Norway Highlights

We've been home from Norway for 5 days.  In some ways it feels like we've been back for weeks, but my daily tiredness reminds me that we haven't been back that long! 

The trip itself was fantastic.  I loved everything about Norway- from the drop dead gorgeous views to the friendly people we met.  I even enjoyed the food! This is probably because we didn't eat much "real" Norwegian food.  As I mentioned on an earlier blog, Norway is a very expensive country to visit.  An average entree costs around 160 Norwegian Kroner (which is about $26!), and that's not even fancy eating.  We did our best to fill up on the complimentary hotel breakfasts each morning and snacked on the granola bars and Slim Jims I brought with us during the day to tide us over until dinner.  We averaged only eating out about once a day while we were there...but that certainly adds up! Needless to say, when spending that kind of money on a meal, we wanted to be sure we enjoyed what we were eating.  Hence our lack of ordering of Norwegian food.  (Will did order a local specialty one afternoon- whale and berry stew.  I did not try it. Even if I had enjoyed it when I tasted it, I wouldn't have been able to get past the fact that I was eating a whale. According to Will, though, whale meat is "salty," and "not something he'd order again.")

I said this before, too, but Norway is definitely the most gorgeous place I've ever seen, even beating out my beloved Ireland. Some of the scenery we saw was, to be cheesy, almost magical. We rented a car two different times, once in the South, and again in the North. While it was expensive to rent the cars (especially when you add in one way rentals and ferry prices!) (also, do you sense a theme starting with all the "while expensive" phrases?), we really loved being able to see more of the country at our own pace.

Oslo was a good starting point for us.  I have a somewhat jaded opinion of "big" cities in foreign countries. I like them and enjoy spending time exploring them, but I much prefer to get out and explore the smaller towns and less touristy areas of whatever country we're visiting.  Starting in a big city is a great way to ease into a different culture, though.  You have more dining options, places stay open longer, there are endless things to do, etc... We enjoyed checking out several museums in Oslo, walking to the roof of the Oslo Opera House, and checking out the Oslo Ice Bar.

I loved Bergen- what a charming little town! The views coming into the harbor as our ferry was docking were spectacular.  I also enjoyed seeing the Torget (fish market) in full effect on the Saturday afternoon we were there.  We took 2 different funiculars to the top of mountains to take in the views, The Fløibanen, and my favorite- the Ulriken.  Both funiculars offered breathtaking views of the city, the fjords, and the mountains in the distance.  We hiked down the first mountain and enjoyed a beer at the top of the 2nd.  Both were wonderful ways to spend time on each mountain.

View of the Bryggen area from our ferry

A whole mess of rooftops from our steep walk down the mountain

Close up of the Bryggen buildings from the late 1800's- look how crooked the buildings are!

A highlight of the trip for me was definitely Preikestolen and the hike to the top.  The hike is about 4 kilometers each way, and involves a few sections of intense, steep ascents over boulders.  The views the whole way up are amazing, though.  Obviously the view from the top is the real attraction.  I will say this about dangling my feet over the edge.  When looking out to the view in the distance, it isn't scary.  Looking down, however? A WHOLE other ball game.  I was extremely cautious making my way to the edge, too.  I sat on my bum about 6 feet away from the edge and scooted my way over.  I may have looked ridiculous, but I wasn't taking any chances!  I'm proud of myself for being brave and stepping out of my comfort zone.  Had I not dangled my legs over, I would have instantly regretted it once we were back at the bottom.  It was definitely one of the scariest things I've ever done, though! The pictures we got are fantastic.  They do a pretty darn good job of showing just how high up we were.

Gorgeous views during the hike to the top

That's me- white knuckling with my knees! And leaning back, so as not to tip over the edge

And here's Will, far more comfortable than I was!

Isn't it strange how it's a perfectly flat slab just sticking out over the fjord?

Another highlight was the glacier hike and the actual drive up to the glacier.  Will and I were literally in awe of the scenery around us.  While neither of us particularly like the movie, Avatar, the views we saw along the road in this particular area literally looked otherworldly, much like the planet Pandora from the movie. I know that's a terrible way to describe something, but honestly, it is still hard to believe that places like this exist in real life. The river to one side of the one lane road we were on was wide, rushing, and a milky turquoise color from the glacier.  Because it was slightly raining and chilly out, a mist was rising from the water, which gave the place a magical feel.  The land around the river was lush and green.  We were so entranced by the river that we sometimes forgot that a sheer, steep mountain hugged the other side of the road.  I really wish we had pictures that could do this spot justice, but naturally, the colors didn't turn out anywhere close to the actual views.

We took a boat across this lake to get to the glacier. This lake is what fed the river we drove in by. And the colors just aren't at all the same as being there...

Oddly enough, I felt completely confident and comfortable hiking the glacier. It was awesome!

This glacier, Nigardsbreen, just started receding in 2006. It's HUGE. You can see people in front of the ice on the right hand side, and the little black dots about 1/2 way up the ice on the left side are people hiking.

It was great to have Andy and Sandy join us for a part of the trip.  They met up with us on the Lofoten Islands, which are a group of islands off the coast of mainland Norway up north in the Arctic Circle.  While on Lofoten Islands we went on a cruise to see the Trollfjord, which is surrounded by mountains that are 3 billion years old!  We drank water directly from a glacier water fall, and got to go fishing in the fjord.  Andy and I caught a cod! Yes, a cod. Andy hooked it, and I reeled it in.  We were told by our guide that it is Norwegian tradition to kiss the first cod you catch for good luck. Let's get a couple things straight- I did NOT want to put my lips anywhere near a fish's mouth. At all.  However, I had quite an audience watching and taking pictures (I sort of felt famous as all the other boat passengers snapped pictures of Andy and I with our catch!), and I didn't want to disappoint them, nor did I want to seem like the uptight American.  I decided to pretend to kiss the fish, and pulled a Hitch move.  (Remember that scene from the movie when Will Smith explains to Kevin James that a guy should lean in 90% and the girl should go the rest of the way, but when demonstrating Kevin James leans in all the way and contact is made between the two men? Yeah...that was me and Mr. Cod fish.) I leaned in about 90% and the guide who was holding Mr. Codfish took it upon herself to go the final 10%. Contact was made, and lasted about .2 seconds. EWWWW! I was totally disgusted, but also glad that I went with the flow. An uptight American I am not. Also on the boat ride, the guide cut up a fish to feed to the dozens of seagulls that appeared as soon as she started cutting.  I'm not huge into birds, but it was really cool to see them literally take fish pieces from her hand, and to catch every piece that she threw out before it hit the water.

This was taken from our hotel room in Svolvær at 1:30 in the morning. It was so, so neat to see the sun start to rise almost immediately after it set.

A reflection in the mirror of the view from our window of the same hotel. 

Getting a drink of water directly from a glacier fall.  The boat captain was able to steer the boat to within inches of the steep wall of the fjord mountain.

Will and I on the Trollfjord.  The mountains behind us are literally billions of years old.

If our current jobs don't work out, Andy and I could go into business as Norwegian cod fishermen.

And yes, this is the very cod that I played kissy face with.

Feeding the seagulls fish off the side of the boat.

We saw another Ice Bar while in Svolvær, on Lofoten.  This particular one was more of an exhibit- they had ice sculptures of trolls, fishermen, crabs, and other "Arctic" things. 

Mmmm, crab.

Nordic Berry vodka shots in glasses made of ice!

We tried to go whale watching in Andenes, which is at the very northern tip of the Lofoten Islands, on two separate days.  Unfortunately the wind didn't cooperate with us.  Waves 3 meters high prevented the boats from heading to the whale feeding area along the continental shelf.  We were very disappointed to have missed such a cool opportunity, but we were comforted by the fact that the research boats hadn't been out in over a week.  At least we didn't just barely miss seeing the whales!  We had lots of time to kill in small town Andenes, though.  We made the best of our free time by climbing to the top of their lighthouse (which we were given the keys to at the information center), and by relaxing in a hot tub, drinking boxed wine out of plastic water bottles, and watching an amazing sunet over the Atlantic ocean. Yes, we are the epitome of class.  We found a campsite just outside of Andenes that was actually run by a man from Washington DC., and he had 6 private hot tubs built up on mounds that faced the ocean available for rent.  Leave it to the Americans to find a way to commercialize the gorgeous views of Norway.  Admittedly, though, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  I don't know that any other hot tub I'll ever get in will have as impressive of views as this one did.

Andenes Lighthouse, to which we were literally given the keys so we could climb to the top.

Big brother and I at the top of the lighthouse. Andy was not too keen on being as high up as we were!

That ladder Sandy is on is actually the staircase to the top of the lighthouse.

We take pretty pictures. The views behind us aren't too shabby, either.

A little hot tub action in the Arctic Circle. Notice the box o' wine. Too bad our plastic water bottle glasses aren't in view.

Amazing sunset...

Followed directly by an awesome full moon rising!

For some reason my computer is acting funny, so I'm not able to pull up all my pictures from the trip. Bad for me, good for anyone who might actually still be reading this post.  For those who care, I will try to post some more scenery pictures, and pictures from some other places we visited on a later post.  I'm a working girl now, so I can't be staying up til all hours of the morning working on this! :) I had no intentions at all for this blog to be as long as it is...I'll end this blog with some of my favorite "people of Norway" pictures:

A fisherman sells his catch right from his boat at the harbor in Bodø

Fishing off the side of a bridge on the Atlantic Highway

Relaxing with a few øls (beers) in Bodø (don't worry- they weren't all for Santa!)

Linda, our favorite bartender of the trip. She was great.

Norwegian kiddos on our Trollfjord cruise. They look far cuter than they behaved.  

Having an øl at Ølhallen Pub, the oldest bar in Tromsø (also the location of the world's most Northern brewery, Mack Brewery)

Hei Hei from Norway!

A week into this trip and Will and I are still in total awe of how beautiful this country is.  We have yet to see an OK view.  Literally every direction you turn your eyes are met with some other breathtaking view of nature.  Hands down, Norway is the most gorgeous country I have ever seen.

We've been going non-stop since we landed.  So far we've toured museums, had a cocktail in an Ice Bar.  taken a ferry cruise down the Sognefjord, been on countless car ferries as well as put in many hours on the road in our little electric blue Citroen, , rode the world famous Flåmsbana railway, climbed to the top of Preikestolen and dangled our feet over the edge of a sheer drop of 604 meters (google image Preikestolen- you will be impressed by this feat, I promise!), and hiked a glacier.  These are just some of the highlights!

Tomorrow we are driving the Atlantic highway before returning our rental car and taking the train past the Arctic Circle to Bodø.  We love watching the scenery change the farther north we head!  Andy and Sandy meet up with us Saturday.  We are so excited for them to join us!

We still know very little to no Norwegian.  Almost everyone here understands and speaks English, which is very fortunate for us. 

A little Norwegian lesson for my faithful readers:

Hei means Hi and is pronounced, Hi.

Takk means Thank You and is pronounced Talk.

And now you know about as much Norwegian as we do. :)

Internet has been few and far between, so I doubt I'll write any more until we get home.  Stay tuned for some amazing photos, though they will hardly do this gorgeous country justice.

And google search Preikestolen. Seriously.

Then and Now

10 years ago:

A few weeks ago:

It's funny how you never really think of yourself looking different as you age...until you break out your high school photo album and see how young you used to be! I had some fun with our scanner today and posted a bunch of pictures from high school on facebook.  It was hilarious reminiscing over some awful hair styles, clothing fashions, and HUGE caterpillar eyebrows (on me at least!).  It seems my classmates have also enjoyed looking at them.   But really, who wouldn't want to remember looking this good? (And no, parents weren't exempt from bad fashion. Hey Mom- BOO!)