In The Land Of The Vikings And Fjords

It all started very badly  !!

I was waiting for Siqi in at Eindhoven station, shivering in cold, holding on to a cup of coffee for dear life. Few minutes ago I slipped down on hard ice on a slope and my back was still hurt. The giant clock above the station was about to hit 18:00. People, trudging their heavy steps on thick layer of snow, were eager to get back home. It was tempting to take the train back to Delft and lie take a hot shower in my room but I could not do it, it was too long ....

Too long since I was out on a trip. Too long I was trapped in Netherlands.

The wait was finally over, after a 'where to go' argument, which she always wins,  we decided to go to Norway. I was skeptical, partially because the how sheer expensive I found  Norway was, but mainly because I was comparing it with east coast of Scotland.  However, I was wrong. Ahem, this is a story where I was wrong many times.

The second hit started at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. This was another waiting game for me which spanned two countries and almost 10 hours. Siqi was late to come. I ran several times across the departure, asking the lady at the booking that she's going to be here soon. After the fifth time, she said, Mr. Roy, it's too late. If you wait longer, you cannot board. I will put her in the next available flight, but you have to pay so and so...

No choice! I informed Siqi, paid the fee, and ran to check in. Only to hear the flight has been overbooked ! After some advises that I should be not this late any more, I finally got on board. I reached Oslo in afternoon, and I had to wait six hours on a fairly uncomfortable small area of the airport. I knew the trip did not start well. I took my tablet and tried to read and then sleep and read and sleep and so on. But soon it became quite boring and kind of -creepy, felt like a homeless guy. Finally she arrived. I was glad to see the winsome smile which ended the awful wait.  And I thought nothing else going to go wrong .. i have had enough !!

 But no, that didn't happen. I planned a long night sleep to compensate for the long day. But till then I did not know the neighbor in our dorm liked to scream during sleep.  Not snore, but talk and scream, just when you have started to enjoy your sleep.

However, the start was over, and so the bad phase, from the next day, we begin out trip, and things changed.

The next day started with a splash of rain and it kept oscillating between rain and sun. Our first victim was National Gallery in Oslo which was holding a special exhibition of Edvard Munch.  We didn't know that, of course, but after such bad lucks, you often start to get lucky.  We saw three versions of 'Scream', as far as I remember , one pastel, one lithograph and one with crayon-tempera,. I remember seeing 'Puberty', 'The Seine at Saint-Cloud', The yellow log' and 'Shore with red house', among many other masterpieces. It was thrilling for me - a below average painter. However, after getting out, we found the rain does not want to leave us. So, we had to take her with us to next destination, the Viking Museum. That is a boat ride away from Oslo city hall (you can take the bus, but the boat ride is totally worth it). It holds three wooden ships of ninth century, and among others, some collections from the Viking burial grounds. I am not an history freak if it's not dramatized, so it was just OK with me. after a short walk you can reach the Museum of Cultural History. Siqi took a lot of photo there but that does not always mean the place looked interesting, sometimes it's just a big memory card and plenty of juice left in battery. However, I am often more wrong than right, so don't take my words!

Oslo Opera

The final point for the day was Oslo Opera.  By this time, the rain has stopped and we witnessed a fascinating sunset from there, colors galore. Lots of photos followed, some in the stormy wind (:p),  some in sun, some in shades.  I did not like the Italian we ate for dinner in a restaurant right in the Opera building, but it was me who cannot appreciate good food, so obviously I was wrong again.

Next day we had to get up early. Our train to Voss leaves soon in the morning.  This is a 7 hour train journey from Oslo to Bergen, southwest to southeast.  It passes through the urban landscape of Oslo, through the  Hardangervidda plateau, passing Myrdal (where you catch train to Flåm, one of the steepest train ascend in the world) station, crossing the  Vossevangen valley and finally into the fjord city of Bergen. It was thrilling to see the vegetation and topography changes from green+flat to arid+mountaneous and back to green+mountaineous! It never felt long in this trip, and the page I started reading was not finished till we reached Voss, the trip was so magnetic.

Some practical info, Voss has only one place for backpackers, at least till one year ago, so if you really want to stay, plan early. Actually there are plenty of reasons to stay. The scenic  Vangsvatnet  lake around which this village is built, the small church, Bordalsgjelet Gorge, Tvindefossen Waterfall and above everything, adventure sports. It isn't called the extreme sports capital of Europe for no reason.  You can do skiing, rafting, paragliding or hiking - in different times of the year.

Vangsvatnet

The first place we visited in Voss was Bordalsgjelet Gorge which is a small hike from Voss center. The path goes through scenic areas always keeping the Vangsvatnet  lake on the right and crossing the river Vosso. We found nobody near the gorge when we reached,  and to find the continuous blanket of silence shattered by only the noise from the gorge was amazing.  We met an old lady in a small house-museum on the way back, who expressed her excitement knowing that we came from two different cities far from in each other, in Asia, and yet there we are, in a far corner of Norway, enjoying nature.  It's not a coincidence,  kjære dame, it's something else. I think all of you know it !!

Next day was the day for the main attraction of the trip, the day for tandem paragliding. I must admit beyond my chauvinistic male pride I was a bit afraid.  Things that go up never always come down happily, you know, and the parachute didn't give me a big assurance of safety. Seeing me hesitating, Siqi volunteered first. Kudos lady, way to go!

Seeing her landing safely, later I mastered enough courage to go up with a palpitating heart. Once we were up, it was freezing cold, and Jan Nielsen, the instructor asked

- 'Hey man, you let her go up first ? WTF? '

- 'Ya, I was scared that it may fall on the lake', I pointed towards Vangsvatnet, 1k below me. ' I am not a good swimmer'.

-' Really ? Don't worry man. Ok let's do some paragliding stunts. We do a rapid descent, like a screw.  It should toughen you up.'

- 'Wait, what is that..'

Jan already started screwing, or whatever. The main reason was probably some bad weather he suspected. Suddenly the whole scenery below me started rotating and we started to descent fast. After reaching ground I said

Paragliding in Voss

-'Thanks Jan, for toughening me. But I don't like to be screwed.' We laughed.

The next day we leave Voss.  Our next and final destination is Bergen, the fish market of Norway. The reaming part of Oslo-Bergen train ride had to be finished. This time we go through numerous tunnels and lakes. I was still stuck in the same page for about one hour journey. Now there's a reason to go back to Delft, to finish the novel.

It was pouring down when we reached Bergen. It was also not so easy to find out the hostel. Once we did, there was not enough time for a full day trip anymore. So we set out to see the famous Bergen fish market.  

I found the market, ehm, not very interesting.  Maybe because markets like these, maybe rare in Europe, but very common in India. But I think now everybody reading already know, I am most of the times, wrong. Nonetheless, you can taste the local seafood here, especially the whale meat, which is billed as 'only available in Norway, Iceland and Japan.' I find it quite unethical to advertise something not because of its usefulness but because of its unavailability. Whales are endangered, so if their meat is not delicious, let's not  kill them. Not going off-topic, very close-by is the Bryggen - a set of wharfs in the east side of harbor. They are famous for being the ' silhouette of its ancient gables' (according to the tourist guide). Again I found it .. ok, you got the idea. We didn't  forget to eat some local fish. Well, not all of us, but -  sadly I am allergic to many seafood, wrong person in wrong place, I suppose.

Overlooking Bergen from Fløyen

It was sunny and warm the next day, perfect for taking the Fløibanen funicular to Fløyen, and explore the area. Fløyen a giant overhang over Bergen and the view of the city- surrounded by numerous fjords - is absolutely breathtaking. There are numerous small lakes in that area, connected by gravel footpaths, on which you often find local people exercising ! A caution here is not to stray away from the designated path, or else you will lose the way exactly like we did. Then in the worst case, you might have to follow a slippery water stream to go up, reach on top of a mountain with no direction, and then get off to the other side to reach the road, and then feel rightfully exhausted. Well, I did not say we did that. Who will be THAT stupid anyway ? However, even if you wander off, at least one thing's for sure, the view is always there. So be my guest and explore the area, it is really worth it.

 We were quite exhausted on that day and went to hostel early. I had a male dorm, where I found an unusual guest. I met several people in this tour but I found him most interesting ! A septuagenarian from UK, a perfect example of Gerald Gould's 'wander thirst', he started travelling after retiring, all by himself. I never met anybody before with the similar energy that he had in his age. He told me he loves to stay at hostels although he is not financially compelled to do so. He likes the company of young people. We talked a lot, he said he had stayed in China for long, and would love to visit India some time. 

just Bergen !

For the final day we had a few hours to spend in Bergen. We packed our stuff, put the backpack in the room and then went to visit the Bergen Aquarium.  It is located on the tip of harbor with an excellent view of the fjord. The collection is also worth seeing - seals, penguins, snakes, crocodiles ... all the marin-ers, and some of their enthusiasts, including Siqi, who lit up like a child in the aquarium. Fortunately, we caught the feeding of seals. We spend some time in the nearby park, talked about buying  a swing, and finally realized it is going to be too late to take our bags. I thought this won't be an issue, but the assistant in the hostel was clearly not happy. Well, rightfully so, but he was kind enough to rudely show us where we could find a bus to the airport.

The journey has ended.  It all started badly, but finally ended well. I think I picked up some good spirits hidden somewhere in the green valley - mountains - crystal clear fjords - transparent lakes. So finally, the end was not so bad. Thankfully, I may be now actually able to finish the book I started there.