Why crime does not pay in Norway

As I told you a week or so ago, I was caught on camera speeding on my way to the Trondheim airport.  I expected the fine to be high, since a simple parking meter violation a week or so earlier had cost me $50. (300 Norsk kroner).  Yesterday I received a letter from the police dept advising me that the fine for the speeding ticket is 2600 Norsk Kroner, or about $450. US.  It is enough to get my attention and I will be sure not to exceed the speed limit for the remainder of our time in Norway.  The other option is 3 days in jail--it may not be a bad choice, depending on how warm the jail is.

We were studying Alma 30-31 the other night for our Institute lesson and verse 60 of Alma 30 caught my eye related to this experience, where it says that the devil "...doth  speedily drag them down to hell."  I guess I could use the defense that "the Devil made me do it" and I was not driving, but being dragged.

Anyway, life goes on. It has been cold here the past few days (-23C), so we try to move quickly from one warm place to the other.  One of the sister missionaries said, "now I feel like I am really in Norway!!"  One of the modes of transportation when the roads are covered with snow and ice is a "spark"--a kind of scooter with runners and a seat. You stand with one foot on a runner behind the seat, kick (spark) with the other foot as on a scooter and move down the street of sidewalk. I saw them a lot in my first mission here, and have seen a few in the past few days. One of the members "rode" one to church on Wednesday night so I had to show it to Nancy and some of the others who had never seen one.  Sister Engebretsen's first comment was, "can we try it?"  So here is her picture on a spark.

The cold does make some nice pictures. Here is the Ila dock on the edge of Trondheim. The haze in the distance is the fog coming off the "warm" fjord waters and mixing with the much colder air.