Norway, a place I never really thought of visiting, but am sooo glad that we did! It was a pretty intense trip taking us from Bergen, up to the middle of Norway (Olden), then to the deepest fjord in the world, and last to the Eidfjord. The weather was typical for Norway, a bit damp, but it seemed to stop when we were on our excursions. It was endlessly beautiful, like nothing we've seen before.
We'll start at Bergen, once the capital of the viking world. A walk through the fishmarket was the highlight of the morning for the boys. Oh, the fun of looking at lobsters!! Then up the funicular to view Bergen from above and see all the surrounding fjords - islands dotting the sea.
The next day we were in Olden. I awoke early to watch us cruise though the fjords on to the port. Mountains rising out of the sea - wow! This was a day we were a bit nervous about. We booked to go up to Briksdel Glacier, a 1 1/2 mile walk to get there. Oooh, will Aiden make it? Yes, after a sucker and some "magic gum" (just Orbitz, but what does he know??). The walk was amazing! We walked though the mist of a huge waterfall and were surrounded by mountains with small waterfalls all around. It all ended by a blue lake at the foot of a glacier. The boys found chunks of glacier ice and we all held some. 6000 years old! So very cool! It rained when we got back down for tea and continued the rest of the day, but we lived on the high of the glacier all day!
Wednesday, Flam. Up early again with Jacob this time. We watched the boat cruise through a lower fjord. Much different looking. These mountains go straight up and it is so narrow that I wondered if we would make it through! Today we booked "Norway in a Nutshell" a train and coach trip through some of the best scenery of Norway. The train ride was great - green lush mountains and cascading waterfalls. Kind of hard to concentrate with three boys who could care less! We reached the midpoint and had lunch. Jacob said, "that sure was a long way to go just for lunch!" Again, they just don't get what they are seeing!! The coach took us to a viewpoint like no other. A valley cut out by a glacier millions of years ago. Unbelievably gorgeous! Then at our last stop we were at a lake fed by the sea. Icing on the cake as I watched seals frolic in the water. Wow, it was a stunning day!
Thursday, Tom woke early to watch us dock. Only we weren't there yet due to engine failure in the night. So, we arrived at noon. Lunch and a walk to a glacier lake to build stone castles (beach was full of rocks). Jeb napped in the backpack and we relaxed and took it all in. This was one amazing trip that exceeded every expectation. So glad that we went!
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