I had always known, loved, and felt safe in for a new city with a dorm room where my lifestyle and friends would surely be different from anything I had ever known. At that moment I thought that I would never really have a "home" again until the day some time down the road when I got married, had kids, bought a house, etc. I thought that I would never be able to consider a different place home (of course my Mom, being the loving and concerned parent she is and was, assured me that I always had a home, that being the house she lived in...thanks Mom)...and at that time in my life, as a not even college freshman, such notions were terrifying. However it did not take long for those fears and notions of "home" to be written off as ill-conceived.

As I am now living in my third place in as many years, I am comfortable with the idea that "home" does not have to be and is not the two-story, suburban house with a yard to rake and a basketball hoop that was normal of my childhood. I love the fact that my "home" in the last three years has been in three different rooms, in two different cities on two different continents, with different people, cultures and languages...it is simply a testament to where I am in my life.

So as I continue to live that life, my life, here in Oslo...I am happy to say that I have found a new "home". And while my time of residence here may be temporary, my experiences and feelings are true and lifelong....I am right at "home".

Differential Analysis

Climate...
When most people think of Norway their first thought is probably something like "Brrr...sounds cold!"...and while in some parts of Norway that assumption holds very true, here in Oslo the temperatures and weather conditions are fairly similar to those of Minneapolis. Despite Oslo's high latitude of close to N 60 degrees (for those of you who were wondering, the Arctic circle is at roughly N 66 degrees while Minneapolis is at N 45 degrees) the climate here is fairly temperate due to the warmer ocean currents that blow up from the equator. The thing that is different between Minneapolis and Oslo though, is that the seasons change at different times (I cant speak for all seasons I suppose, just the current transition I am experiencing of Summer to Fall). For example, when I arrived in Oslo back at the beginning of August, it was fairly cool almost fall-like temperatures...so much so that I probably could have worn pants from then till now (howewver, me being the tough Midwestern kid that I am I have been able to tough it out in shorts until just recently). And now in mid-September, the leaf changing process is already in full swing whereas back home I am guessing that the temperatures are just recently starting to cool down and the leaves wont really start changing for a few weeks. So essentially Fall is well underway here in Oslo, whereas back home its just starting...


Football...
Back home the college and pro seasons of football are underway...and it is the same in Norway and Europe, but with a different kind of football...American Football (also called Gridiron by my Australian friends) is a relatively unknown sport around this part of the world. Yes they have NFL Europe...but who really pays attention to that? For the most part, Europeans think of American Football as a relatively stupid, slow paced, padded (and thus wussy) version of rugby (for the record, I went to a rugby match of a buddy of mine...it is crazy. I have respect for American Football players, but rugby...whew...anyways...). What really gets them going over here is football (or soccer). The English Premier League (for those of you who dont know, the EPL is one of the best, most respected, and most popular soccer leagues in the world) is obviously very popular in Great Britain (my Irish friend Steve is what I would called a mild mannered fanatic), but even here in Norway it seems as though everyone is paying attention. Norway played Iceland in a World Cup qualifier a few weeks ago and it dominated the papers and news coverage for a week on both ends of the game. Simply put, Europeans love football as much as Americans love football...its just that each continents football is a slightly different shape.


Climate and Football...
I think the reason for bringing up these two differences/similarties, is that I was alerted to them in a strangely culminating fashion this past weekend. On Saturday afternoon my pals and I headed downtown to a local pub to catch the Liverpool vs Manchester United EPL football game. It was a big game between major rivals (think Vikings vs Packers on Monday Night)...and was a lot of fun to watch, especially in a pub full of fans. Amidst it all I realized why it felt so normal...a typical fall Saturday afternoon for me, is spent watching football. It just so happens that this fall, and this football season, are happening European style...and I must say, it is different...but not that different...

Glacier Hunting 1001

(*ed. note: to see pictures from the entire trip...please check out my Flickr page...http://flickr.com/photos/28276957@N03/)

For those of you who dont know, I have been absent from the blogosphere for the last week+ because I was on a compulsory excursion for a class of mine. Now you might ask, "what kind of excursion?" or "what do you mean by excursion?" or "where did this excursion take you?" or "what did you see on this excursion?"...I will be honest in telling you that it will be very difficult to explain exactly what I saw and did...but here goes....

I am taking a class titled Geomorphology of Nordic Countries, which basically means the class is about glaciers and glacial landforms in Norway. When I say glaciers, I mean massive, massive sheets of ice...and when I say glacial landforms, I mean the landforms that are created when a glacier moves over the bedrock such as smoothing of rocks, carving of valleys, moving of boulders, sorting of sediments, deltas formed when the glacier melts, and other physical markers of where a glacier was and how it moved. Glacial landforms are present all over the world, for example just north of Madison, WI is the boundary of the furthest glacial advance of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet that covered almost all of Canada way back in the day. Some of you may have noticed it as you drive north on I-94 between Madison and Minneapolis when the terrain changes from more jagged, fluvial (river carved) shaped landscape (where there was no glacier) to a smooth, rolling hillside landscape where there was a glacier. Anyways, it is signifiers like this that my class intended to find, document and study as we set off for a week-long excursion into South Central Norway.

In order to more fully appreciate the magnificence of the trip that ensued, I might redirect you to a previous post of mine when I was talking about how I didnt have enough adjectives to describe the scenery of the Telemark mountain region (near Notodden) when I visited with Amy earlier this summer...I am being completely honest when I say that that experience doesnt hold a candle to what I saw last week. The landscape, scenery, glaciers, mountains, fjords, glacial landscapes, wildlife, etc. was so unbelievably spectacular that no words or pictures can ever truly convey. Now yes, I was on this trip with a class...but no it definetely did not feel like school...in fact it was mostly just driving around to different amazing sites and experiencing Norway to a degree that I never would have gotten on my own.

Our trip started on Monday, September 1st. On this first day we drove for most of the morning (we left at 9:30 AM) and early afternoon, arriving in the Flåmsdalen region in late afternoon. We stayed in the little town of Flåm, which is located at the far end of Aurlandsfjorden. Flåm is known as the start point of a train journey that takes you up into the mountains (according to my Dad the steepest set of train tracks in the world). We did a little geology along the way and when we got to the region, but it the day was mostly for driving. However it was not the landforms along the way or the mountains we passed through to get there that made the first night so memorable. It was the view that I had from where we were staying that, at the time, was the most beautiful site I had ever seen. I took pictures (the first picture on this post is one of this view), I even took one with me in it...but it legitimately looks like I was put in front of a green screen, or some fake picture...thats how unbelievable it was.

Our second day started off with a bang and never slowed down...after waking up to what I thought was the most beautiful view, we drove up to the top of the adjacent mountain (which is basically part of the fjord), and had another view that was more spectacular than at the bottom. While taking pictures and trying to keep my jaw from hitting the ground, our professor was telling us all sorts of cool facts about the fjord and how it was made, pointing out the U shape of the glacial valleys and the V shape of the fluvial valleys, the difference between the old Tertiary Landscape at the top (mostly flat and plateau-ish) and the newer (remember these landscapes are on a Geologic time scale, so they "newer" still means tens of thousands of years old) Quaternery Landscape down the side of the valley, etc. It was a great way to start the day.

Over the next few hours our trip took us down the other side of the mountain, across a fjord channel on a car ferry, through some more mountains and glacial valleys. We finally ended up in Jostedalen ("dalen" is Norwegian for valley) at the base of Nigardsbreen ("breen" means glacier), a tongue of the big ice sheet Jostedalsbreen.
Again to put it in perspective, I say "tongue of the big ice sheet", but by no means is Nigardsbreen small...in fact, it was the first glacier I had seen up close in person and it was an impressively colossal thing. It is at the far end of a glacial valley with a lake between the entrance road and the glacial edge, thus requiring a boat to get close. One of the cool things about the lake though (other than the fact that its at the base of a massive glacial tongue) is that because it is fed by water rushing out from under the glacier, it is loaded with very fine, clay-like sediments giving the lake a strange, bright blue-green glowing color. ANYways, back to the glacier...did I mention it was big? If any of you have seen a glacier in person you can probably understand, but for those who havent, try and imagine a sheet of ice at least 5 city blocks wide, at least 5 stories tall, that stretches up a mountain side up and out of view...enormous right? In addition to the size, this 5 block by 5 story sheet of ice also has enormous crevasses that glow a magnificent blue that starkly contrasts the dirty white/grey that is the color of most of the surface...pretty cool huh? I thought so...

After the glacier we boated back across the lake and drove on to a little cabin camping place near the town of Skjolden (my cabin was across the street from a water fall...no big deal). In the ensuing two days I would travel to the tops of a couple mountains, see a few more glaciers, go on a hike or two (in both good and bad weather), stay in the towns of Lom and Hjerkinn, and continue to see phenomenal landscapes.

On the 5 day we spent all day hiking in the Stroplsødalen part of Dovrefjell. This part of Norway is especially neat because in addition to the glacially influenced landscape, it is the home to Norwegian population of the "muskus" or musk ox. A musk ox is a prehistoric looking cross between a bull and an buffalo that has imposing horns and a thick skull, which are both used when they crash heads together in territorial or mate inspired battles. Musk ox are mostly found in Greenland, but there is a small population of roughly 200 in Norway, of which the majority live in Stroplsødalen. So luckily we got see nearly twenty of them at different times throughout the day from both far and too close. You have to be careful around muskus though, because if you get closer than 200 meters they can get unnerved and charge, at which point you are essentially skrewed. Luckily though, the one that we stumbled upon as we hiked over a small ridge (we were probably 75 m away) decided that going back to her herd across the river was more interesting than raveging 11 University of Oslo students...other than that brief episode of uncertainty, the rest of the day was filled with a wonderful hike in a glacially carved and molded valley. With mountains all around and wild blueberries growing everywhere, I dont think I could have asked for a better day.

On our last night we stayed in the small town of Grimsbu and essentially headed straight home the next day. All in all, the "school sponsored, educational excursion" was truly amazing. To see the landscapes and scenery I saw is the exact reason that I came to Norway. And it is a trip that I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life.