An era is coming to an end. Era might not be the most fitting word ever, but to me it's kind of an era coming to an end here at CERN, when Eirik is going home this Friday. One year at CERN is coming to and end, and in no time at all, I'll be sitting there, saying "Those were the days." These are the days, as our friends in Saybia say, so approproately. These are the days. You don't always realize it when it happens, but these are the days. This time I understand. I think.

As this kind of pre-end-of-an-era-event was Stine and I headed over to Luzern for a concert with the mentioned Saybia. In Luzern, at Schüür. Before I realized how far away Salzburg really is, I arranged with Nicole to meet in Salzburg that weekend, so the trip to Luzern wouldn't be in vain. Anyhow, this the last something happening before these days are over. I think. From now on it's just tying up strings. Loose ends I mean, tying up loose ends.

Stine headed back to CERN to do whatever it is she's doing there. Counting her magnets. Making her supervisor go bananas. Days to completion: 610. Magnets left to test or whatever: 56 gazillions. Magnets per week: 7. Naah. But before she left we went to the concert. Great concert. Some Danes were there, and some general Dane-fans. This short little blond girl being in love with the singer in Saybia. Me: Don't even know his name to be honest. And you should be honest. So she's conversioning with Stine and smoking pot, smogging the whole place. But we were standing way up front. We were so close we could have felt their spit, if they had spit. They didn't spit luckily. Good concert though, good concert. One of the best. I'm not a fanatic fan or anything, but they're good, the cd is good, and they're good live. Talking a little bit, telling about this and that, telling us about life in general. Trying to be a little educative for the little crowd they'd managed to collect there. Out in nowhere in Switzerland of all things. You never really think there are any fans of anything outside Switzerland, in Switzerland, you think they're all shut into their own little Swiss chocolate thing, with their local elections every other week and cheese here and cheese there, but then all of a sudden you meet people there, in Luzern, who have been to Saybia concerts in Denmark and stuff. I am stereotyping. I know. People probably think the exact same thing about Norwegians. Might be true though. Who knows. But then Stine went back, as I said, back to CERN.

So there I was, in Luzern. Quickly relalizing that travling alone isn't all that, sending some thoughts to old Zoë. I wouldn't have been such a happy camper in Morocco alone I think, not unless, perhaps if I seriously got into the kif business. Being alone in Luzern is a good advertisement for a good MP3 player, I'll give it that. No, wait, hang on. I'm not saying anything bad about Luzern. It is a good city. Pretty. Nice. But oh-so-slow on a Thursday morning. And afternoon. After a while though, the day was over and I headed to Salzburg. With the train. You know, I've grown up in this computer age, and microwaves and mass media, mass transportation, learnt about physics in school, I have a driver's license, I see pictures from a war far away every day, I've taken planes to different continents, but still, still I think it's a bit fascinating that I can sit down in a reserved seat on a train, eat my apple and read my book and all of a sudden I'll be in Salzburg. Another place on the map, wihtout really doing anything. Really simple, but it still catches me. Strange.

Salzburg though. The city with Mozart, the Sound of Music and some eight-legged goat in some museum, that Julia so whole-heartedly advertises. I forgot all about the goat, I must admit, I got it all mixed up with the scientifical museum in München, and forgot all there was to remember about it (namely 8, legs, goat). Salzburg is thoroughly charming though. That is, if you shut your eyes and avoid all the "erotic shops" and all the lunatics and all the drunks by the train station, and you don't open them before you come to the old town. Then it's quite charming. Very Austrian, very alpish, very Glühwein, very you know - Edelweiss. There isn't really much I can say about Salzburg that can't be found at lonelyplanet.com or something like that, so I'm gonna shut up. Look at the pics.