Tag: Tromsø

Some different sights of Norway

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Trips and travel6 Comments

Every trip and every travel destination have their iconic places and views, yet it is the surprises that add the seasonings that make it memorable. Here are a few from our visits to Norway this year.

I did this sketch of the Troll King at The Troll Museum in Tromsø last June. The Norse troll stories are such fun. Once you learn that trolls love the darkness, because they know that they will turn to stone if they see the sun, you begin to find stone trolls everywhere you look. If you are ever in Tromsø be sure to visit The Troll Museum, it is well worth the time.

We left Tromsø on a cruise headed north. The terrain soon became barren and rocky. The weather got colder and more windy. Our first stop was Hammersmith. It was blustery and bleak looking so we decided to stay onboard. After a bit I got restless, so, leaving Tricia to the comfort of the cabin, I headed for shore and the town. Walking along the road into town I came to a gardening and flower shop. The thought of plants and gardens just seemed out of place, though the colors were nice. I am sure the growing season that far north is quite short.

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Fram Museum in Oslo. The Fram was one of the ships that Amundsen used on his arctic explorations, and the whole ship is restored and inside the museum.

Thanks Tricia for the photo.

The ship was well equipped, complete with indoor, sort of, plumbing.

The train ride from Oslo to Bergen had plenty of beautiful sites, but to some of us this was quite a delightful view.

AND, it was one of the best hot dogs ever – apologies to my friend Dave who bought me many Husky Dogs at the University of Washington football games we went to.

On our first day in Bergen we rode the Fløibanen funicular up to the viewpoint – great views and mountain goats.

If you want to spend the night in the company of the goats there is an accommodation for rent.

That evening we went out for one of our favorite meals, Spanish tapas. Even in far away Bergen the realities of the world were brought near. I took this photo through the window of the restaurant. There was a protest going on regarding the Israel Gaza war. A bit chilling to have it this close, but thankfully it was peaceful.

On Thursday we took a cruise up the fjord. Tricia took a photo of another rare site.

Thankfully I bought a stocking cap from a shop the day before; it was really cold. I rarely wear them, but the delightful economics major working at the shop explained to me some different ways to wear them – I guess living in Norway you know such things. So me wearing that cap and drinking hot chocolate on a boat in a fjord qualifies as a strange site.

That afternoon we did some shopping. We stepped out of a shop and saw fire trucks just a block or so away. A bit more excitement in Bergen. BTW, on the left is the tour boat we were on.

As Tricia so frequently reminds us in her weekly postings of travel quotes, travel broadens our minds and brings surprises we would never imagine, I can’t agree more.

What about Norway?

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Trips and travel2 Comments

This week we have been in Oslo; tomorrow morning we catch an early train to Bergen. This train is considered one of the most beautiful routes in the world, so we are looking forward to it.

Even though there’s some Norwegian blood in my veins, I’ve never been particularly inclined to visit Norway. Yet I’ve now been to Norway twice: in June we departed Tromsø (above the Arctic Circle!) on a cruise (Tricia wrote a blog with photos), and this week we met friends in Oslo.

On that first visit to Norway (the cruise from Tromsø), we anticipated steep, forested mountainsides that pitched down into fjords. And we realized such scenes early in our cruise. Here is Tromsø, a beautiful place and so far my favorite place in Norway:

Yet as we sailed north, the terrain became barren, even bleak. No more charming fishing villages, clinging to the edge of the fjords: the views quickly became stony, treeless, windswept—a kind of beauty that I wasn’t expecting. You can see here the bleakness of Longyearbyen, in Svalbard, the most northerly point we went:

Now on our second visit to Norway, we had no particular expectations of Oslo—Nordic population, maritime history, modern Scandinavian architecture, yes. Yet…yet… Folks in Tromsø warned us that their countrymen in southern Norway were not especially friendly—which has been our experience. What we have experienced is that the most conversational, outgoing, friendly folks are not native Norwegians, but immigrants, or children of immigrants..

I guess Norway just doesn’t dazzle me.

Except, maybe, its cuisine. In Tromsø:

The food in Oslo has been wonderful.:

So here’s hoping that Bergen is all of the picturesque Norway we have hoped for. My sketchbook is ready to capture that wonder.