Adventures in Norway

         I am stoked to be out of school, but on top of that I am even more stoked to be in Europe. I spent the last week adventuring through Norway. I got out of school, then left for Norway 5 days later. I will be away from home for 4 weeks and out of the country for 3.5 weeks.
        My Aunt and Uncle have generously treated my cousin and I to this trip of a life time! We left from San Francisco and after a day of travel, arrived in Oslo, Norway. The first night, we met some of my aunts friends for dinner up on Holmenkollen, overlooking the beautiful City. I had a classic dish of reindeer for dinner.

The view from Dinner

Reindeer

Following dinner, we visited the ski jump and ski museum.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

View From the Top

That same night, we went for a little walk and found some beautiful parks!

The Next day we stayed and toured Oslo! Some highlights were the viking ship Museum and an adventure run. I was so impressed with the public transportation system there. Since we arrived, I was wondering where the Highway was. Well on my run, I found out it runs directly through the center of town, Under ground. We also visited the Opera House. 

Viking Ship

Opera House

We then took the train from Oslo to Myrdal. From Myrdal, I was able to rent a bike and ride 28km downhill to the town of Flåm, Norway. It was a super fun ride mostly downhill. I sent all my bags down on the train. It took about an hour and a half but was an amazing ride!

Ride to Flåm

The Bike Trail!

That evening we went of a boat out into the Fjords to tour the amazing waters!

Fjords

Flåm

The next morning, I woke up early and went for an awesome run! I was out for about an hour and a half and found an awesome waterfall. There is so much land out there that is unexplored. I wish I could have had more time to explore. 

Sheep and Water

Looking Over the Town From the Falls

That same day, we took the train back up to Myrdal. On the ride up, we stopped at a waterfall. At the falls, there were women dancing to draw the men to the water.

Train to Myrdal

Water, a mans attraction

  From Myrdal, we got back on the train headed to Bergen. This was a beautiful train ride! It was awesome seeing the Norwegian country side! 

Train to Bergen

In Bergen, we met up with some relatives. They prepared us an awesome dinner of boiled Codd. The next day, we got to go out on his boat and fish. I caught one fish fairly small. He also took us to an island with the house he built and used to live in. It was very fun spending a couple of days with them!

Learning Navigation

Cousin and I

Me, Odbjorg, and Oddlieve

After a couple of days at the homestead, we went into the city of Bergen. We spent the day exploring the beautiful city and walking the fish markets. 

Bergen From Above

Old Buildings of Bergen

From Bergen, we rented a car and drove to Jotunhein. This was an amazing beautiful drive! The sun seem to set the whole drive with color in the sky all night. That night we stayed in Krossbu. The next morning I got up and headed out to go for a summer ski! I skied for almost three hours. On the snow I ran into some US coaches and athletes that I knew. I also skied with some Norwegians I knew. 

Skiing at Sognefjellet Summer Ski Glacier

 That day, some friends of ours took us out to there country side cabin. This was a beautiful area and cabin to spend a couple of days! We were out there with a friend of my moms and her daughter. There is no power, running water, service, internet, or connected bathroom. It was nice to spend some time off the grid! From the cabin, My cousin and Kristin (Ragnhild's daughter) hiked out to a lake and fished. We used some standard rods on the hike out there but once we got to the lake, we used a devise called an oter. With this, it was possible to catch many fish at once. I caught one larger trout which we had as part of dinner.

Fishing Before the Lake

Beautiful Cabin

 From the countryside, we toured through Lillehammer, and spent the night at Ragnhilds home town of Hammer. We were able to watch some soccer that night and spend some nice time with there whole family. Yesterday, Monday, We drove back to Oslo, then got on the train. We took the train through Gothenburg, Sweden onto Helsingborg. We will now spend a couple of days here before continuing our travel!