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Norway 2010, off-island adventures
Aloha!
9/22/10 - Nothin' like a cruise through the Norwegian Fjords! Kings, Queens, and nobles of Europe alike, both past and present, have long spent many a summer right here easing through these secluded waters, and I can only consider myself lucky and blessed to have experienced it all, as well!
Located above Europe and endowed with some of the most spectacular natural scenery in the world, Kumi and I have had the good fortune of not only an amazing train ride over the roof of Norway, as they call it, from the capital city of Oslo to the picturesque entrance of the fjordlands and its second largest city, Bergen, but also an amazing 4-day cruise up the coast, through some of the most dramatic fjords, followed by another impressive drive back down to Oslo. Devouring well over a thousand miles by boat, bus, and train, this Norwegian leg of the journey gobbled-down almost two/thirds of our trip, so it'll also include the longest coverage! Hope you don't get bored, as we sure weren't!
Visitors from abroad will most likely arrive at the Oslo International Airport, then take a half-hour or so train ride to the main station and city center. We'll check out more of Oslo later, but for us it was a quick over-nighter before hopping-onto our NSB train, the main operator in Norway, and on to Bergen first thing in the morning. This particular destination-in-itself is listed as one of the 25 Best train rides in the world by the Society of International Railway Travellers. Its 300 miles of track winds through the largest wilderness area in Europe or Scandinavia, the Hardanger Plateau, as it finds its way through blue-tinged rivers, glassy lakes, Alpine vegetation, snow-covered mountains, quaint towns, and lots and lots of green. As gorgeous as it was, I didn't take many pics at all because there were so many tunnels, and tall trees close-by often obstructed potential shots. I did capture some memories with my new Canon Vixia video recorder, which comes in especially handy on a moving platform, but quite honestly, I haven't figured out how to import it into my particular web software yet, so...
We found the NSB trains modern, punctual, smooth, very comfortable, and to us in general, the best and most rider-friendly train operator in Scandinavia. Here's the Oslo to Bergen page of their website if you're curious, but feel free to check out other routes, prices, and other info as well - www.nsb.no/BergenRailway. In order to arrive at the fjords that lay along the coast, you're gonna have to cross the mountains anyway, so this is the fastest and perhaps best way to get there in style.
Bergen is an absolutely gorgeous town, although very typical of a tourist mecca that takes historical treasures and makes them accessible to visiting masses of today. At the center of it all is the Bryggen wharf housing its UNESCO World Heritage buildings running along its shores. Built in the style of its old Hanseatic heritage, Hanseatic referring to a league of merchants that banded together from Scandinavian and surrounding countries to protect its booming trade routes between the 13th and 17th centuries, today the structures are mostly filled with restaurants and shops catering to visitors. Still, you can't help but to sense of bit of history through these very structures:
And the little shops were enchanting, as well!
Other areas include newer designs, but were still waaay cool, and built in the colonial-looking manner prevalent in most towns and cities here:
At the crook of the wharf lay a bustling open market with vendors peddling mostly seafoods, but also fresh fruits, vegetables, trinkets, and more. Like most open markets these days, it wasn't particularly cheap, and this one was even worse because it catered mainly to tourists. Still, Kumi and I couldn't resist a giant leg of King Crab and a tall bottle of Norwegian Lettol beer at 10 in the morning!
Outside of our super-fresh crab, we were a bit disappointed in the foods here at the market. For lunch, Kumi had a seafood soup, which sounded delicious on a cold Nordic day pier-side, but it tasted like ocean water and milk. Myself, always one for a good fish 'n chips, expanded on the idea by ordering a mixed seafood 'n chips, featuring fish, shrimp, and squid rings. The rings were fine, but the shrimp was dough-bloated and the fish, which I was very much looking forward to, failed to please, with a crunchy but thick, hard crust and a fillet that, I swears, was pulled out of the back of a freezer! At a fishmarket only steps from the ocean, with the smell of salt permeating the air? Oy vey! The best thing on the plate was actually the fries underneath, along with ketchup and remoulade sauce, which you find everywhere.
In case you're wondering, the meal above was 95 kroners, or just over US $15! There's a good reason Kumi and I were mostly having plate lunch and okazuya in the months preceeding, lemme tell ya! Even while on the trip itself, our plan was to go as cheap as possible for most meals, just so we could enjoy at least a few good restaurants while in the most expensive country in the world. Even in neighboring and also-expensive Denmark and Sweden, its folk buy things at home as much as possible before venturing into Norway! Even modest restaurants here are ridiculously expensive. To give you an idea, there's a restaurant we experienced here that was about US $25-$30 per plate, but it was listed in all the travel and city guides as a budget restaurant!
Nope, Kumi and I concocted plans of grocery store specials like canned pepper mackeral, peanut butter, sandwich meats, cheese, and bread for most meals. Or at least that's what we planned. I was fine for at least a week, but after a single meal of Norwegian economy, Kumi was already tappin' out! Actually, most of the above-mentioned were very good, better than we have here, especially the canned fish, peanut butter, and bread, which is made and sold fresh-daily from any grocery store. It is much denser and more filling than breads here, and there's always a dizzying assortment of varieties available. That tube you see on the next shot is typical of the many varieties of pate-like spreads found here, and mostly made of fish products. Squeezed over bread, it can be eaten just like that or as a sort of flavored mayo:
In relatively large towns like Bergen that attract so many tourists, I was a bit surprised that there were no Hilton's, no Marriott's, no Sheraton's, no Hyatt's. Can't say for sure, but I actually think there's some degree of Governmental interference, which, after all, can happen in a more socialistic country like Norway. We may be spoiled in America in this regard, but every hotel we stayed at outside of the large American hotel chains was similiar to Japanese hotels, meaning, everything was tiny - bathrooms, beds, rooms themselves - and the grounds, well... very aged and un-resort-like! I think in order to keep with historical precedence, and perhaps in keeping local hotels competitive, a swank Hilton or Marriott with rooms twice as large and all the amenities wouldn't quite be in order for smaller or medium-sized cities. But hey, I'm all for preservation in designated areas, otherwise, the entire world would be cookie-cutter identical! Some of these buildings go back a thousand years or more, so while not cushy-comfy in the modern sense, they were very cozy, quaint, and oozing with old-time character, which is a big plus in itself. Just like the Hanseatic buildings at the wharf, old portions of town (meaning areas designated and preserved in historic architecture) of all the cities and towns in Scandinavia, including sprawling metropolises like Copenhagen and Stockholm, are naturally among the biggest and most beautiful draws in their respective countries.
But after a restful night in Bergen, it was high-time to board one of the highlights of our trip, a 4-night cruise on one of the Hurtigruten Line's ships, MS Polarlys. One of twelve vessels that ply these waters for the company, the fleet travels up and down the Western coastline and deep into the Arctic Circle, traversing in and out of the fjords and providing lots of breathtaking scenery along the way. In case you're wondering, fjords are formed when glacial formations extending below the water line melt, leaving behind cavernous, oftentimes sheer valleys that then fill with ocean water. Some of these inlets can reach 100 miles or more inland!
Here's part of the main forward deck of the ship, where we spent many hours taking it all in:
There's an interesting reason the Norwegian fjordlands are as beautiful and accessible as they are. The same equatorial waters that press through the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Florida are the same waters that make their way up to the Norwegian coastline, providing what would have otherwise been ice-choked harbors and bone-cold towns. A swath of warm water over 60 miles wide pushes 82 million cubic feet of ocean past Norway every minute, providing not only suitable conditions for living, but also an ideal environment for a wide variety of seabirds and some of the best fisheries in the world. For us, it just made for pretty views and no need for long-john's, was all!
We actually began the cruise at 8pm at night, but by 8am the next morning, we were already entering an 8-hour voyage (4 hours each way) through a series of fjords that would culminate in the jewel of the Norwegian coast, Geirangerfjord:
The thing that caught me about the Norwegian fjords was the scope. I mean, they were huge! There weren't many dramatic waterfalls, nor was there a kind of fairy tale mist to set the mood, as compared to our trip through the also-gorgeous Milford of New Zealand, but the sheer walls and vast amounts of water was absolutely breathtaking! No, we didn't plan it this way, but it turns out that the two countries with the most beautiful fjords anywhere happen to be, you guessed it, Norway and New Zealand! According to Touropia, the two countries account for the top four most beautiful fjords in the world and six of the top ten slots, with the Milford ranking number two and Geiranger, number one! How blessed are we?!!!
Our second day saw a 4-hour stop in Trondheim, the former Capital. Unfortunately, we arrived on Sunday, and here in Norway, the whole country virtually shuts down on Sunday! A 7-Eleven, however, was in fact open, and we were able to grab a quick shawarma, a dish I'll speak more and very fondly of on a coming Denmark page. In actuality, however, it could not have been better timing. With nothing else open, we chanced upon a huge church at the end of the road, and to our surprise, visitors were coming and going.
Curious, we entered through the heavy, leather-clad double-doors, and realized the most amazing, chicken-skin moment of the entire trip! Just letting you know right away - pictures weren't allowed inside, and I couldn't possibly think of bending the rules in such a place despite others who were! Now, I haven't been to the Basillica or St. Basil's yet, but if you haven't seen one of these grand, old-time cathedrals, please, no matter what faith you espouse, do take the time!
You can Google-search Nidaros Cathedral and you'll see inside shots there, but no picture will do it justice anyway. Begun in 1070, it was re-built a few times after fires and normal wear. Once inside, the place left me speechless for more than an hour, as Kumi and I sensed a presence so warm, so deep, so timeless that we both felt we were seated at the base of the Throne itself! To enrich the moment even further, there was an accapella choir of at least thirty practicing for Sunday services which would transpire shortly thereafter. Soaring harmonies reverberated through the cavernous set of chambers like a million angels from every direction, and there was nothing left to do but sit in complete silence and awe. Quite honestly, it seemed every breathe I took consisted of a soothing, holy, and rarified air, and I couldn't help but shed streams of tears shared only between myself and God.
Kumi asked later what I was thinking of, and it was difficult to answer right away because of the plethora of thoughts passing through. I mean, while America is part of the new world and Hawaii, even newer as far as our modern culture within it goes, this was truly history itself! This was the old world, where time stretches back to a culture much deeper than ours (meaning the US), back to the days of Vikings and chivalry, of lands directly affected by such momentous occurances as the Reformation, the Reinassance, the Black Plague (which some accounts say killed half the population of Norway!), the great wars, and revolutions of all kinds. It felt like an immersion into humanity itself, the spirit of each and every epoch somehow ingraining memory into every brick, every window, and every statue. The architecture itself was simply breathtaking. Above us, innumerable individual towers elevated into the skies, providing the deepest and most cavernous of sounds. Dim but well-placed lighting shone softly and mixed with the sun through stained-glass windows, creating an ethereal, other-worldly mood. Infinite details were found everywhere you looked within the voluminous halls, whether from the statue of Jesus on the Cross, an arched dome, a Saint's memorial, or a simple brick or candle. An immense, and I do mean immense, pipe organ sat on one end, with hollow tubes as large as the foundation poles of a skyscraper. Ooooh, how I wish they could have been sounded!
But to answer Kumi's question, I thought of many things. Being in such a quited place, both in the physical and spiritual, my mind was crisp and clear at the time as I sped through a littany of subjects with no effort whatsoever. I thought of how it must have sounded had it been real angels singing. I thought of God. I thought of Heaven. I thought of what a soldier went through before battle. I thought of injustices throughout the world, of plain evil. I thought how much the building was actually devoted to God, as the grand temple of Solomon, and how much was devoted to the glories of man himself, as in the Tower of Babel. I thought of the frailness of man, the fleetingness of life, my own failures. On and on. I thought if only I could live in this kind of introspection and clarity even in the mundane of daily life, I'd be much for the wiser, and definitely more fulfilled, but I suppose that experiences like this can occur only at special times, and I was happy to step into the moment, even for at least an hour or so. Needless to say, we both left quietly, but also very much rejuvenated and restored in mind and spirit. Floating back down to earth, we made our way back to the city center.
Trondheim itself was very picturesque, with a nice harbor filled with modern boats and buildings floating on water:
Before re-boarding MS Polarlys, we hit-up another 7-Eleven for the day's dinner. And what was dinner? Well, we gotta try a burger and hotdog in the country at least once, right?
It wasn't too bad, considering it was a 7-Eleven, but I really didn't care for the hotdog, which tasted exactly like a bigger, firmer Vienna Sausage!
There are lots of opportunities for dining on the Hurtigruten, though, don't get me wrong. There's a buffet available for breakfast and lunch in the main dining room, along with a set-course dinner each day. Then there's an ala-carte cafeteria as well as a snack bar open 24 hours, with sandwiches, pizza, dogs, salads, soups, breads, pastries, and other such items available. Like everything else in Scandinavia, however, prices were always a factor for us, and we didn't want the further cost of meal packages. The lone buffet we splurged on was around US $40, and typical of the meals found in these parts - lots of cold foods like olives, cheeses, beets, pearl onions, oysters, cold cuts, potatoes, pickled fish of various sorts, and root vegetables of all kinds, to name a few things. As for hot items, outside of fancier places like this, there are very few to speak of for either breakfast or lunch, as they are typically enjoyed more for dinner. You'd figure in such a cold place it'd be the other way around, no?
I tell you what - the three types of roe found on the above plate (see the black, off-white, and orange mounds at 4 and 5 o'clock?) were almost worth the price alone, especially for Kumi. They were indulgent, for sure! Everything else was also fresh and well-prepared.
As for the few hot foods on this particular buffet, there were a total of four items - salmon, halibut, potatoes, and beef stroganoff, all done well, especially the salmon:
Now, if only we could eat like this every day! Here's a section of our one visit to the main dining room:
And here's the 24-Hour snack bar section on-board:
Made-to-order items can also be purchased, as Kumi began doing more and more frequently the longer the cruise progressed. Actually, it's a wonder what a hot bowl of soup can do when you've got bread and cheese waiting in your room! This next dish of a hot potato sprinkled with corn and thick cuts of bacon hit the spot even more:
Our main stop from the third day of the cruise pitched at Bodo, where the boat had a 6-hour respite before steaming-off again. During these stops, there are many different types of excursions, which, with the exception of one of them, we didn't take part in because of that one little detail of, oh yeah, added costs. Forget the boat safari's to near-by glaciers, mini-hikes, ATV journeys, dog-sled rides, even a King Crab-hunting (and eating) adventure - we instead chose a more modestly-priced bus ride to the Bodo Air Museum, the largest of its kind in Scandinavia.
Like all of our stops with Hurtigruten, Bodo was a beautiful, quaint city with an old-time feel, and surrounded by the sheer power of the Norwegian wilderness:
This particular day of the tour, before and after Bodo, was probably the most spectacular as far as scenery goes. Instead of the sheer walls and winding corridors of the Geirangerfjord, there was plenty of open space, glassy waters, cool-little towns, tiny, boat-accessible islands somehow sprouting houses on them, and vast ranges of towering mountains in the background. Here's a couple more shots of the region:
There are many cruise lines that operate up and down the Norwegian coast, but only Hurtigruten travels the entire length from Bergen, where the fjords begin, clear up to the Kirkenes, where the sun completely shuts down for two whole months every year. One of the things on my to-do travel list is to experience the Northern lights, as well as the two-hour dusk and dawn periods and the generally freaky natural occurances on top of the world, but we didn't have enough time this time around, as the whole journey would have taken almost a week. The entire trip up and back down to Bergen takes 12 days total on a Hurtigruten ship, and you don't have to worry about monotony because ports-of-call and scenery are staggered between night and day, so you'll see different things from north to south. Just as we did, however, you can pick and choose your routes, whether that entails a single day, an over-nighter, a few days, or the entire shebang!
We definitely enjoyed our cruise with Hurtigruten and would recommend it to anyone. Staff like our new friend Bjorn, shown next, are sure to make the occasion memorable. A former flight attendant who has seen the world and is now as happy as could be cruising through the Norwegian coast, he is currently single, so anyone out there interested, lemme know. Kumi says he's a cutie, and looks like Mr. Incredible from the movie. Personally, I refuse to think about a man in tights.
Anyway, check out the Hurtigruten website yourself, even if it's the furthest thing from your mind. You never know what may spark some attention! www.hurtigruten.com.
We chose to depart MS Polarlys in the town of Harstad, where we caught a departing bus to begin our journey back down the country. This far North, there are no trains to speak of, so we caught the local bus down to Fauske, the Northernmost town hosting an NSB train, or any train, for that matter. The bus ride was actually almost as spectacular as the cruise, and we found the close proximity to the landscape (and ground!) a pleasant change of pace. Before the ride, however, we had a nearly 10-hour stay in Harstad, so we booked our bus, stored our luggage in a pay locker, and checked out the tiny port-side town. The beautiful sunny weather we'd been having throughout the trip was beginning to recede, but luckily, we didn't get rained on except for one day in Denmark, and only by light showers for a half hour or so. Other than a couple of days, we counted ourselves extremely lucky, as it was mostly sunshine in a September month that could have been really ugly!
While in Harstad we had two meals, one a parma ham sandwich and the best carrot cake I've ever had, and the other a fishcake patty and a potato/herb/fishcake mix from a local fishmonger. Norwegian fishcake is similiar to the stuff we get right here in Hawaii, only much fishier in taste and softer over-all. It was the potato mix, however, that Kumi and I really enjoyed. Though it didn't look very pretty, it was deliciously different than anything else we had previously, and had a great balance of light flavors and a clean, natural taste. There was a pretty good newspaper review of the place pasted on the wall and also a steady stream of customers despite being almost 3pm, so I guess they're doing something right here. In the refrigerated case was salmon, halibut, cod, crab, mussels, langostines (very popular here), and other such ocean bounty:
After our gorgeous 5-hour bus ride, which included transferring to another bus and that particular bus boarding a ferry, with us comfortably stowed on a giant upper deck complete with full-service cafeteria, across one of the fjords, it was already just past 9pm by the time we arrived at our next destination, Fauske. Here we ran into a bit of difficulty because, well, there was only one hotel in the entire town, and it was fully booked! No, we didn't plan this particular trip quite as well as past trips, when every single night's accomodations, every single activity, every single means of transportation had already been nailed-down months earlier. With Kumi to consider, I wouldn't have left things to chance in dangerous places like parts of the Mainland, the Middle East, or Africa as I've done in the past, but here in Scandinavia? No worries. It's safe anywhere. And we had sufficient protection from the cold, the other possible worry outside of maybe trolls, vampires, and werewolves. Besides, part of the fun in trips is the unknowing. Faced with situations like these, when you're forced to ad-lib, it brings out challenges that either make you stronger and wiser, or point-out how spoiled and fussy you are. In which case, of course, you'll choose to deal with things, in hopes of becoming stronger and wiser through it all, yes?
I mean, we were faced with, perhaps, sleeping in a train station or something for a single night - who cares? This is Europe/Scandinavia, anyway's! Backpackers are everywhere on the cheap!
Turns out, our accomodations weren't so bad after all. Though I would have actually preferred sleeping at the train station for free, the fully-booked hotel helped us get a taxi that took us to a campground 15 minutes away. Here's the town of Fauske as we awaited our ride, just outside the fully-booked hotel:
Campgrounds, as they call them, are not really what you might expect in the US. Yeah, they have an area for the crowd carrying mini-tents and inflatable 1-inch mattresses on their backs, but they also have simple cottages available as well, with varying degrees of comfort. Our particular campground, called Lundhogda, was just under US $100, and came with a communal shower/bathroom, sheets/linen we carried to the room from the office, and a four-bed cottage to ourselves with a view of the lake, although by this time, it was too dark to see anything. Kumi was a bit uneasy at first being this far out in the boonies, but nevertheless fell asleep quickly. I, on the other hand, felt only the similiar quietness of spirit found in campgrounds and wilderness areas like these anywhere in the world, a spirit very different from the sort found in big cities with lots of people around.
The next morning, we both arose fresh and sprightly, with the sun there to greet us in grand fashion:
Fat chance, but if you're ever in tiny Fauske, here's the Lundhogda Campground website. Check out some of their cool cottages:
After that, it was another quick taxi ride back to Fauske town, where we had yet another layover, this time about 5 hours, waiting for our overnight train to Goteborg, Sweden. Though tiny, Fauske was a gem of a town, with a wide boardwalk fronting the water, a small college, and a resort-like clean-ness and general feel, despite having only one hotel.
Before leaving town, we stopped-in for breakfast at what looked like a typical cafe you see everywhere here in Scandinavia. A pretty display case filled with desserts and various sandwiches, of which the three most popular, by far, were cold cuts, of course, along with bay shrimp and lightly-smoked or raw salmon. You'll never see a cafe here without the big three, front and center!
There are, however, other things to eat, and by this time, we were getting pretty tired of anything with bread! Instead, it was morning coffee and a server-recommended lasagna for me, which was aaah-ite, and a ham/veggie omelet for Kumi, which was, again, aaah-ite.
More interesting was the flotegrat poteter and ribbeskiver. Whaaa??? Hey, that's what it said on the container!
I was actually trying to duplicate the potato mix we enjoyed so much in Harstad, but this grocery store-bought potato mix didn't come close. Tasty, yes, but it was way too laden with cream and greasy butter. The ribbeskiver, basically a thick cut of grilled bacon, was, as you might expect, full of fatty sections we wouldn't dream of consuming in entirety, along with tasty sections of salty meat.
Our means out of Fauske would necessitate a 22-hour ride to Goteborg, Sweden that involved three different trains, one of which was supposed to be complete with sleeping quarters, only for some reason, it had none and we were instead placed into a first-class cabin. The next 7 days thereafter were spent brisquely visiting 5 different cities throughout Sweden and Denmark before returning us back to Oslo for a final day and evening.
Oslo, like all the major cities we visited in Scandinavia, was stunning. Characteristic of all of these cities were large, open areas of space, smack-dab in the center of town and used as a gathering place for locals and visitors alike. And not just one, but many. Here's the scene right outside the train station and only part of this particular clearing, where most visitors get their first taste of the cosmopolitan city:
Oslo proper, with a population of a bit over 500,000, is more laid-back than its larger contemporaries Copenhagen and Stockholm, with much less people and with a more small-town attitude, and I do mean that in a good way. We found the people friendlier in general and the crowds much more dispersed, calm, and easy-going. It was very comfortable for us, and a great way to both start and wind-down the trip.
Connecting to the train/bus station is Karl Johan's Gate, a wide, pedestrian-only street, that is one of the two biggest shopping areas of the city. Our hotel being just off this street, we took a leisurely pace through its enticing bevy of stores and restaurants:
I love the architecture here. Some of it was modern and some, pretty old, but they were all well-maintained and full of that old-time European-style charm. Here's another shot of cool-looking buildings, which was actually typical and not anything out of the ordinary, on the city's other major shopping street:
Kumi and I walked the length of this street for about an hour, which led us to a park that both my sister and her hubby, who is from Norway, recommended we check out. The place was impressively gai-normous, with tree-lined pathways in geometric fashion connecting a stadium, tennis courts, a museum, streams, fountains, flower gardens, vast fields, and its most famous aspect, 70 acres of naked people! Statues, of course, all designed by Gustav Vigeland. I have no idea why he was so obsessed with nudity, but these guys (and gals) were everywhere - 212 statues in all!
But alas, it was getting late, and time to walk back down to the town and a restaurant we specifically targeted, one my sister and her fellow flight attendant buddie's frequent for its combination of low prices and great cuisine. Unfortunately, you'll see it on a coming Closer Look page, as this page is getting waaay too long! I will, however, show you a beautiful boardwalk down at the pier, only steps away from our hotel and an after-dinner snack we had while there. This is the same pier, by day and by night:
As stated on some of my Facebook-like entries while there, if you haven't already, you really need to experience parts of the world that, whether traveling East or West, will still take roughly the same amount of time to arrive at. It's a whole different world the further out you get.
I left a few restaurants and food shots of Norway out for a coming page, where I'll explain the foods we found here a bit deeper. Sorry it's been so long before reporting, and that I was ham-strung on internet connections while there. I've been trying, believe me!
I'll get back to posts of Hawaii beginning next time, then throw-in a Scandinavia page here and there in the coming weeks. It was a very fun and rewarding trip for both Kumi and I, and we can't wait for the next one, to who know's where?!!!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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