Lots of room on this 1/4th full plane. The food on NWA was indeed pitiful compared to BA. I never saw it get dark out during the trans-Atlantic flight. The sun set, but not enough for black, given our latitude during the flight. Got at least 1 ½ hours of sleep. Cloudy skies the whole way across the Atlantic, til Amsterdam. Hopefully the sheet of cloud won't be traveling to Norway. Flew over Glasgow, and across Scotland. Brought me back to landing in sunny Edinburgh 5 weeks ago, driving to Glasgow on the left hand side of the road, and the shock of finding out from the B&B guy that my family "wouldn't be arriving in Scotland today."
Wedding in ~6 ½ hours.
6/27/04
4:22am
Sandefjord: Guest house.
Long day…
Arrived in TORP airport ontime (10:25). Walked through customs and into the lobby without any type of security impedence. Pretty easy going airport. Met Karl in the lobby, and his parents dropped us off at the guest house Karl and Mariann rented for visitors to Norway (super nice of them!). Met up with Ben, Dave, Liz, from Seattle, and Alexander, originally from Berkeley, Karl's hometown. I had met most of them before on previous visits with Karl. They ate a breakfast of "rolled" meats (seems like all meat comes in a sausage/hotdog form). We watched some Animal Planet on TV (in English with Norwegian subtitles), and a group of us went to the whaling museum a few blocks away. Sandefjord was a long time whaling town prior to the late ‘60s. Saw a very graphic video (in Norwegian, unfortunetly) of the whaling "process" on the sea.
Returned back to the house, changed for the wedding, and walked to the church at 3:30pm. For his wedding, Karl wore a slick purple coat, and had a high quality foldable top hat, along with purple sunglasses. The wedding was at a church at 4:00, immediately following a 3:00 wedding there. Everything was said in English and Norwegian. There was pipe organ music, and a model boat hanging from the ceiling (another sign of a sea-town). Karl sits next to his mom, opposite Mariann sitting next to her dad. After they are married Karl and Mariann sit side by side, and Karl's mom and Mariann's dad sit side by side (does this mean the parents are married too???).
Afterwards, we get a ride to the reception area, on the harbour, arriving ~5:15. There is a toast as Mariann and Karl arrive dramatically via boat. They take some pics, then it's dinner time. Seafood buffet! All sorts of Norwegian seafood dishes: pattes, salads, mussels, prawns, crabs, salmon, scallop, quiche, breads, and sauces, with white wine. Through out dinner there are pauses for speakers. There are ~50 people at the wedding, which gives an intimate feel.
Desert was ice cream slices, strawberries, and a funnel cake – like thing made of almonds. Then downstairs for drinks and music from a boombox (Karl's mix CDs). ~10:30, the sunsets, though still stays light for a long time. 11:15 and it's cake time! More food. Excellent cake! Best I've ever had. Good icing. I even ate a flower.
Then more downstairs drinks and music, and it's still light after 1:00am. Feeling pretty tired, as I didn't get much sleep on the plane, but the party doesn't end, and around 2:20am I notice it is getting lighter out. Finally at 3:35 the Seattle folk and I walk back to the house and it is as bright as day. Long day! We got home ~4am, with people aching for sleep, and saying, "Good night, I mean, good morning… er…"
It's now 4:42am, and Karl just got home and there are plans for a post-party! This is vintage Norway wedding style. Food and long partying over several days. I'll need to find a new room, as I'm in the living room. Will this 40 hour day end? Not really that tired actually, but might be rough tomorrow.