Keith Geswein

Senior, Journalism Major

Keith's scholastic career will mercifully end in May, when he will graduate with a journalism degree. He will then be moving to Dallas with Kimberly. He is originally from Lanesville, Ind.

The clock in our room read 2 a.m., and I knew there was no chance my wife and I would get back to sleep for the rest of the night. Her fever was so high that she could not even feel her stomach, which was amazing considering the severity of her upset stomach. I felt so sorry for her - I just wanted to offer her the comforts of home, such as a nice bowl of warm chicken noodle soup or maybe a spoonful of Pepto Bismol to calm her stomach. Regardless, my job was to get her absolutely anything she wanted. 
There was one problem: We were in a strange place called Bergen, a town of 220,000 people located along the western coast of Norway. To make things worse, we had only been there one full day, so we had no sense of direction yet. To complicate matters further, the "small-town Indiana boy" in me had no clue about how to get around the streets of Bergen. 
The challenge came during day two of her sickness. The other five members of our group, all of whom knew Bergen quite well, had departed to another city. My crutch was gone. The inevitable happened at 6 a.m.: My wife was craving a croissant, the only food in the last 36 hours that had sounded good to her. I had no choice but to ask the hotel clerk for directions to the nearest bakery, a good Bergen map, and to walk until I found a croissant. I thought I stood a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a bakery, much less finding my way back to our hotel!
As expected, it took me hours to find a place that sold croissants. Unexpectedly, it took me a few minutes to learn that for some mysterious reason, I loved Bergen. The relaxing harbor calmed my nerves about returning empty-handed. A man was setting up a tent full of fish to sell. I was sure many more tents were to follow. Could they all be selling fish? Nonetheless, it signaled that this was a busy area of town. I felt lucky to catch a glimpse of the harbor like this, because I knew in a few hours, it would be bustling with activity.
I continued walking. The cobblestone streets provided an extra bounce to my fatigued feet. The scenery - even four hours before daylight - made me forget the problems of the past few days. But I've traveled overseas before. I could write these exact words about Hong Kong or Budapest. But something about Bergen was different and I couldn't place my finger on it because of my quest for croissants.
Sure, there were mountains, harbors, huge ships, old churches, and lots of other buildings you see on postcards. But I could not believe that so many bakeries were near our hotel (all of which were closed at this time of day, of course! Luckily, there were several grocery stores to bail me out). I also noticed shops, restaurants, music stores, book stores, everything we would want to visit all within a 10-minute walk from our hotel. Whatever she wanted to help her feel better, I was going to find. As for myself, I wanted to know why I loved Bergen, and it was hard to do so at 7 a.m.
I eventually returned with a nice selection of pastries. But I will never forget how I was able to comfort my wife during the day with nearly whatever food she desired: tangerines, bananas, pizza, and chicken sandwiches. I was amazed at how well this small, foreign town helped me in my task. It almost felt like Bergen was taking care of her instead of me.
Regardless of who cared for her, she awoke the next morning feeling 100 percent better and ready to explore. She couldn't have picked a more perfect day to recover. The sun was out - it seemed like this town deserved 365 days of sunlight instead of the 220 days of rain it actually receives. It is perfectly nestled between a harbor and gigantic mountains. How could anyone have a big ego when they are being dwarfed by mountains that never end? Maybe that's one reason I loved Bergen: the town helps humans realize this planet does not need us. We're lucky to be alive in such a fascinating world.
My wife and I were also lucky to be touring in such a friendly place. Whenever we had a question, we could always count on an answer in perfect English. This is not a luxury afforded to English-speakers in places like Hong Kong, where directions can sound something like "Go around building to left then straight." Not only were the people helpful, they were friendly too! Most people greeted us with a phrase in Norwegian, but were still helpful when we shrugged our shoulders and said "Uh, we really only know English, not Norwegian." If not for those kind of people, my wife would still be in bed craving croissants. Would Americans be so kind to non-English speakers?
Our explorations took us around the harbor, but we were never 10 minutes from our hotel, which was located in the heart of the town. We always found what we wanted. A toy store: Although the one 10 feet from our hotel was closed, we found another two blocks away. A good Chinese restaurant for lunch: We saw three on one street. A world atlas: We saw one in each of the four book stores we visited. Tiger candy bars: We found none in the six grocery stores we visited. Keep in mind during all of this, we were never more than a 10-minute walk from our hotel.
I owe a lot to Bergen. It helped me take care of my sick wife when she desperately needed some of the comforts we were used to in Franklin, Indiana. It gave me bakeries, grocery stores, shops with good sales, and its people were extremely friendly. I confidently booked a flight from Bergen to Oslo through a Bergen travel agency - naturally, located two blocks from the hotel. Sure, I could do this in any other country, but I would not have used the word "confidently" to describe me doing so.
Bergen could not have been more perfect. The friendliness of its people, and the location of a variety of shops added to its small-town charm. I love Bergen because I felt taken care of there. I love Bergen because anyone who has never been overseas before could stay in Bergen, then desire to travel outside the United States again. Bergen is a wonderful sales pitch for the traveler who is weary of going abroad. So, in my never-ending quest to convince people to travel abroad, pictures and stories from Bergen are perfect.
Almost as perfect as discovering that our atlas cost $20 more in the United States than in Bergen.