Peace, Love, and Lutefisk: Adventures i Norge

Last night I had a great adventure with my friends Rachel, Line, and Stian. We went on a mission to have a drink in all the pubs in Tromsø that we had never set foot in. We failed in the ultimate goal, but we had a great time and found a few interesting places.

The night started at Rachel's where we watched the Norwegian Idol. It is absolutely huge here and they are down to the final three. It must have been torch night because we heard Seal's "Kissed by a Rose," Sinead O'Conner's "Nothing Comes to You," and "No One Knows What It's Like" by a Creed-like band with a rough voice. Anyways, a good show with tension mounting for the final next week!

After hearing the art of Idol, we decided to make our first hop the Verdensteatre which is home to the old movie theatre in Tromsø. It is a beautiful old building and just this fall they added a bar on the bottom of the theatre that is very classy. They had fancy glasses, color changing table lights, and lots of 40 something artsy, smart people. Stian and I decided to talk about Nietzche, religion, and the difference between neo-liberal and Keynesian economic models in order to fit in with the crowd. A definite mac crowd, if only I would have had it I could have fit in.

We then headed to Le Mirage, which was like a more crowded, less modern Verdensteatre. Again, smart clientel and huge leather chairs. We continued our religion talk and Stian even had an "Old Danish," which is an old man's drink similar to Jægermeister.

From Le Mirage we headed to the most random stop of the night: G. The people there were all over 55 and all single. Kind of a weird mix. We sat in the corner and asked if they had a drink menu. Nope, only a couple types of beer and one type of wine. Well, at least the bathroom was clean. We sat in the corner and tried to avoid the waiter who was a little too anxious to speak English. A corona without lime and a 3 kroner water made this spot a "glad we've been there, not going back" type place.

Then to Meieriet, the best stop of the night. We'd been there before, but it was half price drinks and they have great strawberry daquiris as well as the best dj in Tromsø. The young crowd with students and young adults as well as dim lighting made it a fun spot to chat, dance, and people watch without getting caught. We stayed there for quite a while, maybe a little too long because afterwards we tried to go Solid, but didn't have the energy. Stian and I got distracted by a taxi with our name on it and went home, content with our night of adventure. Apparently Rachel tried to walk home and got distracted by a friend who "forced" her to continue hopping, so she represented for the peace kids in a few other pubs. I think we sufficiently left our mark on the night.

There are many more places to go in Tromsø. As the Lonely Planet says: "Simply put, Tromsø parties." Now I know how all the demographics of Tromsø party!