Norwegian getaway part 1: Oslo

I've had a little "bucket list" of places I want to go while I'm living over here, and Norway was always pretty far up on my list.  I don't know why I've always wanted to go there so bad, but seeing the fjords and the rest of Scandinavia always has been something I was dying to do.  Thibaut and I went to Copenhagen in November, so I was happy to do that, but I still really wanted to see the fjords, and I knew that I had to either do it now or in the Fall since the days too short and it's way too cold in the winter.  One day I was bored and I was just plugging in random dates on a few different websites for fun.  I somehow found a round trip Paris-Oslo ticket on RyanAir for 39 bucks, including taxes!  I knew I had to do it! I didn't have anyone to go with, but I don't have a problem with traveling alone, especially to a country like Norway which I know is safe.

I decided to do a four night trip, Thursday until Monday.  I planned out my days and researched the things to do in each city, and figured that 2 days in Oslo, one day in Bergen (on the west cost of Scandinavia) and one day to visit the fjords would be perfect.  I found a hostel to stay in for 2 nights in Oslo, but Bergen was a bit of a problem.  Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world, and Bergen hotel prices seemed to be showing that.  I decided to spend one night in Bergen and then spent the last night on a night train to save money.  

When I got into Oslo, I first was kind of surprised at how modern the city was.  I'm used to european cities which always have an "old city centre," but in Oslo there wasn't any of that, it was filled with modern architecture.  Especially their brand new opera house, which is awesome.  The best part about Oslo are the museums!  I saw Edward Munch's "the scream" which you'll recognize below, and I also visited 5 other museums, including the viking ship museum, which was my favorite.  The vikings used to use their ships for burials and they would bury prestigious people in their society in them, with treasures around them such as jewelry, etc.  Kind of like the Egyptians and the pyramids... only it's in a boat.  They discovered 3 viking ships in the 1800's, pretty much entirely intact, and put them on display in the museum.  Of course all the jewels and everything had been stolen, but the ships are still in amazing shape.  They were built around 800.  Yes, the year 800!  I was amazed at how advanced the vikings were, I saw things in the museum that people couldn't dream of building today.  Also I visited another museum, where they transported old houses from different regions and time periods throughout Norway into one outdoor museum.  The Norwegians have had grass roofs (called sod or turf roofs) for hundreds of years, which helps to stabilize the house, lasts longer than any other roof, and helps with insulation.  They were eco-friendly before going green was even cool! Touché Norway, you win. 

I ended up doing my museum day with 4 Frenchies that I met on the ferry boat!  There were 2 couples traveling together from Bordeaux, and I was of course happy to hear a familiar language that I could understand.  They were so sweet and I really loved spending the day with them!  Besides the Viking ship museum and the Folksmuseum, we also did the Polar Ship Fram museum (a norwegian explorer's ship used for expeditions to the Arctic and Antactica), the Kon-Tiki museum (google it, I can't even explain it), and then saw a panoramic film of all of Norway at the Maritime museum.  I was so glad I found some people to share all that with, I don't mind traveling alone but sometimes it's nice to find some people to hang out with!  Of course I find the 70 year olds!  Afterwards I went to Vogelpark, which is a very weird park with lots of naked statues in it.  See below.  Kind of weird that people had their kids there, I felt like it was pornographic almost.  Ohh those europeans!  Very different. 

The next morning I got up bright and early and headed out for a 7 hour train ride to Bergen, on the other side of Norway.  One of the most beautiful train trips I've ever taken! 

Oslo's port

munch's "the scream"

the opera house on the water, you can walk on the roof too

found the queen mary 2 in the port!  enormous

12th century stave church at the outdoor museum

eco-friendly houses built by the norwegians in the middle ages.  so smart.

my new bff's, a retired French couple that I spent the day with

one picture of me, the proof that i was actually there

just getting the mail

the viking ship museum in Oslo

pretty much intact!  very cool

cute street in Oslo's "posh" neighborhood

is it weird that this reminded me of Full House?

the weird park... the statue in the back is naked people all piled up

much more nudity than i would have liked to see that day

naked people in trees

hmmm...

morning train across Norway to Bergen

up up up into the snow and ice

they go fishing, catch cod and hang them on here to dry out

beautiful scenery the entire 7 hour ride

PART 2! Bergen and the Fjords

Once in Bergen, I found my hotel (awesome hotel with my window facing a park) and headed out to do some sightseeing.  I took the funicular up the mountain to get a view of the city and the surrounding water first, and when I was up there I found one of my favorite parks ever.  A troll park.  They carved wooden trolls and put them into a forest, and made it into a small troll park.  I seriously want to do that at our house in Canada, it was so cool.  

The rest of the time in Bergen I just hung out in the port area, wishing I was norwegian and had a yacht to drink cocktails on, which seemed to be the hip thing to do there.  I explored a little more then next day, and found some really cute streets and areas.  I really like the architecture in Bergen, very colorful and picturesque!  There were a lot of little narrow roads with adorable houses on them.  I would love to be a cool, rich norwegian and live in one of those houses.  Sigh. 

Onto the fjords! No words can describe how beautiful the scenery in this country is. I found myself just constantly taking pictures like an Asian tourist to try to capture how pretty everything was, but unfortunately it just wasn't possible to capture on film!  I tried my best, but the pictures don't do it justice.  I took a 2 hour train ride up North, and changed to a bus to head up the fjords, where I took a boat.  I almost died on the bus.  This bus was defying gravity for half of the trip.  When I looked down at the tiny, winding road we were about to go down I pretty much kissed my life goodbye.  However our bus driver got us down safe and sound, and I even led the bus in a long applause for him once we reached the bottom in one piece. 

We then took a boat through the fjords, where we had breathtaking views for 2 full hours.  The most amazing part is that we came across a couple of small villages, where roads don't even go.  I can't believe there are people that just live right in the middle of a fjord, with no grocery store, or anything.  They live in the middle of waterfalls and mountains and live off the land!  I can't even say much about the fjords except for they were beautiful... and you'll have to look at the pictures to try and see why. 

Overall I had an amazing trip, but one thing I have to say about Norway is it is SO EXPENSIVE.  Oslo was rated the most expensive city in the world a few years ago.  I bought a bottle of water at 7/11 and almost died when I converted the amount into dollars.  6 bucks!  I have never had to be so cheap in my life.  I came with my bag half full of snacks that I bought in France, and otherwise I bought turkey, cheese, bread and fruit at the grocery store and lived off of that for 4 days straight.  The second I got back to France I went directly to a steak restaurant to get some real food in me! I was starving. Also thank you to Ohio University for not putting dates on our student cards, I've been passing myself off as a student for the past 4 years.  Norway offers a 25% discount on their trains for students... don't mind if I do.  They never even checked my student card! 

onto Bergen, took the funicular up the mountain

the view into the "gateway to the fjords"

found a friend along the way

then came across these guys in the forest

my hotel, right on the park

heading to the fjords! beautiful views already

almost had a heart attack.

we were in a greyhound size bus doing these turns. not okay.

the little boat the took us through the fjords

imagine living here!

Back in Bergen until my night train left. The main port

colorful houses

the breakfast room in my hotel

norwegian sunset at 11pm

the view on the way out!  i will miss you Norway