Here we are at the end of our first week in Europe - Monday evening in Bergen, Norway. It has been a jam packed week with highlights every day.
Starting with the flight. Qantas were excellent - great service, smooth flight, on time. What more can you ask of an airline. Their new partnership with Emirates seems to be well settled already. Dubai airport is extraordinary in every way - huge, well set out and busy! In the middle of the night, it was full of people. We saw a crowd at a fish restaurant and thought they must have good food. On closer inspection, a soccer game (UEFA champions league) was on a big tv there, which drew the crowd.
Flew with Emirates to Frankfurt and found our way to our hotel. Met up with Suse and Winfried and had a lovely afternoon with them in Hocheim, followed by dinner in Florsheim. It was great to see Suse after nearly 20 years. She has gone through some really tough times, but hasn't lost her smile or sense of fun. We are looking forward to spending a week with them at Brissago in a few weeks.
Off to Oslo, via Amsterdam airport where Rose had a curious mug of peppermint tea. It was a large glass filled with peppermint leaves, then hot water poured over it all. Apparently quite nice, but different - perhaps the Dutch way!
Following instructions from Viola, we met her, Gaute and Odin at Nationaltheatret Station, having caught the Flytoget train from the airport. Just shows yet again how crazy it is that Melbourne doesn't have a train or light rail to the airport. It's about time some of our pollies experienced the real world and realised how far behind we are in Melbourne.
We are so grateful to Gaute's parents who have given us access to their flat in central Oslo. It is about a 25 min walk to Viola & Gaute's flat which we have now done a few times. Oslo seems to be a peaceful city, in fact the whole country seems to be at peace about itself. It isn't a part of the EU, it is a part of NATO, and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 to the EU (somewhat controversially!)
Highlight, especially for Rose, was seeing pre-school children being pushed around in carts by their carers, in temperatures between 0-5! Apparently, the older the child, the lower the temperature they can be exposed to (eg 6 yrs exposed to -10 degrees). It was great to see them out in the fresh air (and it was fresh!), often in family groups.
Norway is still waiting for spring to take hold. We are glad we packed in our warm clothes, including beanies, scarves and gloves. They have been put to good use.
The train trip to Flam was fascinating. The higher we got, the deeper the snow got. It was an interesting experience to change trains at Myrdal, stepping onto a platform covered in snow. Not something we experience in Oz. The train trip Myrdal to Flam, while only an hour was extraordinary - moving from the plateau down to the fjord, with breathtaking scenery, stunning engineering in an unforgiving environment. The railway museum at Flam paid tribute to the skill and dedication of those who built the railway.
Our time in Flam was highlighted by the stunning views all round. We can only imagine in summer, when it will be green how beautiful it will look. Even now, although it is just coming out of winter, and plenty of snow visible, it is a stunning landscape.
We went by boat from Flam to Gudvangen along the fjord. I tried taking photos, however I know they won't do the scenery justice. Still, they will be reminders of the extraordinary beauty of this part of the world.
From there we made our way, first by bus to Voss, then picked up the train to Bergen. It is a much larger city than I had anticipated, perched on the sides of fjords and is a major sea port. Taking the funicular railway to a lookout, we were rewarded with views across the city, even though it was a bit cloudy. It is also a stepping off point for tours of the fjords up north, beyond the arctic circle. We met a couple today from Perth, who are doing just that.
So, at the end of week 1, we feel we have packed a bunch in already. If ever anyone has an opportunity to go to Norway, do so! It is a beautiful country, with a very good feel about it. Yes, it is expensive, but well worth a visit.