Norway in a Nutshell with The Sutherlands

We left Portland, Oregon on Friday, June 21, 2013. After a 10 hour flight to Amsterdam, and about a 2 hour layover we then had a 2 hour flight to Oslo, Norway. There we figured out the train to take us into town from the airport. We checked in to our hotel Saturday afternoon, June 22 and then went for a walk and dinner. Only that one evening in Oslo. Oslo time is 9 hours ahead of us here on the Pacific coast.

Alex in her bright blue jacket on St. Johans Gate street, looking around on the Saturday evening we arrived in Oslo, Norway. First day of summer, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Jet lag has set in.

Alex's first dinner in Europe. 
Pesto involved.

Grams' first dinner, salmon salad.

Bryan's first dinner. An appetizing looking calzone!

Lorrie's first dinner included pasta and shrimp.

Grams likes this traveling!

The outdoor seating at our first restaurant.
Notice the coats, it was chilly.
Alex waiting in her blue coat toward the back.

Heading out to look around.
This is about 8:30 on a Saturday night. Streets were busy.

A fountain we walked past.
Reminded me of a peacock tail.

Nobel Peace Center. Each year the Nobel Peace Prize is handed out in the lobby of this building. Cool.

Our walking continues past pretty gardens around city buildings. Bryan and Alex moving on out.

I loved this fountain.

A sail boat out beyond the harbor in Oslo. The sun was shining just on the boat. Raining up closer to me.

Our first hotel's shower. It is small, but both doors open out. The floor of the shower is lower by about an inch. The shower head was wonderful.

My breakfast the next morning, Sunday, June 23. A huge buffet. While in Norway, there were broiled tomatoes each morning, these are drizzled with pesto. Salmon on whole wheat bread. Pastries, eggs, bacon and sausage were readily available.

The breakfast buffet set up. Very pretty and well stocked.

Grams with her blue Nike backpack working her way through the breakfast buffet. Very elaborate lay out, too.

Our breakfast room in Oslo, Norway.

On our first train ride. Heading to Myrdal, Norway.

So much space.

Growing roofs. They add insulation and are "green".

The path through the greenery leads up to their dock.

Hay had just been made. So green. A rainy train ride.

A permanent ramp up to the second story of this barn. 

The hillside as seen from the train. I wonder what it looks like in the snow?

Rushing river beside the train tracks. 

On our train trip I was curious how far north we were. 59 degrees north is 14 degrees more north than Salem, Oregon.

The scenery on this train ride is so pretty. Notice the rock work to the left of the buildings.

Hillside houses. Some have "green" roofs, some don't.

A gas station we whizzed by. "Green" roofed, too.

Clear water in this lake. A bird is swimming/floating away from the fence posts in the water. The houses on the other side are colorful.

Water rushing everywhere.

A snow fence. I wonder how deep the snow is here in the winter?

We are climbing on this train trip. The trees and shrubs have thinned out. The rocks have gotten larger. The water still rushes and looks the milky, glacier white color. I bet it is so cold!

A ski lift with houses around it. I wonder what jobs people have up here when there isn't snow.

Slightly frozen lake with a nice spot for a picnic table.

Rushing water right next to a snow field. Brrr.

We are higher, looking down at a fjord.

At Myrdal, waiting to change trains to head to Flam, Norway. Long pants, coats. The sun was out, but it was brisk. Grams takes a photo. Alex and Bryan look around while guarding our suitcases.

Rain is coming, Grams is resting. Alex snacks on a protein bar. We carried them with us and they came in very handy. The prices in these little train stations encouraged us to eat our protein bars. (Notice the bar on the lower edge of the roof? If snow were to slide off the roof in a sheet, it would get broken up by the bar so injury is less likely to people below.)

The inside of the train. Old school with wood.
Something is up, I think.

Rushing water, close to these colorful houses. We couldn't hear the water as we were too far away.

The train stopped for everyone to get off and take pictures of this LOUD waterfall. Wow.

A lady from our train took this for us. Oh my gosh, it was so pretty.

A road with many switchbacks next to this waterfall/river. Notice the house at the very top and the bridge at the bottom.

Out the train window. A pretty valley. 
I wonder where their driveway is?

Two waterfalls.

Another waterfall with a red house and barn in the meadow.

Another pretty village near rushing water.

A garden. There is an old stave church to the left of the red buildings. They said it was probably from the 1200s. 
From what I have picked up, stave churches were being built in Norway during the Middle Ages when large stone cathedrals were being built in other parts of Europe. Stave churches were wooden with "stave" corner posts and were not only functional but finished with artistic flair.

Alex photo bombs Grams.

"Ahhh", Grams says. Love this photo.

The thriving metropolis of Flam, Norway.
We are catching a fjord cruise here.
Tourists everywhere. Including us!

Someone's yacht. Not our cruise ship. But, man oh man, it was sure something to look at!

This was at one time a stave church. Notice the front of the peaks. 

The inside of the old stave church. It is currently a bar. The central fireplace with animal furs around on the benches.

Our fjord cruise accommodations.
Waiting at Flam for the cruise to begin.

As we pull out of Flam. Oh my gosh.
My first huge fjord view. We are traveling on the Sognefjord.

View from the water. Orchards and vineyards (I think) on this beautiful hillside. Rock walls along the water.

A little closer as we go around the point.

These ladies are heading to get on our ferry. They are bringing a baby buggy, a rolling suitcase, and a huge basket with presents inside onto the ferry!

A "green" roof near a dock. These two are just sitting at the picnic table watching our ferry go by.
It is a cool day, notice the coats again.

I enjoyed the varied colors of their houses. A vineyard, small dock, fruit trees. The lower level of the barn? is such pretty rock work.

More produce growing.

Houses over the water and up on the hill. All are neat and tidy.

Tunnel greenhouses. This is on a point of land. More on the other side. By the way, these are huge greenhouses.

A very large waterfall.
Can you spot the one car to the left of the waterfall on the road?

Wow.
The light colored, two story square looking
building is our hotel for the night. It is dwarfed by the mountains.

Getting closer. More than two story!
That was my first impression when I saw it from afar.

Our second night in Norway. Balestrand, Norway.

Bryan and Alex are on Alex and Grams' deck overlooking the fjord. The lower level deck has a beautifully finished floor. Apparently they have dances there.

Grams enjoys her view of the fjord.

Again from Alex and Grams' deck. The fjord is so green. Notice the roofs and the glass. Between the two gray roofed buildings is a glassed in area and there is a glass dome on the roof of the square building. Also notice the dock out over the green water with people on it.

The pretty wood work of the deck.

On the roof. The windows even open!

Now the people on the dock are fishing!

These next photos are from Alex, Bryan and my walk on Sunday, June 23, 2013. Our second day in Norway.

A table and chair on the side of this house. And the table is "set".

A re-purposed bath tub.

This dock was a few minutes out of town on our walk. It was between a couple houses. It didn't look like a park or anything. Just a wonderful place.

The view up the fjord while on our walk.

Mowed lawn is raked into piles.

Walking up the hills. Pretty houses.

A family orchard, another second story ramp.
This one out of stone.

Lupine along our walk. And we are going the correct way!

A view from our walk.

Bryan and Alex chat about the turf field they found in this village of 600. Yes, Bryan can sniff out a sports complex anywhere!

Bryan, with Alex in front, head back down the hill.
It has warmed up while on our walk.
Notice all the traffic? We hardly ever saw cars.

A Viking burial mound.

The old stave church in Balestrand, Norway.

Dinner. A Norwegian smorgasbord. Absolutely marvelous. Impossible to try everything.

Crab, shrimp in the background. 

Part of the dessert offerings.

More desserts. The decorations help you decipher what is in the dessert.

Wow.

A few different cheeses and crackers to choose from.

Place the towel over the loaf of bread and cut yourself off a hunk. Self service. The Norwegians love their bread.

Meat selection with sauces and things to go with meat above.

Other meats to choose from. (And don't think I didn't get looks while I was taking all these dinner photos.)

Salad options with veggies above to add to the green salads. The bowl on this top end has what tasted like Sun Sugar tomatoes. Needless to say it wasn't as full after I went by.

Pickled salmon, smoked herring, and a few other seafood items.

Swirls are flatbread with goat cheese and smoked salmon. Memorable yumminess.

Our table. A wonderful view. Very fancy. Reserved for us, notice the card!

Alex drinks lots of water. For this meal it came in a square bottle with a stopper. Chilled, too. Can you see the mountains reflected in her unused wine glass?

Grams in her blue jacket is filling her plate. This is the dining room.

Water bottles await filling.

Activities outside our dinner window. It is late evening, too.

The clouds keep changing. 

A different room in the hotel. Coffee and tea are available here all the time. I love the ceiling and the carvings on the furniture.

The wider level is the dining room.

From the pathway below the hotel. The man in the blue is right outside the room with the pretty ceiling.

The view down the fjord from the path in front of the hotel.
Clouds were coming in and the rain started about 10 minutes after this photo.

Outside on the little deck Bryan and I had. Our view was not on the fjord side. But oh my gosh, this was about 10:30 at night, and it was stunning. It never really got totally dark. We were there on the longest days of the year.

The next morning from our breakfast table. So still.

Alex is ready for breakfast. Monday, June 24th.
We were lucky enough to get the same table with the same gorgeous view!

A Norwegian breakfast.
The large wafer has rich, creamy goat cheese on it.
My oh my, it was delicious.

The dock in front of the hotel. You could rent a little red canoe if you wanted to.

Grams heading out to meet the ferry. It docks around the corner to the left on a bigger dock.

Heading to the bigger dock. It had rained hard over night. Notice the curly metal artwork to the right of the people walking in front of us. Not uncommon to have artwork where we wouldn't expect it.

Standing and waiting for the ferry.
Our hotel is behind the yard shop.

Here comes our ferry. It hydroplanes. It is currently lowering down in the water as it comes in to the dock.

We are heading away from our slice of beauty here at Balestrand, Norway.

A village we passed.

Such beautiful, colorful houses.

We docked here, people got off and on. So picturesque. 

Heading to a steep walled part of the fjord.

A village along the way. Our ferry stopped and added a few passengers.

So cool to go into this part of the fjord. What's around the corner?

Another ferry in front of us.

A very tall waterfall. 
Pretty houses on the waterfront. They look so tiny.

A large valley off to our right. The sun is shining over there!

On the cruise. I tended to walk around and take pictures.
Kindles were everywhere on these ferries.
The locals spend quite a bit of time on these.

Looking back from the back deck of the ferry. The Norwegian flag flies proudly. We are moving right along.

Narrower waterways call for slower speeds. 
Just an easy rocking of the sailboat on the right.

A little more population. Getting closer to the western edge of Norway, closer to the North Sea.

These photos are on our way from Balestrand to Bergen, Norway.
So pretty. I love the reflections so I needed to get closer!

Coming up on one of the bridges we passed under.

Looking back at the same bridge.

A boat awaits.

I think they are the view.
They probably think they have a view.

Getting closer to Bergen.

Outskirts of Bergen. I think!

Bergen from afar.

The historic waterfront of Bergen, Norway.

Love the shapes and colors.

Our room in Bergen. Bright colors and comfy beds.

Our bathroom.
Everything can be reached while you are seated :)

Bryan and his mom seeing the town. A bit damp!

The pub where we ate lunch.

Choices.

"Cheers." Happy to be eating in Bergen, Norway.

Colored cobblestone roads.

Colorful window "art".

Cobblestones that make the "painted lines".

More window shopping. I love the boxes.

The view out Alex and Grams' window. A little courtyard below.

Useful gutter.

Pretty hallway in our hotel in Bergen.

The doors to the rooms in our hotel are even pretty.

Upper third level and lower third level. Small elevator on the left.

Our Bergen hotel. The entrance is half way down the block to the right.

I loved this statue and fountain.

Going grocery shopping.
New cobblestone in the middle.
Older on the sidewalks.

The bread section and how it is set up. To help you calculate prices while looking at the grocery store tags, here is the money situation for the time when we were there. The signs are in Norwegian Krone which are about 17 cents on our U.S. dollar. So for 10 Krone, it would be about $1.70.

Scoop your own shrimp.

According to Siri on my phone, one pound is .454 kilograms. So these prices are for slightly less than 1/2 a pound. Each Krone is about 17 cents. So one kg at 21.9 Krone is 3.723 dollars for about 1/2 a pound of apples. So about $7.47 a pound!!!

Cherries and melons cost more than the apples.

Kiwi, oranges, plums and pears. 

Two different shopping carts.
The red one also rolls along the floor.

Built in 1883. Interesting architecture.
I really like looking at all the different buildings.

The outside of the pub we ate lunch at in Bergen. It was pouring when we went IN to have lunch, so I didn't take a photo then. It would have been pretty to sit out here and people watch after the rain.

Yes, there is a Subway in Bergen, Norway.

While walking around we passed this display case at a sidewalk market with fish looking back at us.

Window shopping. I would have no idea where
to put this kind of stuff but it sure is nice to look at.

I really wanted to get some yarn, but this shop was closed. It looks like it would have pretty things inside.

On our grocery shopping trip we bought ice cream. We didn't have any bowls so we used two wine glasses that were in our rooms. We had to borrow silverware from the coffee room downstairs.

Rooftops out Alex and Gram's window. Late evening.

Late at night, not dark out, but the ice cream in the glass and container is gone.

10:40 at night after some clouds cleared. Once again, it seemed to not get dark during the night.

Tuesday morning, June 25th. Our breakfast room in Bergen, Norway. 

Waiting for the bus right outside our hotel entrance. We are headed to the Bergen airport to catch our flight to Amsterdam. Rainy and cool. Yes, Alex is wearing sandals and a hood. It's pouring!

Our bus trip to the Bergen airport. Notice the years on this building. 1878 and 1918.

Bergen is a harbor city so many houses are on the hillsides. This was taken out the bus window.

The view out the front of our city bus. The airport tower is in sight on the left.

On the bus our way to the airport, Alex sneaks in on the pic.

All four of us, Bryan looks worried.

Inside the Bergen airport. Not very large, neat as a pin. This is about half of the terminal.

After going through security, waiting in Bergen for our flight. Wifi was available but very slow.

We are flying to Amsterdam. A short lay over and then flying to Edinburgh, Scotland. We will spend 5 nights in Scotland starting this evening, Tuesday, June 25th.