House and stuff

NEW HOUSE!!! NEW HOUSE!!!!!
We haven't quite signed the paperwork yet, but expect to take care of all the formalities this week. We're taking over on May 20th., so after that date we'll be ready for a lot of visitors. We'll have the paintbrushes ready for your arrival. . .

The 80ies are alive inside this place, so we'll spare you the interior photos. Here's the backyard.


"Why should I visit Trondheim," you ask? Because you can do things like take the bus to the woods, where fun awaits. Some skiing action may ensue.

Our fearless leader points the way.

Notice Trondheim in the background of this one.

Mmm, waffles and coffee at the ski hut.

Aaaaa, look out, here he comes!

Fin.

A walk to the U-boat base

Greetings, all. Here is a photo montage of our walk to an old German U-boat base that's located behind the hill seen in the distance of this photo:


Yup, here it is. Cool.

An old bunker. Now a good place to smoke some crack.

Nothing beats a seaside picnic after seeing a U-boat base.

P.S. We bought a pimp-ass house near downtown Trondheim. The move-in date is May 20th. Details to follow sometime between now and then.

An Amazing Trip???

Hello, all. Yes, big things were promised for today's blog, wind turbines, adventures, and all, but I'm terribly sorry to say that I won't deliver, yet. Saturday morning we got our butts up mega-uber-early to go tour the Smølna wind park. About 30 brave souls showed up to take part. Only one person was missing, but that person was the bus driver, along with his bus. So, after standing around in the snow for an hour or so, the event to end all events was postponed, hopefully just a week or two.

Aw, no, wait, wait! Don't close the browser window just yet, please! We need visitors! My adversisers are going to kill me! I'll still try to entertain you, really! Yes, a story... hm... Let's see... Um, how about, the story of K and M going to... Ikea! Yes. Ikea, in search of a mattress pad and frozen meatballs.

Ok, uh, so we walked, around, um, in the general direction of Ikea, and... Yeah, so here's a picture of an old fort in Tondheim, and the view from its walls over the downtown area. Picture Genghis Kahn and his army of Moguls storming the walls, as the Vikings shoot volleys of flaming arrows and pour burning tar on the invaders! (Could have happened, you never know...)



Walked around, some other stuff happened, or didn't, and hey, there's Ikea! M plots all the extra stuff she's going to buy.

They were out of frozen meatballs, but they had some mattress pads. A celebratory ice cream was in order.

We went home, and then went out for a coffee at the library cafe. The library is built upon the remains of a church from like the 11th century or something. They have dead guys lying around.

(This blog has been brought to you by Ikea. Ikea: Restock your Damn Meatballs!)

Quick update for anyone who wants to know

Hi. Um. I don't really have much to say today, but I've seen enough TV to know that it's smart to provide your audience with a teaser to keep them interested and watching your show. (Then you hit them with advertisments and rake in the cash. I'm still working on that part.) But anyways, here is the teaser:

"A rocky, windswept isle off the arctic Atlantic coast... A perfect location for giant wind turbines, which generate electricity to light our homes! How do these great white beasts work? Who built them, and how? And what if something... goes wrong!? Our heros will risk life, limb, and an otherwise free Saturday to bring you an up-close look at... The Smølna Windpark!!! (Brought to you by Narvesen Convenience Stores. Narvesen: How Many Bacon Sausages Can YOU Eat?)"

Heisan fra Trondheim

Hello friends! It has been a while, hasn't it? Let me be the first to send greetings from the far-away and exotic land of Norway! How exotic, you ask? Let me give you an example: 7-Eleven bakes their own fresh whole-wheat bread! And it's freaking awesome. Also, the "erotic film" section is dispayed right next to the "drama" at the video rental stand at the local convenience store. Cheap wine costs the equivalent of $14. And... well... heck, otherwise it's really not that different, when it comes down to it: you can get an Old El Paso taco dinner pack at the supermarket. Minimal culture shock for K, so far. (Of course, to M this is coming home.)
For those of you who are wondering, yes, it is dark much of the day here, but it's not that bad. It gets light around 8, and it gets dark around 3:30. And it's cold, but not Minnesota cold. They don't salt the roads and sidewalks here, just gravel, if that, so we've learned the art of shoe-skating to the store and back.

So yes, we are still alive and well. Let's summarize the boring details: we got to Berkeley, moved in with K's parents, and K locked himself in the bedroom to try to finish up his self-initiated personal transportation research project that he hoped would be his ticket to his Ph.D dream. Two repetitive-strain injured wrists later, he finally looked online and learned how desparate Norway is for Ph.D candidates -- in fact, any engineers. So a couple weeks later he found himself the top candidate for a project on deep-sea offshore wind turbines, with a start-date in January.

In the meantime, Mariann was busy working on the boat and getting it looking good for the next leg. But with a severely distracted and uninterested Captain, she was finally persuaded to give up on warm-weather cruising for the present. Yes, she is a little dissappointed, but consoled herself with the fact that 6 weeks of cruising is better than none, and that a relocation to Trondheim, Norway, would be the start of a new adventure of a different kind. By the way, if you're looking to buy a top-class cruising boat, contact Dave Wolff at Pacific Yacht Imports, Alameda, CA.

We've got some photos to share. First, proof that Seattlites can thrive in the milder climes of the San Francisco Bay Area. (Sorry, Jay, Julie, and Laurel, but I don't think we took any photos with our camera when you were in town.)




Next, some initial sights from Trondheim. We're renting a 1-bedroom apartment right next to the downtown area. We hope to buy a house by the summer, at which point you should all start planning your visits to the far North.

Here my finger is pointing to the place where we live.

M in tha house, y'all.