A Beautiful Visit

Mom and Dad in Bergen

Fjord Cruise

Train to Voss

Well, my parents are walking around Copenhagen in the rain right now. I'd feel bad, except for the fact that they got some of the best weather I've seen in Norway the entire week they were visiting. Even Bergen, a city that gets 60 sunny days a year (out of 365) was absolutely stunning. Except for literally 2 hours of light showers, they got sun, happy people, and a bustling city excited to be outside. We truly got to catch up and hang out for the first time in a long time. Since neither of them had ever been to Norway before, I got to explore Bergen and help tell them exactly what they should see in Oslo. And, as far as I know, they were quite pleased :).

We did a lot - doubling, tripling, quadrupling, and quintifying the amount of times I've gone out to eat in Oslo. Who knew the food here is delicious?? My cooking's pretty solid, but nothing beats going out for Chinese food! The highlight of their visit was the truly breathtaking trip to Bergen - a trip that extended itself a day and ingrained some breathtaking images of Norwegian beauty. Full of hills, coffee shops, fish, trolls, and funky trees, Bergen itself was quaint, water-oriented, and had a great feel to it. We stayed in a cool bed and breakfast, and explored. We went up on a funicular to the top of a cliff looking down on the city. Complete with a troll park, the top of the cliff yielded a view over the entire city on a super-rare well-lit day. We then made our way to the famous Bergen fish market, buying some awesome treats. We got fresh shrimp (w/ heads), crayfish, oysters, stone crab, and smoked whale. We chatted and drank beer as we threw the shells into the harbor and watched the birds. We continued to walk and explore, got lost, reoriented ourselves, watched the people, and speculated about the trees. It was a great day that extended quite late (Daylight from 4AM - 11PM!), and ended with me drinking a bottle of wine (Got a buncha wusses for parents haha).

A Tent at the Bergen Fish Market

If we had left there and boarded the train on the 8 hour scenic ride back to Oslo, it would've been enough. Dayenu. But we then went on a trip called "Norway in a Nutshell". A train to Voss led to a bus ride to a port which led to a boat ride through the fjords which led to the world renown Flåm train, and ended with 5 hours through the mountains back to Oslo. A lot of traveling, yes. But we saw what I called "The Scandinavian response to Jurassic Park". Absolutely stunning mountains, pure water, waterfalls, and small cities with as few as a half dozen buildings total. Just look at the video below.

We then ended up in Oslo to celebrate Mother's Day and enjoy the last few days of the visit. We found flea markets, kept buying cool stuff, and had a beautiful and relaxing day exploring Grünerløkka, a hip trendy area full of old buildings and open squares (finally not covered in snow!). We got some delicious Vietnamese food from a tent, and Mom bought scarves lol. Monday, I had class, but we met up near the end of the day to walk around the Oslo port, grabbing dinner and exploring the old fort after. The fort, in addition to being quite old, also overlooks the entire Oslo Fjord. Pretty.

Tuesday got off to a slow start, and we met up at the Jewish museum of Oslo. I met them there after they'd already gone in, but I know I'll definitely be back to check it out. But after, we headed back to Grünerløkka for a quick fish burger before they headed out on what's called the "Party Boat" trip from Oslo to Copenhagen to finish off their well-deserved vacation. It was such an awesome trip and I had a great time exploring Norway on a new class level ; ). It was really great to spend time just with them - catching up not via a skype call. Love them both!

Mother's Day, 2o10. Actually with my Mother!

- Jonathan