Norway's Western Fjords: Bergen

We arrived by train before sunrise into Bergen, an impressive coastal town in the fjords. We rented a nice, large room in the apartment of a man named Lars who gave us lots of free apples from his friend's orchard. The first day we were very tired but walked around in the fog and rain most of the day.

Early AM

Finally found time to do some much needed laundry though without the help of a much needed clothes dryer, we were forced to resort to more creative methods.

We were fortunate to also find some sunshine while in Bergen.

Funicular ride to the top of the hillside for a great view of the city and fjords.

 

You can see the funicular drop off at the top right of the photo.

Oslo, Norway

From Stockholm, we rode a train across the country to Oslo, Norway and stayed one night with John's close friends (who were kind enough to house us for the night).

The train ride to Oslo allowed for great scenery and relaxation.

Art.

Action shot of the hole in Kevin's shirt created when it caught fire back in Iceland.

Oslo's Opera House was pretty impressive.

You can walk up to the top for a great view of the city.

View from top.

Musclemen from the top (more Musclemen to come, you just wait)

We decided to grab a drink at a Tiki bar complete with a Thor Heyerdahl shrine, Aku Aku. I had a 6 euro glass of wine and Kevin accidentally had a 30 euro glass of Japanese whisky (Nikka Single Coffey Malt 12) and still claims it was almost worth it.

Our night train to Bergen, Norway, included complimentary eye shade, fleece blanket, and elderly gentleman with the worst sleep apnia this side of the Atlantic.

Next update - Bergen, Norway. Off to bed, it is 3am!

Stockholm

Sunset in Stockholm.

The Vasa Museum was really interesting. This Swedish warship took three years to build (1626-1628) and sank within less than one nautical mile of its maiden voyage. It remained on the sea floor until it was resurrected in 1961. Reason for sinking? The ship was built too top heavy.

John and Kev at Skansen, an outdoor museum. The museum/zoo were created in 1890 to show the way of life in different parts of Sweden. We lucked out and had great weather. 

View from park at Skansen. Photo courtesy of Mr. John Furtado

.

Towards the end of our stay, Kev and I rode a boat out to an island called Grinda. We stayed the night and were pretty much the only people on the whole island since it was so late in the season.

We found some sun...

... and took a nap.

 

The island was covered in the most amazing variety of mushrooms.

The little cabin we stayed in was pretty creepy at night with nobody else around.

Since there was nobody on the island, there was also nowhere to grab some dinner. We were happy we bought some pasta and sauce just in case and made it in the eerily quite and giant mess hall. We turned up the ipod as loud as possible and drank terrible 2 euro wine. (not sure how to rotate photos on this computer...)

Waiting for the boat to arrive in the morning to head back to Stockholm.

The last night of our stay in Stockholm, John took us to the most incredible vegetarian buffet, Herman's. Everything you see, and some you can't quite see in the photo, is vegetarian. John was right, hands down best hummus ever. Not only was the food delicious, the restaurant is perched atop a hill overlooking the city and is extra cheap on Mondays, so it is extra packed but worth it.

Stockholm was one of our top favorite cities. Will definetly come back.

Well... Better Late Than Never. Stockholm, Sweden

So, we have made it to Paris and are lucky to be staying in a flat with a Mac so we can finally update our blog! We are having an amazing time and cant believe we are already in paris, it seemed so far off when we began our trip.

Ok, back to Stockholm...

We were in Stockholm for a bit over a week and stayed with our good friend, John. It was so great to spend the week with John and explore the city. He took us to great restaurants and great city views.

Day 1

Gamla Stan was very picturesque. Beautiful buildings.

City skyline.

Cool urinals in the Modern Art Museum bathroom.

If Kevin and Neal were Swedish...

John played at a jam session in an awesome underground cave bar after these guys.

John played a few songs. It was so nice to see him perform again.