Norway
Raunedalen

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    • Day 10

      200 kroners

      June 2, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      This morning was overcast and calling for rain all day.

      We checked out of our hostel and headed down to Flåm city where we were going to go on the fjordsafari.

      This is a 2 hour boat ride on the Aurlandsfjord and on the Nærøyfjord. The Nærøyfjord is a UNESCO world heritage site. Along the way we made stops at attractions and spotted for seals, porpoises (2nd smallest whale) and eagles. The rain also held off completely for the tour. The fjords are connected to the ocean so they have same marine life. It was seriously the most incredible thing I've ever seen. We saw the town called Undredal (population of 90 ppl) which was used as inspiration for Disney's Frozen. There is also this bnb on the top of a super steep mountain. It was once a farm but an American turned it into a bed and breakfast. He worked on it for 17 years. There is still no electricity today. There is a two year waiting list to stay at the bnb. The only way to get to the top is by boat then to hike (45 minutes if you're in good shape) to the top. When it was a farm, they had bought a tracker and when they delivered it they didn't realize that there was no road so they actually took the tracker apart and hiked it up the mountain piece by piece. Today, the motor of the tracker runs a cable to the top. Its used to carry the luggage up to the top for the bob so you don't have to hike with it. Norway has been one of a kind experience and I would highly recommend it to everyone (as long as you have a good job & can afford to eat 😂)

      After the boat trip, we walked around the city a little more and waited for our bus to Bergen.

      Waiting at the bus stop, we met this Australian couple who are traveling Norway for 3 weeks. We were talking about how expensive it has been here in Norway & how it's almost triple what we pay at home.... then they told us that it's almost 6 times what they pay at home...now I feel bad for ever complaining 😂

      The bus to Bergen was about 3 hours long. The scenery from the mountains was beautiful and the tops were covered with snow. We went through a couple tunnels that went right through the mountains. One of them was about 20km long. While we were on the bus, there was a guy sitting beside me that wrapped his head in curtains... I'm not really sure what was going on.

      We arrived in Bergen and it was pouring rain. We got off the bus and had absolutely no idea where we were going. We looked at the directions our Airbnb host gave us and they were a little complicated. We google mapped it & it said there was no way to get there by public transit... after 20 Minutes of trying to figure it out we found out where we needed to go. Walked across the park in the pouring rain (in our Canadian ponchos) and got to the bus stop.

      A guy started talking to us about Canada at the bus stop (knew we were tourists by the poncho). I asked him how we buy a ticket for the bus & we had to go into the store to get one. Once we got back, we realized he was wasted... he also told us we can stay at his place if we wanted to.... omg creepy.

      Got on the bus & guess who sat right in front of us... the creepy man... yay -.-

      We got off the bus and walked about 300 meters to our Airbnb. Our host is awesome & has a whole set up of maps and directions to the nearest tram & buses.

      Our room has a panoramic view of Bergen and the beds are super comfy. Since it's raining & it was already 9pm, we were just going to stay in and watch a movie and hit the town tomorrow when it's supposed to be nicer.
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    • Day 11

      Hasty Generalizations

      June 3, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

      This morning we got up to get ready to explore the city of Bergen.

      There were beautiful skies, only a couple clouds with tons of sunshine (complete opposite from yesterday)

      We took some instructions with us on how to get to the tram & somehow we messed up. We turned left and basically walked parallel to the tram but one street down. For some reason, we decided it was a good idea to turn onto the industrial street. So after walking about 35 minutes, we came across the tram. Oops.

      Took the tram into the city like a local wohooo

      There was a fish market set up right in front of the harbour where they were cooking fresh fish & shellfish. It smelt so good!! We bought some strawberries & ate them while walking.

      We continued on to the UNECSO World Heritage site of Bergen which is a strip of buildings with pointy roofs and all different colours. Between the buildings were little alley ways where they had little art galleries and some tourists shops. I tripped atleast 3 times going through these. I blame the beautiful artwork for the distractions... 🙄

      We went on exploring the city walking through the streets of Bryggen. I know I shouldn't pick favorites, but this city is my favourite so far. It is so small and quirky, there's just something about it that makes you feel so happy inside.

      We walked along the harbour where we save a multimillion dollar yacht docked (it looks similar to the one on below deck). There were tons of people on their boats, listening to music & drinking beer in the sun. It's already amazing enough that I'm exploring northern Europe (I was only planning on doing this trip in 2019), but I wish I can afford just a beer here, nevermind the boat!!! A pint of beer is about 15$ Canadian & I just can't justify spending that much on a beer (Germany here we come, my liver is ready!!)

      We went back to the fish market where Kaylee bought some fresh fish and chips. But just to give you an idea on how expensive it is, she paid 36$ for a plate of food. It's insane. (I opted on skipping lunch today & I ate a frozen yogurt instead. Oops 😌)

      At the fish market, they had different types of sausage; reindeer, moose and whale. Kaylee tried them all. She said they tasted exactly like polish sausage. She bought the whale and reindeer ones to bring home to share with everyone (yuck, no thanks)

      We walked some more (surprise surprise) & just window shopped a little enjoying the beautiful weather and city. We went and sat in the city centre and people watched for sometime. The sun was so hot.. I now know how the Scandinavian people get so tan... I know its usually raining but when that sun does come out... damn!!

      We walked around a park where there was a huge water fountain in the middle. Again we stopped, sat and enjoyed the view a little more.

      We went to the train station where we looked to see if they had baggage storage for tomorrow & it's SURPRISINGLY CHEAP!! Who would have ever thought.

      We decided to get some dinner. We went to Los Tacos & got a burrito. It was so freakin good!! On the wall it said "make tacos not war" which was amazing. I love norway cause norway loves tacos so much. There's a taco place at least every block here. It's perfect.

      We went exploring of the other side of the city where we hadn't been yet. We saw some cool street art, a church, a museum & part of the university. Just when I thought I couldn't love Bergen anymore!!

      It started raining so we headed back to the apartment to take and shower & get ready for Germany tomorrow!!
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    Raunedalen

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