Our flight made excellent time and, even though we had left Iceland a little behind schedule, we landed in Seattle early. We were almost the last people off the plane, putting us essentially last in the line to go through customs. Since David obviously doesn't have an American passport, I waited with him in the 'everybody else' line. Things went pretty quickly and soon it was our turn.
We each went to our own custom's agent. Both of us answered the question, 'Are you travelling with anyone?' in the affirmative. Both of us then got the question, 'Are you thinking of getting married?' I wasn't prepared for that one! We got two reasonably similar lectures about making sure we followed all the rules if we were going to get married. Finally, we got past the first hurdle and headed down to pick up our bags.
After collecting our luggage, we headed through the gauntlet of various US Government Officials. The first guy also wanted to know if we were getting married. I thought he was the one that usually has the drug sniffing dog, so I was again surprised by this sudden interest in our relationship status. He made some marks on our papers and sent us on to the next line.
In that line there were two stops. First one guy looks at the papers, ask some of the questions on it (perhaps to check if our answers match), marks up the papers, and gives them back. The next guy basically just looks at all of the marks on the papers and sends us on our way. That last guy is also the one that can send you to the 'open all your suitcases and waste a bunch of time' security station, as I learned on my last trip. Fortunately, that didn't happen again.
One clearing all of customs and security, we delivered our luggage back to airport staff. I have never really understood this particular step in the process. Why can't we just take our bags with us on the shuttle train? Especially when there are so few people waiting in line to ride it. At least they don't seem to lose luggage in that step.
Once in the main terminal, we headed to pick up our luggage and meet the welcome party. Due to a misunderstanding (thanks Dad), there was no welcome party. Our bags arrived and I reluctantly used my Norwegian phone to call the family and organize getting picked up. Dad was waiting nearby and we were finally out of the airport!
Mom, Sonya, and Tyler were waiting for us at an Italian restaurant in West Seattle. There we engaged in sorely missed family conversational antics, including hilarious stories and imitating Dad. Somewhere in there we managed to order way too much food and had to pass on dessert. Mom was loaning us her car and had to catch a ferry, so we raced off to meet the boat.
Since Dad didn't want to shock us on the first night of our visit with the state of our house, he had decided to put us up in bed and breakfast. The bed there was a welcome sight and we were very appreciative that Dad made the effort for us. We crashed early, and woke up around 4am to watch a little cable TV (we found a Swedish cooking show, of all things). We got up again around 9:30 and enjoyed a pretty excellent breakfast.
Since Dad was still not quite ready for us after breakfast, we ditched our luggage at the house and headed for Southcenter. While we should have been studying, we wandered around the mall for several hours, drinking coffee, buying pants and a new computer, and acquiring a US cell phone for David. We got back to Dad's with just enough time to shower and head off to a much anticipated Hanukah dinner with Vicki and family. The following couple of days were filled with studying and avoiding studying for our mid-term test.
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sweden in the fall
For our fall vacation, we headed to Sweden. This started and ended with late night bus/train trips. On the way to Sweden, we got a ride to Åmot at 2:30am, took the bus to Oslo and the train to Uppsala. On the way back, we took the afternoon train (filled with drunk Korean businessmen) to Oslo, the night bus to Åmot, and shared a taxi home with 5 other tired students.
We spent most of our week off hanging out in Uppsala. David's brother is spending a year in Australia, so this was our last chance to see him for a while. We also got haircuts; mine is shorter, but not short and David's is definitely short. We visited the yarn store and coffee shops and an electronics store. We made a brief appearance at IKEA. We watched TV and movies. I got a new backpack (at a really good price) and David found new boots to replace the pair that disappeared from school last spring.
While in Uppsala, I got confirmation from the UW that we could take our December exam at the Scandinavian Dept. This lead to me purchasing our tickets back to Seattle for a rockin' good price on IcelandAir. We will be in Seattle from December 12th to January 10th, playing at both the third and first Friday dances while we are there! Whoohoo! I'm really looking forward to this trip home!
After a week relaxing with David's family, we packed our things and headed to the Linköping Folkmusik Festival. This year's highlights included a workshop in Polsdans fra Finnskogen and a partner to take it with (yay David!), meeting up with Irene, and lots of good concerts, notably Ralf Novak-Rosengren who is really worth checking out on YouTube.
David and I had decided to stay in a hotel after our less than pleasant experience sleeping on the floor in Geilo. The hotel was as nice as I remembered it being - nothing beats a hotel breakfast while you're at a festival. The only downside was that the room we got was only sort-of a double room. There was one single bed and a hide-a-bed. We opted for sharing the (very comfortable) single bed. It was not exactly spacious, but we could have been on a classroom floor.
We spent most of our week off hanging out in Uppsala. David's brother is spending a year in Australia, so this was our last chance to see him for a while. We also got haircuts; mine is shorter, but not short and David's is definitely short. We visited the yarn store and coffee shops and an electronics store. We made a brief appearance at IKEA. We watched TV and movies. I got a new backpack (at a really good price) and David found new boots to replace the pair that disappeared from school last spring.
While in Uppsala, I got confirmation from the UW that we could take our December exam at the Scandinavian Dept. This lead to me purchasing our tickets back to Seattle for a rockin' good price on IcelandAir. We will be in Seattle from December 12th to January 10th, playing at both the third and first Friday dances while we are there! Whoohoo! I'm really looking forward to this trip home!
After a week relaxing with David's family, we packed our things and headed to the Linköping Folkmusik Festival. This year's highlights included a workshop in Polsdans fra Finnskogen and a partner to take it with (yay David!), meeting up with Irene, and lots of good concerts, notably Ralf Novak-Rosengren who is really worth checking out on YouTube.
David and I had decided to stay in a hotel after our less than pleasant experience sleeping on the floor in Geilo. The hotel was as nice as I remembered it being - nothing beats a hotel breakfast while you're at a festival. The only downside was that the room we got was only sort-of a double room. There was one single bed and a hide-a-bed. We opted for sharing the (very comfortable) single bed. It was not exactly spacious, but we could have been on a classroom floor.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Uppsala
Since David and I are moving into a mostly unfurnished apartment, we have been shopping here in Uppsala. That is, we have basically lived at IKEA. I'm pleased to report that the IKEA in Seattle is very much like the IKEA in Uppsala. The Seattle IKEA really needs to get the self-serve soft-serve because it is the coolest machine.
In addition to IKEA we spent an afternoon/evening with David's sister, husband, and three kids. They are currently living in San Francisco, but are in Sweden for the summer. The whole family was great, plus I got to play with the baby (totally cute at 11 months old)!
We spent a day wandering around town and met up with one of David's friends from school. She was a load of fun. We sat outside and ate ice cream while she told entertaining stories about what seems to be a rather thrilling life. Later we managed to buy new clothes for me and new shirts for David; it had been far too long since my last shopping excursion.
On our last night in Uppsala, David and I made dinner. That is, I made spanikopita and David helped. Turns out, you can get pretty decent phyllo dough in Sweden. The rest of the family enjoyed the spanikopita, which we served with rice and salad.
We also packed the car that evening, which was quite the experience. The car was actually a full size van with most of the rear seats removed. We stuffed it full of clothes and bookshelves, necessities from IKEA and instruments. Somehow we managed to find enough room for ourselves as well.
In addition to IKEA we spent an afternoon/evening with David's sister, husband, and three kids. They are currently living in San Francisco, but are in Sweden for the summer. The whole family was great, plus I got to play with the baby (totally cute at 11 months old)!
We spent a day wandering around town and met up with one of David's friends from school. She was a load of fun. We sat outside and ate ice cream while she told entertaining stories about what seems to be a rather thrilling life. Later we managed to buy new clothes for me and new shirts for David; it had been far too long since my last shopping excursion.
On our last night in Uppsala, David and I made dinner. That is, I made spanikopita and David helped. Turns out, you can get pretty decent phyllo dough in Sweden. The rest of the family enjoyed the spanikopita, which we served with rice and salad.
We also packed the car that evening, which was quite the experience. The car was actually a full size van with most of the rear seats removed. We stuffed it full of clothes and bookshelves, necessities from IKEA and instruments. Somehow we managed to find enough room for ourselves as well.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A day without luggage, almost
August 19, 2008
The first stop today was back at the school. I got my invoice for my school fees (roughly $150 for the semester) and asked a bunch of questions I hadn't asked the day before. Then, I headed up the hill to Rauland Sentrum. Blink and you'd miss it, if you were driving. I did find a place with specialty coffee; we'll have to see how special it is since it cost a small fortune. I also found the grocery store and the ATM.
I took the bus back to Åmot to check in with the police department. The officer I need to talk with is out until possibly Monday, they'll leave a message at the school if and when I need to come back down. I bought a cell phone :D It should start working in a day or two. When I came out of the store, It was just after two o'clock. I had just missed the bus up the hill.
With the extra four hours I had in Åmot, I checked out the two grocery stores. I tried to pay the semester fees, but without enough cash or a Norwegian bank account, I was out of luck. I spent the remaining three hours waiting at the bus stop. At least I got a cup of coffee and some french fries while I waited!
On the bus ride back, I felt relaxed enough to look around at the scenery. Even in the drizzle increasing to downpour, the vistas around every corner are amazing. The road between Åmot and Rauland is not straight. It curves and curls and twists and turns in a northeast fashion for roughly 18 kilometers. Sometimes there are houses on the sides of the road, sometimes itæs just forest and rocks and lakes and rivers. All of it is beautiful.
There were four people on the bus on the way back. All of us were students, but only three of us were students here. The boy got off before we got to the school. The other girl was from Germany and had a fair amount of luggage. I offered to wait with her to make sure she made it to her room. The main doors were locked to the school, so we walked up to the studentheim where the vaktmester's phone number is posted on the wall. She knew her room number and we found one of the Norwegian students to help her call. It turned out that another student had the master key, so everything worked out just fine. Now, I think I'll practice for a while to settle my nerves.
The first stop today was back at the school. I got my invoice for my school fees (roughly $150 for the semester) and asked a bunch of questions I hadn't asked the day before. Then, I headed up the hill to Rauland Sentrum. Blink and you'd miss it, if you were driving. I did find a place with specialty coffee; we'll have to see how special it is since it cost a small fortune. I also found the grocery store and the ATM.
I took the bus back to Åmot to check in with the police department. The officer I need to talk with is out until possibly Monday, they'll leave a message at the school if and when I need to come back down. I bought a cell phone :D It should start working in a day or two. When I came out of the store, It was just after two o'clock. I had just missed the bus up the hill.
With the extra four hours I had in Åmot, I checked out the two grocery stores. I tried to pay the semester fees, but without enough cash or a Norwegian bank account, I was out of luck. I spent the remaining three hours waiting at the bus stop. At least I got a cup of coffee and some french fries while I waited!
On the bus ride back, I felt relaxed enough to look around at the scenery. Even in the drizzle increasing to downpour, the vistas around every corner are amazing. The road between Åmot and Rauland is not straight. It curves and curls and twists and turns in a northeast fashion for roughly 18 kilometers. Sometimes there are houses on the sides of the road, sometimes itæs just forest and rocks and lakes and rivers. All of it is beautiful.
There were four people on the bus on the way back. All of us were students, but only three of us were students here. The boy got off before we got to the school. The other girl was from Germany and had a fair amount of luggage. I offered to wait with her to make sure she made it to her room. The main doors were locked to the school, so we walked up to the studentheim where the vaktmester's phone number is posted on the wall. She knew her room number and we found one of the Norwegian students to help her call. It turned out that another student had the master key, so everything worked out just fine. Now, I think I'll practice for a while to settle my nerves.
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