Eric Parsons started an idea of going to Scandinavia a while ago. His idea was to travel sometime in 2010.  Parsons being how he is, he needed a little prodding to pick a time to go.  With a rough date picked Jon Crim, Chrystal, and I all committed to going, with Chrystal showing up a five days after the rest of us.  The rough plan was to see Oslo, Bergen, and Flam/Aurland area. After which we would fly to Copenhagen to see some of the flatter Scandinavian sights. Before returning to the US we would spend a few days in Fredrikstad.

We spent the first couple days in Oslo.  Camping at a campground just outside the city to save on cash.  We had tents and sleeping bags because we planned to do some backpacking.  After that we took the quintessential Norwegian tour, called Norway in a Nutshell.  This tour travels from Oslo to a town high up on the mountains at 1,222 m above sea level.  There was lots of snow and ice covered lakes even in June.  From there we continued on the train and switched trains at a town called Myrdal.  Here the new train wound down through tunnels and switchbacks.  The scenery in the valley was breathtaking.  Some of the most beautiful I've ever seen.  High rock cliffs, thundering 300 foot waterfalls, sparkling rivers, and the quaintest towns on the planet.  From there, a village called Flåm, we took a ferry to a seaside town called Bergen.  Again the fjord views from the ferry are spectacular.

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Bergen is a nice town and we visit trading museums, see a fortress, take a funicular to the top of a local mountain, and general exploring of the city.  The sea food naturally is great and we have lots of smoked salmon, shrimp, caviar, mussels, and even whale.  Norway is one of those "unethical" countries who ignore the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on whaling.  Whale is quite tasty by the way.  Huge steaks all with the texture of filet mignon.

From Bergen we take a high speed ferry back to Flåm to meet Chrystal.  After spending the night we take another ferry to a national park across the Sognefjord, the largest in Norway.  There we make an attempt to hike up to a glacier.  While the temperatures are very pleasant, in the 70's, we are unable to get to the glacier because of all the snow.  It is too deep and soft without snowshoes or crampons.  

Heading back to the Flåm area the next day we hiked up a large, this time snow-free, mountain overlooking the town of Aurland.  We see para-gliders soaring on the thermals above the fjord.  From the top of Mt. Prest (~1,300 m) there is a spectacular view.  It is straight out of a brochure or a movie.  Truly amazing.

From there we work our way back to Oslo and fly to Copenhagen.  Once there we see some of the standard tourist stuff.  Rosenborg Castle, Kronborg Castle (featured in Hamlet), an aquarium, and others.  The hostel we stay in the first day has some of the creepiest paintings on the walls.  Worth checking out in the picture gallery.  After a couple days, we head back to Norway to visit a friend of Eric's named Harald.

Harald lives in a town south of Oslo named Fredrikstad.  We take a bus to the town and he meets us there.  He is not quite eccentric but close.  His an 80 year old man who's led quite and interesting life and he's interested in sharing his life experiences with usyoungin's.  He hosts us for a few days in his island cabin that is a 30 minute ride in his little sail boat from where the bus dropped us off.  The area is very peaceful and we are able to catch our breath from the furious days of travel leading up to this.  He brings us to Sweden, just a 50 minute ferry ride, for lunch and groceries.

Finally Chrystal and me head back to Oslo while Eric and Jon stay another day Harald's company.  Chrystal and me see the place where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.  We also have some tasty mussels and more whale meat.  Finally we return to the US.  My bag is left in London, our connection to Newark, and doesn't make it to me for a few days.  Luckily this is at end of the trip.

In conclusion Norway is a visually spectacular country.  We only scratched the surface of its natural beauty.  There are literally tens of thousands of miles of coastline more beautiful.  The country is also the most expensive place I've ever been.  A six pack of mediocre beer will cost $15.  Even so this country is worth visiting.  The amount of daylight is comical.  It never seems to end.  The longest day for us was 18 hours 58 minutes.  Sunrise was at 4:00 am.  

The country is beautiful, do yourself a favor and visit if you have any appreciation of the outdoors.

I've created a Map of our Travels that you can bring up as you read.  It is roughly chronologically ordered.  The stuff at the top is what we did first.  

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