Appunti di viaggio

Intro:
i didn’t know if i would have written about this story or not. The experience i have lived and that i’ll tell you about is one of the most beautiful and strong of this trip. Keeping it for me would have meant to keep a precious memory, a memory to tell only to close friend, while telling it here, i was afraid to disperse the force of this memory and his beauty. But i decided to tell you this story, because i think it’s nice to share an experience like this one. It was a good teaching, and i don’t see why i should keep it to myself

Tale:
it was a dark and stormy night. No, just joking, it was afternoon, three o’clock, but already dark. I was in Alta, just arrived there after a ride thanks to a nice norwegian couple. I went to the tourist information, took a map of the city, got some info on buses and good hitchhiking spots and i left to try to reach Tromso, where i am at this moment, destination that i decided to reach on that day. Along the way to the hitchhiking spot i saw a nice pub, but i thought only “nice pub, but now i have other things to do unfortunately”. Half an hour by feet to reach a good spot, spent one hour and a half to try to hitchhike (in vain), half an hour walking back to the city center. In the meantime i was wondering where i would have slept that night. One thing i learned in this trip is that if you don’t panic, there will always be a solution. I was thinking of searching for a b&b or an hotel, even if they would have been really expensive. But while i was walking a strange idea popped in my mind. A game or an experiment sort of. Why can’t i go to the pub to ask for info and offer a beer to the one who’ll offer me a place where to sleep? In the worst case i’ll have a laugh and a beer
I walked in the pub, asked a beer and some info to the bartender and the two only clients, and they told me about a b&b close to the pub. I decided not to ask them for hospitality, and to wait. Five minutes later the girls went away and a man, with a cowboy hat, entered the pub, ordered a guinness and took a seat two seats from me. We exchanged a greeting. I started to talk with him with a “cheers”, if i remember correctly. We exchanged just few words and suddenly i told him about my idea of asking for hospitality in the pub offering beer. He answered me, why not! Ok, i told him i’ll offer you a beer if you have a place for me. He thought about it for a moment, and answered yes, i have a place for you.
From that moment we started to talk, two more beer passed in our hands before we left the pub. A girlfriend of his was waiting for us to drive us home. We talked and laughed and drank, in the meantime P (the norwegian guy) and T (his girlfriend) were making dinner, with fresh fish that they fished that afternoon. The dinner is yummy, T is a great cook, and the company couldn’t have been better. We talked about everything, from stupid things, to my trip, what we do in our life, about life itself. At the end of the evening, around one or two am (time passed so quickly) i risked to go away the next morning. Luckily T and P insisted and i decided to remain one more night. The next day i walked along a path in the forest close to to P’s house, the view is wonderful, and i came back at lunch time. I met T in the house, i remained to chat with her until she went to her job. Then i waited for P, and we spend the evening together, first to go shopping because i needed some ingredients for the dinner, then to the pub, because a beer at the end of the day is always welcome! The conversation with P was more and more interesting, we have a lot in common, and he is a great man with great wisdom and good heart, it was a pleasure to talk with him. Again T came to pick us up and we all returned to P’s house.
I will never forget that night. We cooked (risotto with apples), we drank, we talked about everything, we played some music, we singed, laughed, joked. Suddenly we realized it was 5 in the morning. It was hard to say bye to T. It was hard to say bye to P the next morning. But we parted with a “Till the next time”. We will meet again, i’m sure of it. And here ends my adventure in Alta.

I could have written lots more, but what i want to share is the beauty of the encounter, without the fear of novelty, without the fear of meeting new and different people. You just need not to fear, and to consider every person as a brother, and you’ll see that he’ll consider you in the same way.

An hug to everybody