Contemplations by Thor /tɔː(r)/

Summer vacation 2016: East Coast road trip   July 20: New York, Manhattan Our flight from Oslo was delayed 5 hours from Oslo, so we arrived very late at Newark International Airport. The taxi to the hotel was stuck in traffic so we only had time for dinner before going to bed that night. We found a Mexican restaurant near the hotel that turned out to be really good. Our hotel, ROW NYC was nicely situated near Times Square. It is modern, and stylish as far as the reception goes. The rooms are upgraded, but they are still worn with respect to bathroom, air condition etc. As we got good value for money, I kind of accepted the stay as good. July 21: New York, Manhattan With no breakfast included at The Row, we started the breakfast just across the street. The Carve Cafe offered excellent sandwiches according to Tripadvisor, so we decided to follow this recommendation. We were not disappointed. Then we took the subway just North of Central Park. We walked through the gorge...

I've had a lot of cars. Most of them I've kept for 1-2 years, but my latest car I've had for almost five years. A record. So why change car now? BMW E61 525 XI M sport My last car was a 2006 BMW E61 525 x-drive M sport. I bought it in 2011 when it was just outside the 5-year warranty in Norway. That cost me dearly: driving it back from Oslo I noticed a low oil level. Back in Trondheim I had this confirmed; the car used one liter oil for approximately 1500 km. So the engine needed an overhaul with new pistons. In order to avoid future disasters, I decided to have the transmission flushed as well. Cost: 62,000 NOK. Over the five years, the car lost about 40,000 of its value annually.  In addition, I' ve estimated the maintenance cost of about 30,000 NOK each year. The car had never failed me on the road, but it was not a car I would take for a family vacation in Europe. Some corrosion issues the last couple of years, although covered by the 12-year BMW warranty...