Adventures in Norway
The international travel gang got together again for 3 weeks of adventure in Norway & Scotland. After multiple flight delays, rebooked flights and a bonus leg to Amsterdam, we finally arrived in Oslo, Norway. We packed in many sights to include several museums, a ferry tour, the Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Nobel Peace Center (one of my favorite stops) and saw The Scream painting by Edvard Munch to name just a few. We enjoyed great seafood and some even tried reindeer (not me). The reindeer was said to make your nose glow. Yikes!
After Oslo, we were off to the land of the trolls and to see the beauty of some of the many fjords and waterfalls. We traveled along the awesome trollsteigen road which was filled with 11 hairpin turns as we traveled up the mountain. It was quite beautiful and exciting! But back to the trolls…the story we were told was that parents were concerned about their children playing in the falls which have incredible force and could be quite dangerous if a child, or anyone for that matter, fell in. So parents would tell their children to not get near a bridge to a waterfall without them because a troll under the bridge would come out and get (or eat) them. Apparently, this helped discourage children from wandering to the falls. As a kiddo, that tale would have worked for me!
We took a Geirangerfjord ferry cruise which was incredible. It’s impossible to describe how lush and beautiful this was. We learned it rains 280 days a year in Norway which creates lush green hills and many waterfalls through the bluffs of the fjords. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
In Bergen we had lunch at a fish market on the water. Everything was fresh and delicious. That said, fish cakes are NOT the same as crab cakes. :( We also took a tour that gave us a bit more information about the city including damage caused after a vessel was fired upon and exploded during the German occupation in WW II. The blast destroyed many buildings, broke every window in town and some of the remaining buildings now have a distinct lean as a result of the shock wave from the explosion. I’ve included a picture of a door to a shop that illustrates this.
The city was built from the abundant wood in the area. Several times we heard “Norwegian’s are good with wood”. The issue was how close the wood buildings from the 1200’s to early 1900’s were built together and the fish oil (very flammable) used to seal the wood. A fire in one could, and in some cases did, level much of the town. We walked through some old ruins and learned of the eventual methods used to prevent this…larger alleys between buildings and building in such a way that a home or business could be collapsed to create a sort of fire break.
We also took a funicular (cable rail system) up a mountain which provided amazing views of Bergen and the bay. There we enjoyed a picnic lunch by a lake during a very pleasant, sunny day. It was quite lovely.
Voss…beautiful Voss. A lovely mountain top adrenaline park with options for skiing, paragliding, obstacle courses, hiking, or enjoying the panoramic views and the giant Mount Hangur swing 820 meters above sea level. It was amazing! Plus the scenic gondola trip to get there was pretty awesome as well. It was such a gift to see such awe inspiring beauty.
As we worked our way to the town of Flam, we enjoyed a bus to Gudvangen also known as Viking Valley. We stayed in a Viking themed room and went to a Viking village where we got to see a bit of how Viking life was like to include trying our hand at axe throwing, archery and playing a hand drum to name a few activities. Although interesting and educational, I’m quite grateful for the amenities that modern times provide.
After an amazing fjord ferry ride, we made it to Flam, our last stop in Norway. The ferry ride was so beautiful as was the well equipped and spacious ferry. We spent much time going back and forth from inside and outside the ferry to take pictures along the way. The hillside farms, homes and little villages were lovely to see. Some farm homes were so high up the mountain they were only accessible via hiking. It’s hard to imagine hiking such steep terrain while carrying supplies for a home and/or farm but that’s how it was done. Farm animals…sheep, goats and cows were carried as babies to the farms. Wow!
A super fun highlight of Flam was the Fjord sauna. This wasn’t just any sauna. This was a floating sauna on a beautiful fjord. But that’s not all…we actually jumped into the fjord from our sauna. Not just once, but multiple times…into VERY BRISK 54 degree water! Lisa even did a flip into the water from the top deck! We’d heat ourselves up in the sauna and then jump in the fjord where we were quickly and shockingly cooled off! A once in a lifetime experience for sure!
After many waterfalls, fjords, mountain peaks, lakes, nature upon nature, twisty-turny roads, trolls, delicious meals, friendship, wonder and gratitude, we took a beautiful train ride back to Oslo for the next part of our adventure…Scotland. Stay tuned. :)
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