Norway

Hike hike and more hike for the rest of Norway. Essentially spending time with friends in nature, getting lost, getting found again, and getting LOTS of steps. Dogs are barking as they say. Averaged 24,500 a day from the last 3 days.

Haugesund, Norway 4/24

Chris, Tom, Andrew, Shauna, David, Marcos and I just walked off the ship, being told it was raining and snowing everywhere. And if it wasn’t raining or snowing somewhere, that it would be at some point in the day.

We didn’t let that stop us! We found a coffee shop for a quick pick me up. I had a raspberry mocha which really rocked everyone’s world… apparently not a well known drink? Although if I’m looking for something more on the exotic side- as far as coffee drinking goes that is- that’s my go too!

Then we just headed towards the trees and mountains.

Highlights from the hike included two little girls gifting all of us a wildflower, discovering tiny creature homes, meeting a woman at the top lookout point with a really homely but friendly dog. I love all dogs, but little guy looked like he ran into a wall and got his face smooshed in…. And my favorite part of the day was finding a small zip line on the way back! It looked a bit sketchy, so people were hesitant to give it a go. But not me! I hopped right on and tested it out! Worked great :)

We spent the next half hour here, giving everyone time to have a turn! I love when adults allow themselves to be young and do fun things… like ziplining in the woods in Norway.

Then we spent the end of the day in the hot tub on the ship. We even did our own makeshift polar plunge but hopping in the pool (brrr).

Eidfjord, Norway 2/25

Once again we were told to bundle up because it would be the coldest day of the whole cruise with a high of 44…. By midday I had shed off all my layers and rolled up my long sleeves bc it was so lovely and sunny out.

Our day consisted of the yellow line trail, which took us around a lake. And then diverging off the trail to go STRAIGHT up. It seemed like a 45 degree grade. At least that’s how my young knees felt lol.

Then we came up on top to someone’s property, but gate was open, so we felt that was an invitation to keep going. Our goal was to get up to a waterfall we could see from the lake.

Some half hour of off-roading later, we made it to the waterfall. Waterfall by our side, with mountains and lake in our view.

The day had started with just Shauna Andrew and I, but at some point we ran into Tom and he joined as well.

Next we kept walking until we came across the blue line trail. The information guide told us not to do it because it was poor conditions. But, it looked fine! We decided to try it, and turn back if it got bad. Especially considering it was relatively short. But, it was great the whole way!

The greenery, the moss, the trees, the birds chirping, feeling a million miles away from civilization but knowing it was just within reach felt so good.

Once back to town- with a population of less than 1000- we found a coffee shop that had Norwegian waffles. It was funny that our ship stopping here for the day literally doubled the population.

Anyway, back to the waffle. It was delicious! Made fresh, so it was nice and warm when I got it. I put some sour cream (yes. Sour cream), blueberry, and strawberry jam on each hearted section and it was a perfect end to an amazing day!

Buttttttt, that actually wasn’t the end. The end of the day involved sitting in the hot tub on the ship with friends enjoying the fjords as we sailed away. It was so much fun the day before that we had to do it again! Except no polar plunge today.

Bergen 4/26

We successfully did the two most popular tourist attractions in the city: a popular street along the wharf known for their colorful wooden historic boat houses that are now gift shops, and taking the funicular up to the top of Mt. Floyen.

We originally planned on hiking along the trails at the top, but the snow and cold wind against along with our ill prepared clothes had other plans.

The highlight of the day was seeing goats at the top of the mountain! They were domesticated, had names like Gucci and Pippi, and loved to be pet!

Although today was a shorter day it was still a wonderful last day in Norway.

Cheers,

Tay