Norway in a Nutshell

"What is a fjord?" I found myself asking as I embarked on my 6 hour train ride from Oslo to Voss, Flam & Bergen (Norway in a Nutshell). Well, according to dictionary.com, it's "a long, narrow arm of the sea bordered by steep cliffs: usually formed by glacial erosion." Pretty cool, right? The anticipation of experiencing these magnificent_creations with all 5 senses was enough to make me downright giddy!

During the train portion of the trip, there were several stops with photo ops for us to get out and digitally chart our adventures. A nice guy from Brazil, named Ivan, happened to be traveling solo, so we bonded and became tour buddies for the day. He was a rather interesting guy, very kind, funny and interestingly enough had gone 25+ years without ever seeing snow! Well, lucky for him, as our train climbed the mountains that lead to the west coast there was plenty of snow for him to absorb. When we arrived at a midway point where we had to switch trains I was able to reconnect with Thelma (who I met in Stockholm) and she, Ivan and I enjoyed the 2nd half of the train ride together. One point of interest along the way was the GINORMOUS Kjosfossen Waterfall (free fall of 305 ft) and a prime Kodak moment spot! The kicker with this attraction was the unexpected dancing "Maiden of the Mist" singing her alluring song and frolicking about on top of the waterfall - definitely a tourist gimmick, but appreciated nonetheless!

At last we reached Flam where we mosied about for a bit awaiting the boat trip through the fjords. After saying "I'll see you later" to Thelma, Ivan and I boarded the vessel and we were off. A quick disclaimer here: Neither words, nor pictures can do this portion of my trip justice, but that won't keep me from trying. The best reference I can mesh together in my head is that the western part of the country with the fjords and mountains is most similar to a hybrid of Colorado and New Zealand...seriously! Snow-capped mountains that cascade into emerald fortresses of flourishing fauna sporadically interrupted by rushes of white water here and there. AMAZING! Even the profiles of the mountains, so smooth and delicate, yet intimidating were a wonder to my eyes. Upon seeing a group of people kayaking, I knew that some day I must return to get a more authentic experience! Ivan and I just snapped away for hours taking breaks only for rain and hot chocolate (it was cold)!

Finally we reached Gudvangen where we disembarked and waited for charter buses to take us to Voss where we would board one last train to Bergen (our final destination). Here we passed the time with an impromptu photo shoot (with a viking statue, mini viking ship, a troll, and a grass roofed hotel). Good times! I loved that Ivan was up for all of my nonsense!

Upon reaching Bergen, I had no idea where my hostel was...ok, i mean i had a hint of an idea, but never actually wrote down directions (Ulf had shown me a video online that traced the path to the hostel and i just figured I'd remember) ha! The point of telling you this is that this is TOTALLY out of character for me - to be so carefree - but I love it! Ladies and gents...this is what Europe can do for you...do I sound like a walking ad? Therefore, I accompanied Ivan to his place only to find a loooong line of patrons waiting to check in. I (still being impatient) decided to just "go look for my hostel" and meet back up with him at a predetermined spot for dinner. Well, while I was walking, God blessed me with running smack dab into the tourist info center. What luck! I went in only seeking guidance to find my hostel, but came out with a Glacier hiking tour itinerary in hand! Ya, I hiked a glacier, haha! So...the background - A friend of mine in Chicago had been to Scandinavia and hiked a glacier and when looking at her pics I thought it would be super cool to do this too, but didn't see it fitting in during my limited stay and on my limited budget! Well, it turns out, a 3 hour hike isn't that expensive and I was seriously like "What the heck! When am I going to have this opportunity again?" So I made the executive decision to splurge and push myself out of my comfort zone a bit and just go with it! That night I did find my hostel and it was super nice! Met up with Thelma again too - she was staying at my hostel!!! The 3 of us went for dinner at Pepe's pizza splitting a half Thai, half Mexican Taco pizza (in Norway), haha! We also saw a famous blond American actress at the restaurant, but none of us can put a name to her, frustrating! My two compadres were leaving the next day, so we said our farewells and parted ways!

I was somehow awake and conscious the next morning at 7am and boarded the bus for my 2 hour trip (bus/boat/bus)! I was surprised to see that the location of my glacier hike was actually a ski/snowboarding resort and was a bit bummed that I wouldn't be skiing! I did however take my first snowmobile ride. I must say that hiking the glacier was one of the most thrilling things I've ever done! It was so serene, peaceful and stunning that all I wanted to do was soak it up with every part of my being! I met some nice people on the trek...a few Americans, French, and Germans. We learned the basics of survival on the glacier and were given the necessary gear (helmet, pick axe, clampons, and harnesses). I must admit that I had my reservations on roping myself to 14 other people while traipsing about the ice, but luckily for us all, there were no falls! Whew! Another funny note: It didn't occur to me that I should have told my parents or another family member that I was hiking a glacier until I was standing atop it in all it's glory! Haha...thankfully I was able to tell them when I returned!

After a full and exhausting day 7-7, I was pooped! I arrived back at the hostel in Bergen and changed out of my sopping wet jeans and headed to the local 50's style diner (Capella) for some grub of traditional Norwegian pancakes, brown cheese and a much deserved milk shake! Then went to my first "Cyber House" to use the good ol' internet to inform my loved ones on all my adventures!

My last day in Bergen I slept in a bit and headed to the local grocery to buy breakfast (a great savvy shopping tip). Upon checking out, I found that there were free computers to use for customers, which was most convenient, but made me regret my cyber experience a bit, haha! The rest of the day I spent falling in love with Bergen. It's such a quaint picturesque town. I visited an intriguing cathedral with a spell bounding organ playing. I contributed to an outdoor rainbow art display, visited the fish market for a snack and was able to try 2 kinds of caviar...a little salty for my liking. My favorite part of the day was the view from the outlook atop the funicular. The perfect way to get your grounding and see all the town has to offer. I sat up there and breathed it all in and read for a while before reluctantly taking the funicular back. At this point, my time in Bergen was waning so I just poked around here and there. Saw some old churches, a fort and randomly ran into my roomate from my first night in Bergen. Small world! Before I knew it, my fairytale time in Bergen had come to an end and I was boarding a train back to Oslo to see Ulf an Norma one more night before hopping another train/bus/train to Copenhagen.

Arriving in Copenhagen with a 4 hour wait time till my flight I was antsy to get to London, my layover city for the night. Reason being, I was meeting back up with my two Texas friends that I met on the plane ride from JFK to London. Angela was actually flying out of Heathrow the same day and time as me and I invited them to stay at my luxurious Crown Plaza Hotel with me. Arriving late that night, we made the most of our time together...telling hilarious stories, scheming on an opportunity to move to Europe, and taking an hour long photo shoot incognito (we were ninjas) haha! Ahhhh...needless to say, I was going to be more than ok if I missed my flight the next morning and had to stay a month in London with afran (Aaron from TX)! Oh well, all good things come to an end right? Booo...Don't fret, I have many many plans to return to these glory days! Keep tuning in and perhaps I'll give you the scoop!

Scandinavia Photos -1

Seizing Stockholm!

Stockholm - The Windy City of the West...

That's right, Stockholm turned out to be a rather windy stop on my adventure, and i don't think that politics had anything to do with it. I was blown away not only by the forces of nature, but also by my distant, unrelated Swedish cousin Charlotte, who my Uncle had put me in touch with. She had just returned from a 4 month adventure in India and shares my passion for travel!

-- Funny side story - Prior to meeting Charlotte, I had only seen one picture of her and knew that she was middle-aged with red hair. So, I go up to the lobby of my hostel at the pre-appointed time to meet her and i see this lady sitting alone as if she's waiting for someone...and she has red hair! So, I kinda slowly approach her and make eye contact and she reciprocates my inquisitive looks. And I say, "Charlotte?" and she nods and gets up and steps toward me and I say "Hello, I'm Michelle. Nice to meet you." And she kinda smiles and says something unmemorable and I lean in and embrace the woman as if I've known her all my life. Then we sit down and make small talk and before I know it, she is asking me where someone is...Some guy of whom i have no earthly idea...And I must have looked ridiculously confused, so I cleverly say, "I don't know." And within 20 seconds, the man who apparently is with her comes in the lobby and says that he found the people they were looking for. Talk about AWKWARD! We both looked at each other, smile, and laugh nervously and she gets up and proceeds to leave with her "real" person. Haha...afterward, I just sat there with the hugest grin on my face chuckling inside at my error and the fact that I will just hug anyone, haha! --

Luckily, a few minutes later the real Charlotte arrives and she is younger, prettier and more energetic than my former "Charlotte" and I am ever thankful that Charlotte #2 is mine! We went to the waterfront that night for a nice & pricey (not to be confused with the "nice price" menu at Burger King) meal on a floating restaurant. This meal was basically the equivalent of what I had hoped to spend in 2 days...but sometimes life calls for being flexible and I just opted for enjoying every savory moment. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, rain was in the forecast and we ended up back on the shore for an after dinner tea under heat lamps and fleece blankets. At this point, I couldn't help but question my decision to come to such a mild climate during summer (my fave season). But Charlotte's warm and cheery demeanor lifted my spirits and dissolved any doubt. She was a blast to be around and has lived a fascinating life full of travels and adventure. I walked away a bit jealous of her experiences, but also encouraged and motivated for my own adventures ahead!

Day 2 - Began with a tour of the Stockholm City Hall Tower. It was quite a beautiful thing. Not only are there 3 internal observation balconies, but you can also continue up to the top and outside to get a 360 view of the city central, which was quite the sight! Despite the fantastic view, I didn't stay out there long because the winds were pretty ferocious, it was cold and my nose was pretty much a leaky faucet. I snapped some quick photos and made my way down the winding brick maze. After the City Hall Tower climb I finally gave in to the Scandinavian fetish for hotdogs and feasted upon a French style hotdog. Basically, it's a baguette with a hole in the middle in which they pour your condiment of choice (mine being ketchup) down the hole first and then insert an oversized hotdog. So basically, after you eat all the way to the bottom, there is no meat left and I found myself eating just bread and ketchup (which is fine with me b/c I loooove that sweet red stuff)! And of course, I washed it down with a Coke Light!

Next I was off to tackle the Vasa Museet (museum) - home of the Vasa warship built in 1628 that sunk in the Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage, and not salvaged until 1961. This impressive museum was one of my favorites from the trip b/c the museet was built around the ship and they have done a rather impressive job of engaging onlookers in the boat's rich history. The whole time I was there I just really wanted to reach out and touch it...it was so big and just looked like it came straight from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean"!

Finishing up the Vasa, I headed to nearby Skansen - the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden. It was founded in 1891 to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era. All that being said, I particularly wanted to go this night because every Tuesday of the summer Skansen hosts a live TV show called "Allsong" in which a celebrity singer performs and interacts with the crowd and it's taped live. So, after wandering around Skansen checking out the cute little cottages and interesting animals like peacocks and long-haired guinea pigs, and meeting a family from Northwest Indiana, I made my way over to the stage to catch the rehearsal. It was a pretty cool thing to witness. Mostly young teenagers and families were packed into the outdoor amphitheater and it was good people watching. I just sat back and watched and listened and was delighted when the one song I could understand came on..."I Love Europe", yep that's right...I just beamed and sang along! I had planned to meet Charlotte that night and go over to her place so i could have an opportunity to see how Swedes really live. She had a quaint pseudo 2 bedroom place with a small kitchen, bathroom and no living room (bc her Greek roomate occupied what was once a living room that now had a door). She treated me to homemade punch (sprite, fresh lemon and kiwi, and something else) and some yummy snacks. We sat out on her balcony forever (it stays light until midnight) and shared pictures and stories wrapped up once again in our fleece blankies. It was another great night in a great city!

Day 3 in Stockholm, was a loooong and busy one! I was off to a late start due to the dungeon room I was staying in and had to walk twice as fast as normal to get to the docks to catch the 1130am Historical Boat Tour. After making the boat, I enjoyed gliding slowly through the water while listening to the headset tour in English, although slightly bummed that the guide was a recording. I did learn some super important things about Stockholm though, like that Ace of Base, ABBA, and the author of "Pippy Longstalking" are all from Sweden...and I'm sure there were other less interesting tidbits I missed :)

Next I had my sights set on a lookout tower called Katarinahissen or Katarina Lift, which takes you to a perch that extends 38 meters over the waterfront overlooking Galma Stan (Old Town) complete with breathtaking views. From here I spotted the youth hostel that is on a boat and decided that was a good point of interest and I'd be stopping there later. Making my way down from the lift around lunchtime, I noticed a rather long line at this particular food vendor stand. Realizing that it was probably locals on their lunch break I decided to follow suit and get me some Scandinavian lunch...as they say..."When in Rome...". It turns out that all the fuss was for something called NYSTEKT Stromming. I quickly figured out that they served fish (the sign was in the shape of a fish) despite having a menu strictly in Swedish. I was forced to go off the not too aesthetically pleasing food photos. Perhaps it was my fondness for Mexican that swayed my decision but I decided to go with the "Stromming Rulle" (roll). Let me just tell you...this thing was huge, rivaling a Chipotle burrito and was filled with seared or fried fish patties, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, sprouts and herbs all mixed together. Quite a lot going on there if you ask me. But overall, it was quite tasty and filling and I felt local:-)

This particular day, 6/25/08, happened to be quite lovely in respect to weather so I got gutsy and broke out the Birkenstocks for the first time of the trip. I was relishing the sun and decided to cop a squat and get in some good reading of the book I had brought with me (The Glass Castle - quite an amazing read).

My next stop of the day was the boat youth hostel, but this idea proved rather disappointing - the hostel was only accessible by tenants and thus I was shut out of my planned mini-adventure. So, I headed on to my next boat tour, the Royal Boat Tour, for some additional laid back entertainment. On the way, stopping at the Swedish Tourist Office (headquarter) acting confused so that I could use their restroom for free, hehe (i was tired of paying to use the restroom!). On the Royal Tour, a most interesting God Incident occurred...I had been kinda lonely that day and prayed that God would bring someone in my path to hang out with. And low and behold a few minutes later I am waiting in line for the boat ride right behind an American girl with a Purdue shirt on! I immediately strike up a conversation with her and find out she is from Indiana and is in Scandinavia for her friends wedding. So, I sat by Thelma (new friend) and her friends during the tour and before long we found out we were both taking the Norway in a Nutshell tour on June 30th to Bergen,NO and staying at the same hostel that night!!! How crazy and amazing is that??? We parted ways after the tour and exchanged info so we could get in touch on our next leg of the trip!

That night I stopped in the hostel to check email and met a nice Texan from Austin. We chatted a bit and I invited him to watch the semi-final futbol game (Turkey vs. Germany) with me, Charlotte and her college friend. We went to a Spanish Tapas restaurant by her place and all enjoyed the game and camaraderie, despite the multi-minute lapses of game footage due to power failures, lol. During these periods we had to listen on the radio in Swedish and Charlotte would interpret :) As it turned out, Germany won (to my dismay) and they were on to play Spain in the finals. It was a fabulous last night in Stockholm, and I was ready to press on to Norway the next day!

BTW...Stockholm was my favorite "big city"! Especially Galma Stan...I just loved the narrow cobblestone streets and pastel row houses - very quaint!

Köbenhavn Part 2

My time in this quaint city turned out to be quite enjoyable. I couldn't have found a better travel partner than Gavin. He was totally flexible, laid back, liked to talk, obsessed with pictures and quite versed in business, politics and history. Needless to say, I learned a bit from the kid.

We covered the city in a mere 12 hours...including lunch at Christiania (the free hippie commune), and checked out the Parliament building, took a boat canal tour, pictures at the Little Mermaid statue (including Gavin crawling up on the statue and kissing it on the lips, which was quite hilarious and earned a few stares!), checked out a few churches, ate at a Mediterranean Buffet (complete with belly dancers and loud music) and strolled down Stroget making fun of the goofy outfits these Danes wear, all before collapsing at the King's Gardens around 9:30pm and soaking up the beautiful skies while laying on our backs and breathing in the sweet grass. There's just something about Europe that makes me yearn for laying in the grass to read, nap or relax.

My fave thing about Copenhagen is the calm vibe. I feel at ease, and less rushed. The casual bikers and lazy strolls of the residents surely caught my attention. I made effort to join them in their slow saunter. Women even wear dresses and heels while riding bikes, and no one wears helmets...and many a bike goes unlocked. It's a beautiful thing...just hope to bring some of it home with me!

Day 3 in this fine city began with a pleasant and by no means coincidental meeting of a Chicago guy during breakfast at the hostel. It's pretty easy to pinpoint the Americans. We began chatting and when we found out we are from the same hood, he asked me to join him and his new Boston pals for a day at the Botanical Gardens and touring the city. Seeing as i had no plans (yes, believe it!), I took him up on the generous offer. It was a wet day, so after the gardens, we proceeded to the National museum to take in some fine art for FREE!

The Boston folks had to depart for Germany, so Rob and i headed back to the hostel to recharge and then went for dinner...you'll never guess...yes, Mediterranean again - only pizza this time! So crazy, yet o so yummy! (I guess i realize now that the reason I ate so much of this food while there is not solely bc i love it, but because it's CHEAP, haha!) Anyway, we were planning to head to Tivoli, but the rain would not relent, so we opted for a huge cultural experience of watching the Eurocup with the regulars at O'Learys Sports Bar before I caught my 10pm overnight train. It's crazy how passionate futbol fans are!!!

Saying goodbye to my Chicago friend (whom i have plans for sushi with back in Chi-town), I met another fellow backpacker from Denver on the train who was very helpful in guiding me on my first Eurorail experience! I like the train, but sleeping on them, however affordable, is not ideal! I like to think i got 6 full hours, but the truth is they were very interrupted every time the train stopped to pick up more folks.

Oh well, I reached Stockholm at 7am, got my money changed and my train to Oslo on Thursday booked and even did a little cleaning up in the Toiletter that cost me 2 Kroner! I treated myself to a sausage and egg mcmuffin and a small diet coke, which cost way too much, but was justified in my groggy state. Then headed to the FTP Friedhelmsplan Hostel to drop off my gear.

With my extra day, I had to figure out what to do and how best to allocate my time...I decided that seeing Drollingham Palace was a priority and a bit off the beaten path, so i opted to go spend the day at the home of the Royal Family. It was remarkable, stunning...simply breathtaking! I got a guided tour, in English, and learned much of the history. I then proceeded to walk the grounds which were a mixture of lovely French and English inspired gardens, ponds, statues and other buildings that accompanied the castle. By this time, my legs were growing weak and my sleepless night was weighing heavily on my eyelids, so i found a nice sunny patch of grass in a field and lay down to nap for a bit. And no sooner than 20 minutes into my snooze, little pellets of water, interrupted my slumber. A bit dazed and confused, I arose to find a fast moving summer storm approaching and ran for the base of a gigantic tree in the gardens. Finding suitable coverage, I sat there and read "The Glass Castle" happy as a lark and unaffected by the storm. ---This happy-go-lucky feeling is exactly what I so badly want to bottle up and take home with me...I mean, I could sell it and be filthy rich, haha...It's been such a blessing to be without a phone and immediate communication vehicles, seriously...you should try it! Hopefully, it will break me of my compulsive email checking, etc!

Ok....times up. More to come of Stockholm!!!