Arrival

It's 7am on the 25th of July and we're in Bergen. Actually according to our iBook we're in CEST, Central European Standard Time, which was an excuse for an early-morning laugh. We got in yesterday afternoon local time after lots of flying (San Francisco-Seattle-Copenhagen-Bergen) but with very few glitches. One of our bags didn't make it, and the state vet who was to come meet us at the airport didn't get the message, so we had to wait thirty minutes or so before clearing customs. Everything else went smoothly. The cats were OK if unamused.

We also found out that all the airport customs inspectors go home for the day at 5pm, so if you're actually smuggling something, it's best to arrive in the evening. I love this place. Trusting customs officials and no more "bright, promising kid who managed to get himself out of the 'hood in Richmond and off to college got tortured and murdered over some money three idiots thought he had" stories (SF Chronicle, Saturday). The third lead in the Bergen paper the same day was a guy who got so drunk in a restaurant that he relieved himself in front of everyone and went around proudly showing off his privates to the other patrons. The police came, and when they found he had a gun permit (a hunting rifle at home), they revoked it and confiscated the weapon on the reasoning that if he had that little self-control he shouldn't be trusted with a firearm. Funny: I always thought being drunk and stupid was a large part of the appeal of owning a gun.

After Andor picked us up and dropped us off at our temporary apartment, we unpacked the absolute essentials, set up our cots and tied them together, and proceeded to sleep for the next twelve hours. That's good, because we've got a lot to do today. Inki's got to report her move to the authorities, and then I've got to get work and residency permits. We've definitely got some shopping to do, and we're going to an open house at 5pm. (Now that we're finally somewhere real estate is affordable, we're very motivated buyers.) Afterwards we're going to a party. Two of our friends, Christine and Torstein, are having a big housewarming/we've-got-a-new-kid-and-isn't-he-cute/hey-look-Inki-and-Robert-are-here party. Should be fun.

"So," as the Emperor liked to say in "Amadeus" when he didn't have anything better to say but wanted to end the conversation, "there it is." Cheers.