- Pub (Friday night)
We assembled an impromptu 'women in math' gathering at the suggestion of one of the speakers at the conference/workshop.
There were about 10-12 of us who went along. We went to the one bar in town, Strandstryken (beach something?). There was a choice of two beers, the ever-present local beer (Hansa), for 69 NOK (~$13.5 USD) or an irish red for 72 NOK. I opted to splurge for the slightly more expensive one for a little variety.
Conversation included making a list of full professors in homotopy theory who are women, in the US and in Europe. The French from Nice came in to the bar, one 'hiding' in his leather jacket and exageratedly sneaking past us to the back of the bar.
- Hiking at night (Tuesday night)
I ended up going on a hike with a professor who was going to leave the
conference early. There was plenty of light at 21:00 when we started, and I finally got back to the 'bungalow' at midnight.
Brightly lit nighttime hike:
From Hike at
night
It was the mountain that I had missed the hike for, or the one adjacent. The thick coniferous forest blocked some of the light, which was already a bit less plentiful than normal due to clouds and fog. The path was very wet, muddy and slippery. We crossed a creek and a point where the path had become a little stream itself (which thankfully didn't persist). We spent the time talking about applications of my thesis results, which was challenging while also looking for sure footing.
The lake (Osvatnet) atop the mountain was mainly obscured by fog:
From Hike at
night
Most of the way back to the start of the trail, I mis-stepped and slid down the trail a bit, getting my pantleg coated in mud. That was the point I decided that I had to do some laundry, which was rather straightforward once someone explained the settings. The dryer was a 'condensation' dryer. This meant that you had to empty out this giant container of water before every usage. There was also ample space to hang up clothes to line dry and a blower/fan to help aid in this.
- Nordfjordeid to Bergen I have a small album of pictures of the bus/ferry ride back to Bergen, here.
The bus left at way-too-early o'clock. Bright and sunny already, 6:15am.
The mountains and fjord as we bussed along:
From Travel from
Nordfjordeid
We stopped several times because of various people getting motion sick. I sat in the front of the bus, and stared straight ahead, and was fine.
Because pictures were hard to take on the bus, I took a small movie:
From Travel from Nordfjordeid
Views from the second ferry:
From Travel from Nordfjordeid
From Travel from Nordfjordeid
- Bergen and on
We got to town early, so I hung around in Bergen again, this time with some Belgian group-theory PhD students, and one of the speakers from the conference who was full of infectious optimism and good cheer. There were stops for espresso, a meandering walk through town, and a visit to the Bergen Kunstmuseum (art museum), which was kind of 'eh', at least the part of it that we saw.
I really enjoyed the toilet signs at the Bergen airport:
From Travel from Nordfjordeid
Showing posts with label Bergen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bergen. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Norway, the last bit and piece.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Norway: Day 3-Rain rain rain rain rain.
[[EDIT]]: I now have pictures up of the room in the hostel I stayed in. They're in the album you can reach by clicking the following:
I stayed up pretty late (my brain fog cleared around 11pm or so, which was
helpful for writing a talk) and got up around 7:30am local time (CEST). The sunlight I got upon opening the blackout shade was very bright, and really helped my mood and general ability to wake up. Walked to the department and got in ~15 minutes before my talk. Plenty of time for more delicious coffee. Again, ate some grab & go yogurt for breakfast. Talk went well.
Lunch was at another student cafeteria. Fish stew, salad, fresh bread and an apple. Again, 90 NOK. Some other people managed 45, so maybe if I had gotten the thinner soup or more salad. Eh.
The afternoon was a blur of chatting. It started raining quite heavily and hasn't stopped at all since. Like their shades, Norwegans take their rain seriously. They dress sensibly for the weather, some people walking around in rain pants, even, all in gortex (or similar) rain jackets. I was told that there's a Norwegian saying that there's no bad weather, just lack of preparedness. They do have a good point. If I added a rain-proof bag, pants, coat and galoshes to my inventory, I would be just fine here. I've borrowed an umbrella, and still ended up with pants soaked from hip to ankle. Thank goodness my sneakers are waterproof.
Dinner was pizza at the student cafeteria annex/afterhours cafe. Flatbread, cheese wasn't mozerella. Also had the local beer, Hansa. The alcohol here is priced by the government, based on alcohol content (increasing as the %alc/volume increases). The cheapest beer is the local beer, which was definitely a light beer.
After sloshing through the rain some more, I discovered my new room-mate, who is a Seattle-area native and current Portland resident. Her first trip to Europe. She works at a brewery, and has had a hard time adjusting to the cost of beer here. I suggested she try Belgium some time. We talked for a while about Norway and travel.
Thoughts/comments on Norwegians and their government:
I learned recently that nutella is fixing to be banned in the EU because it's too sweet. This is keeping with Norwegian views. The cost of alcohol is so much, and scales the way it does, because it's considered a drug and they don't want their citizens to become alcoholics. Similar idea with cigarettes; not many Norwegians smoke. They *do* however use snuff, which is banned in the rest of the EU.
I'm told that any time a person's labor is added to a product, the cost goes considerably up, which is what causes bakery sandwiches to not be as cheap as they were in Amsterdam or Brussels.
Cars/gas: Despite being an oil-producing country, Norway heavily taxes gasoline. I think it's 3 or 4 euro/liter, but I wouldn't swear by it. In the long run, this makes sense, since they don't anticipate their supply to last longer than 50 years. The price should discourage use and make it last longer. They also make it very hard to get a driver's license. Also makes sense -- most of the driving will be done in the dark, the rain, and on bad roads. Cars are horrifically expensive. I was told that 2 professors' salaries combined is not enough to afford a new car here.
 |
| From BERGEN, NORWAY |
I stayed up pretty late (my brain fog cleared around 11pm or so, which was
helpful for writing a talk) and got up around 7:30am local time (CEST). The sunlight I got upon opening the blackout shade was very bright, and really helped my mood and general ability to wake up. Walked to the department and got in ~15 minutes before my talk. Plenty of time for more delicious coffee. Again, ate some grab & go yogurt for breakfast. Talk went well.
Lunch was at another student cafeteria. Fish stew, salad, fresh bread and an apple. Again, 90 NOK. Some other people managed 45, so maybe if I had gotten the thinner soup or more salad. Eh.
The afternoon was a blur of chatting. It started raining quite heavily and hasn't stopped at all since. Like their shades, Norwegans take their rain seriously. They dress sensibly for the weather, some people walking around in rain pants, even, all in gortex (or similar) rain jackets. I was told that there's a Norwegian saying that there's no bad weather, just lack of preparedness. They do have a good point. If I added a rain-proof bag, pants, coat and galoshes to my inventory, I would be just fine here. I've borrowed an umbrella, and still ended up with pants soaked from hip to ankle. Thank goodness my sneakers are waterproof.
Dinner was pizza at the student cafeteria annex/afterhours cafe. Flatbread, cheese wasn't mozerella. Also had the local beer, Hansa. The alcohol here is priced by the government, based on alcohol content (increasing as the %alc/volume increases). The cheapest beer is the local beer, which was definitely a light beer.
After sloshing through the rain some more, I discovered my new room-mate, who is a Seattle-area native and current Portland resident. Her first trip to Europe. She works at a brewery, and has had a hard time adjusting to the cost of beer here. I suggested she try Belgium some time. We talked for a while about Norway and travel.
Thoughts/comments on Norwegians and their government:
I learned recently that nutella is fixing to be banned in the EU because it's too sweet. This is keeping with Norwegian views. The cost of alcohol is so much, and scales the way it does, because it's considered a drug and they don't want their citizens to become alcoholics. Similar idea with cigarettes; not many Norwegians smoke. They *do* however use snuff, which is banned in the rest of the EU.
I'm told that any time a person's labor is added to a product, the cost goes considerably up, which is what causes bakery sandwiches to not be as cheap as they were in Amsterdam or Brussels.
Cars/gas: Despite being an oil-producing country, Norway heavily taxes gasoline. I think it's 3 or 4 euro/liter, but I wouldn't swear by it. In the long run, this makes sense, since they don't anticipate their supply to last longer than 50 years. The price should discourage use and make it last longer. They also make it very hard to get a driver's license. Also makes sense -- most of the driving will be done in the dark, the rain, and on bad roads. Cars are horrifically expensive. I was told that 2 professors' salaries combined is not enough to afford a new car here.
Norway: Day 2--Sightseeing.
Photos:
I woke up, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, with some whimsical notion of subsisting on bread and cheese since (clearly) these must be affordable (not true, unless you get the subsidized bread, which costs about 1 USD). I ended up at the math department at the university here, after checking my email. I walked in past the train station, where I stopped for breakfast -- a grab & go fruit-flavored yogurt with muesli to mix in, which came with an awesome foldable spoon. Maybe I'll snap a picture later. The department here is very nice, as are the people, a few of whom showed me around at various parts of the day. We had lunch at the student cafeteria. An apple, salad, and half sandwich ran me 90 NOK, which is about 15 USD. Pricey, but I also am willing to suffer a little cost-wise to make sure I get some vegetables.
We palled around the department a bit, and I agreed to give a talk on (surprise!) Wednesday, since Thursday is a holiday and the day I leave Bergen. There's a really nice coffee machine here in their department, and I spent some time chatting with the grad students here and drinking coffee. Then the sun came out, blue skies. I was sort of ordered out of the office I'm co-squatting in, and one of the grad students showed me around. He's from Chile.
Things I learned: Norway has historically been a poor country. So, their museums are similarly poor, no grand treasures. Log books of shipping industry, that kind of thing. A great to-do to paint a vivid picture of a terribly dull life (paraphrasing my guide). We went down to Bryggen, the UNESCO world heritage site in Bergen, which is a pier/shipping era dating way back. It is falling apart, in an amazing fashion. Also, Norway has developed a reputation for granting asylum to refugees. As a result of Pinochet in Chile, Norway's 3rd largest racial group is Chilean.
We also went up the Fløyen Funicular (mountain elevator), which sadly did not have any kind of advertising campaign about putting the Fun in Funicular. This takes you to the top of the mountain named Fløyen The top of the mountain was very nice, and we walked around a little, and then down. The path let out at one of the most expensive place to live in Bergen. Close to the city center, at the bottom of Fløyen, and, most importantly it gets lots of sunlight. The houses, on the outside at least, look roughly like the houses everywhere else. Some have peeling paint on the siding. Interesting. Lots of runners. The town swelled with people out to enjoy the brief good weather.
We finished up by rejoining with several other people and having dinner at an italian place. I had Rudolfsuppe (Reindeer soup), which was delicious. Had a base of a tastier version of cream of mushroom-type soup.
The night of course finished with my prepping for the talk the next morning.
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| BERGEN, NORWAY (the album) |
I woke up, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, with some whimsical notion of subsisting on bread and cheese since (clearly) these must be affordable (not true, unless you get the subsidized bread, which costs about 1 USD). I ended up at the math department at the university here, after checking my email. I walked in past the train station, where I stopped for breakfast -- a grab & go fruit-flavored yogurt with muesli to mix in, which came with an awesome foldable spoon. Maybe I'll snap a picture later. The department here is very nice, as are the people, a few of whom showed me around at various parts of the day. We had lunch at the student cafeteria. An apple, salad, and half sandwich ran me 90 NOK, which is about 15 USD. Pricey, but I also am willing to suffer a little cost-wise to make sure I get some vegetables.
We palled around the department a bit, and I agreed to give a talk on (surprise!) Wednesday, since Thursday is a holiday and the day I leave Bergen. There's a really nice coffee machine here in their department, and I spent some time chatting with the grad students here and drinking coffee. Then the sun came out, blue skies. I was sort of ordered out of the office I'm co-squatting in, and one of the grad students showed me around. He's from Chile.
Things I learned: Norway has historically been a poor country. So, their museums are similarly poor, no grand treasures. Log books of shipping industry, that kind of thing. A great to-do to paint a vivid picture of a terribly dull life (paraphrasing my guide). We went down to Bryggen, the UNESCO world heritage site in Bergen, which is a pier/shipping era dating way back. It is falling apart, in an amazing fashion. Also, Norway has developed a reputation for granting asylum to refugees. As a result of Pinochet in Chile, Norway's 3rd largest racial group is Chilean.
 |
| Bryggen falling down, From BERGEN, NORWAY |
We also went up the Fløyen Funicular (mountain elevator), which sadly did not have any kind of advertising campaign about putting the Fun in Funicular. This takes you to the top of the mountain named Fløyen The top of the mountain was very nice, and we walked around a little, and then down. The path let out at one of the most expensive place to live in Bergen. Close to the city center, at the bottom of Fløyen, and, most importantly it gets lots of sunlight. The houses, on the outside at least, look roughly like the houses everywhere else. Some have peeling paint on the siding. Interesting. Lots of runners. The town swelled with people out to enjoy the brief good weather.
 |
| view from Fløyen, From BERGEN, NORWAY |
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| Forrest on Fløyen, From BERGEN, NORWAY |
We finished up by rejoining with several other people and having dinner at an italian place. I had Rudolfsuppe (Reindeer soup), which was delicious. Had a base of a tastier version of cream of mushroom-type soup.
The night of course finished with my prepping for the talk the next morning.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Norway! To Bergen.
The first few pictures I took were just before 11 at night. I was worried it was too dark for them to take. Apparently, instead the lighting was perfect. I will have to keep this in mind.
En route to Europe:
I had the good fortune of noticing that another passenger had a poster with words like hyperbolic and manifold. Turns out, he's a grad student at Utrecht (first leg was Chi->Amsterdam). We talked for about 5 or so hours on the flight, which had hardly any people on it at all. I noticed when I visited Amsterdam that Dutch people are on par with Americans in terms of loudness, and both he and I had to be shushed because people were sleeping. It really helped pass the time.
When I got off the flight and looked for my connection (Amsterdam->Oslo, then Oslo->Bergen), there were no such flights for my airline. Thus commenced some searching. The Amsterdam airport, by the way --very nice. They have these transfer stations where you can get your boarding pass. I go to one, and they say the flight's cancelled. I then have to convince the ladies at border control (there's an 'international' region of the airport for people with connecting flights, which removes the need to do customs when they land. Pretty neat) that I should be allowed through because I have to go down to the departures desk (think: place you check in for your flight when you first arrive at the airport) even though I don't have a boarding pass.
I get in line, and this was a rather amazing sight. All of these people had had this flight canceled, and they were waiting in a sensible line, leaving breaks for the foot traffic at the airport to get around them. They were calm and polite. Everyone got re-booked. I also got a voucher for 15 euros worth of lunch at the airport, which I spent on smoked salmon and toast. One of the discussions on the plane was how much better European airlines are in terms of customer relations/service, which surprised my conversational companion.
I was re-routed through Copenhagen. The airport is super swank. I think they must have renovated it in the last 3 years. I also enjoyed people-watching at there as well as Amsterdam-Schipol. Very pretty people. Lots of tall, lithe, blue-eyed and platinum haired types. Fashionably dressed people with their fashionable toddlers.
Bergen!
Bergen is this mess of mountains, hills, and inlets/fjords/mini-fjords. Lots of ever-greens. Lots of drizzle. Everything's green. I'm looking forward to hiking around their mountains. They are comparable-seeming at least to the sandias (around albuquerque), but the setting is much more similar to Vancouver, although I don't think they really have any beaches.
The guesthouse I'm in is nice. Nicer than than the ones I'd been in before. Pricey rel continental europe, but the best cost here. Nice enough beds (but we're on the top floor, so the ceiling is a maze of eaves. I can't stand up straight directly adjacent to my bed.
Walked around. Ate a small tapa at Bryggen. <1 cup of fish stew cost me ~$10 USD (55 Nok). I also bought a 'pizza wrap' (flatbread pizza folded up) for the same price, much more substantial. I discovered that they do not necessarily charge for water. Also, their tap water is just fine.
I've found several grocery stores. Fruits and veggies are pretty close in price to back home, actually. $2-3 for a big head of broccoli, etc. Apples at $4/kg. There's a fish (and fruit and veggies) market daily.
 |
| From BERGEN, NORWAY |
 |
| From BERGEN, NORWAY |
 |
| From BERGEN, NORWAY |
En route to Europe:
I had the good fortune of noticing that another passenger had a poster with words like hyperbolic and manifold. Turns out, he's a grad student at Utrecht (first leg was Chi->Amsterdam). We talked for about 5 or so hours on the flight, which had hardly any people on it at all. I noticed when I visited Amsterdam that Dutch people are on par with Americans in terms of loudness, and both he and I had to be shushed because people were sleeping. It really helped pass the time.
When I got off the flight and looked for my connection (Amsterdam->Oslo, then Oslo->Bergen), there were no such flights for my airline. Thus commenced some searching. The Amsterdam airport, by the way --very nice. They have these transfer stations where you can get your boarding pass. I go to one, and they say the flight's cancelled. I then have to convince the ladies at border control (there's an 'international' region of the airport for people with connecting flights, which removes the need to do customs when they land. Pretty neat) that I should be allowed through because I have to go down to the departures desk (think: place you check in for your flight when you first arrive at the airport) even though I don't have a boarding pass.
I get in line, and this was a rather amazing sight. All of these people had had this flight canceled, and they were waiting in a sensible line, leaving breaks for the foot traffic at the airport to get around them. They were calm and polite. Everyone got re-booked. I also got a voucher for 15 euros worth of lunch at the airport, which I spent on smoked salmon and toast. One of the discussions on the plane was how much better European airlines are in terms of customer relations/service, which surprised my conversational companion.
I was re-routed through Copenhagen. The airport is super swank. I think they must have renovated it in the last 3 years. I also enjoyed people-watching at there as well as Amsterdam-Schipol. Very pretty people. Lots of tall, lithe, blue-eyed and platinum haired types. Fashionably dressed people with their fashionable toddlers.
Bergen!
Bergen is this mess of mountains, hills, and inlets/fjords/mini-fjords. Lots of ever-greens. Lots of drizzle. Everything's green. I'm looking forward to hiking around their mountains. They are comparable-seeming at least to the sandias (around albuquerque), but the setting is much more similar to Vancouver, although I don't think they really have any beaches.
The guesthouse I'm in is nice. Nicer than than the ones I'd been in before. Pricey rel continental europe, but the best cost here. Nice enough beds (but we're on the top floor, so the ceiling is a maze of eaves. I can't stand up straight directly adjacent to my bed.
Walked around. Ate a small tapa at Bryggen. <1 cup of fish stew cost me ~$10 USD (55 Nok). I also bought a 'pizza wrap' (flatbread pizza folded up) for the same price, much more substantial. I discovered that they do not necessarily charge for water. Also, their tap water is just fine.
I've found several grocery stores. Fruits and veggies are pretty close in price to back home, actually. $2-3 for a big head of broccoli, etc. Apples at $4/kg. There's a fish (and fruit and veggies) market daily.
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