Hello from the Faroes!

I have arrived in my featured destination - the Faroe Islands!

The ferry ride was quite a trip. I was mistaken though, the trip was only 20hrs, not 30, so we arrived here at 3:30pm local time, which is five ahead of DC time. The boat was huge - 8 decks in total. There was a cinema, two restaurants, one cafeteria, two bars and a store. It was crazy. Our quarters were quite cramped - a tiny room with three towers of three bunks and no room for bags. But we made it work, and thanks to some Bonine and a little Tylenol Sleepy Time I had a great night's sleep. The views from the outside deck on the top were amazing, especially when we were out so far on the ocean that there was no land in sight and as we pulled within view of the Faroes.

Our ferry!

In my bunk!

Here's what James wrote about our journey here:

The crossing from Bergen, Norway to Torshavn, the minuscule capital of the Faroe Islands, took about twenty hours -- and thankfully mostly on calm, by north Atlantic standards, sea. (Though the roiling sea during the night did threaten to jettison me from my narrow bunk in the bowels of the Norrøna ferry, a bunk I had to share with my large roller duffle.) I marveled at the journey the first Viking settlers must have made. We had the relative comfort of a large enclosed ship, complete with many of the amenities of a cruise ship (lounge singer anyone?). The Norsemen would have been in much smaller, open vessels. There are no real landmarks between Norway and the Faroes, just the grey sea and the grey sky. It must have been a frightening venture.

But when we saw the rising stretches of green land that indicated the Faroese chain, we were excited. Coming from the east, you are able to see almost all eighteen islands. By 3:30 on July 18, we were docking in Torshavn, ready to begin our Faroese adventure.

Tonight we're staying in the capital, Tórshavn (pop 14,000). We rented a car and tomorrow we drive up to Göta to hopefully check out the G! Festival. We'll be up there for about four days.

I'm quite excited to check out Tórshavn this evening, their pubs are supposed to have excellent live music and a great local beer. Hopefully we'll keep ourselves awake long enough to check it out.

Love from the Faroes,
Meg

Quick Update - Photos!

So I found a cafe that allowed me to upload some photos, though with some trouble. I attempted to insert them into a couple old entries, but in case that didn't work I also attempted to put them up at my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9668733@N02/sets/

Enjoy!
Meg

UPDATE: More photos added to Flickr, and hopefully to the blog as well. We head off tonight on the 30hr ferry to the Faroes (though from what I hear it may be closer to a cruise ship, haha) , so I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have for the next two weeks - could be none, could be plenty. It's hard to guess, but I'll do what I can! Also, definitely check out James's blog (http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/cemkess/), he added some great photos both of us and the beautiful scenery along with some better descriptions of what we've been up to! See ya in the Faroes!

Bergen - My New Home

I am totally obsessed with Bergen. This city is amazing - sitting right on the east coast of Norway it's the perfect port town. Slash metropolis. We arrived last night after a crazy day of travel - ferry to bus to train. The views of the fjord from the ferry were amazing. Truly spectacular...but I'll let the pictures do the talking once I finally find somewhere to post them. Right now I'm at the public library (30min of free internet...hooray!) but they don't have the connection available to upload photos. 

View of the fjord from our ferry ride

Another view of the fjord from our ferry ride

Yet another view of the fjord from our ferry ride

The craziest part of the trip was the bus ride, believe it or not. We took a bus straight up the mountain. No, seriously. We traversed all the way up, taking ridiculously wide turn on scarily narrow roads (which were two-way so cars kept having to pull onto dangerously steep grass to let our bus pass). I nearly fell out my seat from my the nervous giggling slash masked terror. It was pretty amazing though we stopped at a hotel at the summit and were able to get out of the bus and go into their backyard to take photos - the view from the top was worth it.

The road we drove up on the bus!

Here's what James wrote of our adventure to Bergen:

The next day we boarded the ferry to Gudvangen, a trip that would take us through two arms of the Sognefjorden. Flåm is at the end of the Aurlandsfjorden, which is in and of itself quite dramatic. Soaring mountains and isolated villages and farms (one on such a steep incline it required a ladder to get to the farm house) and the like. But as we gloried in the view, we turned into the other branch of the fjord, Nærøyfjord. And then we entered the land of the gods. The cliffs soared and tightened around us, the waterfalls crashed, the winds howled, and the mountain tops were lost in ancient mist and clouds. I felt very small and insignificant, fearing I'd never be able to appreciate the beauty of any other place. We were, once again, gobsmacked.

To finish the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour, we had to take a bus up to a town called Voss and catch the last stretch of train on to Bergen. We assumed -- which we really need to stop doing -- that the bus ride would be a piece of cake after the ferry adventure. But no, we had to zig-zag up a narrow, and frighteningly two-way, road to the top of a valley. Again, the eagle-eye view was enough to make us drop our jaws. Another of those moments where one thinks "and just when I thought I'd seen it all!"

By the time we got into Bergen, our senses had been so overwhelmed all we could do was hunker down for the rest of the evening and write. We didn't even go out to explore the new city. Simply, gobsmacked...

We arrived in Bergen around 8:30 and settled in to our room at the guesthouse - the first floor of a family's home that has been arranged into four bedrooms, one kitchen and two bathrooms. The room is super cozy and pretty spacious - for the first time on this trip we're not on bunkbeds! 

James having breakfast in our room in Bergen.

The rest of our room in Bergen

This morning we woke up early and headed out around town. We got the Bergen card for 24hrs starting at noon so we've been to several museums and used some public transport - though this city is perfect for walking. We saw a couple museum in old wooden houses and a castle from the 13th century. It was awesome. We also took a cable train up to the top of the mountain for a great birds eye view of the whole city and enjoyed a cup of coffee and some cake on the terrace at the top.

Rosenkrantz Tower

Dark spiral staircase in Rosenkrantz Tower

View from roof of Rosenkrantz Tower in Bergen

Birds eye view of Bergen

By far though, my most favorite part of the day was the fish market. Right down town on the harbor is a huge array of tents selling all sorts of things - from fresh fruit to jewelry to sweaters. And of course lots and lots of seafood. James tried whale and reindeer and I had a delicious fish cake and a sample of fresh salmon. We're already planning to go back tomorrow for lunch to try their fish soup and maybe a little sandwich.

The fantastic Bergen fishmarket!

A giant Monkfish (I think) at the fish market in Bergen.

The air here is just so gorgeous, and I love being so close to the water. It's like Newburyport on steroids. I love it.

Port in Bergen

Tonight it's off to find some dinner and then perhaps grab a beer somewhere to hear some of the live music we've seen advertised everywhere. We may even try to find another internet cafe that allows us to upload photos - keep your fingers crossed. Tomorrow we have the most of the day to explore the city some more and then we catch our 30hr ferry around 5pm. I'm hoping to get on here again tomorrow before we leave, but if not I'm not sure what the conditions will be like for the internet on the ferry and once we're in the Faroes. But I'll do my best.

Love from Bergen,
Meg

Greetings from Flåm!

Hello everyone! I'm sitting here in a little village called Flåm - population 400. But it's a major tourist destination as it's a port between lots of ferries and trains. We spent the night here in a campsite/hostel that was actually quite cozy. The best part about Flåm, however, is getting here. The views on the train up here were absolutely spectacular.

The first train we took was from Oslo to Myrdal and lasted about 5hrs. What started off as distant views of hills through small towns soon because dramatic scenery. There were giant mountains with patch of snow and amazing waterfalls. We spent a great deal of time trying to get the perfect photos through the window of the train while avoiding glare and trees and tunnels. As soon as I find an internet portal that has a USB port, I will definitely share some photos!

James admiring the spectacular views on the train from Oslo to Myrdal

Once in Myrdal, we quickly switched trains to the Flåmsbana - a train line almost exclusively for tourists that lasts about an hour. 

The Flåmsbana train we took from Myrdal to Flåm!

Gob smacked by the views!

Probably the most amazing part was when we pulled up to this gigantic waterfall. As everyone ran over to the left side of the train to try to get a good photo, a voice came over the loud speaker to tell us that the train would be stopping for 5min so that we could get out and get a full view. Needless to say, James and I raced out of the train to capture the moment. The waterfall was absolutely spectacular. There are no words to describe the power and beauty of it. As we were snapping pictures (in the cold rain, mind you, and of course I didn't think to grab my coat on my way off the train) the oddest thing happened. Loud music started to play and these two women dressed in blue dresses came out on a hill up closer to the waterfall in what looked almost like ruins. They sang and danced for a few minutes in an oddly captivating little number. It was quite amusing. I videoed some of it on my camera, so I'll have to share it with you all as soon as I get the chance.

The waterfall!

But as if that wasn't enough, when we arrived in Flåm, we were immediately taken by it's beauty. This small village lies in a valley surrounded by enormously high green mountains and sits at the mouth of a fjord. It's totally stunning. Last night as James and I took a stroll around town we couldn't stop musing how it felt like we were living in a painting. Once we settled into our hostel - bunk beds again, which I love since it reminds me of such good times in Little (not the same without you, Liz, of course!), we headed out to hike a little through the village. There was a trail that went up by a nearby waterfall so we thought we'd try our hand at that. Well am I glad I wore my hiking boots. This trail ended up being a steep uphill climb over rocks and through mud for about an hour. But my was it worth it. The view of the village below and of course the waterfall were absolutely breathtaking. Aching muscles and sweat were quickly forgotten when we cast our eyes upon this intense waterfall. The one on the train had been gorgeous, but we felt like this view was one that we earned.

View of the waterfall after the hike

View of Flåm from the waterfall

After taking a well deserved rest and photo break at the top of the trail, we headed back down to town to quickly change into some dryer and less muddy clothes and head out for some dinner. We grabbed dinner at this great little cafe where I had the most satisfying plate of fish and chips. After the intense hike it really hit the spot. Then it was back to the hostel (where we have a nice little private room) to unwind and head to bed.

Now we're spending the morning in Flåm before we jump on a ferry tour through the fjords followed by a bus and a train before arriving in Bergen this evening. Bergen is supposedly a big and fantastic town, so hopefully I'll find somewhere to upload pictures when I arrive there.

Here's what James wrote about our journey:

It's really the only word I can think of to begin to describe the sensation of taking the train from Oslo to Myrdal and from Myrdal to Flåm. You slowly ascend through the gentle rolling farmland of southern Norway, thinking "oh, this is pretty". But then you climb into hills and forested craggy mountains dotted with pristine lakes and you say "this is spectacular". And still there's more. You burst into the clouds onto a high plateau of eerie rock and snow landscapes, obscured by rain and mist. Now you say "I have no words to describe this". And STILL there's more. You transfer trains at this lonely spot in the clouds and begin a steep descent through an intensely green fjord valley, cut with dramatic ribbons of gushing waterfalls and spotted with percariously situated farms. Both Meghan and I were speechless and giddy like schoolchildren, hopping up and down to make sure we weren't missing the next awe-inspiring view. We were, in a word, gobsmacked. In a daze we arrived in the pretty port of FlÃ¥m.

Keyed up we quickly checked into our hostel and set forth to hike in the dripping wet hills, taking a strenous and muddy route up to Brekkefossen Falls and a view of the fjord that made us say: We are in Norway.

Can't wait till I can share full stories and pictures with you. But until then, I'll just send my love over the ocean.

-Meg

Oslo in a Nutshell

I have made it through my first full day in Oslo. It's Saturday morning and we're at the train station in Oslo waiting for our train to Flom - our first leg of 'Norway in a Nutshell'! The weather yesterday was gorgeous and we spent over 12hrs going all over Oslo with the Oslo Pass - a card you buy that gives you 24hrs free admission to museums and public transportation. More details to come on that when I have more time to write.

This is where we stayed in Oslo!

And here is our tiny room on the Innvik...and no, there's nothing else to the right but a wall.

View of Oslo (and the Norwegian Flag) from up on the mountain overlooking the city

The castle in Oslo

The view of Oslo from the castle\fortress

Restored Viking Ship in Viking museum in Oslo

Another restore Viking ship in the Viking museum in Oslo

Also, feel free to check out James's blog at http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/cemkess/ - he's a much better writer than I, and will be posting great long entries about our adventures. I hope to post a more in depth entry when we make it to Bergen. But first it's a train ride through the mountains all day today to get the west coast of Norway and a night's stay in Flom - a fairly small village on the way.

Here's what James had to say about our adventure today:

With an absolutely beautiful sunny day awaiting us (a whole new world after the rain of the day before), we ventured first to the Rådhus to see its dramatic interior murals and then over to the Akershus Slott (Castle) with its panoramic views of the harbor. Next, we crossed by ferry to the idyllic peninsula of Bygdøy only ten minutes but a world away from the city. Here we undertook a marathon of museum hopping, starting with the extensive Norwegian Folk Museum with its buildings from all over Norway (including an amazing stave church - one of the things that first drew me to Norway when I was in elementary school. I love the pagan mysticism exuding from these early Christian structures). Next we went to the Viking Ship Museum. I must admit that I am glad I got to see the Roskilde museum first, as it provided an excellent overview of "normal" Viking sea craft. But here were examples of truly magnificent burial ships. The Oseberg ship, the most famous of the trio on display, took my breath away with its intricate carving and gentle curves -- and its massive size. If these two museums were not enough, we walked through the quiet neighborhoods to yet another one, a sort of pilgrimage to the man who got me into travel and adventure in the first place: Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki Museum. I first read the story of the Kon-Tiki when I was in third grade if I remember correctly. And thus began my dreams of traveling the world.

Thoroughly exhausted from tourist trekking across the width and breadth of Oslo, we took a train up into the mountains surrounding the city and ensconced ourselves on the deck of the hunting-lodge-esque Frognerseteren Restaurant. With a cup of coffee in hand and the most decadent slice of apple-cake you can imagine, we relaxed in the sun, watching the light reflect off the length of the Oslo Fjord and the distant city. All was right with the world.

Back to terra firma, with still hours of daylight to go at 8pm, we topped off the grand tour with a stroll in Vigeland Park. This was one place I had seen on my previous trip, but I was equally moved this time by the statues -- they exhibit every stage of life from birth to death and everything in between. The stone and bronze emote a rich humanity that is hard to describe. And Meghan felt it as well. She couldn't stop taking photos.

Unable to face returning to our bunks on the MS Innvik just yet, we decided to traverse the neighborhood of Frogner down to city center and have a sandwich on the harbor front. Our feet were aching after such a long, full day, but we were very happy.

Hope all is well. I miss you all and hope to write more (and maybe post some pictures) soon!

Lots of love,
Meg

And I've landed!

I've made it! I flew in to Norway and met James safely and amazingly easily. We spent the morning in the National Art Gallery and checking out the Palace. Though there have been some crazy downpours, all in all it's been great so far! We just checked into our hotel, and it's quite amusing. It's a permanently docked shipped that and we're staying in a little room with bunk beds - quite hilarious. Off to dinner now, but I'll try to update soon.

My first afternoon in Oslo

Love from Oslo,
Meghan

And I'm Off!

So here we are. In about an hour I will be heading off to the airport (thanks again Liz!) to begin my big adventure. I can't believe it's actually happening...I'm SO excited. Amazingly enough, my bags are all packed and I'm ready to go.

I have no idea what kind of internet access I will have along the way, but I will do my best to post as many updates as I can, with a few pictures if possible. I'm hoping to at least get a quick post up tomorrow to let everyone know that I made it safely and successfully met up with my travelling partner, James. (Especially for you mom! :))

Until Norway....adios!