kipper

Sorry!
LOL!

GRALISTAIR

High powered guns, cute dogs, good beer ?

jrl767

and a good sense of humour (I'm in Scotland, so I can spell it that way )

MikeMpls

And dangerous women ...

GRALISTAIR

10/10 - my son-in-law is Scottish.

I was not going to go there ---

SuperG1955

TheLifeOfA_NKCM

Lots of Mileage Runners - not too many NRSA's though. I rarely do an overnight MR unless a VDB changes my original booking. I make myself an easy first choice for the GA so if an oversell happens, I'm primed to take advantage. Unfortunately, RM does a good job and the opportunities are few and far between.

The girls are both sweethearts. Brought up right, hard-working and accomplished. Both are RN's and good at it - competent and compassionate.

My wife's boxing is very cool. She does it for the workout and she's in the best physical condition of her life. I sure can't do the workout she does, nor can most people 1/4 her age (72).

Guitar - focusing on Delta Blues. Lots of old folk do well with the style.

360? Only in a spin. When I got a Porsche ride earlier this year and the driver told me how glad they were to provide them to their HV customers, I did manage to keep from laughing hysterically.

I'm afraid to ask about weight limits for chocolate vs. ammunition. I don't thnk that it would be understood as a sophomoric attempt at humor. Most likely I'd end up on the No Fly list and my just renewed GE and Nexus would go down the drain.

I'm sure that Thursday will be fine. If I weren't, I'd have changed it to AMS or a different day. We have to be back in NY on Thursday so I didn't want to take a chance on NRSA. Most likely very doable but never worth a gamble since we have J low award tix.

It's really tough to coordinate a group DO. I have an open invite for anyone visiting MSY to get together and we're not inundated. We've gotten together with various folks and always have a great time with them.

Zorak

Thanks.

MikeMpls

Jeg har ikke hørt noen snakke norsk i Brugge, hovedsakelig nederlandsk. Jeg kunne ikke råd til å bo i Norge, og jeg er vant til New York priser.

Jeg har også problemer med fremmedspråk, spesielt sør amerikansk engelsk.

I started to ask people if they speak Canadian so that they don't start talking about American politics. They all think we're crazier than the Brits.

For the rest of the Lounger's (Loungerer in Norwegian) I just told MikeMsp that I hadn't heard people speaking Norwegian in Brugge, mostly Dutch. I also said that I couldn't afford to live in Norway, and I'm used to New York prices.

SuperG1955

My wife also shoots.

Have a great time.

Irka

Hello, I am just starting to discover some of these mile programs. I have 25k miles from Delta. I would like to fly my family of 6 to Orlando next year (from CVG). How do I get enough miles for 6 tickets? All suggestions are welcome, I'm open to MS but I need to know the cards and programs that will give me biggest bang for my buck. Frontier air is also a possibility of anyone has suggestions on that. Thanks so much!!

MikeMpls

But you know enough Norwegian to impress a Norwegian -- they seem truly amazed that anyone else would learn their language.

Their economy is horribly inflated and taxed. Our admin here was in disbelief when I told her about the $5 cokes at Harry's (long gone) in Oslo.

It's a wonderful place to visit on a good line of credit. Or as many do, buy most of your food in grocery stores and stay overnight in relatively inexpensive hytte with cooking facilities.

MikeMpls

Rule #1 is always hold out for the 50,000 mile offers on credit cards. Never settle for less.

Have your spouse do the same -- another 50K miles.

Any other adults in the house with good credit -- another 50K possible for each.

Each additional card per account usually nets you another 5K.

After than you have to start earning them, i.e. either fly or go shopping.

TheLifeOfA_NKCM

So, I did a okay job?

Maybe sprinkle in a little bit of boredom at the local ice rink?

Ah. How's the brexit vibe? Scotts in the streets for independence again?

Oh dear... Brace for impact.

Wait, she's 72?! That's insane. I have to constantly hear complaints about going down the stairs when I'm around other family that age, it's hard enough to get them to fly the short 45min from HIB to MSP -even with a cart to pick them up when they get here. I have no words.

Alright.
Ya' don't say.
Ask in Philly, they might think you came from Hershey
Of course.
True. So many people here anyways, it'd be virtually impossible. But still somewhat manageable -barely.
I don't think I can dispute them..
Ah. Out of curiosity, how's the lines for gas in Manhattan?

Irka

Got it!!! Thanks so much! What credit card would be the best one for us to get those miles with delta? We both have amazing credit, if that helps

Zorak

There are several flavors of Delta-branded AMEX cards and the same person can get signup bonuses for each flavor. Some of them also come in personal and business that count separately.

I think the unbranded AMEX Plat points can be transferred into DL? And also the SPG. The common denominator here is AMEX, so my suggestion would be to go to americanexpress.com to compare the various features and see what makes sense for you vis-a-vis the annual fees, although some of the benefits won't really matter to you unless you intend to fly more regularly on DL besides this MCO trip.

kipper

I'm not dangerous.
We should have a shooting 'Do!
Yes, you did.

I'm so exhausted today!

SuperG1955

I learned a little bit of Norwegian before the trip (thanks to my friends) but I've become adept at using Google Translator. I download any language I might need to my phones for offline use and make sure that the phrasebook I've developed is properly generated in the host language. That way I can use the most common phrases which I've practiced until they're OK, and let the program handle the rest, including responses from whoever I'm speaking with for me. I learned many years ago that with the exception of France, anyone you speak to in their language, even simplistically, will usually go out of their way to help you.

I can also usually understand written better than verbal (signs don't speak rapidly). Translator also handles them pretty well. The only language I gave up on last year was Czech which I'm given to understand is the most difficult language to learn.

Going back to Norway. Yes, the taxes are terrible and so everyone does what they need to in order to adapt. Despite guidebooks, tourists are blown away by the prices. That's probably why NIN (Norway in a Nutshell) and the plethora of cruise ships developed.

I think that one of the major problems is that Norway was always a poor country until the oil boom and it's like the populace has what I think of as an "economic depression mentality". I grew up with that in the 40's after WWII so I understand it somewhat.

Now, they won't take what they consider menial jobs. I noticed that there were many Norwegian managers but that the workers were imported, mostly from eastern Europe and those dealing with tourists were expected to have English fluency but no knowledge of Norwegian was required. We took a guided walking tour in Bergen and someone asked the guide what the people who lived in the fjords and rural villages did for a living - her answer was; "Nothing, the government provides for them." I don't know if this was fact or an attitude issue.

We're fortunate that we can live with the economics of touring in Norway and we had a wonderful 10 days, 8 in the fjords and 2 in Oslo. As far as food is concerned, I feasted on hotel buffet breakfasts. I love salmon, herring and sardines and all were available in abundance. I had the worst hotel experience of my life in Flam. I found that the train from Myrdal to Oslo was not as dramatic as a winter drive north of the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway in Alaska. We had great experiences and people interactions in Balestrand and Underdal. We did 6 museums in Oslo. While many don't seem to like it, probably because they don't know about it, the Kon-Tiki was my fave. I remember both reading the NY Times every day on their progress and listening to their morse code transmissions when I could get their signal. It was an exciting expedition. (For anyone reading who isn't familiar with it, that was in 1947.) There are a few places in the north that we didn't get to, but maybe in a few years...

Anyway, not meant to be a trip report but my final comment is great disappointment at the American food chain takeover of Oslo. Yuck!!!

Belgium (Brugge) has been great experience and we go to Brussels tomorrow and fly to NY on Thursday.