Norway | Apothecary Shed

Vigeland Park Oslo

November 1, 2023

gem art, nature, trees art, nature, Norway, oslo, park, photography, romey, sculpture, vigeland Leave a comment

Lets Almost Go See a Waterfall in Norway: Vettisfossen

November 11, 2022

gem 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.

The Backyard (well, mountain) in Tyinkrysset

November 11, 2022

gem 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.

Kongevegen, Norway Hiking and the Stave Church

November 8, 2022

gem 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.

A Hike to the Backwards Waterfall

November 8, 2022

gem 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.

Bare and the Paparazzi

December 1, 2021

gem 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

Walk to the Top in Bergen, and Slide Down

December 1, 2021

gem 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.

Norway in a Nutshell with Romey

November 27, 2021

gem 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.)

And then on to Myrdal with some daylight remaining (remember, the sun sets around 3:30pm in late November).

We made it!

After a few minutes at the top, the train to Bergen arrived. Then it was three hours back, arriving just in time for dinner with friends (including Vemen and Hovard this time).