It's quite disheartening to write so much to have the computer shut off and restart without saving any work. Yes this is still a thing for me.
Train to Bodø (Bohdah) July 17, 2022
As beautiful as Trondheim is, I felt stuck. I guess because it wasn't my 'destination'. Just trying to get somewhere called Lofoten Islands.
The train was just a little shy of 10 hours and about 700 kilometers farther north. The landscape was breathtakingly beautiful It was hard to keep eye contact when people did want to talk. I sat in the cafe for almost the entire time. Do I need a seat reservation if I just sit in the cafe? Not a single person asked for a ticket but I had one this time. Maybe that's how it works?
I was excited to have the time to myself and write, which I was able to a little. The moment I sat down, the guy next to me introduced himself as John from minnesota and his wife Carrie behind him (I laughed to myself). He asked if I spoke English and if I was Norwegian all before I could introduce myself. I said, "yes, no, and I am traveling from Colorado". Thise two were a piece of work but that could be a whole blog in itself.
I enjoyed sitting on the hard plastic bench in the cafe much more than talking with someone about how good of a president the states has.
ANYWAY! By that time, I was ready for a beer but it was only 1037. So, I brought my water bottle and empty coffee cup to purchase a sparkling water to justify me sitting in the cafe. I tried to buy a coffee but it was given to me. Oh, the little things are so nice. That saved me $4.
Watching the world go by on the most beautiful train ride, an older man walked by after purchasing a glass of white wine and I held my coffee up and said "Skol!" He walked back by me and returned with an extra plastic wine glass. Haldor, a Norwegian Native, 81, retired from IBM and on his way to vacation with his family. He was proud to tell me about his high position he held with the largest computer organization in the world. My comment, "before Apple Macintosh". We were both pleased to have company for a little bit and I was happy to have free wine, especially after internally discoursing about not buying a $9+ beer. He started to ask about me and my adventures. An hour later, he parted back to his seat; yet, found himself coming back three different times to tell me something different about the Lofoten Islands. By the second time, I knew it would be hard for him to say goodbye. Fortunately, his stop was 6 hours before mine. He didn't want to say goodbye, he had tears in his piercing blue nordic eyes and told me that he felt like he was falling in love all over again, that it felt like a dream and he wanted to come with me as he hugged and kissed my cheek. He wanted more but NO SIR! I told him that he is living my dream one day, to go on vacation with my family and grandchildren for a week in a camper van around the fjords of central Norway. He wasn't going to let me go so I asked him for his email and I'll send one to see how he is. What on Earth did I do to this man in the two hours of off on interaction? Gave him attention with eye contact and conversation. And life goes on.
Shortly after he left, I met another train companion, Aydn. Truly a genuine person. Sometimes you can just feel when people are good. Originally from Azerbaijan and fell in love with a Norwegian, had two children and is now divorced. She studies astrology. I talk presently because we still correspond. She consumed most of my time but in a good way. I really did enjoy our conversations, all 6 hours of it. We shared personal stories about people, traveling, connections, birthdays, different lifetimes. She was snacks and she invited me to join her and her family in Ballstad, Lofoten. It was the first time she took the long train alone so she was lonely. I was running on fumes and by the time the conversation had ended, we arrived in Bodø. And I didn't take one moment of the train ride to plan, imagine that.
