Scandinavia was at the top of my list for places to visit when I came over here, and for awhile, it looked like I wasn't going to be able to come. But then the new group came in January, and as I was talking about trips with everyone, Sarah and I discovered that we both really wanted to go to Norway. After further discussion with others in the group, we found that there were other people that were interested in seeing fjords, so I was absolutely overjoyed that we got to plan a trip to Norway.
We went for a weekend in early March. Most people we talked to said we were crazy, because it was going to be super cold and we wouldn't get to see any fjords. But after that weekend, I think we all agreed that it was amazing, and we wouldn't have changed anything about it for going when we did. We had perfect weather, and all of our travel plans and hostels all fell into place perfectly.
On Thursday after classes, we went to the train station and caught a flight to Oslo, the capital of Norway. We got in pretty late, and by the time we got to our hostel for the night, it was already one in the morning, and we had to leave the hostel at 7:30 in order to catch our train. Luckily, the hostel was very nice and had a better shower than we have at the Center.
We all wanted to see the fjords, and the best place to see them is across the country in Bergen, so we took an early morning train across the country to Bergen. It was a six and a half hour train ride, which most people would find tiring, but I have the best train buddy on the planet in my lovely friend Jessica, so it was all fine.
The landscape on the first part of the train ride reminded me a lot of driving through the mountains in Colorado. There were little town tucked away into these great big hills covered in dark green pine trees and I couldn't help but think, "Okay, this is great, but it's like I've seen it before. I want something new!" And as we kept moving, I got my wish. We travelled up in elevation in the mountains to the point where everything was covered in snow and people were traveling between houses on skis and snowmobiles. We rode over glaciers and feet of white sparkling snow, and it was absolutely beautiful.
Bergen, I am convinced, is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I can only imagine what it looks like in late spring, when all of the trees and flowers are blooming, and you can take river cruises out to the other fjords. We all took a tram to the top of a mountain that overlooks the city, and we stayed up there until the sun set over the Bergen fjord. It gave us a great view of the city, of little islands out on the water, and over the whole Norwegian landscape. I took about a hundred pictures just of the sun setting over the city, and I could have stayed up there for hours. I know I speak for everyone in our group when I say that it was one of the prettiest places we've ever seen.
We spent the most of the next day in Bergen, walking around the city. We got pancakes at a stand by the pier, and walked around an old Norwegian fortress. At the top of what I assume was the old castle keep, we took pictures for over an hour and looked out over the city and the fjord again. I had the best salmon sandwich for lunch, and we spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around the city.
That night we trained back to Oslo, and spent most of Sunday in Oslo. We walked over to the castle in Oslo, which strangely enough, had a statue of FDR standing in front of it. I don't know the whole story, but I believe Norway had some significance during World War II, and Hitler wanted to house German ships in their ports? I don't know. That's the only reason I could think of for that statue being there. Anyway, we walked around the castle walls for awhile, and then spent the rest of the day trying to figure out where we wanted to get food before we had to go to the airport.
It was a wonderful trip, and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to go and see at least a little piece of Scandinavia. I am also very glad that there were people who wanted to go with me and were excited to see what I wanted to see. I love that I got to spend this weekend with these people, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Coming up next is my trip to Ireland, but we'll end this one here for now, since it's so long. As always, questions, comments, and donations, are always welcome!
Until next time,
Stephanie
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