Winter is upon us. I know this because I slipped and fell on my ass yesterday. A woman was walking right next to me, and her hand flew to her mouth with a gasp. Apparently I hit the ground pretty hard, anyone reading this knows how much and how well I fall so obviously I am fine. The sidewalks are absolutely caked in ice at all times, I don't think they've heard of road salt in this country.
I briefly mentioned I was going sledding in Korken the other day before I went. Let me just say it is some of the most fun I have ever had in my life. Flying down a luge track on metal skis is exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. This is the kind of thing they'd NEVER have in the states due to liability. There are sheer drops, trees, and fences all down the 3 kilometer track. Yes you heard that right, the sled track is 3 KILOMETERS long. Surprising no one that knows me, I went kamikazee down the track: falling off the side several times, completely breaking a fence, smashing into a tree stop and going over it face first, and finally cascading into a jutting rock flying off the sled tumbling end over end. I love spectacular crashes, it is how I'd like to go out at 102.
This fun filled evening nearly didn't occur when we arrived to find the sled rental office closed. Luckily there was more than one way to get ahold of those little metal speed demons. For a while there we thought we might all have to take turns on Maria's sled, which was quite fancy, it even came with a steering wheel. Too much control though, how are you supposed to wipe out in style if you have the ability to actually guide the sled. BORING! A fifteen or so minute hike later and we had our sleds.
After the 2nd or third run we stopped off the side of the track for some snow gløgg. Martin built a fire so we all gathered around warming up, and melting snow to mix the drink. It is basically a form of mulled wine we made from a syrup mix, snow, and a little vodka. This inevitably brought up discussions of going on a friday not rather than a Wednsday, building camp site, a huge fire, and getting completely shit faced. What I am curious about is just how badly I would hurt myself sledding wasted.
The night wrapped up after a couple more trips down. The sleds returned we hopped the train home. This is when the freezing started to set in. We were all cold and wet. Carola took her socks off and her feet were completely white. Chris ended up sitting on the for warmth, the fart jokes quickly followed. I, stupidly, wore jeans and sneakers, both of which were soaking wet. Sitting on the train, not moving around meant that my body wasn't producing any heat, this is when the shivering started. It was ridiculous, I felt like I was sitting on a belt sander. Finally I had to get up and start walking around. I am fortunate hypothermia didn't set in. Lesson for the future... wear waterproof pants.
Friday night was Elisabeth's Julekonsert, a christmas time chorus concert that took place in the church of a mental institution. That last part is especially badass. I met Julie there, and was slightly late. I swear this time it wasn't my fault, I had to wait almost half an hour for the 19 bus. I also found out I prefer chorus in Norwegian and Latin, when you don't understand the words you appreciate the human voice as an instrument more. The singing was fantastic, congratulations on a wonderful show Elisabeth!
I had an iPod scare. I was at the gym when it suddenly stopped working. Luckily a simple reset fixed it without any problems. I would have been very upset if it was compeltely broken. My Mother gave me that iPod.
No comments:
Post a Comment