Norway in a Nutshell

That's the title of the great suggested tour that leads from Oslo to Bergen.  I discussed Copenhagen and Stockholm in my earlier post, and now its time to cover Norway.  Such an amazingly beautiful place and unfortunately the camera really can't do it any justice.  But it'll have to do for now.

Our adventure starts with water and lots of it.  It's definitely not something they'll have to worry about anytime soon.  At least it seems that way.  If you like waterfalls, you'll love Norway.



Also, the train ride between Oslo and Bergen is beautiful, but if you must get off the train, I recommend highway 13. It's got more tunnels than I knew existed in the world and some beautiful bus shelters.




The water is pretty still as well.



And the ski resorts have grass roofs



At the end of highway 13 is the town of Vik.



And in Vik is Hopperstad Stave Church, built in the 1100s, this church has been renovated to a certain extent but the inside is still in tact and an amazing specimen. It is said to be the oldest surviving church of its kind.



On the train from Oslo to Bergen, the train ride is full of farmhouses and deep canyons. And we rode in the car that allows pets.



At the Finse Glacier is the highest train station in Northern Europe. Only at about 4,000 feet the tree line doesn't go as high as it does in California or the Rockies because it gets so much colder. We found out later as well that this was where they filmed the Hoth scenes for Empire Strikes Back.



On the other side of the Train ride is the beautiful Fjords with more waterfalls. This one was from a train that has some serious elevation changes.




On the way back, we were in a commuter type bus going down this switchback, which was quite amazing that the driver could pull it off




And Bergen is a beautiful city




The Hanseatic quarter burnt down in the 1700s and the debris was pushed into the bay and built upon. But that was a bad idea as the buildings are shifting so much that some of them don't match up.



Back in Oslo, Frogner Park is a must see and here's the obligatory tram shot. The photo below is a really cool water feature that the trams run directly over.





And the urbanism is pretty great as well



Finally though, I thought I would share our prison abroad, the US Embassy in Norway. That's what I thought it was at least the first time I saw it. It's too bad we create so many enemies and have folks that don't like us that we need to even do this. At least there is a tram line.