rain in larvik. larvik, the town which gustav mahler said was “very nice”, the town where f. melius christiansen grew up and received his musical education, the town which has been a haven for artists and artisans for years and years, the town which supposedly has the best weather in norway. larvik, the town which just happened to have the abnormal rainfall for this time of year.
and so here i am, spending my last night in larvik attached to a computer recording my thoughts from the day. why? because the only other thing to do on a saturday night in larvik is go to the bars or go to the gentleman’s club, and i don’t feel like doing either.
the day started out very quietly. i woke up to the alarm clock i set, fixed the broken slat in my bed, got up and somewhat dressed, contemplated running in the rain, and went down to breakfast instead. after another fantastic norwegian breakfast, i came back upstairs, took a shower, got dressed (for real this time) and went downstairs to go on a short city tour of larvik.
we ended up at a beautiful memorial for the men and women who lost their lives at sea in world war I and world war II, and i took a number of pictures of the fjord that this memorial was built next to. i think that this was the exact moment that i fell in love with larvik. my love affair deepened as we drove back into town and our tour guide/sponsor told us about the apartments that developers are beginning to build for artists, and how they will afford a great view of the sea and the countryside. my love for larvik further deepened after walking into one of 3 wonderful grocery stores, and was culminated when i was told about the wonderful weather and the 30 kilometers of bicycle trails and foot paths that run along the coastline.
chances are that i will never live here. norway is an expensive country to live in, and obtaining norwegian citizenship in order to reap the benefits of the national healthcare/social security system is next to impossible. however, if it ever becomes a possibility and nicole agrees to it, i’m taking her, moving to larvik, and naming my children lars and helga.
ok. i’m going to call it a night and try to post these utilizing the 3 minutes of free wireless that i can get before i have to start paying for it. peace, and behave.
