Bergen

We board the Norled Express Boat (catamaran) to whisk us from Flam to Bergen in under 6 hours.  The ride is smooth.

The boat glides in and out of several small communities, several of which are boat access only.  We can only imagine how hardy these people are to live in such isolated places. 

We pass fish farms 

and a Norwegian oil refinery that is the basis for Norway's wealth, which the country uses to close the gap between rich and poor. 

 With short summers the need for greenhouses is obvious and many of the small communities seem to have one.

Bergen was founded in 1070 AD and was Norway's first capital.  It was a major European trading and seafaring port.

We are pleased to discover how close to the old town (known as Bryggen) our Airbnb is located.

Bryggen suffered many fires including the one of 1702 that reduced everything to ashes.  Today's Bryggen was rebuilt on foundations that had been there since the 12th century.  Thus its place on the UNESCO world heritage list.

These old buildings that lean on each other for support are truly beautiful.

We explore Fisherman's Market where species like monkfish, shark and wolfish are sold.  The paella looks delicious.

We unintentionally taste whale meat that was quite good.

We spend much of our 4 days here strolling around as it is a very walkable city with many public places to sit and rest.

We do wander in and out of stores, especially those that sell the beautiful Norwegian sweaters.  The variety of designs is vast...but price tags are out of reach.

One day we ride the Floibanen Funicular for the panoramic view of Bergen.  The walk back down is full of surprises like the carvings in the woods.

On Friday evening we stroll the downtown waterfront.  The marina is packed with expensive motor and sailboats moored so tightly together we wonder how a boat could leave if it wanted to.  On most of the decks, it appears that boat owners are hosting their friends for the evening.  Eating and drinking, but going nowhere.  It seems a bit odd.

Random photos from Bergen:

One more day to enjoy Bergen, then off to Alesund.

Entertainment in a downtown square as part of the music festival going on here.

Traditional girls' dresses are for sale and two women in a crowd in traditional dress.

• 
  

Flam, Norway

On the train ride from Oslo to Myrdal, we find ourselves looking forward to the next part of the trip...the Flambana train to Flam.

The train hurtles down a 55% gradient, brakes squealing for much of the 866 m. descent.  18 of the 20 tunnels on this ride through the mountains were dug by hand at a rate of 1 month of hard labour to create 1 meter of the tunnel, thus taking 20 years to complete.

When not in a tunnel the views are breath-taking.  At one point the train stops and everyone gets out...we are not sure why.  There is a beautiful waterfall raining us with mist.  Suddenly we hear music in the mountains and far above our heads, a woman in a long red dress is singing to us!  Marvellous.

Flam is a small city on the innermost part of Sognefjord, the world's deepest and longest fjord...204 km long & 1308 m. deep.  Cruise boats from all over the world come to Flam.

We are wondering if Paul has found some long lost relations.  See any similarities?

I make friends with a fellow in a bar that is all in Viking style from outside to inside.  Note the serpents on the roof.

We hike to the Otternes farm...27 houses dating back to the 17th century.  

People still live in one or two of the houses here and farm.

We finish the day with a walk through the Fretheim Cultural Park.

On our last day in Flam, we do a short, steep hike to the Brekkfossen waterfalls.  The views of Flam from here are stunning.

Tomorrow we head to Bergen on an express boat to experience a fjord from the water.

Before we go ... Some random photos of Flam:

Oslo with Ruth & Tony

We arrive in Oslo an hour late where Tony, a friend of friends whom we have never met is patiently waiting to whisk us to his and Ruth's very welcoming home.  Here we enjoy fabulous meals, good conversation and learn about living in Norway.

On day 2 we experience the wonderful public transportation system of buses, trains and subways, all running frequently and on time...and I get half price for travelling with seniors!

We visit the Viking Ship Museum that houses the archeological finds of 3 Viking ships in addition to other artifacts.

A short ferry ride across the Oslo fjord brings us back downtown to wander the waterfront.  We notice the candles outside of doorways to welcome people to cross the threshold.

Here we learn the Norwegian adage that gets them through the long winters and the rains of spring as the happiest people on earth:

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing" ... and the concept of "koselig" or coziness (candles, blankets, fire, and getting together with friends and family.

The waterfront is busy with a mix of modern and old ferries, racing sailboats, cruise ships and students learning to sail wooden ships.

On Saturday the 4 of us head to the Vigeland Sculpture Park ... the world's largest park by a single artist, with 212 works in bronze, granite and wrought iron.

It felt joyful to be here.  The sculptures depict relationships between men and women, young and old, males, females.  The 4 stages of life are represented: childhood, adulthood, parenthood and old age.  After walking a long, broad avenue of sculptures, you're led to an enormous fountain and then beyond to a monolith of over 100 figures representing humanity's longing for the spiritual and divine.  Finally, we reach the Wheel of life, 4 figures bound together for eternity.

Lunch on the busy Oslo waterfront.  Music from a stage in the background.  Squeals of delight from kids interacting with some cartoon costumed folk.  We are huddled under blankets and overhead heaters and all is good.  4 bowls of soup and 4 beer later the bill is over $150...ah, the cost of living in Norway.  But the streets and eateries are full, so wages must reflect the costs.

We move on to explore city hall.  Outside at one entry to the building are 16 huge wooden friezes depicting Norse mythology...the life of gods and stories of wisdom & love, war & hate and the Goddesses of destiny bring visions for the future.

Other statues on the outside of the building pay homage to the past as City hall is located in the former red-light district from the Victorian era.

Inside are art galleries and rooms filled with beautiful frescoes depicting fishing, forestry, industry and more of life in Norway.

The grand hall that hosts the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is magnificent.  One can only imagine the hall filled with sound from the great pipe organ.  A 49 bell carillon plays every hour.

The day finishes at home as it started with more of Tony's great home cooking.  Mussels for dinner tonight.

One more day in Oslo, then on to Flam.

Sunday: a nice slow start to the day including medicine and force-feeding little Chaing Mai who has been a sick kitty lately ...hopefully on the mend.

We cycled about 20 km to Son for a walk on the waterfront, a visit to a gallery and a rest in a cafe.

Our time here has been fantastic.  We hope we can host Ruth and Tony one day.

Some random photos of the day, some struggling with first-time use of a selfie stick.

NORWAY - fly Vancouver to Oslo on June 7, 2017

in Norway

And so we begin in Norway where Paul’s maternal grandparents (Olsen’s) set sail from and ended up in Saskatchewan.  By virtue of his mom’s older sister’s marriage into the Wahl family, the Olsen family also ended up in Dodge Cove near Prince Rupert in British Columbia.  The Wahl brothers became famous for their design and production of wooden fishing boats up and down the west coast of Canada.

Example of a Wahl-built boat

Europe on the Go - Written April 24, 2017

Because our travels are over five months, our itinerary is affected by the Schengen Agreement which came into effect in 1995 and involves 26 countries, some of which are in the EU and some are not.

We can only be in Schengen signatory countries for a total of 90 days.  Our plan is to be in the Schengen countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany for about 45 days – then to travel to countries that are not currently in the Schengen Agreement (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina & Montenegro) for about 50 days – then back into the Schengen countries of Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

As usual itineraries are subject to the whims of the day and conversation with fellow travellers and ‘locals’.

PROLOGUE - April 24, 2017

since Linda’s retirement in February 2016 from 42 years of nursing, we have been on the move.  First a 9-week backpacking trip to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos; followed by a trip across Canada in our 5^th. wheel, then as the cold weather approached we headed to the sun of the southern USA.

We’ve been back home in Grand Forks for a month, selling off our household ‘stuff’ in the storage unit so that we can full-time RV.  At the end of May, we head to Vancouver for the wedding of good friends Anne and Jeff, and a fund-raiser to off-set the expenses of Anne’s daughter Jessi and her open-water swim of the English Channel this summer.

In June we head to Europe for five months.  While we have no relatives that we know of there, the plan is to visit some places where family lived.  Paul’s ancestors hail from Norway, Denmark and Sweden.  Linda’s father was born in Italy and he mother’s third-generation ancestors were from Ireland and Scotland. 

Linda’s only sibling (brother Mark) retired in March 2017.  Mark and his wife Carol will drag themselves away from their infant grandson (daughter Maria & son-in-law Matt) to join us in Italy for September.

This blog is intended for friends and family to track our travels and for us so that we can stay in touch with you.  Put your e-mail in the blog to receive new posts.  We look forward to having ‘conversation’ with you via the comments section.