In Norway

      I flew to Norway from Boston on June 15th, stopping first in Iceland and then in Oslo. I spent the afternoon wandering around the city on my own, visiting the Royal Palace, Queen’s Gardens, the Oslo Cathedral, and then a walk all around the waterfront. It is a vibrant, modern, clean, and prosperous city. I had a delicious dinner in a restaurant specializing in salmon - crispy salmon skin with creme fraiche, and then a savory waffle with gravlox, and more roe. I did not find prices to be any higher than in the US, as I had feared.

                                        Some of the fun architecture along the waterfront.

                        

My dinner at The Salmon. Probably one of the most memorable I've had. The bathrooms had holographic fish that swam across the mirrors.

Little saunas on the waterfront

                  This wooden minesweeper from WWII was built in East Boothbay Harbor, Maine!

                                                                The Munch Museum

      The next morning, I took the train to Bergen. I especially wanted to do this because I had taken the same train trip when I was ten years old, and I still remembered it. Usually, the trains are booked way in advance and filled with tourists, but I took the 6:25 AM one and had the whole car to myself. I could bounce back and forth, looking out both sides. We started in farmland and then steadily gained altitude through pine trees and lakes, eventually reaching the mountains, where we found lots of snow. There were many tunnels and wooden sheds to keep the snow off the tracks, some with windows. Six hours after our departure, we descended into fjords, arriving in the pouring rain in Bergen. There was Nico! Our adventure begins.

We passed by prosperous farms that always seemed to consist of three buildings - a house, a red barn, often partially made with brick, and a smaller structure on posts.

As we climbed, the train started to go into more and more tunnels as the mountains came right down to the lakes.

The smaller, older train stations were all painted this yellow color, a popular shade here in Norway.

There was a lot of forestry going on. In Oslo, many of the modern buildings were made of wood.

As we gained altitude, we were in snow country. Note the house with the grass roof. Many people from Bergen had second homes in this area, known for its skiing, biking, and hiking. 

                                         

                                                            I can't believe it is late June!

                                                     

                                                      The rivers and ponds still have ice.

                        One town we stopped at has no roads and is only served by the train. 

                           On the right side, you can see one of the wooden snow tunnels we went through.

                                              At least it had windows so I didn't miss the view.

Now we are descending, and the rivers have that vibrant color of glacial water.

They were roaring with the snow melt.

At last, the train stopped at sea level in Bergen.

                                                                Together on Far and Away