Buses, trains and a boat

Also known as Norway in a Nutshell. This was the perfect tour with my parents. My feet don't hurt and I saw lots of Norway.

We were supposed to start on a train out of Oslo. Their train station is closed. The whole thing...not just some tracks. Weird. So we started on a bus that took us to a train.

While my feet didn't hurt, my arse does after sitting on a train for hours. Not a complaint. I saw beautiful country, quaint little towns and snow. Yep - lots of snow.

And lots of waterfalls which must be a result of snow melting. It is July so the snow must be melting.

We then got on a ferry, in the rain, for a two-hour fjord cruise. I love water. We had terrible visibility because of fog....or were we in the clouds?

Our adventure began at 6:30 am and we didn't get back to Oslo until 10 pm. Long day. Full day. The scheduling was very precise and I appreciate everything that was packed into a single day; but the most we had at any stop was 15 minutes. Most of the beauty and splendor had to be appreciated en route because there was no time for exploring any of the quaint little towns.

I can imagine doing a similar trip on my own sometime, but I will rent a car and drive the big parts of it so I have more flexibility. I would still take the Flam train and the boat though.

Voss, Norway

My great-grandmother Helena (see earlier family tree post) was from Voss. She left Norway at 18 for America. It doesn't appear as though Helena was her birth name, but was the one she adopted after moving country.

I am traveling with my parents, and this was the part of the trip my mom was most excited about.....even though she didn't really know her grandmother very well. Due to economic hardships my grandmother was given up for adoption as a young girl. My mom loved the woman who adopted her mom. Loved her very much, and was very close to her. My grandmother, who I loved very much, never held a grudge. Ever. She tried to maintain close relationships with her birth mother, and other family members.

My grandma always told me I look just like her mom. She might be right, but I think I have the personality of my other Norwegian great-grandmother - Kaja.

End of the additional family tree stuff....

We didn't spend much time in Voss, but it is lovely. Beautiful lake and picturesque mountains.

Fjords of Norway

The fjords in fog look very much like most places in the fog. I can visualize and look online for better pictures because I'm sure the landscape is beautiful. I love jagged mountains and water. I love this type of scenery so much that it was the only thing I ever created during forced art classes when I was young.

I agree the fjords are a must see. Hopefully the weather will be better when I return.

These were some very food-motivated seagulls. They can catch bread when tossed at them! But, they are careful to not get too close to the ferry.

Lefse

Lefse is a Norwegian delicacy. Some describe it as a flat bread, but it is closer to a tortilla. But lefse is made with potato. My Norwegian grandma used to make lefse. I love it!

Most put butter and sometimes sugar on their lefse. I only like brown sugar on mine; so of course grandma would make special rolls for me....her only granddaughter.

I purchased lefse from a grocery store last night. It wasn't great, but it was lefse. I don't regret trying it, but I won't buy more.

Family tree

The older I get the more interested I am in my family tree. And I want to gather as much information as I can from my parents while they still remember. The short summary:

2 Swedish great-grandfathers
1 Norwegian great-grandfather
1 German great-grandfather

None of them were still alive when I was born. My father never met one grandfather and the other died when he was very young.

My mom never met either grandfather. One died when her father was a boy. Her other grandfather died when she was young, but she never met him.

2 Norwegian great-grandmothers
1 Swedish great-grandmother
1 German great-grandmother

All 4 of them were alive when I was born. My Norwegian great-grandmothers were Kaja and Helena (top picture). Kaja died when I was an infant. Helena died when I was in college. I met her once when I was about 5 years old.

Bertha (bottom picture) was my German great-grandmother. I remember her trying to teach German to me. She died when I was in high school.

Clara was my Swedish great-grandmother. She died when I was little. I have a picture of her holding me at my first Christmas.

My grandparents were all born in the US. None of their parents were.

Munch museum

Munch was a prolific painter. His most famous was the Scream. I think his paintings are dark and are indicative of a tortured soul. I see bits of other famous artists in his work - Picasso, Gaugin and Monet.

The museum has a larger collection of his work than I anticipated. And it wasn't everything.

On the plus side, we got in free because it was 30 minutes before closing time. On the negative side, that probably wasn't enough time.

In the book.

Viking ship museum

Skol!
This is in the book.

The outside of the building looks like a church. The inside is four large wings. Three of them have recovered or reproduced Viking ships. Way back in the day the Vikings were "kings" of ship building, and the waters in and around Scandinavia.


I would not have wanted to sail in these ships. I couldn't handle the trip. They aren't ships the way we use the term today. They were big (for the times), but toally open. No indoor space.

The museum also included artifacts recovered when some of the ships were dug up. Yes, dug up. They buried these ships with their captains as a large and ornate coffin. That seems like way too much work!

The museum did not have benches, but portable chairs you could carry with you and sit wherever you want. I loved the chairs! All museums should have these.

Oslo, Norway

New country! My homeland. I am very excited to be in Norway for the first time. I most identify with my Norwegian heritage.

I love water. I love cities on the water. I don't like sailing, but I guess I could if I lived in a city like Oslo.

I met my parents here. They arrived early ahead of a north European cruise. The timing was coincidence, and worked out perfectly at the end of my business trip.