Retail lesson of the day # 1

Some people don't like to be bothered. Some people aren't social and would prefer to be left alone. Some individuals are afraid of other people and are extremely socially awkward. All of these things are more than ok, however if you are going to be shopping in just about any store in the world, you will be greeted by one of the sales associates. That being said I fully understand and respect everyone's need to be left to their own devices, but if I come greet you and ask if there's anything I can do to help you, it's not because I want to bother you. It's because it's my job. It is my job to greet you, ask you if I can help you, and inform you of our specials. So even if you don't want to talk to me do not be rude to me. Do not cut me off or continue walking right past me as if I wasn't there ( because trust me I will chase you down.). You don't even have to answer me. You can simply smile and shake your head and I'll leave you alone. But be rude to me and I will give you attitude right on back and I am pretty sure that is going to be how most retail associates will handle it. 

Holiday lessons

Like many people do each year I have taken a seasonal job working in retail. Having worked the holidays before I have decided that over the next ten days I am going to share a lesson for all of you holiday shoppers out there to keep in mind when you are out shopping. 

So tonight's first lesson is going to be:

You are not always right. 

I'm sure everyone has heard the saying that the customer is always right at least once in their lives. That being said, the shocking but honest truth is that the customer isn't always right. Just because you saw one price on the internet doesn't mean that the physical store locations can match those prices. Nor can we always adjust prices. And here's a little secret. Even though we may have a margin that we can adjust a price for customer service reasons, if you are rude or irate with us we aren't going to do it for you. I know that life happens and things make people angry but the nicer you are to a sales associate the more likely they will feel for you and give you that ten percent off on your hat. 

Lazy Days in Norway

As I mentioned before there isn't a whole lot to do up here. At least not unless you are ok driving at least an hour and half or more and taking multiple ferries across the fjord to get to other parts of the country. Personally I am not all that excited to take the ferry back across the fjord when we are heading back to Oslo so we are just sort of spending our time here in Norway exploring the Jostedal area and relaxing after running all over the place in the UK for two weeks. After spending the majority of the day relaxing we did decide to drive around the lake to Vassenden which is another small town about a half hour drive away from the apartment. It was here that we tried to find a restaurant to have dinner since we were out. In Skei the only restaurant is the one above the Christmas shop, but they aren't open after about noon. In Vassenden the only restaurant is at a large combo location that is a grocery store combined with a gas station and a cafe. Surprisingly the restaurant was exceptionally fancy for being part of a grocery store and a gas station. They offer complete meals that are plated well and are very flavorful. In most of the grocery stores there is also the option to eat standing. After dinner we drove around the other side of the lake back to Skei which is the much faster route. 

Lunde Turiststasjon (or our apartment here in Norway)

Lunde is the beautiful farm where we are staying at here in Norway and it is run by the super friendly Linda. It smells of cows but when we took a walk around the property they were no where to be found. Apparently they bring their cows in for the entire winter and they won't be let back out to pasture until around March. Its not a hotel or even a motel, but instead a small collection of cabins and a larger farm house that the entire upper level has been renovated to accommodate three rooms and two full apartments. Originally when I made our reservation through Booking.com we were supposed to be staying in one of the smaller red cabins with grass growing on the roof, but since we were her only patrons she upgraded us for free to one of the full size apartments. After being here a few days I can honestly say that was a blessing as having our own kitchen and bathroom are much preferable to having to walk up to one of the larger buildings to cook dinner or use the toilet. The grounds are large and very green. Beyond the main housing area with the farm house, barn and cabins there is a hobbit house sauna with a hot tub along side the river that is fed directly from the melting snow and ice from the Jostedalsbreen Glacier. We explored the grounds and discovered that there is an archery area and even an outdoor dining room complete with lanterns and animal furs to keep warm on cold nights. Beyond the fields is the river which feeds the lake in the center of the valley. And yes the water is ice cold funny enough haha. The views are just stunning and I am sure that during the summer this area is just filled with people hiking the mountains and swimming in the lake. According to Linda during one of our many conversations, they had such an unusually warm year that the lake reached up to 33 degrees Celsius. Thats about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Imagine swimming in that crystal clear water at that temperature. I think I would spend my entire vacation in the water. But alas its too cold for us to swim this late into the season.

More family roots discovered

To say there isn't much to do here in Skei during the off season would be an overstatement. Especially on a Sunday. Essentially the only places open in town on Sunday's here are the Christmas store and the gas station. After realizing this fact we decided to take the opportunity of nothing to do to explore the area. As Scotland  was my chance to discover my family history of distant generations so is Norway for Tim. You see on tims grandfathers side the family originally emigrated to the United States from this very area and there is even a sign that has the family name boldly painted on it. According to the owner of our apartment the town of Stardalen is basically inhabited solely by Flatjords or relatives of the Flatjord family. It's a pretty drive west of Skei and the first large farm you come to is owned by a Flatjord that is directly related to Tims family. If you continue along the single road west you will also have beautiful views of the valley, mountains and the glacier. It was exciting (at least to me) to be able to see the exact village where Tim's family comes from. It's like a homecoming of a long lost son. What a special day. 

A painting called the view at Lunde.

Have you ever stayed in a place that honestly looks as though you were inside of a painting? The view out of our bedroom window here in Lunde seriously looks as though it could be a famous painting. Perhaps one that you would find in the Louvre halls. I have been to many amazing places and seen many amazing things but this view, even with the rainy day we are having looks like it should be with other impressionist paintings. After our breakfast of eggs and bread we decided to drive in Skei, the most immediate town up the road from our apartment. It's a small town with one gas station and two grocery stores as well as what we have dubbed the Christmas store. We aren't actually sure if they always have Christmas items on display or simply if it's because it's November now, but this store is essentially anything and everything Norwegian you could ever need. From beautiful hand knit sweaters and furs to souvenirs (and of course the Christmas section) they have everything you could possibly want. Keeping in mind they are the only "shop" in town they have some interesting prices on their items. Now that we have picked up some items from the grocery store we are going to head back to the apartment and check out some Norwegian television. 

Such a long drive.

According to both the locals and Google maps the drive from Oslo central station to Skei should have taken us about 6 1/2 hours. Add to that time an hour for a nap and about an hour for dinner, bathroom and smokes breaks, plus two hours due to heavy snowfall and it's more like a ten hour trip. Included in that drive were some beautiful towns and some quirky wooden carvings at gas stations followed by seriously the most terrifying experience any driver can have. Taking a ferry across a fjord in a manual car. All I could do the entire ferry ride was hope that my emergency break didn't go and cause my car to lurch forward down the ramp into the back end of the next car. But all in all the actual drive wasn't that terrible despite ferries and snow on winding mountain roads. Now that we are here though I can honestly say that the bed here looks to be either the strangest or the most comfortable bed in the world.