Norway 2010

Lydia decided to spend six weeks this summer studying Norwegian at the University of Oslo International Summer School. Tom and I decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to travel in Norway with her, so we spent about 10 days in Norway in August. Another great trip! (Note that this will be a long post because I'm writing it all at once. Also I've posted three sets of photos on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=203277&id=712816956&l=5b9924dc4d
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=203270&id=712816956&l=44cc36fa30
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=203260&id=712816956&l=00453a2eec

We flew to Oslo via Amsterdam and then took the wonderfully convenient train from the airport to Oslo Central Train Station. From there it was a short walk to our hotel down the main street, Karl Johans Gata, which is mostly a pedestrian street. Along the way we saw the Oslo trams, the Royal Palace at the end of the street, the Oslo Cathedral, a variety of shops, stores, and restaurants, and a depressing number of McDonalds and Burger Kings! Our hotel was well located on a side street, walking distance to everything. After our usual jet lag nap, Lydia joined us for lunch. We ate outside, on the upper balcony of a restaurant with the un-Norwegian name of Mona Lisa. But I was introduced to Smor brod, an open face sandwich in this case piled high with small shrimp, which were very prevalent in Norway. After lunch we walked around the down town area and went to the harbor, which was lovely and fun. That evening Tom and I dined at a sidewalk cafe on Karl Johans Gata, finding ourselves surrounded by mostly young Norwegians having a beer or a bite to eat after work.

Next day we set out to see Oslo. We first visited the City Hall, a 1930s severe brick building with two towers, near the harbor. The building itself isn't much, but its decor is great. Outside there are a series of carved wood murals, depicting scenes from various Norse folklore. Inside is the great hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded--and where Lydia's summer program had their opening ceremonies. It is decorated with very 1930s murals of scenes from Norwegian history, pictures of workers and others. Very interesting. You can wander through the various other ceremonial rooms as well, with their portraits of kings and other works of art. A very interesting building.

From the peoples' building to the king's--the Royal Palace. The guide kept apologizing for the fact that the Norwegian Royal Palace was very small--only something like 175 rooms! We saw where the King meets with his cabinet, every Friday at exactly 11:00 AM (but not in summer...), ball rooms, ornate guest rooms, the chapel, and more. Since Norway's history as an independent country is short, just a little more than a century, they've only had 3 modern kings--Haakon, Olav, and Harald. Norway didn't have a history of royalty, so they "imported" a king from Denmark, after first getting him to agree to change his name from Carl to Haakon, because they had been ruled by so many Swedish Carls they wanted a change.

We had a picnic outside the fortress and then visited the very interesting Resistance Museum and learned about the active resistance movement in Norway during WWII. We wandered the grounds of the fortress and enjoyed the great views of the harbor, with ferry boats and cruise ships moving in and out. That night we opted for dinner at an outdoor restaurant in Aker Brygge, the renovated wharf area which has become the center of restaurant and night life. We had a delicious dinner and confirmed what we had read in the guidebooks: wine is really expensive in Norway! But it was great, I got to eat more shrimp, and we had a lovely evening.

Tom had had enough by then, but I still wanted to explore, so I hopped on a tram just to see more of Oslo. When I realized that one of the stops was the Vigeland Sculpture Park, I hopped off to visit that fascinating place. With several hundred sculptures by the same artist, it is unique. The fact that all the sculptures are of nude humans also contributes to its uniqueness. It was wonderful to walk through the park in the evening light and to admire the works of art and some of the fascinating poses. It's a large and inviting park, with lots of beautiful flowers, trees, and paths. (BTW, Lydia went to a 4th of July celebration in Vigeland Park--pretty cool!)

The next day we spent the day on the BygDoy Peninsula, a part of Oslo best reached by a wonderful short ferry ride. This area boasts a number of "must see" museums and really justifies the Oslo Pass. We started at the Norwegian Folk Museum, an open air museum that consists of about 100 buildings representing farm life and culture over several hundred years. Most impressive was a stave church from the 1200s, with its fascinating architecture and beautiful hand painted interior. We enjoyed walking around and in and out of the various buildings. Interpreters in appropriate costumes were available to answer questions and provide information. There are also a number of museums, including one devoted to the Sami (Laplanders). All very interesting.

From there it's a short walk to the Viking Ship Museum, which houses three amazing Viking ships and some of their contents. Compact and fascinating, my favorite was a sled that had been rebuilt from over 1000 pieces!

Next up, the Polar exploration ship Fram, which made several voyages in the early 1900s. Amazing history and descriptions of these trips.

Finally, across the street to the Kon-Tiki Museum, home of Thor Heyerdahl's crafts. Fun to see them and be reminded of his voyages.

By now we were exhausted and it was raining. We took a quick ferry boat back to the main part of Oslo, picked up some sandwiches and chips at one of the ubiquitous Deli de Luca and some beer at a nearby supermarket, and had dinner at our hotel before collapsing into bed.

Friday was Lydia's last day of school, so we went to Blindern to meet her and see her dorm. It's near the Vigeland Park, so we visited that again. Although the weather wasn't great, we had fun photographing Lydia doing handstands or mimicking the various statues. From there we went to Sognsvann, a lovely lake nearby, and met Bodil and Torgeir, two Norwegians whom Tom had "met" when they were going to Turkey. Lydia had had lunch with them earlier in the summer (speaking Norwegian the whole time), but we opted for English. After a wonderful walk around the beautiful lake, they took us to Holmenkollen, a huge ski jump which will host the world championships next March. We went to the top of the lift for gorgeous views of Oslo and visited the Ski Museum--who knew? Bodil and Torgeir took us to their home for a wonderful dinner of elk and various side dishes. Their house is high on a hill, with more beautiful views of Oslo.

Next morning bright and early we headed back to the airport to fly to Bergen. We lucked into gorgeous views of the fjords and the city as we flew in. We headed for the colorful and busy Fish Market for lunch and then walked through Bryggen, the old Hanseatic town. Bergen was once Norway's largest city, and very important as a shipping center. The old town of Bryggen has been wonderfully restored and maintained, and we spent a lot of time wandering through its narrow streets and admiring the architecture, and in particular the variety of roof lines and tiles. We also visited the fascinating Hanseatic Museum, showing Bryggen's history as a fishing and shipping center. We climbed up the Rosenkrantz Tower and visited Haakon Hall and ate outdoors at an old restaurant in Bryggen before going to an organ concert at the church. Another full day!

Next day we took the train to Voss and there rented a car to drive to Lofthus. My great grandfather was named Peter Lofty, and he came from somewhere near Bergen. We thought it might be Lofthus so decided to visit. We still don't know much about Peter Lofty, but we were very glad to have the excuse to visit Lofthus. What a beautiful little town, right on a gorgeous fjord. We visited the church (was Peter baptized there?) and dipped our toes in the fjord and mostly just enjoyed the beauty of the area. We stayed that night in nearby Kinsarvik, which boasts a Viking port, one motel, and little else--except for more gorgeous fjord views.

The next day after returning the car we took a bus to Gudvangan where we got on a ferry for several hours on the beautiful Naerøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord. Gorgeous views everywhere--fjords, mountains, waterfalls. We got off at Aurland, where we spent the night in a tiny cabin right on the edge of the fjord. It was magic--I slept on the living room couch because I couldn't stand to be away from the view for one minute! We bought food at a nearby store and had dinner overlooking the fjord. Wonderful. The next morning we went to Flam, where we boarded the Flam-Myrdal scenic railroad, which climbs 865 meters and has 20 tunnels and lots of switchbacks. Very dramatic and fun. And then the train ride back to Oslo, with more great views.

Our last day in Oslo Lydia and I went to Kongsberg, where my great grandmother Helvina Sorenson (who married Peter Lofty) came from. We did some research in the archives, finding records of her brother's marriage and other family members. The best part was visiting the nearby Hedenstad Church, where Helvina was baptized. It's small, in the middle of beautiful countryside. The interior has a lovely painted wooden ceiling. Although we looked in the church yard, we were unable to find the graves of any relatives, though we know some were buried there. From there we visited the Kongsberg silver mines, where Helvina's oldest brother Ole worked for 50 years. A fascinating tour, going 2300 meters inside the mine in a small and noisy mine train, and then a walking tour of the mine.

Back in Oslo for our farewell dinner, on the water where for the first time there was evidence of a sunset. Mid August and the days were starting to get shorter. Time to head home...

Egypt 2010

Tom, Lydia, and I went to Egypt in January, during Lydia's winter break. We had a magical time cruising the Nile, seeing amazing temples (including Abu Simbal), pyramids, and art, suffering through Cairo traffic, photographing Lydia doing handstands in various places, eating Egyptian food as much as we could, and appreciating the fascinating history and culture of ancient Egypt. It was the height of tourist season and there were occasional cruise ship traffic jams on the Nile and crowds of people at the temples, but somehow we were able to look beyond all that because the sights are so amazing.

However, I didn't write up a blog at the time, and so I'm opting for the easy way out by referring you to Lydia's wonderful descriptions in her blog, http://lydiaandtheworld.blogspot.com/.