Trip Next Week!

For those of you who have been reading my blog since the early days - you might recall that I had wanted to visit Norway. Well, it's about to happen.

Next Thursday I'll be flying out to Stockholm and starting my 19-day vacation in Scandinavia. Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Not the best time of the year to visit, of course, but I'm excited!

Tourist tips much appreciated.

Perfect Sunday Music

Dan in Real Life introduced me to the music of Sondre Lerche (pronounced "Sonder Lerkay"), a Boy Wonder from Bergen, Norway. The acoustic guitar, the occasional piano, the easy rhythm, and the unpretentious vocal chords - he weaves music that makes you want to stroll down a pebble-studded European street with hands in your jeans pockets; bask in the warm sun and curl up with a good book and a big cup of cafe au lait; cruise in a convertible with the top down and sing, sing along, in the crisp autumn air, while watching the foliage turn their colors.

The style of his music - the fact that the vocal chords take the front seat, that nothing's overly dressed up - reminds me of another band, Kings of Convenience, whose songs I absolutely adore. Just looked them up and discovered to my surprise that they happen to be Norwegians from Bergen, too.

Recommended Sondre Lerche Tracks:

• I'll be OK
• My Hands Are Shaking

Recommended Kings of Convenience Tracks:

• Cayman Islands
• Live Long
• Misread

You can sample their music at Pandora, Rhapsody, and iTunes.

Oslo

This posting has nothing to do with teeth, jaws, or orthognathic surgeries. Nope.

Has anyone ever visited Norway?


It's 2:30 in the morning, I can't sleep, and I'm dreaming about the next vacation destinations. Last year I visited Frankfurt, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Paris (again), Hawaii, and Sydney. This year I'm going stir-crazy.

If you've ever been to Norway or Sweden, please kindly give me some pointers. What are the truly memorable spots to visit? What's their food like? Do's and don'ts? Thank you.

On that note, what's the best place you've ever visited?

We can't just all sit at home obsessing about jaw surgeries (not that we HAVE been). OK, maybe *I* have been. But, it's time to change that.

Li, if you're reading this - maybe I should hop over to Stockholm on the same trip. And yeah, I know YOU've got lots of tips on Scandinavia. ;)