Norway Day 7, May 3, 2011

Well this would be our last full day in Norway! We left Bergen and began our journey on the Norway in a Nutshell Tour to Oslo. This was to be a LONG travel day, but perhaps the most scenic! That was certainly the truth! Our only first matter of concern at the Train Station--what to do with all of our luggage. Well--we had to take it with us every leg of the journey! Something we weren't expecting. However, we managed! Luckily all of our luggage had wheels. Our first segment took us on a train to see some of the stunning country side, the 2nd leg was on a bus-what a thrill, literally! We drove down a road that was the only road that connected Bergen to Oslo until 1984. It was one lane and had a 19 degree drop and is the steepest road in all of Europe. (Mom closed her eyes the entire time!) Big mistake, as the view was stunning! The third leg was a boat trip up a fjord! WOW!!! What can I say, it was spectacular. Something everyone should see. Worth the trip! We sat outside and although the weather was cool, our couture norwegian sweaters kept us warm!

Finally, the boat ride ended in Flam a quaint and beautiful little city, however, we felt that we were dropped off to buy lots of junk. There were shops for tourist all over, but not much else going on. However, the view was stunning!!! From Flam we embarked on a journey to Mrydal by train, we started at 2 meters above sea level and within an hour we would be at 866 meters above sea level! The train ride was spectacular and we even made some friends on the train from Austrailia (they enjoyed teasing Mom for her inability to look out the window at the stunning view). We left Mrydal on another train on our way into Olso. It was a longer ride, but still shared a lot about the landscape of Norway.

Needless to say our final approach into Oslo found us tired and anxious to find the airport hotel we were staying in. We gathered our belongings and had to laugh at our final warning as we departed from the train: "keep your belongings close as thieves are working here." Something we had not heard, experienced or even thought about the entire time in Norway, it was a very safe experience!!!

However, after tucking ourselves in at a mere 1:30 am, we were exhausted and ready to embark on our long journey home in 6 hours!!!

Mom successfully completed her pilgrimage! However, not sure when she is going to plan a return trip. Hopefully, our norwegian relatives will come to Minnesota next-it would certainly be cheaper!

Norway Day 6 - May 2, 2011

Today our plan was to experience Bergen! Bergen is a really neat city and one that should be visited if you decide to remortgage your home and visit Norway. First, Mom finally took my advice and took some melatonin. She slept soundly, until I had to wake her at 9 am! (She of course jumped out of bed, as she didn't want to miss out on our "included" breakfast buffet. That saves us nearly $50+ a day!)

Our day started out a bit rough, as the tourist center sold us tickets to a bus that wasn't operating yet, and we tried to convince the native norwegian speaking bus driver, that he had to take our tickets! Wrong bus-he said and kicked us off! After clearing the matter up we made amends with our driver and jumped back on. It was a whirlwind tour of the city, but it was great, as we NEVER would have seen it all. The buildings are very unique and very close to one another. The irony is that the city is VERY old! Some buildings dated back to 1400. It is very much a port city with a lot of water traffic. We even got to see a ship with an ice breaker on the front-it was really neat.

After our tour, we thought we would grab lunch and coffee. We ordered coffee and took out our sandwiches that we made at breakfast (something we have done nearly every day). However, Mom apparently didn't think the napkin was good enough for her today, she said she grabbed a bad from the room for her sandwich. I don't know about you, but look closely at Mom's bag-I don't think it was meant for sandwiches. Needless to say, I didn't use a bag! (Besides it is written in english-no excuse there!).

After lunch we decided to do some shopping in the famous Bergen Wooden Houses, we called it couture shopping! I think it is more expensive then Rodeo Drive. In fact (not exaggerating-a woman spent $25K on sweaters and souvenirs in front of us. Didn't even bat an eye. Mom and I merely gasped!)

Mom did secure a famous bracelet that is only made in Norway, it is made with Reindeer leather, silver and pewter. Of course, we found other treasures, but you'll have to wait and see them! Hint-we may have a norwegian sweater in our luggage!

We are trying to pack up for our final excursion, Norway in a Nutshell-Trains, Buses and Boats! We are leaving Bergen first thing in the morning and heading to Oslo. Hope to have some great pictures tomorrow.

Norway Day 5 - May 1, 2011

Today, was a travel day of sorts. We departed from Trondheim and headed to Bergen, Norway. We had to fly on Norwegian Air, what a treat! That airline has figured it out, how to make everyone happy, comfortable and on time! It was only a 50 minute flight, but I snuck some pictures from the air. We checked into our hotel, the Radissson Blu, Norge- it is a wonderful hotel. The room is fantastic, apparently we were upgraded as VIP's to the business class!

Since we are only here for a couple of days, we decided to start our sightseeing adventure. We headed out into the mall toward the famous fish market. (It is like a giant Nicollet Mall around here.) First, we had a quick stop for a couple of Norwegian Draft beers at a very popular restaurant for locals: Pepe's Pizza (you read right, the norwegians LOVE pizza). We weren't hungry yet, so we got two drafts for a mere $27 american dollars. There was a quote we read in the Norwegian Air magazine that was right on--"you need to remortage your house and put your 11 year old to work, to enjoy a long weekend in Norway." Now we know why Grandpa Nilsen left! Beautiful country, but not sure how people can even drive around here. Gas I thought was the same as ours, so I politely remarked to someone that ours was just as expensive-I feel your pain. However, he remarked "no, not really, we pay 3.00 a liter and there are three liters in a gallon." Yikes no wonder why everyone drives little cars around here.

We ended up taking the famous Floibanen furicular, Bergen's most popular attraction. It is like a giant tram that runs up Mount Floyen from the City Centre. The view at the top is stunning as you can see, but Mom elected to hang out by the Troll and stayed clear of the railings! (See any family resemblance?) It really was neat.

Then we headed back to our hotel, but first caught a glimpse of a rather unique McDonald's. (Note all of the kids in the red pants---it is a big deal around here. Apparently all high school seniors have to wear those pants and do crazy things May 1-17th! That is why they are crawling on the ground. (Noah-I tried to get you a pair, as I knew you would wear them to school-but no luck! You have to be a high school senior).

We are back in the hotel and getting things together for a day of sight seeing tomorrow. Who knows what adventure we may encounter.

Norway Day 4 - April 30

Well we are starting to adjust, but Mom is still feeling "drunk" from the jet lag. She won't take the melatonin!!! (Miracle drug for me!) The only beer she has been drinking is Ginger Ale (they actually make a special ginger ale here in Trondheim that is wonderful!)

We got up rather early again and had a delightful breakfast in the hotel. Arfin and Brit Nilsen asked if they could see us again today and take us around downtown. We accepted their invitation. As typical in Norway they arrived right on time and were excited to share their city with us. They took us for a 5+ mile walk, with a coffee and pastry break (typical in Norwegian culture-Uncle Art, now we know where you got your love for coffee. You would fit right in!). Mom of course had another norwegian ginger ale.

Trondheim is a very unique city that has some stunning architecture. Our first stop was to the Nidarosdomen, (A catheral) a famous protestant church where King Olav is buried. It was stunning inside (however, they wouldn't let me take any pictures, so I can't share that with all of you). We did get one of outside. We also were able to see Scandinavia's oldest secular building, once the Archbishop's palace, and now home to the royal crown jewels. After our coffee break, they took us over to the Gamle Bybrua (old town bridge) where they took a quick shot of Mom and I on the waterfront.

After our lengthy walk, I think Arfin could have walked the entire city (but Brit was worn out) we headed back to the hotel for a late lunch and to say our final goodbyes. Goodbye was hard for Mom (aways is!) and Arfinn said "see you next year and bring Uncle Art." It was sad to leave, as we had finally mastered our communication gap, when you don't understand, you just just laugh, smile and say yea, yea. They laugh too and then move on to the next subject.

Well we are going to rest up for our transition to Bergen tomorrow. We get to sample Norwegian Air. Their local airlines that only travels within Norway.