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Brenton Kovacs's Travels
9th
Well i wasnt lucky with the lights. I left the apartment around 8pm. It is minus 10c so i have plenty of layers on. The walk to the lake is ok, but i get very warm as its a uphill walk, but i dont expect to stay this warm for long. There are lots of people out skiing along the paths, so i make sure to stay out of their way.
I wade through knee deep snow to get onto the frozen lake to try and get away from the lights along the path. I cannot see any aurora activity, so i take a picture, but there is no activity. I get back onto the path and keep walking north. I walk past the University Observatory with all its Radar and Satellite dishes whizzing around listening to the skies. They make some interesting noise when the only noise you can hear is your own breathing.
So i walk back to a dark spot on the edge of the lake. There is a wooden structure covered with snow. Turns out its a small jetty with a life buoy. I brought some newspaper so i can sit on the railing with getting a cold backside.
Gazing into the northern sky does not bring on the aurora. So i sit and wait. i have brought some nice dark chocolate to eat, but as it was in my backpack, its frozen. Still tastes pretty good.
Now i have been here for about 90 minutes and still no lights. Little disappointed. By now my finger tips are starting to get quite painful. The rest of me is still warm, its just the fingers.
Well i give into the cold and start the walk back down the hill. Still plenty of people walking the streets at this time of night.
As the paths are still very slippery i take the necessary precautions so not to fall over. Well that didnt work at a pedestrian crossing. I could feel my left foot slip and in the blink of an eye i am laying in the middle of the road. Lucky there are no cars. I pick myself up, and dust off the snow. I can tell you i feel pretty silly at this very moment. Anyway i get back to my room with another incident.
Well i didnt came away from the fall unscathed. My left shoulder and left thigh are rather painful. I did land on my left side. So looks like i will be nursing some injuries for the next few days.
10th
Woke to a wet and very dark day. It is raining so i just stayed close to the apartment. cannot sleep on my left side, still to sore.
11th
Its still lightly raining and i decide to take the bus to the other side of the island and visit the largest shopping mall in northern Norway. $7 for a 9 minute bus ride. Beats walking in the rain. The mall is pretty new and modern. I take a walk around the lower level, and find a fish monger that has fish and chips on his menu. This would have to be one of the nicest fish and chips i have tasted. 2 nice big pieces of cod and some really crispy chips. Not bad for $15.
Now i have finished window shopping, i now need to work out where the bus stop is. Well that was easy to find, its right at the main entrance. Still raining and its so dark at 4pm.
12th
The rain has stopped. I take a walk around town and even though the temperature is only 2 degrees C, it feels warm compared to the last few days. Its starts to snow quite heavily. There is nothing better than taking a walk when its snowing. Dont know why, there is just something special about it.
Tomorrow i fly to Oslo and the head west to Stavanger, its famous for the Fjords and Pulpit rock.
My cold has nearly gone, but the shoulder and hip are still sore.
Well i wasnt lucky with the lights. I left the apartment around 8pm. It is minus 10c so i have plenty of layers on. The walk to the lake is ok, but i get very warm as its a uphill walk, but i dont expect to stay this warm for long. There are lots of people out skiing along the paths, so i make sure to stay out of their way.
I wade through knee deep snow to get onto the frozen lake to try and get away from the lights along the path. I cannot see any aurora activity, so i take a picture, but there is no activity. I get back onto the path and keep walking north. I walk past the University Observatory with all its Radar and Satellite dishes whizzing around listening to the skies. They make some interesting noise when the only noise you can hear is your own breathing.
So i walk back to a dark spot on the edge of the lake. There is a wooden structure covered with snow. Turns out its a small jetty with a life buoy. I brought some newspaper so i can sit on the railing with getting a cold backside.
Gazing into the northern sky does not bring on the aurora. So i sit and wait. i have brought some nice dark chocolate to eat, but as it was in my backpack, its frozen. Still tastes pretty good.
Now i have been here for about 90 minutes and still no lights. Little disappointed. By now my finger tips are starting to get quite painful. The rest of me is still warm, its just the fingers.
Well i give into the cold and start the walk back down the hill. Still plenty of people walking the streets at this time of night.
As the paths are still very slippery i take the necessary precautions so not to fall over. Well that didnt work at a pedestrian crossing. I could feel my left foot slip and in the blink of an eye i am laying in the middle of the road. Lucky there are no cars. I pick myself up, and dust off the snow. I can tell you i feel pretty silly at this very moment. Anyway i get back to my room with another incident.
Well i didnt came away from the fall unscathed. My left shoulder and left thigh are rather painful. I did land on my left side. So looks like i will be nursing some injuries for the next few days.
10th
Woke to a wet and very dark day. It is raining so i just stayed close to the apartment. cannot sleep on my left side, still to sore.
11th
Its still lightly raining and i decide to take the bus to the other side of the island and visit the largest shopping mall in northern Norway. $7 for a 9 minute bus ride. Beats walking in the rain. The mall is pretty new and modern. I take a walk around the lower level, and find a fish monger that has fish and chips on his menu. This would have to be one of the nicest fish and chips i have tasted. 2 nice big pieces of cod and some really crispy chips. Not bad for $15.
Now i have finished window shopping, i now need to work out where the bus stop is. Well that was easy to find, its right at the main entrance. Still raining and its so dark at 4pm.
12th
The rain has stopped. I take a walk around town and even though the temperature is only 2 degrees C, it feels warm compared to the last few days. Its starts to snow quite heavily. There is nothing better than taking a walk when its snowing. Dont know why, there is just something special about it.
Tomorrow i fly to Oslo and the head west to Stavanger, its famous for the Fjords and Pulpit rock.
My cold has nearly gone, but the shoulder and hip are still sore.
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