The Friendliest Nation

I was listening to the radio at Alejandro's house, and there was a report talking about a survey ranking the friendliest nations in the world.  Mexico was listed as the friendliest out of the 59 countries in the survey.

I later went onto the internet and found the survey which was actually conducted in 2023 by a group called InterNations, an international organization for ex-pats.  More than 12,000 ex-pats representing 171 nationalities responded.  The top five friendly countries were Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

I certainly would not dispute Mexico's ranking.  I really cannot recall any incidents of rudeness toward me by the Mexican people.  The fact that I speak Spanish certainly helps, but I think that anyone who makes the effort to speak just a few phrases of the language will endear themselves to the people.  It is true that many in Mexico City are upset with the "invasion" of digital nomads coming here.  The increased demand for housing has resulted in higher rents in the more desirable neighborhoods.  Quite a few Mexicans have been priced out of their apartments.  (Fortunately, I am not a part of that problem.  The owners of the condo which I rented for many years, sold it to me at a reasonable price.  I did not displace anyone from their home.)  I have seen a couple "Gringo, go home" signs in the neighborhoods of Condesa and Roma where the greatest number of digital nomads have settled, but I have not personally experienced any hostility.  Most Mexicans are not happy about the current state of U.S. politics, but they have always distinguished between the U.S. government and the individual citizens.

The United States was way down on the list at #24.    

I have to say, however, that wherever you travel. if you show respect and kindness it will probably be returned.  France is at #39, and there has long been the stereotype that the Parisians are arrogant and rude.  However, when I was there I found the people generally quite nice and helpful.  I always said "Bonjour" and used the tiny bit of French that I know.  That seemed to do the trick.

The UK is #32, Switzerland is #46 and Norway is #47.  Those low rankings puzzle me.  Granted, I have cousins in those countries which smooths the way.  However, I found the Brits to be very charming.  And I still remember an experience I had in Norway.  I was waiting for the tram in Oslo, and a group of university students started conversing with me.  They were headed for a night at the bars, and they asked me if I wanted to join them.  I thanked them, but said it was time for this old man to go to bed.

 

The Last Month of the Year

It is time to turn the page on the calendar as we come to the final month of the year. The calendar which I made for 2022 features photos of parks and gardens that I have visited.  The last picture comes from a trip that I took to Norway in 2016, 

One of the most popular attractions in Norway's capital Oslo is Frogner Park.

The park features the unique and sometimes surreal sculptures of the Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland.  There are 212 granite and bronze works, and Frogner is the world's largest sculpture park dedicated to a single artist.

My calendar for 2023 has already been created and is ready to hang next month.

Snow - Here and There

Here in Ohio were we hit with the fringes of the snowstorm that hit the northeastern United States.  It started to snow Sunday afternoon, and it continued through the night.  This is what I woke up to Monday morning.

It was just enough snow to completely cover the ground, perhaps three inches.  I  didn't even bother with the snow blower since in a couple days the temperature is predicted to rise above freezing, and it's going to rain. ***

Sunday I talked on Skype with my cousin Hans Peter who lives in Norway.  They had another good snowfall, and he took his daughter Angelina to go sledding.

In Switzerland they have a lot of snow in the Alps, and it has been an excellent winter for skiing.  However, at the lower elevations where my cousins live they have had several days of heavy rain.  The snow that the Zurich area had received earlier is all gone.  

Something that I did not know is that the schools in Switzerland have a couple of weeks off in the winter for a "ski vacation".  My cousin Brigitta and Helen, the wife of my cousin Walter, are both educators.  Helen is now on vacation, and Brigitta will be off in a couple of weeks.  (The "ski vacations" are staggered in different parts of the country so that the whole nation isn't out on the ski slopes at the same time.)  Helen and Walter both ski and were thinking about going to Wengen, a popular Alpine resort.  However they are not sure of their plans since Wengen has been hard hit by COVID.  

*** I wrote this yesterday morning.  Since then we got some more snow, perhaps another inch or two.  I just came back into the house after clearing out the driveway and sidewalk with the snow blower.   Still, what we have here is nothing compared to the east coast. 

Far North

A few days ago I mentioned my cousin Hans Peter.  He was born and raised in Switzerland, but he and his family currently live in Norway where he teaches at the University of Bergen.  During the Christmas holiday he and the family took a trip two hours north by plane to the city of Tromso.  With a population of over 75,000 people, Tromso is the largest Norwegian city north of the Arctic Circle, and the third largest city in the world in the Arctic.  Because of its location along the Atlantic coast its climate is milder than one would expect at such a northerly latitude.  The December temperatures generally range between 31 and 23F.

Here are some pictures that Hans Peter sent me from their trip...

Here is Hans Peter in the apartment that they rented.

The city has a historic center of wooden buildings dating from the late 18th century to the early 20th century.  The most notable structure is the Cathedral of Tromso which was built in 1861.  

It is the headquarters for the Church of Norway, a branch of Lutheranism, in the city.  It is the northernmost Protestant cathedral in the world, and the only cathedral in Norway that is built of wood.

Contrasting with the old town is the modern architecture of the city.  The most photographed building is the Arctic Cathedral which is actually a Lutheran parish church.  The structure was completed in 1965.

Due to its Arctic location, the sun never rises above the horizon from late November until mid-January.  There are, however, several hours of twilight.  

Han's Peter's wife, Larissa, on a boat excursion that they took along the coast.

 A highlight of their trip was the chance to see the aurora borealis, the Northern Lights.

If I should visit Norway again, I think I would enjoy going to Tromso.  However, I would probably go in the summer.  I would miss out on the Northern Lights, but I would get to see the Midnight Sun.

Wintry Europe

 After two heavy snowstorms in December, here in Ohio, January so far has been dry and snowless, in spite of all the clouds.  

It's a different story in Europe however.  You may have read about the freak blizzard in Spain which dumped 20 inches in Madrid, a place that rarely sees much snow.  

This weekend I talked with my Swiss cousin Brigitta who lives near Zurich.  You associate Switzerland with snow and skiing, and that is true up in the Alps.  But I did a bit of research on the climate in Zurich, and their average high temperature in January (37F) is higher than here in Cleveland.  They get less than one half the amount of snow that we get on the west side of Cleveland (and much, much less than in the "snow belt" on the east side of my city).  However, Brigitta told me that they have had a stretch of colder than normal weather, that there is a bit of snow, and that there are a couple inches of ice in the pond in her garden.  

I also talked with another one of my Swiss cousins, Hans Peter, who lives in Bergen, Norway.  Now you would really expect extreme winter weather that far north.  But in spite of the fact that it is nearly as far north as Fairbanks, Alaska, its location along the Atlantic coast moderates the temperature.  The average high temperature in January is 39F.   Hans Peter told me that February is usually their snowiest month, but they started the year with a fairly heavy snowfall.  All of this discussion is simply an excuse to show you this picture which Hans Peter sent me of his daughter Angelina enjoying the snow in Norway.

Backward and Forward

We come to the end of the year 2016 and prepare with trepidation to begin 2017.

2016 was a horrendous year.  The political campaign seemed interminable and was the most bizarre and inane I have ever seen in my lifetime.  And when it was all over we were faced with the nightmarish reality that the most despicable and dangerous person to ever be a candidate for a major U.S. political party is about to enter the White House.  I truly fear for my country.  I hope that we will survive the next four years.  Even though he will control the House and the Senate, perhaps the fact that he comes to the Presidency with abysmal approval ratings will serve as a check upon his attempts to carry out his proposed agendas.

On a personal level, in spite of the cloud hanging over our heads, it was a good year.  My health (knock on wood) is good, and I continued to do what I enjoy the most... to travel.  During 2016 I took four trips outside of the country.  I began the year by taking my friend Frank to Mérida.  Over the years I have taken nine friends and family members to the capital of Yucatán.  All of them thoroughly enjoyed Mérida, and Frank was no exception.  After hearing my stories about my Mexican travels, he had no fear of going to a country that is so often portrayed as a "dangerous" place in the media here.  His mother, however, was quite fearful.  When Frank returned home and showed her the pictures from the trip, she had to admit that she never realized that Mexico was so nice. 

In April and November I took two trips to Mexico City to visit my friend Alejandro, and we took several excursion outside of the city.

The most memorable adventure of the year was my trip to Switzerland and Norway to visit cousins.  It is difficult to say which country is more beautiful.  They are both spectacular.

The Swiss Alps

A Norwegian fjord

The hospitality and warmth shown to me by my cousins made the trip much more special and elevated it far beyond the typical tourist experience.  I would have to rank it as one of the best trips of my life.

Looking forward to 2017 there may be some major changes in my life.  In my previous post I wrote about the trip I will take in January, and that I will be apartment hunting in Mexico City.  During the Presidential campaign I told people that if Trump were to win, I would move to Mexico.  I never really believed that the unthinkable would happen.  Now you might think, because of all the travel that I do, that I am an adventurous person who would have no trouble pulling up stakes.  But I have lived in the same house since I was three years old, and the thought of clearing out my house and selling it is terrifying.  Thus, I am planning on becoming a "semi-ex-pat" dividing my time between Ohio and Mexico.  I know Mexico very well and feel comfortable there, but I am sure that there will be many adjustments to be made as I set out on a new style of life.  Only time will tell what is in store for me in the new year.

Holiday Greetings

Regular readers of my blog know that each year I do painting which I use for my annual homemade Christmas card.  My painting was finished and the cards printed before I left on my November trip to Mexico.  While I was in Mexico, I made out all the cards, and I sent them off around Thanksgiving after I returned home. 

This year I did a painting based on a photo from my trip to Norway this summer.  The photo is of one of the beautiful fjords of Norway, the Fjaerland Fjord.

I had to use a bit of guesswork as to how the scene would appear in wintertime.  I didn't know how much of the steep, rocky mountains are covered in snow.  However, I did know from talking to a Norwegian that the deep fjords do not freeze in the winter.

Here is the finished product...

Best wishes to all of my readers for a very happy holiday season!

Feliz Navidad

The 3 Best Things About My Trip

I have been very fortunate to have traveled extensively in my life.  But my recent trip to Switzerland and Norway will definitely stand out as very memorable.  Here are the three of the best things about that trip.

1. Visiting my Swiss cousins

Those of you who have followed my blog know that some years ago I began to research my family genealogy, and I was lucky enough to make contact with cousins from the Swiss side of my family.  Even though they are distant cousins related through my great grandmother, I have grown to hold them very dear to my heart. 

The hospitality, warmth and kindness shown to me by my cousin Brigitta in Switzerland and my cousin Hans Peter in Norway and their spouses were heartwarming.  I truly felt that I was at home when I was with them.

There were about a dozen cousins that I saw during my visit, and they all treated me like family.  I am so lucky that they are a part of my life.

2.  A Day of Traveling Across Switzerland by Train

Brigitta purchased all day rail passes for us to make a whirlwind excursion across the country.  The highlight of that day was a trip by steam locomotive up to the peak of the Rothorn.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking!

3. The Beauty of the Norwegian Fjords

Norway is just as scenic as Switzerland.  The days that I spent exploring the fjords were wonderful.  Even though there was much in Norway that I didn't see, I felt that I experienced the fantastic beauty of that country.

I hope that I will be able to return soon to these countries, not just to do more sightseeing, but to also spend more time with my family. 

Reflections on Norway

My recent trip was the first time that I had ever been to Norway.  Here are some observations about my journey there.

Norway is a wonderful country.  There were only two drawbacks to my visit there... the weather and the expense.

The weather really was actually a drawback in only one place, the city of Bergen.  Because it is located on the coast and is surrounded by mountains, the clouds and rain from the Atlantic stall over Bergen and are unable to move on.  Perhaps I was lucky, but everywhere else the weather was not a problem.  Heading inland up the fjords, foul weather from the Atlantic is not a constant condition.  Of the six days that I spent in the fjord country, I experienced no rain, and only had a day and a half of cloudy weather.  I had plenty of sunshine to experience the beautiful scenery.  During the two days that I spent in Oslo, the weather was variable with periods of clouds, brief showers and sun.  It seemed that the weather gods were smiling on me, because every time I was doing outdoor sightseeing, the sun would come out.  

There is no doubt that Norway is an expensive country... certainly a big change from Mexico where the current exchange rate makes travel extremely affordable.  Still, Norway was not quite as bad as I had feared. 

My most expensive hotel was in Bergen where a small room in a nice hotel cost $157 US per night.  However the price included a breakfast buffet.  I made sure that I had a hearty breakfast each morning, and generally did not need to eat again until the evening.

My hotel in Balastrand on the Sognefjord was a bargain.  A very clean, spacious room in a small, family-run hotel overlooking the fjord cost only $104 per night.  It too included a nice breakfast buffet.

My modern, well-located hotel in Oslo cost $112 per night.  Although it did not include breakfast, that was not a bad price for any European capital.

Food is also expensive.  A light meal of a sandwich, pastry and beverage would generally cost more than $20.  The "smorgasbord" at the ritzy hotel in Balestrand cost $70 with a glass of wine.  On my last night in Oslo I splurged and went to a nice restaurant where reindeer steak with potatoes and vegetables, dessert and iced tea cost $59.  However, at my favorite restaurant in Balastrand, a delicious meal was not exorbitant.

Public transportation is not cheap either.  A single ticket on a city tram or bus cost around $4.  The passenger boat from Bergen to Balestrand, a four hour trip, cost me $71.

Norway is a beautiful country with scenery that rivals Switzerland.  I did not see all the "must see" sights, but I am glad I planned the trip the way I did.  My three days in Balestrand, a village on the Sognefjord, gave me a chance to experience the beauty of the fjords in a relaxing manner and without being with huge crowds of tourists.

Oslo is a very pleasant city which is definitely worth a stay of at least two days.  Norway is a very prosperous and egalitarian society, so I was very surprised by the number of beggars in the capital.  Some of them are probably drug addicts or alcoholics, but the majority of the beggars were gypsy women.  I have read that they can be very aggressive, but they never bothered me.  In Oslo, as in the rest of the country, I felt perfectly safe at all times. 

The people of Norway are extremely friendly, and they are all fluent in English.  I had a number of conversations with Norwegians on the street, and they were very cheerful and helpful.

I do hope to be able to return to this marvelous country someday.

   

Day of Travel: Good and Bad

I am now back home in Ohio after a long day of traveling.

Getting to Oslo airport yesterday morning was quick, easy and relatively inexpensive.  My flight from Oslo to Newark was not scheduled to leave until 11:25 A.M.   However I was up and ready to go, and out the door of the hotel shortly after seven.  Fortunately, my hotel was located about a block from the train station.  I wheeled my luggage over to the station, and there I bought a train ticket to go to the airport.  A train leaves every 10 minutes, and one was waiting when I got to the track.  The train is very comfortable, and has racks for suitcases.  It made the 30 mile journey to the airport in about 25 minutes.  The cost of a ticket was around $20 US, surely much cheaper (and quicker) than taking a taxi.

I had some breakfast at the airport, and by 8:30 the United Airlines desk was open.  I checked my suitcase (my one small piece of checked luggage was now bulging with souvenirs and gifts that I had purchased), and I proceded to security.  The line was fairly short, perhaps a five minute wait, and I continued on to the gate.  Unfortunately this is where my opinion of Oslo's airport went downhill.  The departure area for my flight was small and cramped, and uncomfortably hot.  The waiting areas for the gates are partitioned off, and do not open until a half hour before boarding time.  So I sat in the waiting area for another flight that happened to be open, until we were chased out of there.  I then sat at another gate where a plane to the Arctic island of Svalbard was about to leave.  Finally the waiting area for my flight was opened.  The flight was delayed by over a half hour.  I was not worried about making my connection since I had a long layover in Newark.  I just wanted to get out of that stifling terminal!

At last we boarded and took off. Due to strong northern tail winds we made up almost all of the lost time, and arrived in Newark just a couple minutes late.  Although the flight was crowded, it was fairly comfortable.  (I had previously upgraded to an "Economy Plus" seat with more legroom.)  I always find that the time seems to pass more quickly on the flights coming home from Europe than the overnight flights going over.  I watched a movie and a couple episodes of the BBC series of "War and Peace".  (I am currently watching that series at home on Netflix, and I refreshed my memory on what I had already viewed.)  By the time I was done, we were flying over eastern Canada, and the attendants were handing out U.S. customs forms.

I was dreading Newark airport.  The last time that I passed through there, the lines at U.S. Immigration and Customs were horrendously long and slow.  (That is why I had deliberately scheduled a long layover.)  However, they now seem to now have their act together, and the whole process was quick and painless. Going back through security was another story.  Even though I had "TSA Pre", the line was very long.  (I can only imagine what the regular line was like!) The employees were very courteous, but it was obvious that they were slammed.  One of my two carry-ons required hand inspection, and I had to wait a while for them to get to mine.  The problem turned out to be a rock which I had picked up while hiking in the Swiss Alps; I wanted to take home a small piece of my ancestral homeland.  Carrying the rock was permitted, but it had looked suspicious when passing through the scanner.

I still had plenty of time for my flight to Cleveland.  I wanted to use one of the passes I have for the United Club lounge.  However they were not accepting day passes there because of the number of people using the lounge.  That was the first time I ever had that happen.  I think that on future trips to Europe, I will try to avoid Newark.

By 9:00 P.M. (3:00 A.M. Norway time) I was home in Ohio, and today I am feeling rather jet-lagged. 

   

Two Museums to End My Stay in Oslo

Today was the final day of my trip.  Yesterday I checked off two of the places I wanted to see in Oslo... the City Hall and the Vigeland Sculpture Park.  My goal today was to visit two of Oslo's most interesting museums.  To do that I needed to take a ferry boat across the harbor to the leafy suburb of Bygdoy where a number of the city's museums are located.

When I took the ferry at around 10 A.M. the weather was overcast.  Below is a view of Aker Brygge, the site of the old shipyard which has been developed into a neighborhood of upscale apartments, yacht clubs, and trendy restaurants.

The short ferry ride took me across the harbor, and from there it was a short walk to my first museum... the Viking Ship Museum.  Here are the remains of three Viking ships, two of them still in excellent condition.  The Vikings would bury their nobles in their ships, and in the case of these two, the vessels and their contents were preserved under the clay soil of the burial mound.

On the first ship, the "Oseberg", an important noblewomen was buried in the 9th century.  This boat was beautifully decorated with carved wood.  It was a pleasure craft and was not meant to be sailed on the open sea.

  
The second ship contained the remains of a chieftain who died in the 10th century.  This ship is larger and sturdier, and would be the kind of vessel in which the Vikings made their epic voyages of exploration.

The museum also displays many of the objects found on the ships.  Like the Egyptians, the Viking nobles were buried with goods to be used in the afterlife.  The burial mounds were plundered centuries ago, so no jewelry or precious metals were found.  However a wide variety of household goods were found.

A wood and brass bucket that probably came from a trading (or raiding) expedition to Ireland.

Several pairs of leather shoes remained remarkably intact.

By the time I left the ship museum, the sun was shining... a good thing since my next stop was an outdoor museum, the Norwegian Folk Museum.  Here around 150 buildings have been moved to give a glimpse of life in different parts of the country over the last 800 years.

The "Old Town" contains buildings from different neighborhoods of Oslo.

When I walked into an early 20th century grocery store, there was a "shopkeeper" as well as a couple of  "customers".

While central Oslo was build of bricks, the poor people lived in wooden houses in the outlying districts.  The tile roofs were designed so that snow would slide off and not collapse the houses under its weight.

A vintage gas station

A very interesting display is in this mid-nineteenth century apartment building.

Apartments have been furnished to reflect life in different eras from the 1860s to the 1970s.

There are many farm buildings from different regions of rural Norway.  Storage buildings were usually elevated off the ground to protect the harvest.

Prosperous farmers often had a guest house for visitors.  This farmer from the Telemark region must have been quite well-to-do since the entire interior of the guest house is painted with rustic designs.

The oldest structure on the museum grounds is a stave church that was built in 1212.  It was carefully disassembled and reconstructed here.

In the late afternoon I took the ferry back to the dock near the City Hall. 

My Norwegian adventure has come to an end.  It is now time for me to pack my bags in preparation for tomorrow's long journey home.

Farewell, Norway!

Can You Figure This Out?

Over the years I have seen many street performers in different cities in the world, but these two that I saw in Oslo yesterday completely mystify me!

The woman is holding a staff.  The man appears to be levitating above her with only his hand resting on the top of the staff.  I spent ten minutes studying them from different angles.  I could not see any other connection between them.  Does anyone know how they do this???

Exploring Oslo

Today I spent eight hours seeing some of the sights in Oslo.  Among the European capitals, Oslo certainly cannot compare to Paris or London, but I found it to be a very pleasant city.

The weather today was quite variable... quickly changing from clouds to sun and with brief spells of rain.  All in all, however, it was not a bad day for sightseeing.

My hotel is conveniently located a block away from the plaza facing the railway station.  

The plaza is the starting point for Oslo's main downtown avenue and shopping street, Karl Johans Gate.  Much of it is pedestrianized.

A short distance down the avenue is the Oslo's Lutheran Cathedral.  It was built in 1697 on the site of an earlier church.

I found the carving on the main altar to be interesting.  In this depiction the main course at the Last Supper was meat (roast lamb?)

Some of the 19th century architecture along Karl Johans Gate.

 As you continue along the avenue, you see that it ends at the Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace, built in the 1830s is the  home of King Harald V and his wife Queen Sonja.

One of the palace guards...

From Karl Johans Gate I walked a short distance toward the waterfront to Oslo's City Hall, a brick building constructed in the 1930s.  

The building's main hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year.  The hall is decorated with murals by the nation's leading artists.

The murals extol the virtues of Norwegian traditions, and depict the people working for a better society.

One long mural deals with the Nazi invasion during World War II, the Norwegian resistance and the eventual liberation of the country.

I went back to the hotel for a short while when it began to rain.  I checked the forecast, and the sun was supposed to come out later that afternoon.  So after some lunch I took a tram to one of the city's most important attractions, Frogner Park, also known as the Vigeland Sculpture Park.  

The park contains over 200 statues by Norway's most famous sculptor, Gustav Vigeland.  He worked on this park between 1924 and his death in 1943.  The statues are all nude figures.  Vigeland did not give names to his sculptures and he never explained their meanings, but it is thought that they represent the cycle of life with all its joy and sorrow.

When you enter the park you first come to a 300 foot long bridge adorned with 58 bronze statues.

 .  
After passing through a rose garden you then come to a fountain supported by six male figures and surrounded by twenty tree of life sculptures which represent the seasons of life.

From there you climb several terraces to reach the Monolith, which is 46 feet high, carved from a single block of granite, and has 121 human figures.

   
Surrounding the monolith are 36 granite sculptures.

Vigeland Park is a unique and incredibly impressive sight that is not to be missed by anyone visiting Oslo!