It never crossed my mind that Norway wouldn't cross people's minds. Growing up in the Midwest, with all its Scandinavian roots, as well as attending a college founded by Norwegians, has given me an awareness of Norway (and Scandinavia in general) equal to that of the rest of Europe. It's a country as equally familiar as the rest of those countries from which so many of our ancestors emigrated, like Germany, England, Italy, and the rest of the big players. It never occurred to me that Norway would be...unknown. Exotic. To a lot of my friends here, most of whom are from one of the coasts, Scandinavia is just that. They don't have much (or any) experience with Scandinavians (or people with Scandinavian roots); many don't even know what language is spoken in Norway! (Believe me. I've been asked several times.) However, if there's one thing people know about Norway, it's this: Norway has fjords.
Ridiculously deep ocean inlet surrounded by dramatic mountainous cliffs? Check.
Not only did we visit a fjord, we visited the longest and deepest fjord in all of Norway: Sognefjord. Becca's friend, Mari, was incredibly kind to invite us to stay a night with her family at their home in Leikanger, one of the many small towns along Sognefjord. Our trip there was quite the adventure: First we took the regular train from Bergen to Myrdal. Then we caught the Flåmsbana, a smaller train taking a slower and more scenic route through the mountains, from Myrdal to Flåm. Next we boarded a bus to take us to Sogndal (and the bus took a ferry across the fjord), and finally, Mari's parents picked us up to take us the rest of the way to Leikanger. The traveling took a while, but the views as we passed through the mountains were worth it.
We felt as though we were traveling through Narnia.
Flåm sits on the tip of one of Sognefjord's many fingers.
Our time staying with Mari and her family was spent relaxing in the typical Norwegian fashion. We ate delicious meals (hot homemade soup for "dinner" at 4, mmm), drank coffee by the water, read, napped, chatted, ate some more, drank tea. I was struck the entire time by the incredible hospitality of Mari's family, and also by the incredible gift I was being given, to be allowed to experience life the way typical Norwegians do.
We bundled up to drink coffee by the fjord.
So peaceful, so relaxedThe next morning, we were able to see even more of the fjord when we caught a ferry that would take us all the way to Bergen. We traveled west through the rest of Sognefjord and then south down the coast to Bergen. We saw clear skies and sunshine for the first time, and what an impact it made!
Calm waters, snowy mountains, brisk air
Back in Bergen, we spent much of the day resting and making our plans for the rest of the week. By some miracle, we were treated to a spectacular sunset which we were able to view by poking our heads out of Becca's skylight. And that is what I will leave you with, until next time...
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