This weekend was my second to last weekend in Bergen before traveling. Time has gone by quickly. On Saturday, the sun was shining. Stephi and I decided to hike Løvstakken, mountain number five for me. Stephi had climbed it during the seven mountain tour, and figured she could find the trail head. However, we ended up on a much smaller path up the mountain. Sometimes the trail was non-existent. We weaved our way up the mountain, and reached the top for beautiful views of the city. However, I had acquired a little friend on our mountain quest. I was now the [View Full Entry]

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It’s been extremely rainy for about two weeks now. However, yesterday we got a break in the weather. I took advantage of the weather and traveled with my professor out to one of the islands outside of Bergen. While he worked on a research thesis with another professor, I walked down the road across a few bridges to another island about 4km away. The weather was beautiful for walking. The sun was shining at it was about 65-70 degrees out. We haven’t had a “warm” day in a while. I leave warm in quotation marks because it’s all relative when it [View Full Entry]

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Last night we celebrated the Summer Solstice. It was not an official celebration, but we made one. Stephi and I headed over to Lars’s house around 7:30pm for a Lasagna dinner. We watched the football match between Germany and Russia. Sadly for Stephi, Germany lost. The three of us went out to Garage, one of the local bar/clubs around 11:30pm. It was not as crowded as it had been a few weeks ago when Stephi and I went. We decided to go to Café Opera another popular club. There we met up with Kenneth, his new roommate, and a few of [View Full Entry]

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I went with Stephi to work today. She is doing biology research specifically about how tourist fishing affects the fish supply. This means that several times a week she heads out to popular tourist fishing spots and weighs and measures the fish. She invited me to go with her today because it was the last time that she was going to one of the islands this summer and thought I might like the scenery. We took an hour and a half drive from Bergen across bridges and through tunnels to the island. In fact, we had to cross many other islands [View Full Entry]

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Today was the Friday wine raffle again. As the winner of last week, I was in charge of picking out the wine for this week. I went down to the store in town yesterday and bought two bottles of California red wine. I didn’t have much selection from the United States, but figured I should represent my country. I entered the raffle again this week for fun. Guess I’m on a bit of a lucky streak because I won again. Kenneth one of the other professors brought in Finish Vodka to add to my wine selection. I won the vodka. He [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday Kristine, Solveig, and I climbed Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock. Preikestolen lies 1981 ft. above the sea, and is a 7.4 mile hike roundtrip. It is estimated that 100,000 people hike it each year. In addition to Norwegians, there are many tourists. On our hike we heard people speaking German, Italian, Spanish, and English in addition to the Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish which are so similar I can’t tell them apart. The hike itself was very nice. A bit steep at times, but doable. When we finally reached the rock it was spectacular. The views were indescribable. We ate out [View Full Entry]

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This weekend I traveled to Stavanger to visit Kristine. I took a five hour bus ride, through tunnels and on two ferries. After I arrived, Kristine and I walked out along the ocean to a nice spot to watch the sunset. It was cloudy, but still beautiful. Saturday morning we headed into the city center. We walked around the shops, and listened to the music that was around town. Stavanger was chosen as the cultural capital of 2008. There were three stages set up around town for various performances. Kristine had to go to work that afternoon so I opted to [View Full Entry]

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I think the light is finally getting to me. The past few days I have been having trouble going to bed and falling asleep. I’ve been getting only 5-6hours of sleep which is definitely not enough for me. Hopefully I will be able to fall asleep better soon. This week has mainly consisted of work. Other than that, I climbed Ulriken again and have been reading outside in the sun. It has warmed up quite a bit since I have been here. I only need a light jacket in the mornings and by the afternoon I find myself in shorts and [View Full Entry]

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When trying new foods my family uses a rating scale to determine if we will prepare a meal again. It is as follows… Food Scale Excellent (Can’t wait to make it again) Good (Would enjoy eating it again) Fair (Would eat it again, but not often) Poor (Would prefer not to put it back in my mouth) GROSS! (Wouldn’t touch it with a 10 ft. pole) I’m going to use this scale to assess some of the things I have tried here in Norway. I have vowed to try everything at least once. Salmon- Prepared with lime juice, jalapeños, and spices. [View Full Entry]

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Last night I was invited by Stephy to a BBQ on Fløyen. Ten of us spent the evening playing games and grilling food in a park on the mountain. We played Frisbee, Botchee Ball, and a bit of football (soccer). Lars brought juggling balls and was giving me lessons. I saw about five different people juggle throughout the night, and decided that Norwegians must be born with natural juggling skills. I myself was not born with the talent, but I’m improving. I even had the chance to jump on a trampoline in the park. They have these neat disposable grills in [View Full Entry]

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