Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Reflections on Week 1

Now  that I have been here for more than 1 week, I  thought I should take the time to give some impressions so far. To be honest, I don't have many impressions of Tromso yet.  Last week I had the WCRP Climate and Cryosphere Workshop from Wednesday - Friday. I worked all weekend and have been working long days since then.

But okay my impressions so far: Norway is expensive, I knew this but it translates in weird ways.  A bottle of beer at the grocery store runs around 50-70NOK, or about $9-12. I haven't even looked at wine yet. Certain items seem reasonably priced, but of course vegetables and meet are expensive.
But okay no big deal, I won't drink much alcohol and I will just try to minimize my expenses where I can.

Tromso is definitely a tourist town.  Cruise ships like these ones stop here each day, unload a few hundred tourists and then sail off again.





The people are very friendly. and not just the people at the Institute; while having a beer one night of the workshop, a Norwegian man, a salesman, sat down and talked with us for awhile and bought us a round of Aquavit, a Norwegian liquor famous for being transported across the equator on a ship in Oak barrels.

Everyone here speaks excellent English, which is great considering that I don't speak or understand any Norwegian, though I hope to learn a bit of it.  I am learning what certain foods are.

I plan to take some time this weekend to get out and enjoy the sights, and maybe buy a bicycle.  I have been looking for a used bike but haven't had much luck so far, but will keep looking. Otherwise I can also look at new bikes or maybe find someone here who has one I can use over the summer. If the weather is decent I may go hiking and camping. Then  I will have some pictures for you.

If you have questions just ask, post a comment, send me an email, however you'd like.



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