Update on me!

So,


I'm still alive and have been having a few adventures here and there....just been too busy to get on here lately!  After I returned from my Norway trip, I rolled right into Christmas vacation, which rolled right into my awesome, beautiful and amazing wife coming to visit for a few weeks, which ran right into me starting Turkish class and one of my Master's classes!


But, now that I'm in Oberammergau, Germany again (blog to follow:), I found some time to sit down and supply a few updates!  Work has been same 'ol same 'ol...not much going on there currently.  But last I left you, I had just finished my first Germany trip and was heading to Stavanger, Norway....Here is that story.

Our team in Stavanger, Norway....3 Americans, 2 Greeks,
2 Turks, 1 Italian, 1 Bulgarian...made for some
interesting conversations & sing-a-longs.

I met up with the rest of my nine-person team at Munich Airport, where our excitement began.  If you remember right before the holidays and the US Northeast getting slammed with snow...mainland Europe got dumped on.  This just happens to be when our trip to Norway began.  We flew into Frankfurt after a two-hour layover (pretty typical over here), but our next flight miraculously did not get delayed (in fact, they held the plane for the nine of us), so of course our bags did not make the flight.  We then arrived into Stavanger, Norway around midnight, where a nice Norwegian Navy cadet/recruit/youngster drove us to our barracks....yeah, barracks.  I've been a little spoiled staying in decent hotels everywhere I've gone lately, but they put us in 6-person basic training barracks...and mind you, this isn't US basic training barracks, but Norwegian Navy basic training barracks.  Luckily I only had a Bulgarian Captain and a Turkish Lt Colonel (my boss) in the room, neither of which were snorers (that would be me sans Sleep Apnea mask...I know mother, I know).  


Anyways, I was really looking forward to seeing Norway...I've heard it's beautiful.  From the VERY brief car rides in the dark, I can tell you that it's pretty at night.  Did I mention that the sun rose around 10:30 AM and set about 3:30 PM?  The sun basically is like a whale coming up for air over the horizon and then lowers back down for 19 hours.  Dumb.  We worked solid 12-hour shifts for 10 days (including weekends), and did a pretty good job I'm told.  We got coined by the Greek Brigadier General (1-star) and a Letter of Appreciation from the US Lieutenant General (3-star).

Almost-noon sunrise...Gorgeous but depressing at the same time.

Cloudberries! Whatever they are.

Let me tell you though, I could not WAIT to get home...But first we had to have some traditional Norwegian cuisine.  We had a five-course meal at one of the best restaurants in town on our final night, and this is where I ate Rudolph (or one of his cousins)...Reindeer sirloin is AMAZING. And the Cloudberry creme brulee was fantastic (whatever cloudberry is).  I don't think I mentioned it yet, but everything up there was CRAZY expensive.  To buy one standard Bud Light in the US at a restaurant costs what?  $3-5 maybe?  Yeah, for Norwegian (not imported) beer, it costs about $12.....for one....not a pitcher....one 12 ounce beer.  Maybe that's why they don't have a problem with drinking and driving.

Me and my gangsta cold-weather jacket they issued me.  Yeah,
it's got a fur-lined hood.

Not sure, but this store may possibly be
upset about something

Anyway, I'll save some time tonight for my next few blogs:  1) New Year's & Ephesus with the greatest woman in the world (in the non-mom category).  2) Salzburg, Austria & Oberammergau, Germany (Part Deux).


Hope everyone is doing well, and keep my wife in your prayers.


-ADD