Two weeks ago today I left for my Norway adventure. October and November are some of the best months to see the northern lights, so says Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring, so I didn't want to miss out. The northern lights were at the top of my European wish list this time around, akin to last time's Salzburg and the Sound of Music Tour. Mission accomplished.
Here's a map of Norway: see Oslo, Bergen on the West coast, and Tromso in the far, far north:
I flew from Bremen (yep back to the old stomping grounds, and home to a Ryan Air airport) to Oslo for only 8€. I haven't had the best luck with Ryan Air before (delays, unclean aircraft, horribly unfriendly employees), but none of that this time. It was a pleasant journey, and from the Ryan Air airport out in the boonies I took a 1.5 hour bus trip into Oslo.
First observation through the windows of the bus: Norway is one big Christmas tree farm.
Oslo = meh. I only had a few daytime hours to look around, but what I saw didn't do it for me. Also, what happened that night may have something to do with my unfavorable opinion of the city: I was attacked by bed bugs :/
I'm always pretty good about reading hostel reviews online, but somehow I missed that the hostel was infested with bed bugs. Of course I didn't know this until I woke up the next morning covered in horribly itchy and swollen bed bug bites. I raced out of the hostel and into a pharmacy, where I was given hydrocortisone creme and some allergy medicine to take. With these things in hand I got onto my train to Bergen vowing not to let this unfortunate episode compromise my Norwegian adventure. Yuckkk. That's the definition of scheisse right there.
The 7-hour train ride to Bergan was beautiful, lovely, all of the above. We cruised up into snow-covered mountains and villages and through fjords. All of the "Christmas trees" were covered in white, and it even started snowing on the ride! A novelty for this Louisianan/Californian.
Bergen itself was also beautiful. It is on the water and nestled between mountains, and what I would considered to be a snow storm greeted me upon arrival. A nice Australian girl who shared basically my exact itinerary (she also had a copy of Europe on a Shoestring) and I explored the city together, walking through the Unesco World Heritage Site of Bryggen, the old wharf, and up to a viewpoint over the city. That night we also shared a delicious fish souffle dinner...still don't trust the seafood in Germany.
The next early morning brought a flight to Tromso, by far the highlight of the trip. Tromso claims to have some of the most north in the world errything: university, brewery, Burger King. It is an absolutely stunning town (or really an island) with beautiful mountains, the ocean and fjords surrounding it. Just the nature experience I needed.
I stayed at a lovely converted fisherman's cabin with all the modern amenities and a great view of the harbor. I spent my three days there walking around alot and relaxing alot, and when not doing those things participating in more organized activities. On Saturday morning I took a guided horse tour on a neighboring island and had my very own white horse (just like Traveler!) to ride though the fjords and up into the mountains...stunning. On Sunday afternoon I took a cable car ride above the city, and on Sunday night a bus tour to see the northern lights.
Our driver took us to a clear place and we waited. There was so much anticipation...several things have to come together to see some nice lights, and it turned out we were very lucky that night. Twice we saw the lights dancing above us - like a long tunnel of green overhead that flurries back and forth. Once we even saw the green change to pink. My point and shoot camera can't do it justice, you just gotta go.
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