08.11.08
Vacation writeup!
So, basically most of last week was this year’s vacation for me. So, here’s krikkert’s post-vacation writeup.
Day 1: Monday, August 4th.
This day didn’t start off too well, what with having to get up at 6AM to show up for work. I can’t afford snacking off from too many paid hours (what with not having paid leave…), so it was decided that I’d work a half-day this day. Thus, I worked from 6:30 to 11 o’clock. Cue my boss being late to relieve me. Grr. With the boss finally there, it was a race against the clock to reach pick-up so I could drop by the flat for a last overview1. Then, in a succession so rapid the Romans didn’t have anything on us, I picked up my lovely wife, she inspected the flat (A+!), we picked up her new driver’s licence from the DMV (Bastards wouldn’t simply let me pick it up at the post office, nooo, she had to show up in person…), and shot off for the first stop on Christer And Kat’s Grand Vacation of 2008! Namely … My parents. Cue dread. 
According to our schedule, we were supposed to stay for half an hour to an hour-ish at my parents’. This was severely broken by several magnitudes. We arrived at around three-ish, and thought we’d get a move on by four. Instead, I don’t think we managed to leave before around seven. The blame was duly apportioned in my direction, and we shot off, again, for the Lost City of the Mustaches2. We managed about oh, an hour before an SMS ticked in on Kat’s phone, wondering whether or not we could drop by Lillehammer. Indeed we could, so a detour was made. Once there, we had to be telephonically guided to our destination, before conversation and hugging could ensue. After said hugging had ensued, off we went again.
A bit past midnight, including one change of drivers (and one seriously distrustful Christer clawing his way into the passenger seat by way of buttcheeks), we arrived. We were supposed to be camping, but the hour was late, so we were kindly allowed the use of the Devil Monster Doom Sofa of Ikea. After firing up the gifts for the natives3, and playing a wee bit of Dark Age of Camelot (quite the fun game, once you understand the principles). Then we bedded down for sleep.
Day 2: Tuesday, August 5th.
Day 2 started off with serious oversleeping. Alarm clock duly ignored, of course. Pretty much thrown in the shower, and then we set out to see the sights. We invaded the town, went shopping, and calibrated my clothes-dar. Apparently I need to get certified to pick out clothes Kat could wear. Got a couple of shirts and a nice pair of trousers for me, and a few things for her. Afterwards, we popped around to the Nidaros Cathedral for Olavsfestdagene (Feast Days in Honour of St. Olav). We even got to climb one of the towers (on the picture on the linked site, it is the tall tower in the middle of the building on the left). 40 metres above ground, 171 steps. Christer, of course, is deathly afraid of heights. It worked pretty well, all in all, once my brain wrapped itself around the idea that it wasn’t going to randomly crash into the ground head-first. There were also visits to Outland (fantasy bookshop) to garner presents so as to curry favour with the natives, and buying dinner on our way home. There were tacos.
Once we returned, I started setting up the tent. Was pretty fun, doing something physical for a change4, until the hosts informed me that it was going to rain. Cue the question of when they were going to tell me, and the answer of When he’s done pumping up the air mattress
. They’re evil. EVIL! Good thing the tent’s waterproof.
That’s it for Days 1 and 2. Days 3 and 4 with my wife — bless her — and I, and Days 5 to 7 with just me will be forthcoming shortly. 