A Month of Travel in Numbers

Days 

30
(August 22 to September 20)

Countries

10

United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, England

Passport Stamps

5 

and TWO of those are from Russia (in and out). Ugh. So disappointing to only get Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Prague, and London (which is actually ON our visas and not a regular entrance stamp). 

Languages

9 

(English, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Estonian, Russian, Finnish, German, Czech)

Currencies

8

All of these are more colorful and varied than the American money we're used to. This is interesting and confusing at the same time. Also, changing money 4 different times into some version of something called "krone" that all have slightly (or dramatically) different conversion rates is mind-boggling.

(USD, Norwegian krone, Swedish krona, Danish krone, Euros, Russian rubles, Czech koruna, Great British pounds)

  

 

Types of Transportation

9 

that we remember

(plane, bus, train, ferry/boat, cruise ship, trolley, funicular, car/taxi, bike)

Hotels
12
Many of these were for 1 night only. The longest one was near Heathrow airport for a week once we arrived in London. From there we did exactly zero site-seeing.

Cell Phone charges

about $400 

(stupid Chase fraud alert that we kept having to call off!)

Distance traveled

Approximately 10,000 miles

International Harry Potters purchased

3

Chamber of Secrets in Swedish, Prisoner of Azkaban in Danish, and Order of the Phoenix in German

Photos Taken
approximately 3,830

including both Sarah's and Alicia's cameras plus some iphone pics along the way (now aren't you glad you only had to see what was on this blog?)

Of course the experience and our memories can't be measured quantitatively. Nor can the impact on our friendships or on us as a couple. This month was so much more than the sum of its parts; we can't un-see the sights or erase the effect of what we've learned about the different ways people live. And this is just the beginning....

Stay tuned for our London flat hunt that happened less than 24 hours after we landed at Heathrow!

Norway+ coach tour: Bergen

London List #15: Norway = Check!

Bergen, the so-called western capital of Norway (it was the original capital of the country after all), was the first city we actually spent two nights in. This meant that we got to sleep in past 6 am, didn't have to pack and put out our luggage, and got to spend an entire day without any imposed agenda.

On our first night, we savored the opportunity for a relaxing dinner of our choice at Zupperia on the harbor. Zupperia, while a chain, still ranks as the best dinner of our entire trip. This is where I discovered how much I love curry and Manuel tried reindeer.

After a lovely, full night's sleep we decided to hike up Fløyen, the most visited of the seven mountains surrounding Bergen. This is probably due to both the Fløibanen funicular from the city and the sweeping view of the city, harbor, and out to the fjord. Most of our group rode the funicular up the steep incline, but we opted for the fresh air and exercise of hiking the switchbacks ourselves.

One of the benefits of walking up instead of riding the funicular was that we found a huge park along the way, which afforded the opportunity for play.

Plus the work of hiking made this view even more breathtaking when we finally reached it.

After our hike we headed over to the Bergen fish market for lunch.

 

Crab legs and whale steak. The first was tasty, the second was not.

Caviar in a tube like toothpaste.

Princess caviar is bright pink!

With our freedom we chose to spend the rest of the day exploring every part of the city we could walk to. We enjoyed the souvenir shops and Christmas store and ended our day relaxing at Henrik Øl og Vinstove, a craft beer haven in Bergen. Joe and Manuel were impressed with the selection and spent a considerable time discussing the European craft brew market with the owner on our second visit. They even carried a cider that was pretty tasty for me.

Norway+ Coach Tour: Traveling West

London List #15: Norway = Check!
London List #29/30: Travel by boat/train = Check!

Day 4 and 5 of our trip were mostly dedicated to moving us from the east coast (Oslo) to the west coast (Bergen). We stayed one night in Lillehammer, home to the 1994 Winter Olympics, and another night in Sognedal, at the edge of the Sogne fjord. Along the way, we stopped for countless “kodak moments” that have very little story beyond “look at this pretty lake” and “this is a breathtakingly pretty view.” There were mountains and glaciers and waterfalls and valleys. We travelled by bus, train, and boat. Why did we love Norway so much, you ask? Take a look.

The view behind one of our rest stops. Seriously.

Perfect mirror, taken thru the bus windows.

Visiting a stave church in Lom - one of the only official tour stops we made.

A waterfall flowing under a bridge in Lom, across from the stave church.

Traveling over the mountains on the "roof of Norway" - see the glacier in the back?

A celebratory acquavitae shot our guide organized to honor the newlyweds.

Sarah & Alicia

Another view from the bus

Day 5

Because we were having such great luck with weather, our guide and driver, Birgitte and Jan organized an extra treat: a trip to the top of one of the cliffs that drops down into the fjords for a spectacular view.

Flåm Railway is an engineering marvel. It is the steepest traditional railway in Europe and is a main tourist attraction in Norway. While it did feel a little silly, it was gorgeous.

Fjord Cruise

Another rest stop. Seriously.

Even the stones and moss were beautiful!