Norway Days 8 and 9

So we took the Norway in a Nutshell tour... and it was great! The tour started on a double decker ferry, with comfortable seats next to big windows where you could relax and read or listen to music while watching the fjords go by. But on the upper deck was where you could stand in the open air and sit in the sun and take pictures. Which I did a lot of. The fjords were big and beautiful and green, some snowcapped. The boat made a few stops by small towns in places that seemed very remote. At the final stop, we got off and read magazines for a few hours while waiting to catch the first train we would be taking.

This train ride was an hour long and took us through the fjords over a land route, so we were very close to them, and we took a 5 minute stop by a raging waterfall. I did take a picture. On the next leg of the journey, the final 6ish hour train ride, the view was different- we rode through an extremely remote part of Norway that I couldn't believe people actually lived in, the houses were few and far apart. Everything was snowy and icy and I can't imagine how these people got food. 

Then we arrived in Oslo! I actually like this city because it isn't too big. Now I am sitting in a bakery with wifi, near a bookstore where I bought a book yesterday. I thought it might be nice to read it if I went to the park again, which is how we spent the day yesterday. Marte came too. Me and Nora made necklaces and headdresses out of flowers and then we all stocked up on snacks to have a picnic on the grass. The park itself was very pretty, and since it was one of the sunniest days Oslo has seen for a long time, everyone keeps telling us how lucky we are. 

After the picnic we walked through the park some more to look at the statutes and fountains, and all the people with their disposable grills... everybody uses them! There are entire garbage bins, which are enormous, just for disposable grills. It seems pretty wasteful to me... but I was still wondering why we don't have them in America until I realized that on most camp areas and parks there are already real grills built everywhere... you just have to bring coal. 

Well the rest of the day we just relaxed at Nora's and played games. Nora is muy funny! :) LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Today she is at a wedding... so we will throw a wild party in her apartment while she is gone. 

Norway day 7

Of course the only day I'm allowed to sleep late I manage to be fully rested by 9 in the morning. But I guess that was nice, because I laid in bed for awhile and then watched House before going into town and exploring the old houses and buildings by the water. 

At 6, Christina picked up Nora from the airport, YAAAYYY and we all went to the top of a mountain (by gondola) where we had the best view of Norway so far. So I took a great panoramic picture, which I will put online as soon as I can...

Two things about Norway! Every single house I've stayed in... not one had a garbage in the bathroom. This confuses me. I usually like to throw out dirty tissues and hair from my brush. Now I just keep a small bag in my room for garbage because it's alot easier than hunting for the elusive garbage bin.

And, I have no idea why, and I have asked 3 different people who all insist it's a coincidence, but EVERYBODY (girls) in Bergen wears white pearl earrings. I would say about 80% of the girls with earrings have white pearls. So I have to put on a pair to fit in! 

Well, staying at Kristin's was very nice and relaxing, but tomorrow again I must wake up early for the Norway in a Nutshell tour... a 5 hour boat ride through the fjords and a beautiful train ride the rest of the way to Oslo. Tomorrow is supposed to be one of the few sunny days in ages! So there is a lot to look forward to.

Norway day 6

Today we took a 50 minute bus ride and an hour plane ride to Bergen, which both felt very short. But I was tired. Kristin met us at the airport with Tobias, who is adorable! Look at pictures for proof. 

So we went home first, where I was extremely excited to take a shower and blow dry my hair. I have had a ponytail for a week and it gets uncomfortable after a while. Then breakfast, the same Norwegian style we've gotten used to (I would call it a "light lunch") and then into town! Kristin took us to the outdoor seafood market, which was pretty cool, but a little icky, just because I don't like seafood, but it was fun to watch how excited Tobias got about the lobsters. And at the end of the seafood stands came the fruit stands, where we got fresh strawberries and cherries. 

Next we stopped to look at the boats, Tobais' favorite, and his favorite word. That is one more word now that I can say in Norwegian. BOOAAAAAAT. BOAAAAAT. BOAAT. 

We took a tram on a track to the top of one of the mountains, or hills, I'm not sure which to call them, but judge for yourself- I took pictures- and stopped for a while at the top to look at the view. Which was great. Hiking down was slightly less great, because it was a lot higher than it seemed. So it took awhile. And when we got back, I needed a nap.

We ended the day at a barbecue party to celebrate the summer solstice. Today each year in Bergen people get together for barbecues and light bonfires. We saw a few plumes of smoke from where we were on the mountain. The party was really nice, everyone was very friendly, the food was excellent and so was dessert... I was excited to discover that there is an actual ice cream flavor called lemon cheesecake, because those are my favorite flavors to mix together at coldstone and mash raspberries into, and everybody thinks I'm crazy until they try it. 

Now Kristin just told me I can sleep AS LATE AS I WANT. And this time, it will be past 10:00... :)    So now before bed I will watch some tv on my computer, maybe House...

Norway day 5

This one might be shorter because I am tired. 

It is lots of fun here in Trondheim with Hege! We walked through the town on foot, hitting all the major landmarks and the shops. Hege was our own personal tour guide, first taking us to the fortress, then for a step back in time to an old stone street, with pretty buildings and stores. Some of the cafes which were more open-air had blankets on each chair to use during cold weather.

We saw a two old cathedrals, a bike lift, stopped at a cafe for coffee and a Friday's-esque place for lunch, and hit many bookstores in search of the troll picture book I liked when I was little. We found it in Italian... but not English. But it was a good try.

I took lots of panoramic shots that I won't be able to put up until I download a free trial of photoshop, which probably won't be for a few weeks because I'd like to have it toward the end of my trip in Europe, and it only lasts 30 days. 

We ended the day with dessert before dinner (maybe that is a secret, shhhh) and watching Die Hard in the living room. Very nice! But now I must go to sleep because I'm waking up in six hours to travel to the airport. OH JOY!

:)

Norway Day 4

Today we ate another traditional breakfast at Christina's, then Ingrid whisked us off to the mountains for a hike. We spent about an hour climbing and looking at the view from the top, which was very pretty. There was cotton growing in some places, which I was excited to see because it reminded me of a page from my favorite Norwegian picture book about trolls that I used to read when I was little. And which I also can't find, so Hege says she will take me to the bookstore here in Trondheim tomorrow, because they will surely have it. 

At Ingrid's, we met her parents, who were very welcoming and her mom made us lunch, which was basically the same as every homemade breakfast and lunch we'd had so far... good, but I couldn't live on this for more than a few days, there are no spices and nothing is hot! (Well, she did serve warm elk meat, but I didn't want to eat it.) There are open sandwiches usually, with pieces of cheese, tomato, cucumber, and pepper. And always tea or coffee.

After an hour ride to Hege's, (Ingrid drove us again, she is so nice, driving us everywhere!) we all had dinner together, and I am way over-stuffed. Along with the bag of chocolate Christina gave me before I left, I will not be hungry for awhile.

And now we are at Hege's, and I'm very happy because we can relax all we want and we are just sitting around with the tv and our laptops and books and I don't have to run all over the place! And here is very pretty, it is an apartment that she decorated... I guess all the houses were decorated by the people living in them too, but this seems cooler because I will be living in something like it next semester. 

Keep checking the link from the last post, I will be putting on more pictures every day!

:)

Norway days 2 and 3

Yesterday and today were very very busy. Days 2 and 3 in Norway already! Yesterday we were still at Harriet's house, with her big and fun family. And I got to hold a baby! In the morning, we were allowed to sleep as late as we wanted (which apparently meant 10:00) and then we went to breakfast at Solvi's. This was the first breakfast I'd had, but I've had another since then and the traditional Norwegian breakfast seems to be cold bread or biscuits, with cheese and some other toppings, and juice, tea, and coffee. 

We went for a drive through town, which was a lot of fun and very pretty. We walked inside the biggest shopping center, which reminded me of Colorado and its cute stores, surrounded by the mountains, where it was also fun to just walk around and look at things. And I was excited because I have been looking for a cool-weather jacket in America for ages, and the first store I walk into in Norway I find the perfect one. 

Harriet and her husband showed me their pig farm, which smelled delightful. (not really.) I think they said they have over 1000 pigs... some were enormous. They almost looked like cows. After this field trip we played a lot with the kids, soccer and kick the can and other games. It was fun communicating with them since only some of them spoke very limited English, but they were eager to use the words they knew and I used the few words I knew, some that I had asked Harriet and Solvi to translate, and some that I knew because they are similar to German words. 

Later that day we had the "grillings," and Monica and Sigrid came to say hi. Monica came with her daughter Helena, and Sigrid stayed for hours to talk... she is getting married in two weeks! 

And the next day! Harriet's husband handed us off to Christina and her two boys. It was very fun to meet them! The older boy, Martin, knows English very well and was very excited to talk to us. We started off this leg of the trip looking at the work in an art gallery and sculptures in a park, and going to a small trinket shop that sold every color of handmade candles.

After lunch, we played "putball," which we were told is playing golf by kicking a football. We were very confused until lunch, when I realized that "football" actually meant "soccer ball." That made a little more sense. But it didn't make the sport any easier, especially when the 8th hole was played on a steeply upward sloping hill. We gave up on that one.

At night Christina's husband made us a delicious Thai dinner and focaccia bread, and we had Norwegian chocolate for dessert. Finally, after another trip with Ingrid to Hilda's house, we made it back to Christina's just in time to be told that tomorrow our day would start at 9:30. Therefore, I will go to sleep now and try to get in 8 solid hours and continue recovering from jetlag. 

Here is the link to the first set of Norway photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=270842&id=704420382&l=58651d1a00

Norway Day 1

Norway is amazing! It was far more exciting arriving here than London, because everyone was speaking Norwegian and we are clearly foreigners, as everyone else in the country has blond hair and blue eyes. Ingrid picked us up at the airport, extremely happy, and drove us to a ski lodge-style restaurant, which served excellent food from a menu of 8 items written in Norwegian. I ordered chicken over salad off the menu of course. And it was delicious. And I ate some of Harriet and Solvi's cheese samples. YUM brie and gorgonzola! There were also mini potatoes that were seasoned well that are apparently popular here. Harriet and Solvi were funny... we are all getting together tomorrow with Sigrid and Monica for some "grillings," as Harriet said, and Solvi translated this into "barbecue."

Next we stopped at a food store where I bought my favorite Norwegian chocolate bar. WIN! And I have some pretty Norwegian money now, my favorite coin has a hole in the middle. After another almost 2 hour drive through the beautiful rolling hills, with farms and fjords and rivers all along the way, we arrived at Harriet's house, which is also beautiful. I will be staying here for the night. Which is just like the day, as this time of year, the sun never sets in Trondheim.

London

Yesterday was day one, maybe, maybe day 2 with the time difference, I can't figure it out. On the 6 hour flight to London, I slept an hour and listened to music with my eyes closed for the rest of the time. But I wasn't tired when I landed... just excited. But even when I got out of the airport (which took over an hour because the passport line was so long,) exchanged 20 dollars for about half as many pounds, and took the underground to King's Cross, it still felt like I was in America because most people were speaking English, but there were plenty of foreigners, which I am used to from living in Miami. 

In London I walked around and looked at things,  ate lunch at a nice cafe in the park, visited one of the greatest museums in the world (so I'm told) where I was very excited to see the Rosetta Stone... which I'm thinking was a replica because everyone was allowed to touch it. And I took the token "Making a call in a red phone booth" photo. At night I visited the Tower of London and a nearby castle.

I don't think I could have stayed for more than a day though, because on this particular day the trees decided to release all of their pollen, which was large and yellow and each piece had a claw on the end, and even with sunglasses on and a scarf over my mouth, I choked on quite a few pieces and had to stop to get debris out of my eyes at least 10 times. 

Here is a link to see the rest of the pictures I took: 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=269945&id=704420382&l=d3937d6efd