Ha det bra, Norge

The title "ha det bra, Norge" means "goodbye, Norge" because this is my last blog post! My separation from Norway was certainly said and I still am missing it! But before we get all sappy I'll tell you about the wonderful trip I took with my parents.

After dropping my stuff at the hotel we headed to Vigeland park (where I had already been three times) for a rainy visit and lots of acrobatic pictures. Although slightly awkward, it is also great fun to climb on the sculptures of naked people all around the park.

Next we met up with some Norwegian friends who had bought my dad's book and used his website--I had eaten lunch with them the week before, all in Norwegian! Anyway, we took a walk around Sognsvann (lake) with them, then visited Holmenkollen again (the ski jump), and had a wonderful meal of elk, potatoes, and berries--very scandinavian!

The next day we were off for a beautiful flight to Bergen. I took plenty of pictures from the plane--the fjords are so beautiful, of course. We had lunch at the Bergen fish market, which was great to see, and then wandered around. Bryggen, the old, wooden dock-front area of Bergen (UNESCO heritage site) is amazing! There are lots of twisty wooden alleys and old stone halls... my type of place. Lots of tourists, too. We visited the Hanseatic Museum, which was in an old bryggen house, with wonderful historic rooms. My favorite part was the beds--they were in boxed-off parts of the wall. Cozy!

We also saw Rozencrantz Tower and Håkon's Hall--more beautiful stone medieval buildings. We heard an organ concert in an old church, and had two wonderful dinners during our two days there (one included reindeer and whale meat!).

The next day we took a train, a car, and a few ferries to get to Lofthus, the town where we believe my great-great-grandfather was born. The town was cute and tiny--right on the edge of the steep sides of the fjord. We visited the little church and church-yard, and though we didn't find any graves of relatives, it was wonderful. We stayed in Kinsarvik, another tiny town right down the fjord from Lofthus that used to be a port for viking ships. Cool!

After some more beautiful ferry rides on the fjords we arrived in Aurland, where we stayed in a tiny cabin on the fjord (literally--if you fell out the window you would land in the water). We enjoyed exploring the little town and admiring the fjord out the window. We even got to see a rainstorm pass through and obscure the fjord wall opposite us! It was beautiful.

Our next stop was the Flåm railway, said to be one of the most beautiful train rides in the world (or something like that). It was raining in Flåm, but then it cleared up for the ride, which was certainly camera-worthy--lots of beautiful mountains, streams, waterfalls, lakes, houses, and even glaciers! We all got out of the train at one point to admire a huge waterfall, and were treated to a cheesy yet fun show by a "huldra"--a Norwegian version of a siren--dancing in the waterfall, complete with sound effects.

We arrived after an hour in Myrdal, where we waited for another train to take us back to Oslo. That ride was just as beautiful as the Flåm ride, and it was fun to get back to Oslo (though sad to leave the west coast!). While back in Oslo for a few days, my mom and I took a trip to Kongsberg, where my great-great-grandmother was born. We did some research at the archives, trying to decipher unreadable church books (did they really think people could read that handwriting?), then took a bus to Hedenstad Kirke (church), where my great-great-grandmother Helvina was baptized. The church was in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by hills and pastures--a beautiful view. The inside was simple, but there was a beautiful design painted on the ceiling, and it was just wonderful to be there. We tried to search for my great-great-great-grandfather's grave, but had trouble finding anything older than the 1900s. I ended up using my sparse norwegian to speak with the church's groundkeeper (who didn't speak english--a rarity in Norway), who explained that they had taken out the old gravestones to make room for the new ones. Very unfortunate for those of us looking to trace our roots, but that's ok. We know he was buried somewhere there, along with my great-great-great uncle, who had worked in the Kongsberg silver mines--our next stop--for 50 years.

At the silver mines we were given earplugs and led to a tiny car on a tiny train. We sat cramped in the car and traveled more than 2 kilometers into the mine, our earplugs blocking out the noise of the metal car jarring across the tracks. As we traveled down it got colder and colder, and I began to feel sorry for the miners who had to put up with the mines in the winter (there were many other reasons to feel sorry for them, I discovered). We took a tour of the mines, up and down and through just a tiny section of the whole mine--the largest in Norway. It was amazing to imagine the miners working there for hours at a time, in almost complete darkness, squeezing through tiny holes and climbing up and down rickety wooden ladders. Thousands of men worked there, and it must have been miserable--in winter they wouldn't have seen sunlight at all. So although it was very interesting, I was happy to get out of the mines and into the sun and warmth.

We took a train back to Oslo, and had a wonderful final dinner at Aker Brygge, and "hip and trendy" dockside area. We had a view of beautiful evening light on Akershus fortress--a wonderful way to end our trip. My parents left in the morning and I hung around the hotel room for a while, watching the rain and starting to miss Norway already. My flight was in the afternoon, so I took the train to the airport, flew to Reykjavik and then Boston. It was bittersweet being home. Jeg savner Norge! (I miss Norway).

So, thus concludes another one of Lydia's adventures. Many more to come, I hope! Thanks for reading.