It's very easy to go overboard on the superlatives when you're up here, but the fact of the matter remains that it's true. This is truly an amazing place and it's very hard not to have a really great time.

Let's use this last week as an example.

I had a buddy from Germany come visit me and while I had to work for half his stay, I did manage to pull some crazy stunts and do some awesome stuff while I was off. I had a great four course dinner at my job (the chefs are...

First things first; the snow is gone from the village! Sure, it's still up in the mountains all around, but at least it's gone from where I wander on a daily basis. Feels very good to finally have switched from hiking boots to sneakers, even though the sneakers need to be cleaned pretty much daily due to all the rock-dust that's on all the roads....

And ok, the snow actually went away maybe two weeks ago but I haven't really gotten around to writing this before now, so I'm sticking...

...or in this case, a simple Volcanic Eruption.

Yeah, I'm staying at 78 degrees north, which should be way above any consideration since the current blast from Eyjafjallajökull is heading southwest from Iceland.

Think again.

Where do all those planes to us come from?

Yup, you got it right.

So we are at the moment stuck with the "guests" we had yesterady, which most of the time is pretty fine. Except for the fact that they've...

One of the best things about working as a bartender/waiter is all the interesting and fun people you meet while at work. While most customers (yes, I know I'm supposed to call them guests but a business degree apparently has its influences) are as forgettable as yesterday's lunch, a few do stand out from the crowd.

The polar explorers: We've had a bunch of people heading up for the North Pole; most of them are regular joes who've forked over a big wad of dough and go there by snowscooter...

I've now spent a bit more than a month up here where the Polar Bears roam and the Northern Lights go when they need a brake. And so far I've managed to see neither, which is kindof a bummer. Don't care that much about the Lights (since it's hard to top gazing at them when you're soaking in a 40 degree hot tub after a hard days work), but I really, really, really want to see a white Teddy.

Well, I'll get my best chance for that come Monday, when me and a bud are heading out on a snow...