Norra reis: reisikaaslased, buss ja elu-olu

See siin oli meie buss.
This was the bus we drove through Finland, Norway and Sweden with.
Buss nagu buss ikka. Mida reisi lõpu poole, siis seda rohkem hakkas mulle aga tunduma, et ükski koht ei paistnud bussiaknast nii kaootiline kui minu oma.... võibolla ma kujutan seda lihtsalt ette. Kuid keegi teine ei paistnud dekoreerivat oma istekohta kuivava pesuga.... Bussijuhtidel pidi meiega ikka küll maru külm närv olema. Kõik see supiloopimine (Norras on pagana palju pimedaid tunneleid....)
Bus came as buses do. But the more towards the end of the trip, I started to sense there is something wrong with my "spot" - it seemed considerably more chaotic and messy from the window than all other peoples´ spots. Or maybe I am imagining that? The drivers must have had an immense patience with us, with all that accidental soup throwing (we sat right in front of the hot water machine and Norway, unfortunately, has many dark tunnels where stuff happens.

Too pikk hallhüljes sääl keskel on meie grupijuht Ants.
That tall walrus there is our guide Ants. (thats a name, it doesnt mean ants as in insects).

Nood kaks kükatist on meie bussijuhid. Lahedad vennad, vasakpoolne, Helmut, oli väga tagasihoidlik. Alguses ma arvasin, et see Helmut, kellest kõik pasundavad, on see maskott, mis akna peal ripub, siis ma arvasin, et see on mingi käigukast, pärast tuli välja, et bussijuht ongi Helmut. Etskae. Kogu aeg nad askeldasid hommikul vara ja hilja õhta kämpingutes oma toimetusi teha ja olid igatepidi väga asjalikud.
Those two are our bus drivers. The one on the left is Helmut. At first, when people in front of me were mentioning Helmut I thought it was the mascot hanging on the window. Then I thought perhaps they are calling the gear box Helmut. I was pretty amazed to find out it was actually the bus driver, cause a helmut that almost doesnt make a sound doesnt seem like a living thing.... The drivers were busy people, always earliest to rise and very thorough in all their duties.
Teisel bussijuhil oli seejuures veel aega meid, lambakarja, eraviisilisele ekskursioonile viia > ja mägedes teiste bussijuhtidega salajast informatsiooni vahetada, tema oli ka see, kes mind kõigepealt tõlgiks värbas. Minu missiooniks oli teada saada, kas üks hiljuti valminud tunnel on tasuta või peab maksma tunnelimaksu. Ühes linnas põld inemised nii kaugel käinud, nad ei teadnud sedagi, mis tuleb 100 km perast. Kämpingu perenaine ei teadnud misasi on tunnel. Lõpuks leidsime kuskil keset mäge ühe bussi. Buss oli jummalast tühi, aga selle ees istus lamamistoolis bussijuht ja päevitas oma karvast kõhtu. Ma polnud päris kindel, kas säärast tüüpi maksab tülitada, aga meie bussijuht tegi nii optimistliku näo pähe, et pistsin atlase tollele sellile nina alla. Jõudsin vaevu osutada tunnelile ja alustada " is that..." kui bussijuht juba kätega vehkides lõngutas "Yeees yees, free free!". Huh. Väike kahtlus jäi, et ehk ütles ta seda ainult selleks, et me kiiremini päikse eest ära läheks, aga tunnel oli lõpuks tõesti tasuta.
The other bus driver was a lively chap who spared time to take some of our flock on a private tour in Karasjok and exchange secret information with other bus drivers. He was the first to recruit me as a translator, with a misson to clarify if a certain tunnel has a tunnel fee on it or if it is free to drive through. In one city the folks did not even know what is 100 km away. In the camping the landlady didnt even know whats a tunnel!!! At last, just a few counted miles before the tunnel we found a bus in a very secluded spot between the mountains. the bus was empty, as if te passangers had vanished into thin air, but there was a bloke, apparently the bus driver, sitting in a leaning chair seemingly sunbathing his bare, hairy stomach. I wasnt sure if such a chap is worth approaching, but our bus driver was optimistic. So we approached the guy with the road map and before I even pointed the tunnel he yelled "free, free!" and pointed with his hand for us to move away from his sun.

See vasakpoolne on meie toanaaber Merle
Our roommate Merle on the left

Ja need on meie majalised Nusfjordis. Nemad on "süüdi" selles, et bussi esiots oli palju elavam ja kärarikkam kui tagumine ots. Igatahes oskasid need daamid reisi nautida. Mida seal tagumises otsas üldse tehti, võibolla neil oli mingi võistlus, et kes suudab kauem tõsiseks jääda? Tundub, et see jäi viiki.
Those ladies are our housemates in Nusfjord. It was all their doing that the front of the bus was a whole mile more lively than the back, apparently the people in the back were feeling they are no match to these fireballs.

Siin on reisiseltskonna noorimad liikmed viikingilaevas Borges
The three youngest in our group discovering the copy of a viking ship in Borge.


Ja siin on viis vaprat kes sõandasid Atlandi ookeani jäistesse lainetesse viskuda. Noh hää küll, tegelikult oli vesi 12 kraadi soe. Aga olles veetnud mitu päeva kuumadel Lofootidel, mille kliima sarnanes pigem Lõuna-Itaalia kui Põhja-Norraga, tundus 12 kraadi kohane pigem lõunamere pingviinidele.
The five daredevils thick-skinned enough to swim in the freezing Atlantic ocean. So, ok, it was 12 degrees celsius, but when you come from the Lofoten with a climate fit for Riviera rather than Norway, you wish you were born a penguin to swim there....

Reisikaaslastega võis rahule jääda, kuigi oleks ehk soovinud mõnda seltskonna friiki...aga kui järgi mõelda... siis võisin ma seda seekord ise olla
The only thing the company left to wish for was some freak in the bunch... but when I think about it carefully I might have been that myself this time.