SATURDAY, JUNE 19^TH – LYNGDAL TO DALEN, NORWAY:

Slept less than 2 hours so I didn’t go running this morning.  Thought it was going to be cold and would have to run “trails” and “roads” again anyway.  Had a quick breakfast and checked out of hotel.  Turns out it had warmed up considerably AND I could have run bike trails into town.  Darn!  Will definitely run tomorrow in Dalen.  I know where a good gym is in Interlaken so I can get back into working out instead of just running every day. 

The bus ride was LONG but scenic.  I’m coming back to Norway on July 8^th and will stay until July 19^th – one festival in Vinstra and one festival in Breim.  I don’t have time to fly home between the two weekends plus it’s so expensive.  So I’ll stay in Norway (AGAIN) but this time I’m going to do something I’ve always wanted to do here – take the Norway in a Nutshell Tour.  It goes from Oslo to Bergen via train, bus, and boat.  Actually takes you up one of the highest points in Norway and then a boat takes you through the fjords.  However, I got the “Norway in a Nutshell Tour” free today.   The last few miles to the hotel was spent going up a huge mountain and then coming down the other side.  The road was narrow but was two-lane traffic.   When someone met out bus, they had to pull over.  There were multiple hairpin turns and since we were in a double-decker bus, we were up really high.  Made me a little nauseous looking down into the valley below when there was no guard rail on the side of the road.  The brakes started squealing about the last 2 miles of the trip and smelled like they were burning when we finally arrived.  Looked like a really cool LITTLE village.  There were several little amusement park type things and lots of little stores.  Will go exploring tomorrow. 

The hotel is OLD, OLD, OLD and very historic.  However, it is most famous for the “ghosts” that live there.  Normally that would freak me out.  But I’ve become so well acquainted with the one that lives with me, it doesn’t scare me at all.  I asked the receptionist about the story.  Evidently in room 17, there was a dead baby found.  Then also in a room up in the loft, a baby was born and was dropped and killed.  Guests and employees say they hear a woman singing as if to a child and also hear a baby crying.  Very sad.   

Our rooms are nice but the internet wasn’t working.  I had a low signal so I moved to another room.   The signal in the new room is excellent but I can’t connect to the internet.  I was walking around the lobby holding my computer up like a lightning rod trying to get a signal when a man who works here started quizzing me.  I was pretty frustrated and not that nice to him.  The pressure is on for me to have access because the Bellamys have a huge media tour beginning early Tuesday Morning all over Switzerland.  Still needed to download the revised itinerary and make copies of it.  He told me that I would probably have to go into the little gift shop and use the “wired” computer.  Even offered to let me plug mine into the DSL line.  I was trying to make him understand that I would be working a 3 am and had a printer, external hard drive, and headset that I would have to carry around with me besides the laptop, electrical plug and convertors!  He reached out and started stroking my cheek and telling me that this hotel purposely did not have telephones and televisions and did not want to have great internet connection because guests came here to “heal their souls”.  I assured him that if I couldn’t get on the internet, I was going to be much too stressed to experience any “healing” since we have to work while we’re here.   

They also insisted that everyone (including the sound company and opening act) eat dinner together at 7 pm.  They said they had 10 fish and 10 beef entrees.  Then when we got in there they said 2 of the fish were cod and 2 were mackerel.  By the time they got to me, they were out of cod.  AND, it was LAMB, not BEEF!  I ordered the fish but figured I wouldn’t be able to eat it.  It took almost an hour for them to bring out the food.  Strange because they way they were limiting us to 2 items, I assumed everything had been pre-prepared.  Not so.  And, when the fish came out, it still had the tail, skin, and bones in it.  I told them to take mine back and I’d eat the lamb.  Instead, about 20 minutes later, they came out with the tail removed.  Again I said, bring me the lamb and 20 minutes later, they came out with the skin removed!  I was going to at least try to eat it but I could smell it before I got it to my mouth and just decided to eat the mashed potatoes and salad.  Thankfully, there is food at the venue tonight.  A hot dog never sounded soooooooo good!  J 

They did have a good dessert – panacotta in orange sauce – the only thing really edible for my dinner.   

Came back to the room and found another wireless connection had popped up and I was able to log on to AOL.  Don’t know how long that will last.  We have to leave for the venue at 10:30 for an 11:00 pm show.   I slept a LOT on the bus ride over today, so I shouldn’t get too sleepy!  Honestly, have slept more on the bus trips than I do in my bed at night. 

Show was great.  Even after the Bellamys finished performing at 12:30 am, there was another band going on to perform until at least 2 am.  People were still coming in when we left.  We had fun watching several drunks “dancing” with themselves at the show.   I couldn’t find my camera in my purse so I had our promoter bring me back to the hotel.  Not in my room.  I know I had it on the bus today because I took some photos.  We call the bus driver and he’s going to look tomorrow.  I’m also going to look in room 12 where I first checked in today.  Maybe I accidentally left it in there.  Sure hope so.  There some photos on there that I had not downloaded to my computer yet.  Not to mention that I don’t have a camera the rest of the tour.  Don’t want to buy one over here because the charger will have a European plug on it.  

Going to bed soon.  Susan says she’s going jogging with me around the lake tomorrow.  At least we have a day off and the internet seems to be working again.  All the shops are closed, so I can get some work done….maybe.  Jennifer is really scared of “ghosts” so she probably won’t sleep at all tonight.  We were all trying to think of some way to hook up a recording of a woman singing or a baby crying outside her window.  Evil!!!  J 

Jude