Friends. Norway was incredible. One of my favorite thingsthat I've done since coming to Europe for sure. After the mishap of missing my bus in Paris I was very careful to make sure that everything went well in Norway-and it did! I got into Oslo late but ended up taking a taxi to my hostel so I was safe. I got up very early in the morning to catch the Oslo-Bergen train. I traveled to Flam, gave candy to strangers, explored the Fjords, hitched a ride with some french dudes, slept in a cabin, got lost in Oslo and enjoyed some fantastically picturesque fall leaves. The best and most succinct way to describe that last weekend in October is through pictures. So humour me as I share with you only about 100 of my favourites!
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| Waiting at the tram stop early in the morning-I was NOT going to sleep in again. |
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Unintended Consequence:
I got to the train station so early That I had to wait for awhile in the cold. |
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This is what long-suffering Norwegians look like.
On a Train. |
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After falling asleep and then waking up in a panic, fearing that I had missed
something, I got to work exploiting the picturesque countryside with my
sub-par photography skills |
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| Misty Mountain |
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Sorry. I know it's Practically the same picture but ...
But look at it! |
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| There was so much varied landscape along the journey |
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| snow! |
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| So rustic! |
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| I really like red things. |
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| Just in case you were wondering what it looks like to geek out on a train by yourself in Norway. |
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I did not go all the way to Bergen but Instead got off to switch to the Flam railway, famous for being one of
the most beautiful rail journeys in the world |
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| Look at how cute the train is! It's green! |
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| So many waterfalls in this area |
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We got to get off the train to take pictures.
Quite considerate, those Norwegians. |
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| View along the railway |
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| Approaching the small town of Flam |
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When I got to Flam I hung out looking at souvenirs for
a little while before embarking on my epic FJORD SAFARI. Since
it had been raining a lot of the day They suited us up HARD core.
Oh also, I should mention it was Halloween and I carried candy with me and offered it to some people
while waiting for my boat. The Americans thought it was cool. The Europeans
were like "......?" |
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| Fjord! |
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| People LIVE there! |
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| And here! |
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| In the shadow of this epic camel-hump mountain! |
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| See That adorable old church on the left? |
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Can you spot the buildings up there? That's a bed and breakfast.
A BED AND BREAKFAST
AT THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN
ABOVE A LARGE BODY OF WATER
SURROUNDED BY WATER FALLS
WITH A ZIP LINE TO GET YOUR STUFF UP |
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| The glory. |
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| #Neature |
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The rain turned out to be a blessing because it made the waterfalls
more magnifique! (Oh, and it was not raining for our actual boat
ride-which was perfect!) |
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| It really was a safari! We got so close! |
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Not sure where it was but I'm just going to mention here that we saw a seal along the shore.
A SEAL.
IN THE MOUNTAINS. |
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This may be the little village where only ONE man currently lives.
Apparently he is a curmudgen. |
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| As we set off from the harbor I was pretty in love with my life |
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| There May be an L on my forehead... |
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| Bu I was NOT feeling like a loser |
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I'm sorry but just look at my eyes.
They are GLOWING.
It's like I discovered Christmas |
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Our fantastic Danish guide.
Clearly he LOVED his job and was just as excited about being there as we were. |
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| Plug for a great company. Worth the extra bucks. |
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| It was very cold out on the water. |
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| Which made it an adventure! |
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| So picturesque |
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| Experimenting with the filter on my phone. |
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By the time we got back to shore it was dark.
I knew that my hostel was somewhere "not far" in the countryside but
was a bit nervous about finding it. Luckily the three nice French guys from the Fjord
tour (the only other ones on it) gave me a ride to the hostel.
It turned out to just be a series or cabins! This little room was mine.
I cranked up the heating and had a great night's sleep |
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The buildings.
And When you think about it, staying in a remote cabin with strangers
in the middle of nowhere is a pretty appropriate way to spend
Halloween. |
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| View from the grounds |
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| I walked from the cabin to town early in the morning |
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| It's pretty remote! |
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| Those buildings in the back are my hostel. SO REMOTE. |
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| I was in love with the fall leaves. |
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| And obessed about them a bit. |
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| River |
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| and this orange |
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| these quaint houses |
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and the most epic playground in the world!
You better believe I took a swing on that swing set. |
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| Incroyable |
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I'm making a collection-which I call "Jenny eating junk food in picturesque places"
It's a working title. |
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| Apparently this is what the locals look like |
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| Hey, thanks for the validation Norwegian train station! |
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| Getting ready to head back the way I came |
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| It was not rainy the next day which was nice |
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| I made friends with our conductor |
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He did not speak much English but I'm pretty sure he is one of the nicest people on earth
Had a Mr. Rogers sort of feel to him. |
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He took this picture for me!
Looks like I Should Be in Bollywood, huh? |
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I was lucky enough to get to Oslo with enough time to explore for a few hours!
I got lost and ended up at this cool fortress thing. |
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| There were incredible views of the harbor from this area |
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| Autumn in Oslo |
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| LEAVES! |
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| More Leaves! |
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| Oslo Cathedral |
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Add I saw in a shop window.
Norwegians really know whats up. |
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| The fortress again. Clearly these aren't quite in order. |
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| Selfie by my selfie |
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| The leaves were just out of this world |
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A Norwegian Beefeater!
Didn't know that was a thing. |
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| Trying to be artsy |
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| Harbour |
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| Cute red door. |
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| It looks like when Frodo sails off at the end of Lord of the Rings |
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| Magical |
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| I even had time to go to the Nobel Peace Center! |
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And since I Mentioned that I interned at OPCW they welcomed me into the museum for FREE
as a past winner! |
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| OPCW won the nobel peace prize in 2013 |
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| I failed at taking a picture with the OPCW plaque |
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| But the room dedicated to the past winners was pretty awesome |
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At the gift shop I did a pretty random thing and bought myself a geo-puzzle.
Here's how it looked put together back in the Hague. |
So that was Norway! There is so much more I could say but for some reason blogger knows that I'm in the Netherlands and keeps trying to correct my English into Dutch (so go easy on me if there are weird typos in the last few posts). I will leave it here with the declaration that Norway is AWESOME and everyone should consider going there.
Really puts things into perspective: what are men to rocks and mountains, indeed.
