Norway

Last year Greg took me to Bergen, Norway, where it was cold and very rainy. This year Greg took me to Oslo, Norway, where it is cold and very expensive!










Bergen, Norway








Welcome to Bergen, the "City Between the Seven Mountains"!








Bergen has been nicknamed "The City of Rain" for the plentiful rainfall it's renowned for - annual precipitation is 2250 mm (88 inches) on average, where Texas is 38.

We made friends with a bartender while waiting for our dinner to-go order. She told us it takes a special person to live in Bergen because of all the rain. She said their winter in 2006 was just terrible. That rain fell every day between October 29, 2006 and January 21, 2007, for 85 consecutive days!!!



We were not surprised by this, as it also rained every day, the whole time we were there! When we first arrived it was pouring down, so we took refuge in the Wharf Market.

You can find many great items at the wharf, like whale meat and fancy hats. I passed on the smoked whale meat but almost bought this hat that seems to go with everything. Or was I just waterlogged and thought it went with everything??

The view from the fish market was very nice.

We had a quick break from the rain and headed off to Bryggen ("the wharf" in Norwegian), the once Hanseatic commerce center, now tourist shop district. Bergen's city centre is situated between a group of mountains known collectively as de syv fjell ("the seven mountains"), Fløyen or Fløyfjellet is the most visited of the seven mountains that surround the city of Bergen, Norway.

It has a funicular system Fløibanen that transports passengers from the center of Bergen to a height of 320 metres in roughly 8 minutes. Greg and I took a ride up, to see what all the fuss was about.


















Well, it was pretty high and pretty windy as you can see.

Since Greg and I had our V8 that morning, we decided to walk down the hill. It didn't rain and it was really pretty.



Greg was loving it and had a lot of fun playing in the grass like he was a kid.



Despite the constant rain and wind, Bergen is a fabulous city. (oh, by the way Mom, you can click on these pictures and they will enlarge ;-)

The city is rich with history and character. There is so much to do and see; although we were always busy and saw a lot, there was so much more we could have done. Maybe next time the weather will be better and I can go on a fjord ship ride.

Bergen is very pretty, relaxing and a must- see for those traveling to Norway.

Now on to Oslo!

Oslo is the capital and largest city of Norway.

Oslo is also one of the most expensive cities in the world. As of 2006, it is ranked tenth according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.

How expensive you might ask?

Well, Greg and I walked into a pizza joint that looked like a Pizza Hut and for 20 Euros we could get a personal pan-sized pizza. We almost had a heart attack and ran out of the place refusing to pay 40 Euros for a pizza lunch.


Needless to say it was a very pretty place and we had a really relaxing time. Walking around town, taking in the sites and atmosphere.

Greg found out that a ski jumping contest was taking place, Fis World Cup Nordic 2008, so we jumped on a train and headed up a real big mountain to the Holmenkollen nordic skiing arena, and its centerpiece the ski jump.



















They were touting it was a 'World Cup', but I didn't see anyone from the US or Canada there. Humph, must be like our 'World Series' in baseball, where we only invite American teams but call it the World Series HA!

Anyway, on our walk up the mountain I saw a guy wearing a funny looking outfit and there were several people dressed like him all over. Come to find out, it is called Bunad, and it is a traditional Norwegian costume, typically of rural origin.

It made me laugh so I had to take a picture of him. Wiki states, "The interest for bunads dates back to Norwegian romantic nationalism and gained increasing interest with the folk dance movement at the beginning of the 20th century".

Does that not sound funny, or what! Romantic clothes for the folk dancing movement. Well, his gams are looking pretty good so I can see why a lady may swoon looking at that outfit.

Well we finally made it to the top of the mountain and here we are at the top with the ski jump behind me. I caught a little of the excitement on some film and at the end you can hear the announcer say 'yee haw'. It almost made me think I was back home in Texas...well almost.



I tried to get a shot of a ski jumper, but he just looked like an ant way way up there.

We were a little cold and it started to rain, so we decided to leave and go find a place to fill our bellies. That is when we ran into the expensive pizza place and so Greg decided it would be a good time to eat those sandwiches I packed instead.

I didn't get too many pictures of the town because of the rain and a little because it was cute but not really as photo cute as say Bergen. Or maybe it was because I was walking around town with a sandwich in my hand? Who knows, but I didn't really capture the moment or much sites around town.

Ahh, here is a funny photo, a Slutt Salg? Salg is Sale and yep, in Norweign Slutt means Out or The End . What is even worse is in Swedish it is actually Slut, and boy that caught my eye when I was in Finland and saw "A Slut Sale". hehehe

Walking around town we always saw the Radisson hotel as our focal point in case we got lost. When we found out that it had a bar and restaurant up top with breathtaking views of Oslo and the Oslo Fjord, we figured why not.

It was a really cute bar and Greg and I relaxed with a nice glass of wine and a cheese plate. I won't tell you how much it cost but Greg didn't seem to cough or convulse too much when he got the crazy high priced bill. In fact he didn't seem to mind much at all since we had a great view with great seats.














Oslo is cute and easy to get around! Great cafe culture with cute little shops every where, but not too exciting in the evenings. Worth seeing but a weekend is probably enough.