norway in a nutshell.

Hello, hello! It's been rather quiet on this blog lately due to the fact that June was a crazy month! I was bustling around Norway with visitors, then took a quick trip to Germany, hosted more visitors, moved out of our flat in Oslo and am currently on vacation in Greece. I have never done so much traveling and vacationing in one month! When Josh's family + our friends the Kurtz-Shaws were visiting us in June we took the Norway in a nutshell trip from Oslo to Bergen. The trip included many forms of transportation (3 trains, 1 bus and 1 ferry), which gave us many different views of the Norwegian landscape and the fjords. The journey took all day (from early morning to late evening) and it was fun to read, do crosswords, chat and look out the window. Norway is just beautiful!

The halfway point between Oslo and Bergen is a unique place; it's snowy and sparse with some lakes and hills. Apparently part of a Starwars movie was filmed there. The range of scenery we saw in one day was pretty incredible. Several people in our group decided that their favorite part of the journey was the bus ride, which took us up a windy narrow mountain and then back down. We saw several waterfalls and views of the fjord. Oddly enough, I found it really fun to make our dinner on the train. Elise, Celeste and I made a little assembly line where we cut cucumbers and cheese, put dressing on the bread and put the sandwiches together. I like taking note of the little things that make me happy. We were on a trip to see the stunning Norwegian fjords, but I also found joy in making a sandwich. 

We spent about two days in Bergen before heading back to Oslo. We hiked to the top of Fløyen, the mountain right on the edge of Bergen's city center. Of course, on the way back down we got rained on. I guess it wouldn't be an authentic Bergen experience without rain. One of my favorite parts of our Bergen stay was relaxing in a coffee shop with Elise and Josh during a very rainy part of the day. Josh and I don't usually feel pressured to see all the sites or do lots of touristy things. It was fun to do crosswords, play nertz, read and drink good coffee. We got back to Oslo on a regular NSB train, which was also very scenic and a bit quicker than Norway in a nutshell.  Overall, a great trip! Josh and I didn't travel around Norway much, so it was really great to see other parts of the country. 

Middle three photos taken by Gary Cranston. The other two are by me.