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Norway in a Nutshell

It’s Sunday morning, May 9th & I’m typing on the tops of the Norwegian mountains. It’s spectacular up here. We just stopped at a tiny little ski town and several spring skiers have just boarded the train. We’re on a five-hour train ride that started at Flam, Norway all the way back to Oslo – it’s what Rick Steve’s calls the ‘most spectacular train ride in all of northern Europe.’ I concur.

Becca & I flew out of London to Bergen, Norway on Friday night after I finished work. We landed close to midnight & boarded a city bus. After about a half an hour, we got off, and rolled our luggage through the streets to find our small guest house for the night. A sweet Norwegian woman greeted us at the door & we paid our 500 NOK and she showed us to our room.

The next morning we boarded a train to Voss, where the ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ adventure would begin. The little town of Voss was quite quaint & we enjoyed a little lunch before boarding the bus on to Gudvangen. At Gudvangen, we boarded the ferry to set off on the Songefjord fjord. The weather was beautiful – air perfectly crisp & the ferry nearly empty (aside from a few Asians who were also along for the journey). The two-hour ride was beautiful & serene… it was incredible to pass these little villages alongside the fjord & to imagine what life would be like without the hustle and bustle of the world.

We pulled up to one of the little towns called Aurland – a town of 1800 people. This is where we’d be staying for the night. The moment we stepped off the ferry, Nils (the deputy Mayor of the town) was there to meet us and take us back to the guest house at his sheep farm, where we’d be staying for the night. Nils was delightful, an older and incredibly energetic fellow. He took us back to the place, where he had left us a little note on the door & welcomed us in. This was truly an authentic experience!

We set down our things and then went walking for a few miles along the green hillside, past waterfalls & sheep all the way down to the city center. Everyone was at the Lutheran confirmation that day, so the town was perfectly peaceful. Becca & I had a great conversation & relicked in the thought of ‘this is the life’ (photo album soon to follow :))

We made our way back to the sheep farm just before 10 pm – oddly enough it was still plenty light outside. But we tucked into our beds & were asleep in no time.

Just before boarding our train this morning, we enjoyed a delicious Sunday brunch at a nice hotel in Flam. Now … just enjoying the beautiful scenery from the tops of the mountains & down to Oslo. I wish I didn’t have to fly back to London tonight to be in the office tomorrow…. But Becca & I have already chatted about the possibility of meeting up in Switzerland again in a couple weekends. Indeed, this IS the life!