ON TO NORWAY

On my last blog post about our vacation, I ended with us at the Edmonton airport during a three hour flight delay.  So on from there.  We were off to Iceland at 9:30 pm for a six hour flight to Reykjevik.  We were both tired but didn't really sleep  much. We did some reading, I had snacks along to munch on and the flight was uneventful.  

We arrived on time and had a new experience of getting to the terminal.  Instead of the plane pulling up and unloading there, several buses pulled up to the plane on the runway, we proceeded down the steps and headed for the nearest bus.  Some got a seat, the rest of us were standing and hanging on to a pole or a strap above.

When we got to the terminal we needed to get new boarding passes as we had missed our connection to Bergen.  Many people had the same problem of missing a flight so we got in line at a service desk.  After a half hour we were told that we should be upstairs if we were waiting for boarding passes!  So we headed up the stairs and got into an even longer line up, with no place to sit and no time to have a meal.  The line was very slow moving and I felt sorry for the parents with young children.  I felt they should have been given first chance in the line up, as usually happens when boarding a plane, but no mercy here! 

 After about an hour and a half of this,  I reached over to Alan and the next thing I knew I was coming to on the floor!  I had fainted and was getting quite a bit of attention.  Fortunately there was a doctor in the lineup a few feet behind us.  She had come up and asked if she could help.  (I knew none of this until Alan told me later!)  Two policeman soon appeared from their office in the terminal.  They had medical bags but weren't too sure what to do with them.  The Dr. took out what she needed and took my blood pressure and blood sugar levels.  I had come to by now and was relieved when she said that both were normal.  An airport attendant brought a wheelchair for me, took care of our boarding passes and whisked me off to a taxi with Alan close behind.  We were taken to the Health Hotel. It seemed a strange name for a hotel but it is connected to the Blue Lagoon and spa activities.  We were glad to have a comfortable room and the airline also provided a pizza lunch and later a Tsai meal!  So we were well taken care of!  This hotel had previously been U.S. army barracks and had been remodelled and now used as a hotel.  It wasn't fancy but very comfortable and the price was right since it was complimentary!

We slept well and were ready to board the plane to Bergen the next morning.  The best was yet to come - our boarding passes had been upgraded to Saga, which was first class.  That was a new experience for both of us.  I told Alan "I could get used to this"  His reply was "Don't!" We were given wet, warm washcloths to freshen up, orange juice and then served a tasty hot breakfast.  Instead of three seats on each side of the plane, there were two spacious ones with extra leg room.  The two hour flight to Bergen went by quickly and soon we were landing in Norway, a day late but safe and sound.

Our four suitcases had arrived with us and soon we were going through customs.  Icelandair allows two suitcases per person as part of your fare, so we had one with mostly gifts for Elly Clara and Nora and the other was things for Todd and Kristy that they were missing and craving - like red licorice, Cheezies, different kinds of tea, Velveeta cheese, some volleyball items for Todd and so on. We were quickly passed through and our passports weren't even stamped!

Then we hailed a taxi and were taken to the bus depot in downtown Bergen. The driver was friendly and told us interesting facts about the route as we passed.  It was a bit chilly as we waited for the bus to Førde on a bench outdoors.  We could have gone inside but it was easier to stay put with four suitcases to take along!  We had a nice visit with a college student from the area and soon our bus pulled up.   We paid the driver with a credit card.  It was good to be a pensioner as their tickets are half price.

We enjoyed the three hour bus ride with a few stops along the way.  We drove by several shelters where country people could wait for the bus.  The bus also stopped in a few small towns.  We took a ferry across a river and drove through more than twenty tunnels. The longest was over seven kilometres.  Before we knew it the bus was  pulling into Førde and there were Nora and Todd waiting for us at the station.  Nora was waving the Norwegian flag to welcome us. So good to see them again.  Then we were off to our first visit to the Johnson home at Innlejda 7B and our first visit with three week old Elly Clara!

I will take a break and tell you about life in Førde in my next post.  There will be more pictures next time!

I will add a bit about life on the farm during harvest.  Clare farms the land at home here as well as other Johnson land six miles east of here.  He also rents some land which is west of here about 19 miles.  I drove out west with supper tonight, the first time this harvest season.  There are over twenty oil wells along the road and more being drilled.  Today was a beautiful day, no wind and warm conditions.  The only problem with such ideal conditions was that the dust just hung on the gravel road long after the oil trucks passed by.  We had to really slow down to be able to see after we met one of those big trucks.  

I enjoy supper in the field when the men take time to gather in one spot and visit while they eat.  The combiners prefer to stand and eat after sitting most of the day.  Tonight's menu was lasagne, coleslaw, canned peaches from Crosby (last year's as we missed the peach season this July) and brownies.  Jodi and Abbey also joined us as she brought Carter out to run a combine, met Shauna in Halbrite.  John Porter was helping truck the last two days so he joined the crew of Gerry, Clare and Alan.  Tomorrow Jodi is bringing out KFC for the guys.  

So harvest is progressing after rain delays earlier as well as delays from breakdowns.  But today was a great day - perfect weather and no troubles.  Kirk is coming out tomorrow afternoon and Gerry will have the weekend off.  Our crops this year are durum, lentils, and flax.  Clare is pleased with the yields after hot, dry weather in July and then some rain in August.  More crop reports next time!