May 2012 Norway Part 1 of 3

From all indications it was going to be a cold and wet trip. We had been tracking the weather before we left and almost every day was cold and rainy. So long johns, rain jackets, rain pants, fleece vest, and wool socks were all packed. When we left Dulles International Airport, it was a sunny and warm May day.  We changed planes in Iceland and the sun was shining brightly. Then it hit me, we should have made this an Icelandic trip. Well, I must say I was surprised to find that when we landed in Oslo it was not raining. We spent the next beautiful day at the Folk Museum in Oslo. It rained on our way to Lillehammer and the following day which was their National Holiday. The rain did not dampen the spirit of the locals who were dressed in their local outfits and marched in their parades. Then the rain stopped until the day we flew home!

Storage Building

Lom Stave Church

Mountain Pass

Pat in the mountains

The first two weeks in Norway we explored on our own. We had a rental car for nine days and spend five additional days in Oslo. In Lillehammer we visited the site of the 1992 Olympic Games; the ski jump was just above the town. We drove north, then east to Lom. We toured the stave church there and then headed into the snow covered mountains. We crossed Norway’s most beautiful fjord, the Sognefjord, in a ferry boat. At 127 miles long, this is second longest fjord in the world, and has a maximum depth of 4291 feet.  We continued to Vic where we visited a stave church and a stone church. 

May 2012 Norway Part 2 of 3

Tvindefossen waterfalls 

Tyssedal Hydro Museum

Working my way through Norway

Whaling statue and fountain

In Tyssedal we were given a tour of an old 100 MW hydro electric plant. The replacement plant was built inside the mountain. In Dalen, the owner of the B&B told us where we could go to see moose. We did see three moose but it was too dark for pictures.  We continued east to the historic town of Larvik, Thor Heyerdahl’s home town. In Molen, we found large mounds of rocks which were the graves of Vikings. We visited the Whaling Museum in Sandefjord.

May 2012 Norway Part 3 of 3

In Oslo we returned the rental car and visited several boat museums. We visited the Fram, Kon-Tiki, and Viking Ship Museums. The Fram was designed to float above the crushing ice flows, and it survived three major expeditions. It traveled further north and further south than any other wooden boat. The Kon-Tiki was made from balsa logs and completed the journey from Peru to Raroia Island, 4300 miles away. The reed boat Ra II is also on display. This boat traveled from Morocco to Barbados.  The three Viking boats at the museum were used as burial chambers and the clay they were buried in helped preserve them. All of these boats are the originals.

In the Resistance Museum, we learned how the Norwegians dealt with 5 years of German occupation. On a brighter note, the Nobel Peace Center gave us a chance to learn about the previous medal winners. Later we walked through Frogner Park, a park filled with human sculptures by Gustav Vigeland.

From Oslo we needed to travel to Bergen to meet the Coastal Steamer. The guide book recommended doing the Norway in a Nutshell tour. This consists of three train rides, a boat trip, and a bus trip. It was a very scenic trip, but it was stressful trying to make the connections. It was a 14 hour trip that we renamed the Norway in a Nuthouse tour.

 Viking Ship and a Submersible

                                                   

Kon-Tiki

                                                                       

Town on the Nutshell Tour

Bergen's Manhole Covers

                                   

Even though Bergen may be the rainiest city in Norway, everyone said that we would love it. Well we did luck out and get beautiful weather while we were there. Unfortunately the only days we had to explore the city were a Sunday and a Monday holiday. Most of the museums were closed the entire time we were in town.  With help from a student, we found the well hidden Leprosy Museum.  We walked down to the harbor to explore the Bergenhus Fortress.  In the 13 century, Bergen was a walled city and the capital of Norway and the home of royalty. In the 1560’s the Rosenkrantz Tower was added to the Bergenhus Fortress. We climbed the tower, enjoyed the views and learned about the history of the town. For an even better view of the city we took the Floibanen funicular 900 feet up Mt Floyen and walked back down. The following day we sailed through the Maritime Museum before boarding the Coastal Steamer for a 12 day trip up and down the Norway coast.