I found a bench for myself and began gnawing greedily at my snack. It did me a lot of good; it had been a long time since I’d had such an ample meal, and I gradually felt that same sense of satiated repose you experience after a good cry. My courage rose markedly; I was no long satisfied with writing an article about something so elementary and straightforward as the crimes of the future, which anybody could guess, or simply learn by reading history. I felt capable of a greater effort and, being in the mood to surmount difficulties, decided upon a three-part monograph about philosophical cognition. – from Hunger by Knut Hamsun (Noble Prize Winner, 1920)

As I read these words by controversial Nazi sympathizer and nobel laureate Knut Hamsun, the significance of my first bite in Oslo became clear.  It was a short walk from the National Theatret station to the Savoy Hotel, made slow and deliberate by the bumpy drag of my carry-on wheels and by the weight of my backpack pressing down each step. I happily welcomed this seemingly underwater rhythm of a traveler on foot after the cramped imprisonment of seatbelted air travel. My snack, this shrimp sandwich, hearty chewy bread, sweet shrimp, bright lemons, woke me up. I felt the sense of “satiated repose after a long cry” and also, the mood “to surmount difficulties.”

I hope you find good snacks that offer repose and courage during your summer travels.

For now, I’m back on my warm Indiana porch with birds chirping and gentle windchimes…….. reading and snacking.