The Fram and the Fat Boy Burger
Published on 19.05.2009 - Victorinox North Pole 09 Expedition
Let's come back for a moment to John Huston and Tyler Fish's expedition and tell you about the two memorable moments experienced by the young Americans during their visit to Norway just after completing their successful trek to the Pole.
The two men had decided to travel via Norway on their way back home to the States. What they wanted to do was pay homage to some of the great heroes who had inspired their trip and thank one of their top sponsors for its support.
An exceptional situation such as this was worthy of an exceptional dispensation: John and Tyler were given permission by the Fram Museum (Fram being the sailing ship aboard which Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen wrote some of the finest pages of polar history, a hundred years ago now) to celebrate their return on board the historic ship that is now housed in the museum that bears its name. "We invited our friends, families and sponsors," wrote John. "There were also a number of other marvellous people who live in Norway who we invited to come and see a slide show aboard the Fram. It was a very special evening for the two of us and we experienced the sort of really amazing and close vibes that only a success such as ours can generate. It was an amazing feeling to realise that a hundred years before us, it was our heroes themselves who had walked on the deck where we stood that night. The word 'Fram' in Norwegian means 'forward', which exactly matches the name of our polar travel company, Forward Expedition. It was great that we were able organise this evening, because moments like that don't come around very often in a person's life. It was fantastic to be able to celebrate our success in that sort of environment! And maybe it was only then that we first began to believe in what we had achieved..."
The second big moment for our two heroes while they were in Norway came when they visited Bergans (Hokksund), the company that was one of their main sponsors of their adventure. And more specifically because of the hamburger they ate at one of their meals there. So delicious! "You can almost taste it yourself," wrote John. "Half a pound of ground steak, Norwegian cheese, bacon and a fried egg on top, plus plenty of mayonnaise, of course, ketchup, a few slices of tomato and a lettuce leaf or two. I can't quite remember whether or not there was any avocado, too (but I'll be putting some on the hamburgers I make at home from now on), but what I do remember perfectly is that there was a gigantic plate of French fries alongside the hamburger..."
In a week or two, the two adventurers will be talking about some of the problems they have encountered on returning home after such a wonderful experience.
