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I Miss the Silence
Noise pollution and a breakfast in Norway
The modern world is loud. Very loud. Cars racing through the streets, construction work on every corner, people yelling, music playing, and planes flying overhead. Cities are getting bigger and denser as more and more people are moving there. Quiet places are nowhere to be found, less loud areas a rarity. Despite all the negative effects of noise, people are trying to ignore that it exists. Sometimes it takes pure silence to realize how loud the world truly is.
A breakfast in Norway
A few years ago, when the world was less chaotic than it is today, I went on a road trip with two friends through Norway to the North Cape and back. There was so much beautiful nature, fjords, waterfalls, lakes, and beaches with crystal clear water. However, there is one thing that I keep remembering more than anything else.
On a sunny morning in northern Norway, we stopped at a rest area next to the road. As soon as I got out of the car, the first thing I noticed was the silence. It was surreal and something that I had never experienced this way. The only time it might be considered quiet in an urban area is in the middle of the night and even then there are air conditioning units and distant cars. But it was late morning and the sun was shining. There wasn’t any wind…
