Moutains, Fjords and Music

Apr 27/07

We got into Oslo very early and booked seats on our last 1st class trip. It was sad, but today was the last time I could use my train pass. It was a great train. We were headed from Oslo to Bergen, a route voted the "Most Beautiful Train line in Europe". It got my vote. It was spectacular, going from sealevel, up to a highest point of 1222m above sea level, and back down to 2m. It ran past snow-covered peaks, frozen lakes, unfrozen lakes still as a mirror, with reflections of green hills, skiiers on the slopes, sheep and cows in the fields and even a derailed train on the side of the tracks. (I'm not sure we were supposed to see that). We jumped off the train at different stops to breath  the fresh air and look around. I even got the opportunity to hit Bridge with a snowball. It reminded me a lot of the Rockies, with all the snow and peaks around.

We got into Bergen late, and checked into our hostel. After 2 overnights and all day on the train, it was going to be an early night. We met a couple of Finnish guys in our hostel, who were in Bergen for a wedding. We spent the evening talking and laughing. I was chatting with Doug online and he mentioned that Gordie Johnson, his (I think) neice's husband was playing here with his band, Grady. Did we want tickets?? Hell, yes. By the time we (Bridge, the 2 Finnish guys, an American and a Germand guy and I) left, we still had no confirmation, but we decided to try the club anyways. When we got there, it late, and we didn't have tickets. Some of the guys decided the tickets were too much, so we headed home. I was happy to sleep.

Apr 28/07

We slept in late today, making up for the last few nights. When we finally did get moving, we visted the fish market and then met Olaf at the Tourist Info Centre. Olaf was the one who helped us to plan our time in Flam, and getting back to Oslo. He was able to arrange for us to take a train/bus/boat tour to get to Flam, and get from there to Oslo for less than the direct train tickets I had priced out. Also, he gave us a recomendation for a hike that was beautiful and a place to go for the BEST food I've ever eaten...EVER. He was a great help. And he was waiting for the immanent arrival of his youngest child. It was to be named Christian (unless the ultrasound was really wrong).

After our fantastic visit with Olaf, we headed up to the cable car to see the top of Mt Ulriken, the highest of the mountains surrounding Bergen. From the top, we were able to see lakes, fjords, and the North Sea. There were all sorts of hiking trails leading from the top, but we hadn't planned to hike and weren't prepared.

Back at the bottom, I missed the fantastic view, but we got to see more of old Bergen. Also, we were getting curious. All over, we were seeing young teens in red pants, decorated with all kinds of things. Turns out that it's a Norwegian tradition, the graduating class of the year dresses up in red pants for 3 weeks and performs all sorts of odd stunts, like eating breakfast in the middle of a traffic circle. We talked to a few of them and they were all very intersted to share the stunts and info about the tradition.

We decided to try again to see the band, becuase I had gotten confirmation that we had tickets. Bridgette and I, as well as 2 guys headed out to see the show. It was fantastic. Very country/rock, and very loud. The band was great and we stopped to talk to Gordie after the show. I was very happy that the guys liked it as well. Happy Birthday to Bridgette.