Science! Psuedo-science! Nature! Art! Nonsense!
November 11, 2022
hiking, mountain, nature, photography, travel hiking, mountains, nature, Norway, photography, travel, vettisfossen, video, waterfall 2 Comments
The day could not have been prettier. Light rain, but gorgeous light. And peak Fall leaves. And waterfalls everywhere you look. The funny thing is, though we hiked about 13km, we never made it to the big waterfall! Ran out of light.
I guess we’ll just have to go back
THIS is not the one! But look. Spectacular does not even begin to describe this walk.
We had some very late lunch very near the top at an old farmstead and village.
The turn around point.
November 11, 2022
hiking, travel dogs, gøran, hiking, mountains, nature, Norway, nova, photography, romey, travel, video 2 Comments
Sometimes walking out the door and around back is the best way to hike. We bushwhacked up through juniper and blueberry towards a small lake where fish are rumored to live. Tyinkrysset, Norway is beautiful.
This little stream is just up the road a few hundred meters.
Here are some pictures of our walk in the mountains.
A view of the valley.
Chilly Romey.
Panorama
Our intrepid hosts at the top. Our fearless leader Nova was dressed for the weather.
We love being in Norway.
Coffee and brown cheese? Nova says yes.
November 8, 2022
hiking, mountain, nature, travel gøran, hiking, kongevegen, Norway, nova, romey, stave church 1 Comment
The trail, built by hand with horses and carts through steep mountain passes, is incredible. Like a movie set. This is one hike in Norway not to miss. We did a few kilometers day hike to the Stave Church completed in the 1180s.
The Kings Road is what Kongevegen means, BTW. The scenery at peak Fall is stunning and magical.
Romey and the logo bench.
Just up over the pass the first view of the Stave Church.
We approached from behind (with a herd of sheep). These are not the sheep!
Our fearless leader Nova.
Don’t eat the mushrooms.
A quiet moment of conversation.
A boy and his dog!
An impressive waterfall on the drive home.
Coffee stop.
And back home for beer and a small fire. This is the only kind of smoking that I like to do.
November 8, 2022
hiking, mountain, nature, photography backwards waterfall, gøran, nature, Norway, photography, reindeer, romey, video, waterfall, waterfalls 1 Comment
It’s pretty far to get to the waterfall, and the directions are tricky.
Maybe it’s that way?
Should we follow the reindeer?
And you have to stop by the visitors center snack place where they have really nothing. No coffee today, no waffles, nope, no water, sorry only candy made from juniper berries.
But there it is! Upness in a waterfall.
OK. Not the best waterfall in Norway, or really even the most interesting. But there were reindeer!
Peekaboo romey.
On the way home we dreamed of bubbles.
December 1, 2021
cooking, photography, travel 14 courses, bare, bergen, michelin star, Norway, paparazzi, restaurant, wine 1 Comment
No food for this guy
Bergen has its first Michelin star restaurant, called Bare. We finagled our way in and had an incredible 14 course meal. Always go to fancy pants dinners with really fun friends. We laughed as much as we ate.
Course 1 (this was a pre-dinner bar treat)
The paparazzi have arrived
Course 2 (also in the bar)
Course 3 came in a beautiful dish. Each was different.
Course 4 was lil tacos (still in the bar)
Finally, we moved into the dining room. BTW, a hint about having a meal like this. say YES to all possibilities (like the caviar course and the wine pairing option). Always YES.
Starting the meal
Cider and a fist
Course 5 (sea urchin) with the cider
Our first wine (blanc de blanc) with the caviar
The incredible caviar course (number 6). very creamy.
Were we happy?
Course 7 wine: sauvignon blanc
Course 7 was calamari (which I usually don’t eat)
More paparazzi
The bread arrives
Now the paparazzi are out of control!
Wine for the crab
Course 8: alaskan crab with barley
Wine from Santa Barbara
Course 9: king crab and parsnip
wine
You will like the wine!
Wine
Course 10: lamb and mushroom
wine from Italy
Course 11: reindeer
sweet wine
Course 12 into the sweets (with blue cheese topping). Wow.
\
Course 13, a tart little number
wine (a “white amarone”)
Course 14 finished the evening
grappa in the bar (coffee for some)
the empties
December 1, 2021
hiking, mountain, photography bergen, funicular, hike, negroni, no stress bar, Norway Leave a comment
The funicular is being renovated, so a walk to the top was in order. The walk was easy and beautiful. It proceeds in stages, zooming out as you gain in elevation.
If you start with cake, you must hike to the top.
icicle
Listen to the drips.
proof
Then the slide down.
Then a visit to No Stress for a Negroni before heading out on the metro.
Fin.
November 27, 2021
mountain, photography, travel bus, ferry, fjord, flåm, gudvangen, highest train in the world, myrdal, Norway, Norway in a nutshell, romey, train, voss Leave a comment
This iteration of Norway in a Nutshell was a one day jaunt out of (and back to) Bergen. Things got underway early (around 8:40) at the Bergen train station. The trip went Bergen–>Voss–>Gudvangen–>Flåm–>Myrdal–>Bergen (through Voss). Arrival at home was 6pm.
Of course the day was perfect and the light was beautiful. Even the clouds of Bergen parted temporarily as we departed.
Norway in a nutshell vehicle 2 is a bus. pic.twitter.com/UPXDplAuzw
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 25, 2021
Norway in a nutshell vehicle 4 is an old train. The flåm train route is one of the best rides on the planet. (Paging @SteveBellovin) pic.twitter.com/Vf3jpQj39E
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 25, 2021
Here’s how the day went. After a delicious breakfast in Bergen at the Børs hosted by the delightful Dalia, we walked to the plastic-wrapped train station and found our place.
Masked on the train to Voss
It was still early in Voss and the 15 minute connection wait for the bus was uneventful.
Voss station (the blue appears)
The bus to Gudvangen is roomy and nice. But no wifi this time (WTF?!). The trip took about an hour, leaving 45 minutes to have some cocoa and walk around in Gudvangen.
Waterfall from a bus
On the way to Gudvangen
Majestic and way bigger than this picture makes clear
Looking back to Gudvangen
The bridge
The fjord was simply magical
A crystal clear day with little wind left the Fjord a gigantic deep mirror.
The ferry arrives
Since we were touring on off season (and during a pandemic), snacks were harder to come by than on previous Norway in a Nutshell runs. Even the ferry (which usually has a nice snack bar with various food items) was limited to coffee and tea. Bring along some snacks.
The two hour ferry ride is nothing short of stunning.
Pretend Viking boat
The ferry (very upscale)
These days, the ferry (which can comfortably hold 400) is a super modern, quiet boat with lots of room. It is also fast.
Pole position (with a charger)
Just as we departed, some base jumpers blew in from on high. Check out this spectacular landing.
Looking back into the wake
From the bow
Norway
Mountain boat
We called ahead to the Flåm for a pizza from the bakery. This is a good move! The pizza was delicious and it was great to walk in and have a hot pie waiting.
Yum!
Then it was a 3 minute amble over to catch the Flåm–>Myrdal train (one of the steepest inclines in railroad) in an historical vehicle. Here we go.
The climb really is remarkable.
Myrdal here we come (check out the switchbacks)
A short stop at the waterfall is always in order.
Romey takes a picture
Romey also takes a video. (These bits are for Emily.)
