For the last week of our time in Europe, Jacob and I decided to venture North. I did a good deal of research and arranged a tour of Norway that was basically a budget version of the popular "Norway in a Nutshell" tourist package: we flew into Oslo, took a train to Trondheim, spent a few days there, then took a two day ride on the "post boat" Hurtigruten down the coast along the fjords to Bergen, took a train back from there to Oslo, and flew out again. This small taste was enough to convince us that we have to go back -- hopefully to live there for some time.
As our plane took off from Berlin, the sun had just set, and we were enjoying some lovely colors in the sky. Just a few minutes into the flight, the sun started rising again (welcome to the north lands in the summertime). It appeared completely over the horizon as we flew north, only to sink down again just as we were landing in Oslo. I considered this evening sunrise and double sunset quite a good sign at the start of our adventure.
We were showered with blessings at every turn -- the plane arrived early, we managed to exchange money and find our bus just in time, etc -- but the greatest delight for our first night in Norway was meeting our host Linn. We arranged all of our accomodation (except for the boat) through couchsurfing again, so it was a great joy to see Linn come bounding up to us as we waited for her at a deserted bus stop late at night. Despite our exhaustion, we couldn't help staying up to talk with her, and after a short night of sleep, we delayed our departure in the morning to extend the conversation. She told us about her life, growing up and living in Oslo. We covered a multitude of subjects, but somehow it all added up to this: Norway is probably the best run country in the world, and is populated with sunny, sensible, open, and genuine people (I know that not every Norwegian can be as great as Linn, but given the stories of her friends, many must come close).
So, we tore ourselves away from our beautiful Oslo hostess (and her delightfully purring cat!) to make our way through the city to the train station. It was an 8 hour train ride up to Trondheim, and we were tired, but found that we couldn't sleep at all; the countryside was simply too beautiful. It was hard for me to believe my eyes. At every turn I was reminded of the most beautiful parts of California, or Wyoming that I had ever seen -- only sparklingly clean and barely touched by human development... It was so pristine and gorgeous. Eventually I was so tired that my eyes hurt, but I just couldn't close them.
We arrived at 10PM and it was just as bright outside as afternoon.
{Next installment: Trondheim}
As our plane took off from Berlin, the sun had just set, and we were enjoying some lovely colors in the sky. Just a few minutes into the flight, the sun started rising again (welcome to the north lands in the summertime). It appeared completely over the horizon as we flew north, only to sink down again just as we were landing in Oslo. I considered this evening sunrise and double sunset quite a good sign at the start of our adventure.
We were showered with blessings at every turn -- the plane arrived early, we managed to exchange money and find our bus just in time, etc -- but the greatest delight for our first night in Norway was meeting our host Linn. We arranged all of our accomodation (except for the boat) through couchsurfing again, so it was a great joy to see Linn come bounding up to us as we waited for her at a deserted bus stop late at night. Despite our exhaustion, we couldn't help staying up to talk with her, and after a short night of sleep, we delayed our departure in the morning to extend the conversation. She told us about her life, growing up and living in Oslo. We covered a multitude of subjects, but somehow it all added up to this: Norway is probably the best run country in the world, and is populated with sunny, sensible, open, and genuine people (I know that not every Norwegian can be as great as Linn, but given the stories of her friends, many must come close).
So, we tore ourselves away from our beautiful Oslo hostess (and her delightfully purring cat!) to make our way through the city to the train station. It was an 8 hour train ride up to Trondheim, and we were tired, but found that we couldn't sleep at all; the countryside was simply too beautiful. It was hard for me to believe my eyes. At every turn I was reminded of the most beautiful parts of California, or Wyoming that I had ever seen -- only sparklingly clean and barely touched by human development... It was so pristine and gorgeous. Eventually I was so tired that my eyes hurt, but I just couldn't close them.
We arrived at 10PM and it was just as bright outside as afternoon.
{Next installment: Trondheim}
2 comments:
1Oh, that sounds so lovely! I want to go to Norway now....
you guys look like movie stars with those shades
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