BL #5: Take Out a Second Mortgage

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Geo: 60.8371, 7.12194

It's the North American dream, and the next item on the bucket list - take out a second mortgage and buy something fun, like a vacation home on a tropical island, a huge boat, or even a Ferrari! Today, we got to live out that dream - but unfortunately, we don't have any blinged-out toys to show for our financial outlay today. So what did we end up getting for our hard-earned dollars? A scenic unescorted tour through the Sognefjord, on the Norway In a Nutshell Tour!

Though the tour includes a combination of trains, a bus, and a ferry to get you from Bergen to Oslo, it's seriously expensive, and a bit like the Norwegian version of the Eiffel Tower - in other words, it's something you must do as a tourist, but afterward you'll wonder what the fuss is all about, and never want to do it again. Having done the exact same tour six years ago, I had no plans, nor the desire to ever do this tour again - but of course, since Benita has never done it before, here we are today!

There really is some spectacular scenery along the way, and I would still highly recommend that anybody in Norway with the time should do it, or at least visit a fjord somewhere. Two of my lasting impressions of Norway In a Nutshell is how the scenery is a lot like that of Canada, particularly in the mountains and lakes of Alberta and BC (shout out to our beautiful homeland!), and how you can't help but feel a bit like a tourist lemming on the tour, or perhaps in the context of this blog, a better analogy is feeling like a tourist rat following the rest of the pack.

While the first time around resulted in some phenomenal pictures, unfortunately, this time the weather did not cooperate, leaving the first train leg from Bergen to Voss enshrouded in clouds and fog. The bus from Voss to Gudvangen was a bit better, resulting in some nice shots of the seemingly countless waterfalls that cascade from the mountains, but the subsequent scenic ferry ride from Gudvangen to Flam was disappointing, because the clouds came out to play, and the rain came pouring down.

It was a shame, because the ferry ride last time was probably the highlight of the entire day, but such is the luck of the draw, which was not in our favour today. But things started looking up for the scenic train ride from Flam to Myrdal, when the sun finally awakened from its slumber and brightened up our day, just in time for the final five-hour train ride to Oslo.

The funny thing about travel is that even under less-than-ideal conditions that end up "ruining" your day, you can usually still find something enjoyable or memorable. In this case, there were two things, the first being seeing the enjoyment of other tourists, and hearing them oohing and aahing over the scenery. It makes you appreciate the natural beauty of Canada even more, when people from all over the World travel to Norway, and gush about scenery that is so similar to ours.

The second thing is the amusement at seeing how many Spanish tourists like to visit Norway in the summer, which I was told six years ago by multiple Spaniards, is because they like to escape the heat of their home country! You can't blame them - if you're from the South of Spain and are accustomed to 40 C temperatures for pretty much the entire summer, the 15-25 degree temperatures found in Scandinavia are positively refreshing!

Spaniards are invariably funny while traveling outside of their country - Spain is notorious for being the worst country in all of Europe for traveling when you don't know the local language, where seemingly nobody speaks English in the entire country, nor any other language beyond Spanish. So good on them when they venture away from Spain, and have absolutely no way of communicating with anybody! Case in point was yesterday, as I departed the Stavanger bus station.

While waiting in line to board the bus, a local was telling the Spanish couple in front of me in English that the bus next to ours was actually faster and cheaper. The Spanish couple had no idea what he was telling them, and they turned around and asked me what he was telling them, in Spanish, of course. Luckily for them, I could actually understand and respond, but what are the odds that a Chinese man in Norway, who was obviously also a tourist, could understand Spanish?

When we disembarked from the bus, I noticed them struggling to get directions from the bus driver, on how to get to their hotel. When they didn't have any luck, I ended up giving them a hand, and in fact, walked them to within two blocks of their hotel, since it was on my way. In the height of summer, Norway might as well be another Spanish province!

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Photos

Kjosfossen ...
... the Flam-Myrdal train stops at this famous waterfall for a photo op.

Cheesy ...
... there is supposedly the spirit of a Druid (or something like that) at the waterfall, so they have this girl dress up and come out and dance to music blaring through nearby speakers. It was cheesy the first time I saw it, and still cheesy the second time ... but still oddly entertaining, as it always gets laughs from all the tourists!

So Hungry ...
... that we took a bite out of the bus' arm rest. Tasted a bit like a softer version of the inside of a Crunchie bar.

More Brunch Than Breakfast ...
... the included buffet was fantastic at Hotel Rica in Bergen. Just the cold cuts and cheeses would've been enough to keep the customers happy, with lox, smoked, herring, real thin-sliced roast beef, prosciutto, and even pate! Then there was the hot food station, which included a truly excellent omelet with all the fixings, and prepared in a unique way - the chef essentially makes a giant two-foot long omelet shaped like a jelly roll, and slices it into some rather healthy-sized portions.

The Smoothie Station ...
... too stuffed to sample many of them, these smoothies were just another great touch that the hotel put on their fine spread. They claim that their breakfast is award-winning in the Bergen area - we believe that!

Local Gelato From Flam ...
... the pear sorbet on top wasn't anything to brag about, but the pistachio underneath was killer and had a bit of a roasted flavour to it, and would not have been out of place in any gelato shop in Italy.

Expensive But Refreshing Apple Juice ...
... again locally-made, unfiltered, and with no added sugar, this tart little drink was both refreshing and tasty.