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Tuesday night/Wednesday, October 2
I was a bit sad about missing the views on the train between Finse and Bergen, but instead Lisa and I got to hang out with two increasingly drunk Norwegian expats who gave us some good travel tips. We got to the hostel around midnight.
The next morning, Lisa and I made breakfast in the hostel and walked down to the harbor. After seeing the fish market and tourist info, I went out for a solo hike from Floyen to Ulriken, two of the seven peaks surrounding Bergen. The hike turned out to be harder, longer, and windier than I had bargained for, especially after two hiking days in Finse, but I enjoyed the scenery and the challenge. I met a really nice Norwegian woman on the way up, and we ended up hiking the remaining 5 hours together.
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| Bergen from the top of Floyen |
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| Me and my new friend Eva! She's an artist living outside Bergen. We talked about food quite a bit during the hike, so at the end we just had to go get... |
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| Fish and chips! The most expensive fish and chips I have ever and will probably ever eat. But they were really good. |
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Thursday, October 3
I took a day trip to Os, a small neighboring town, with Lisa and another DIS student. We enjoyed the last day of good weather as we walked along the fjord and took a ferry across.
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| Norway is so, so beautiful... when it's sunny! |
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| It's a stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish: mashed rutabaga, potato dumpling, and various bits of lamb. The three of us split it, and I was full even avoiding the meat. |
In the evening I spent a while on the computer seeing if I could do either a trip to Stavanger for an iconic hike or a short hut-to-hut trip, which was the original goal, but time, money, and weather were against me. Instead, I found something to do over the weekend: a swing dance event!
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Friday, October 4
The weather changed to normal Bergen conditions: gray and rainy. Perfect museum weather!
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| Old fiddles in the university's Cultural History collections |
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| A poor picture of a great blueberry-filled roll |
After a quick ramen dinner, I took a bus to the Kom Og Dans (Come and Dance) weekend swing event. I'd had trouble figuring out the class schedule, which was in Norwegian, and I kept bumbling around even after asking for an English explanation. In the end I took a Country Two-Step lesson and a Norwegian Swing lesson, which was super helpful because most of the social dancing was Norwegian Swing. I befriended a female lead and her family; they were very kind and gave me a ride back after the party!
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Saturday, October 5
More gloomy skies... but they can't ruin a fjord cruise! I went with Lisa and another DIS student, and we befriended three Swedish study abroad students on the boat. Two were Canadian and one Australian; they were all hilarious.
That evening I went back to Kom Og Dans for a line dancing lesson followed by salsa and swing social dancing. Being an outsider was a curious experience; everyone asked why I was there, and the director asked for dance venue suggestions in California. While no one went out of their way to bring me into the group, everyone I talked to was friendly and welcoming. In any case, I was thrilled to have a chance to dance West Coast Swing!
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Sunday, October 6
I started the last day at the Hanseatic Museum where merchants gathered in the middle ages and the early modern period. Then I went out for--guess what--more dancing. I took a West Coast Swing lesson as a lead and learned a new pattern.
By dinnertime I was at the airport with Lisa, Bert, and a few other DIS students. I had all my remaining food for dinner.
I arrived at Nina and Ove's after midnight and was up at 6:30 the next morning. Getting back into academics was a bit rough with such an abrupt end to a long, exciting vacation!
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Saturday, October 5
More gloomy skies... but they can't ruin a fjord cruise! I went with Lisa and another DIS student, and we befriended three Swedish study abroad students on the boat. Two were Canadian and one Australian; they were all hilarious.
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| The historic waterfront Bryggen in the morning mist |
That evening I went back to Kom Og Dans for a line dancing lesson followed by salsa and swing social dancing. Being an outsider was a curious experience; everyone asked why I was there, and the director asked for dance venue suggestions in California. While no one went out of their way to bring me into the group, everyone I talked to was friendly and welcoming. In any case, I was thrilled to have a chance to dance West Coast Swing!
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Sunday, October 6
I started the last day at the Hanseatic Museum where merchants gathered in the middle ages and the early modern period. Then I went out for--guess what--more dancing. I took a West Coast Swing lesson as a lead and learned a new pattern.
By dinnertime I was at the airport with Lisa, Bert, and a few other DIS students. I had all my remaining food for dinner.
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| A balanced meal: bread with sauteed onions and cabbage, followed by cherry tomatoes, jam, cheese, chocolate, and potato chips |
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| On the platform at the train station. Not a bad way to get back into classes :) |
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