Somewhere in the Middle

Let's do the Flåmbana

In Norway we rode trains, metros, buses, ferries... you name it, we were on it! lol! Coordinating transportation in Norway was initially a bit intimidating but once I got started it was super easy. Every day we were on the go with our suitcases trailing behind us. The Norwegian public transportation is fabulous! Everything is so clean & it runs so smoothly. It was a great experience.

On our 2nd day in Norway we boarded a super comfy train to Bergen with a family compartment where children can relax, play, and watch cartoons. It was perfect.

Hey, there's our train! We were just beginning our adventure.

The ride to Bergen is supposed to be one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. And believe me it was. The landscape changed dramatically throughout the five hours. We went from this... gorgeous farmland

to this... beautiful mountain and lakes

followed by this... we're getting a little more rustic now. Love that little house in the middle of nowhere! Couldn't imagine living there for more than a few weeks though.

And then we saw snow capped mountains...

Several families with camping gear & backpacks got out in Finse. The landscape was a bit bleak but the outdoor activities... glacier hiking, biking, and trekking looked super cool.

As we approached Mrydal it became sunny & lush again. Once at Myrdal, we boarded the  Flåmbana railway. Although it's incredibly touristy the train ride does goes through some of Norway's most breath-taking scenery. Over the 20km long train ride you'll see lush moutains, rivers, and gorgeous waterfalls. The Flåm railway is one of the world's steepest railway lines and the twisting tunnels spiral in & out of the mountain. Unfortunately, when we boarded the train we sat near a window that didn't open so my photos would have come out really hazy so instead I sat back and enjoyed the ride.

The train ride did make one stop at this beautiful waterfall. While we admired the beauty they began playing traditional Norwegian music and a few blonde women started dancing. It was a bit cheesy but it captured C's attention.

The train ride ended in the town of Flåm. After we checked into our apartment we went outside and explored the area. In Flåm you can admire the Aurlandfjord, a section of Sognefjord, the world's largest fjord. I can't begin to explain how immense the fjords are. Being in Flåm felt like being nestled in a tiny little corner of all this natural beauty with these majestic fjords surrounding you. It was spectacular.

But unfortunately there was this gigantic cruise ship docked at the port.

Ugh! I'm sorry I really dislike these monster size cruise ships. They completely ruin the scenery and overflood the town with so many tourists. Luckily, the ship left the port soon after we arrived. But the next morning there was another ship to replace it. ;(

We spent the rest of the evening walking around the small town and doing a little shopping.

Trolls + Fjords = Norway

In previous years, C & I usually spend about 6 weeks out of the summer visiting our family in the US. We always have an amazing time... hot sunny days, playing in the pool everyday, shopping, visiting friends & family. I really missed not going this year but since this may be our last summer in Belgium I thought it'd be nice to do a little traveling here in Europe. But where?

S didn't want to go somewhere hot & I wanted to avoid super crowed tourist areas.  And August is notorious for being the one month where Europeans close shop and travel to their hearts content. So I logged onto Ryan Air and searched for the cheapest flights... Norway 15 Euros RT, hmm? We've never traveled to any of the Scandanavian countries & I've always wanted to see the Fjords. Plus the weather in August is supposed to be the best. But for some reason planning a trip to Norway seem a bit overwhelming. When I shared my feelings with S he said, "Why don't we stay in Belgium and we'll do day trips." Yeah, right. lol! We have a tough time getting out of the house before 12pm unless we have a plane to catch! Day trips? Yeah, that's not going to happen. So I got to work, booked the flights to Oslo and began my research. Luckily, I knew  two other families going to Norway so they both shared valuable information with me. In less than 2 weeks we arrived in Oslo.

Oslo is a gorgeous city. I absolutely LOOOVVVED it!! So much to see & do. And the weather was perfect. We took it pretty easy on our first day.

After checking into our hotel we ate lunch. Norway has a reputation for being one of the most expensive countries in the world. In 2010, Oslo was rated as the 2nd most expensive city in the world. So I prepared myself.

As we looked over the menu at the Italian restaurant (think a small scale Macaroni Grill), S looked at the prices and said, "these prices aren't that bad." "Really?" I said. So we ordered... we had two appetizers, S had a salad and C & I shared a pizza, and three sodas. Now I'm good with converting Euro into dollars but as soon as we start using different currency it takes me a while to get used to the different rates. Being that S is a math/science whiz I let him do all the Kroner calculations. Little did I know he was using the wrong currency rate! lol! Which explains why he thought things weren't that expensive. So instead of our lunch costing around $50 it was about $100!  And the ice cream cones S thought were $3 were really $8! lol! I don't even want to mention how much soda was! Needless to say, I ate pretty healthy in Norway and stayed away from soda & ice cream! lol!

C loved all the street performers dressed in gold & bronze. He wanted to take photos with all of them. 

We spent the first part of our morning at the National Gallery to see Edvard Munch's The Scream. Afterward, we visited the Munch museum which was really interesting. We normally don't do too many art museums with C since they can be a bit boring for him. But the Munch museum was completely different.

They gave C a little card with stickers of Edvard Munch's art work. Instead of the stickers being an exact replica of the art piece they were close up images of a tiny section of the art work. So finding all the stickers was challenging but fun for all of us. It encouraged you to really evaluate & appreciate Munch's art.

After enjoying a snack at the museum we took a bus to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. This park is a lovely place to spend an afternoon.

C enjoyed playing at the park and I loved admiring all the sculptures.

The Vigeland Park is actually the largest sculpture park made by one single artist. You'll find more than 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. By far my favorite pieces by Vigeland were the wrought iron gates.

Some of the sculptures were quite interesting. Like this one...

I suppose caring for 4 babies at once can be challenging! lol!

Once we left the park we took a tram to Aker Brygge. There were lots of people out.

We watched a group of people swing dance which C loved. He didn't want to leave! lol!

We walked so much that day we were happy to sit down and relax especially since we had reservations for a 5 hrs train trip the following day.