Norway in a Nutshell

Port one, complete. After four incredible days on land I’m back traveling through the Baltic Sea headed to St. Petersburg.

Bergen, Norway was absolutely beautiful. A lot of us woke up early to see the arrival into port. We traveled through the fjords as we approached the port. Entering the city was a great view. Everyone went to breakfast around 7am and it looked like Christmas morning on everyone’s face. I had never seen so many anxious and excited people in my life. When we all got off the boat we headed straight into town to check out all the sites and stores.

After trying some elk, reindeer, and whale at the fish market I headed to the Maritime Museum with my friend Stephanie. The museum was really interesting; they had a bunch of pieces of old ships as well as models of boats that the Vikings used back in the 1200s.

When we left the museum we headed to a pizza restaurant to grab some lunch. As we looked at the menu we concluded this was going to be a very expensive five days. Our pizza and pop was $30 each. Some friends next to us ordered a bucket of beers worth $75. After participating in more tourist stuff we headed back to the boat to call it a night. I awoke very early Wednesday with my friends Steph and Corrie to get ready for our hike up one of the mountains which overlooked Bergen. We started the day with a guided tour around the city learning about the historical churches and buildings. After about an hour we took a ride up a venicular (small train) up ½ the mountain to take some pictures with an incredible view of the city. After about 20 minutes our group of thirty, lead by our guide, Thor, took us up a 2 hour hike up the rest of the mountain. We luckily stopped periodically to catch our breath, take pictures and hear more about the Norwegian culture.

After our hike we headed back to the boat for lunch and naps. We later went into town for some shopping and pub hopping with some friends. Our night ended yet again by 8pm due to our funds and our events planned for Thursday.

About an hour east of Bergen, is a small town set right at the bottom of mountains called Voss. It is quite small but still plenty to do. For the past ten years, Voss has had an Xtreme Sport Week at the end of June. We luckily were in Norway the exact week it was going on. Steph, Corrie, and I took the 830am train to Voss to prepare for our extreme day. We didn’t really know what to expect so we were very open to anything. After walking around the town a bit, we found the festival tents sitting on a gorgeous lake about the size of Gull Lake from McCarty Point to Kellogg in a circular shape. We were surrounded by huge mountains, on all sides; above us were also quite a few parasailers, paraglyders, and parabungee people. The site itself was absolutely gorgeous.

We got some info about the week from the info tables, and found out there was some Xtreme Kayaking about 30 minutes away and there was a shuttle arriving shortly to transport people. The three of us hopped on the shuttle bus not really sure what to expect. Before we could start a conversation, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” came blaring on the radio. We just about died laughing when our driver turned around and said, uh oh looks like I got some Americans with me! Our driver, Thomas, was great. He talked to us the whole away about the week’s events and life in Norway. When we got to the rapids there were about 50 guys and girls competing in the event. I have recently become an avid kayaker at Gull Lake, so I was very impressed with the skills these athletes had. Their first obstacle was a 20 foot drop into more rocks and rapids.

After the competition we headed back into town for a meal and to meet up with the other SAS kids who were in Voss (my roommate included.) We all hung around the site trying to plan the rest of our evening. There was a concert that night that consisted of Norway’s top Norwegian bands that we really wanted to see. About 10 of us ended up buying tickets to the concert that night. We had no idea what the artists were saying, but it was incredible. Everyone was jumping around and dancing, it really reminded me of concerts like HFStival back home in DC.

We met a bunch of locals and ended up hanging with them for the rest of the night. They were really interested in our voyage and travels and we were even more interested in hearing all about their lives in Norway and their lifestyle as Xteme athletes. They were all very friendly and down to earth. After the concert, hanging out at pubs, and parties into the wee hours of the night we all hopped the train at 5am back to Bergen.

After our very much needed nap, we headed into town to buy the last of our souvenirs and get anymore free food from the market. The weather was pretty dicey all week, but we all managed. Seeing all the different xtreme athletes and talking with them about their training was such a thrill. Steph and I of course threw in that we were on the ski team; they were really impressed with stories about our tournaments and camping skills.

Well now Im back at sea back in class mode, luckily only for two days. The sea conditions are absolutely incredible and the weather is getting much warmer. We’re all eager for the next port, but it’s nice to catch up on some sleep…. And maybe a little reading too.

If I don’t get another post up til after St. Petersburg I hope you all have a great 4^th of July. Wish me luck as we try to have our own celebration in Russia.

-ANM