7 June

Uppsala!

Caitlin and I spent today walking around the city of Uppsala and enjoying the pleasant weather. We visited the botanical gardens, the cathedral, and walked along the Fyråson river, which runs right through the heart of the city. I got a pizza for lunch, which came with a nice salad, for only about 8 dollars. This was very nice. Sweden, to my surprise, does seem to be about half the price of Norway.

Tomorrow I am taking a morning train back to Stockholm, where I'll be moving into my hostel and getting acclimated once again to the urban surroundings.

Botanical Gardens

Botany pwns.

Placid section of the river running through town

Awesome neoclassical architecture!

Uppsala cathedral

6 June

Happy D-Day everyone!

Today was my first full day in Sweden. I am staying with my friend Caitlin Cossaboom for a few days before I transition into the Chapman Hostel in Stockholm. Caitlin is spending the summer at a University in Uppsala, which is 40 minutes north of Stockholm by train. Today was Sweden's national day, so we took the train into town and explored the city. It was very exciting for both of us; neither of us had been to Sweden's capital, also the largest city in Scandinavia.

Venice is the Stockholm of the South.

You might have heard that the other way around... but Stockholm is freaking awesome. What Sweden lacks in fjords and mountains it makes up for with its stupendous architecture and glorious cities. Uppsala and Stockholm are both very picturesque and welcoming. Most things have been about half the price of their Norwegian counterparts thus far. Add another point to the Swedish column.

Our day in Stockholm was mostly spent touring the city on foot. We visited the royal palace and saw the changing of the guard, explored some of Gamle Stan (the old city), and sampled some of the local delicacies. Swedish pastries are excellent.

We eventually returned to Uppsala for our evening, where we watched Sweden play Denmark in a World Cup qualifying match. Crushing defeat - Denmark edged out the Swedes 1-0.

Tomorrow Caitlin and I are going to explore Uppsala's town and gardens and do some laundry. Monday morning I am headed back to Stockholm for a few days.

Part of Stockholm's extensive network of waterways

It was actually quite chilly - about 45 degrees or so

The old Chapman ship, which is now a hostel

My awesome hostess for a few days, enjoying a Swedish pastry!

One of the ten thousand islands which comprise the Stockholm archipelago

5 June

Goodbye, Norway!

It's been a great twenty days. While it is still fresh in my mind...

9 Great Things About Norway:

1. Stupendous geography, rich in vast mountain ranges, spectacular fjords, numerous waterfalls, and huge forests
2. Friendly, well-educated people
3. 100% powered by renewable energy (hydro power!)
4. Good train system, excellent bus system
5. You have to pay for bags at the grocery store (encourages using your own)
6. Great hostels! I was most impressed with the breakfasts.
7. Good traditional cuisine (great seafood!) a nice mix of international foods
8. Free water at most restaurants (!!!)
9. Universal healthcare and welfare (Norway is essentially a socialist country with a very high standard of living)

and...

5 Somewhat-less-than-Awesome Things About Norway:

1. Food costs 3-4 times as much than in the USA (The standard combos at McDonald's range from $13-$17)
2. Alcohol costs about 3 times as much as in the USA and wine/liquor can only be purchased at special government-run stores with limited hours (Cheapest pint of beer I found was $9)
3. Unique currency, not a member of the E.U. (But they are a member of NATO)
4. Smoking is really, really cool and is very popular among all the cool people here
5. Economy is currently anchored by oil exports (meh)

Today was a super-long day of travel. I left at 8:20 AM and arrived in Uppsala, Sweden at 7 PM.

There was a great sunset last night. Like, really incredible.


And it turns out that today was graduation day for schools all over Sweden. And during my layover in Östersund I saw between 30 and 50 dump trucks which had been converted into party wagons full of drunken co-eds blaring party music and drinking champagne.



It was madness. A completely inappropriate introduction to the country, but enjoyable all the same.

Tomorrow is Sweden's national day, so Caitlin and I are going into Stockholm, which is only a 40 minute train ride from here. Time has been tight here, but I'll do my best to keep up with posts.

4 June

Last night I actually had roommates for the first time in a while. I had my own room (accidently) in Flåm and the hostel in Stryn was pretty much deserted. I was sleeping in uninterrupted silence and it was great! So I had gotten to the point of taking it for granted. Unfortunately, I had a rude awakening. (Get it?!) I was accompanied last night by a symphony of snoring, with sounds ranging from clogged drain to flatulence to band saw.

Some time before I fell asleep I resolved to switch to a single room for my last night in Norway, since I have done so well on my budgeting thus far. After taking care of that upon waking, I grabbed a quick breakfast, checked my email, and headed out into the rain to explore Trondheim. As I mentioned in my last post, Trondheim's Nidaros Cathedral, whose construction began in the eleventh century, is the largest cathedral in Scandinavia and the northernmost in the world. The nearby archbishop's palace also host's the Norwegian crown jewels.

When I woke up this morning I had around 1300 NOK left, and only two meals to pay for. I initially resolved to go shopping, given the crappy weather, but there was a non-rip-off exchange desk at the train station where I changed most of my money into SEK (Swedish crowns).

So all I bought in my shopping excursion was a pineapple.

However, the cashier rang it up as a kiwi. So I got a big, ripe, extra-sweet Costa Rican pineapple for less than a dollar. Definitely the best buy I have made since my arrival in Norway.

I spent my day visiting the cathedral and a few other sights and window shopping in a few different malls to avoid the rain. I also got the reservations for my train travel in Sweden tomorrow. I'll be traveling on an X2000, which sounds more like a fighter jet than a train. Fine with me!

The Nidaros Cathedral

Detail of the masonry

Trondheim canal with Nidaros in the background

3 June

Today was another big travel day. I awoke in Stryn in 8:15, had breakfast, and caught the three hour bus back to Otta, where I had a 5-hour layover. Fortunately, bus station layovers are better than airport layovers because in bus station layovers you aren't in an airport. The bus station was right in the middle of Otta, so I had a chance to walk around town a bit and grab a non-airport lunch. However, a hamburger with fries (no drink) from a place at the mall still costed me 18 dollars due to the whole being-in-Norway situation. Apparently most of Norway is twice as expensive as Sweden? (According to the guy running the Stryn Hostel)

After my long travel break, I caught a 3-hour train from Otta to Trondheim, Norway's fourth largest city. Trondheim was once the capital of Norway, and its cathedral is the largest in Scandinavia and the northernmost in the world. For most of the train ride we were traveling through a blizzard... which I guess isn't too odd, seeing as Trondheim is the farthest north I have ever been!

When I finally arrived in Trondheim it was 9 pm, and thankfully, it wasn't raining. I forgot to check online for directions to the hostel before I left Otta, so I had to make a quick reference in the train station to find out how to get to the Trondheim Vandrerjhem. Despite strict ordinances in Trondheim against street signs, I managed to find the hostel without too much difficulty. Again, there is a pretty good view. Tomorrow I'm hoping to do a tour of the city. It'll be my last full day in Norway!

Sunset, at 11:15 pm

12 AM. It doesn't get any darker than this.

2 June

Today was the Tour de Fjord.

I awoke at 7:50 to get an early start on the day, because the weather was calling for afternoon showers. My knee had gotten verrrry stiff and sore overnight, to the extent that I was limping through breakfast. Again, there was a great breakfast at the hostel. Fruit, veggies, cereal, bread, jam, nutella, salmon (!), waffles, hash browns, eggs, and much more. I rented a bike for... free actually. There were signs everywhere advertising bike rental for 99 kr per day, but the guy told me I could rent one for free. I wasn't going to demand an explanation.

My first stop was the pharmacy in "downtown" Stryn, where I bought some painkillers for my knee. I popped 1000 mg of the good stuff and got underway. My destination was Loen, a quaint town 13 km away, where I there is a glacier coming all the way down into the water. The methodical motion of pedaling the bike didn't really hurt my knee at all, even before the meds kicked in. After a few kilometers, it was totally loosened up.

After about an hour of hard pedaling, and several stops for photos, I arrived in Loen. There were no glaciers in sight. After a few minutes of confusion, I came to a sign that read: "Kjenndalsbreen: 19." For a moment I tried to convince myself that I was on Route 19 and almost there. It seemed plausible, but after a little later I came to a sign that read: "Kjenndalsbreen: 18." I wasn't even halfway there yet. This was going to be one hell of a ride.

When I finally did make it, the scene was pretty cool. The Kjenndal glacier is one of the arms of the enormous Jostedalsbreen glacier (on which I went skiing yesterday.) The nice thing about the Kjenndal is that it extends down into a valley very close to sea level, all the way down to 500 feet, so there is a road leading all the way to the glacier. I was told by someone that the Kjenndalsbreen was only about 30 minutes away from Stryn by bike, so I had only packed a bit of water and my camera. The water ran out quickly, but I got to refill it with meltwater from the glacier. Delicious!

Rain showers were due to roll in for the afternoon, so I only rested for a few minutes before beginning the long ride home. The head wind on the return trip was pretty ferocious, making even flat sections of road difficult. When I was about 8 kilometers out, I rode through a ten minute downpour, which actually felt pretty nice. My first stop back in Stryn was the grocery store, where I devoured a bunch of bread, a pastry, and some apple juice mixed with sparkling water.

All in all, the ride took about six and a half hours with stops and covered a distance of 66 kilometers (about 41 miles).

I took the pain meds at about 9 o'clock this morning and my knee still feels a lot better, so I think I'm in pretty good shape. I am now sitting down to enjoy the packed lunch that I was planning to eat after a two hour bike ride. Unfortunately, I placed it in the freezer instead of the fridge, so it is currently thawing.

Today was another good day. Exercise! Tomorrow will be my longest travel day yet: I depart Stryn at 9:40 and I don't arrive in Trondheim until after 10 pm. I'll be fine with a day of rest, however.

Pretty flowers along the road to Loen

Sweet glacier

Check out the hot, hot ice on rock action!

The innermost reaches of the Nordfjord

1 June

Well, today was the day.

I awoke at 8:15 and actually had a great breakfast at this hostel! I had an orange, a waffle with jam (!!!), and strawberry yogurt with muesli. I have never really been a fan of yogurt, but on this trip I am starting to warm up to it. Particularly mixed with muesli. SOOOO GOOOD.

Getting to the ski center is usually pretty simple - there is a bus that goes from Stryn to the Ski center (45 minutes away), but right now it isn't running. I don't know why. So I was only able to get to the Folven, at the base of the mountain. Folven is basically a big drunken party full of skiers and snowboarders from around the world. Everyone I had spoken to assured me that I could just show up and get a ride without a problem. Surely enough, the first group I approached offered bring me along.

Bjorn and Inge brought me along in their car and we drove up the mountain together. They got me there quickly, gave me some basic advice, and Bjorn lent me his (really, really nice) ski goggles. We were driving up the side of the mountain within minutes, which was really incredible. The road has only been driveable for a week now. The snow had been cleared, leaving somewhat of a canal which snaked its way to the top. In some places there were eight feet of snow visible; much higher amounts were present but unknown because there was no way to check! The trip to the ski center was truly surreal.

When we arrived I just had to rent gear and buy a lift ticket. Renting the gear was really quick and easy, because everyone in Norway has their own. The lift ticket was also pretty straight forward. I found the prices to be very reasonable by Norwegian standards. One day ski rental was $50.00 and my lift pass was $65.00. Considering the once-in-a-lifetime factor, I was happy to pay up. All that was left now was the mountain/glacier. Most of what I skied on today was a glacier, albeit covered in 15-30 feet of snow. The ski center gets around 30 feet of snow in a typical season, and it never totally melts. (It's supposed to snow on Wednesday, actually.)

After gearing up, I made my way to the lifts. First there was a traditional chairlift, which brought me from 3500 feet to 4300 feet. Then, there was this thing called a t-bar lift. To use it, you grab this T-shaped bar, tuck it behind yourself, and lean back. The sensation is something analagous to waterskiing uphill. The T-bar brought us from 4300 feet to the top of the mountain at 5300 feet. (!)

So, this one time I went skiing in West Virginia. Hahaha...

Before today, I had been skiing twice at Snowshoe Mountain. I was expecting the skiing to be challenging, but manageable.

To put it bluntly, I got pwned. The "easy" trails were much steeper than I anticipated, and the snow was difficult to maneuver in. It was very heavy, because there had been several consecutive days where the temperature did not drop below freezing. On my first run, I made my way very clumsily down the mountain, crashing every few minutes. When I skied for the first time a few years ago I suffered initially with the Zoolander complex; I wasn't an ambiturner. Only being able to turn one way makes slalom skiing very difficult (read: painful). Today I was having similar problems, which were antagonized by the steepness, the heaviness of the snow, and my 16-month hiatus from skiing. One of the wipeouts twisted my right knee pretty badly because the ski didn't pop off, but it didn't slow me down too much.

On my second and third runs, I fell much less, but I was also in some pain from my earlier wipeouts. All in all, I lasted about 3 and half hours on the mountain before I was beat. I returned my equipment and managed to hitch a ride all the way back to Stryn, where I just took a long nap.

Upon awakening, my right knee is hurting a lot. Walking isn't a problem, but turning it or laterally shifting my weight is painful. Fortunately, I can put my feet up and relax for the rest of the evening. The pain isn't particularly acute, rather it is a constant reminder of the crazy day I have had. Oops! I am sunburned too. Oh well. Worth it.

Pretty blue ice/water

The Stryn Ski center from the first lift

The second (T-bar) lift, going the rest of the way up

Showing off my casual skiing attire at the top

The Strynfjell valley

Miraculously still standing after many falls!