Day 3: Flam & Bergen - Fjording

Myra was up at 7 and I was up by 8, but Rich didn't seem interested in waking up, so we went for a walk. We walked along the fjord for about an hour as we enjoyed the scenery and the fresh air. Then we dropped by the store for some fruit for breakfast. Upon returning to the room we discovered that when Rich said he would be up at ten, he actually meant he would be up in ten minutes. And since he was mostly asleep at the time, he didn't hear me say that we would be back at ten. And we took the only key. So he was a bit annoyed. (Or that's Mia's version of the story, Rich says.)

Flåm

Sognefjorden

Trolls seem to be a big thing here in Norway. I don't really understand it, but I read off the back of a book that trolls inhabited Norway before humens did, so I guess it has something to do with that. So here is a troll with the Norwegian flag:

(Note from Myra: Trolls are prominent in Norse folklore. Recall The Hobbit, based on Norse myths.)

After breakfast we returned the key and left our luggage at the front desk so that we might better enjoy our time in Flåm. We spent much time perusing the gift shops and being astonished at the prices. Fox pelts are very expensive I'll have you know. We visited the train museum, but honestly, it was a little boring. We went for another walk, then got our bags and ate lunch at the cafe. At 3:30 we boarded the express boat for Bergen. Flåm is located the top of the Søgnefjorden and Bergen is at the base, so we got to cruise down the entirety of the fjord. The scenery was beautiful, though at times it was hard to appreciate it through the water splatted windows. Going up on deck made everything about ten times more awesome, but also ten times as cold. (Like boating, but much colder and windier and yes, cooler scenery, although Norway reminds us a lot of Vancouver Island.) Still, the entire trip was about 6 hours, so we go to see plenty. The weather was cold and rainy, and a little bit foggy at times. But it was still totally worth it.

Myra on the deck of the express boat:

 Sights:

Mia with a backdrop of Bergen and a rainbow:

(as soon as we hit Bergen we hit falling snow !)

At the train station in Oslo, we went to a grocery store for dinner supplies for the train. Nothing was looking particularly appealing to me until I saw a jar of Nutella. I bought it and spent two days eating bananas and bread with Nutella. Myra helped me some, but I ate most of the jar myself. Surprisingly, I still like Nutella, but it really intensified my desire for real food. And by real food, I mean meat. Until Myra talked me out of it, I was all set to buy hot dogs at the store and eat them cold on the boat. Once we get to Bergen and have access to a kitchen, I am buying hot dogs and ketchup and eating them to my heart's content.

-Mia

From Myra:
We have arrived in Bergen, and it is a pretty little town. This is Bryggen, the wharf area:

Our apartment is nice and has wi-fi.

The road outside is a narrow cobblestone alley, and all the houses are white.

We are about 5 or so minutes from the main harbor area. Our host was a little worried when he first showed us to our apartment because there was water on the floor, but it turned out to the only that the last guests had turned off the fridge and the ice melted. We have no food and it's late on a Sunday so the grocery store is not open, but we ate earlier so we will probably survive until morning having had a couple pickle slices from my jar of pickles. Until then, Rich is elated listening to baseball (note that the Giants haven't lost since we left, and he's been wearing his SF hat), Mia and I will be happy to shower in our own space, then we will sleep cause the sun is setting. Tomorrow is Rich's birthday and we will have dinner somewhere that is not the grocery store. Bergen is pretty small so we can see everything while it's light out (haha).