Takk in Norwegian means thanks

I'm in Norway this week and thought I'd share my experience here.

Stegastein viewpoint, 650 meters above Aurlandsfjord

I’m in Norway with one of my dearest friends, Mariana. 😃

I normally don’t have problems coming up with topics to write about for Memoir Junkie Wannabe Author, but this week was a bit of a struggle. I expected myself to get on my laptop each morning and work on my book and this Substack, but the only time I really opened my laptop was when I was catching up on my HBO Max shows (Love & Death, anyone?).

Maybe it’s because I’m traveling for the first time internationally since the pandemic, or maybe I’m just in vacation mode, but I definitely tried to brainstorm a few things for today’s newsletter. Then I just gave up. 

Maybe being in Norway is showing me that it’s okay to step away from writing, even when I feel like I should be writing instead of sitting on the couch at my Airbnb and doing nothing. 

Normally, I’d save a post like this for my travel blog (which I just moved over to Substack) but I’m breaking the rules and going with something more light-hearted and not related to my book.

Here are photos of this week’s trip. Plus, a few new things I learned about Norway. 

This was the first time it dawned on me that Takk meant Thank you. This was on the back of the chairs on the train from Oslo to Bergen.

• My last name (with an extra k) means thank you in Norwegian. I am so Takk-full to be here with one of my closest friends. 🙃

This is the electric boat. It’s the most modern boat I’ve ever been on.

• The large boat we took to see the fjords was all-electric. It was both strange and exhilarating to be on such a quiet, modern boat.

Check out the snack area inside the boat!

• Norway consistently ranks as the top 5 most expensive places to visit, alongside Hong Kong and Singapore. 

• Bergen (the second biggest city) is totally different than Oslo. It’s so much more charming and has a small-town feel.

This is a shopping area in Bergen.

This is near the train station in Bergen.

• I have not had to pull out any cash from the ATM machine. All credit cards baby.

• Norway is one of the last countries to still have a whaling industry. We saw whale sausages. I also read online that you’re not supposed to bring it into the U.S.

I didn’t snap any photos of the whale sausages, but this is reindeer sausage. In case you’re wondering, yes, Rudolph tasted a bit gamey.

• I was surprised when the locals greeted me in Norwegian (or maybe in their other dialect, Sami?) when I walked inside shops and restaurants. I don’t know why I thought everyone would be speaking in English. (I guess I’m a dumb American.)

• The coffee here is really good. So is their salmon. 

This coffee machine, which was at a few of our Airbnbs, looked like a science project coffee maker but it worked so well. The coffee tasted like something you’d get at a fancy cafe. And, look at that tiny Oatly container!

It’s hard to tell but there’s a slice of bread under there. I gobbled this up like it was my last meal.

Neglecting my book is actually making me want to write

When I feel like giving up