Only One More day left Before I Have To Leave 29 June 2013

Up late today, maybe it was reading until the early hours,  looked at more photos, had breakfast, I have been trying to eat a little better whilst away, trying local food, today it was shredded wheat with cranberries and milk, may see if they have this at home for a change from porridge.

Went with Mykle to Sande, I must apologise because some of the Norwegian words I am using, I do not have the correct keyboard for, had a look at the airport very different from others it is tiny, then to see ferry crossing at Andetolote where they are proposing a replacement bridge to speed everything up. Then on to Utvik fjell down to the village and Invik, next shopping in Sande for some items Jean needed for the traditional meal she was cooking that evening. We stopped so I could take photos across the lake from where they lived, then back to house.

Went on computer to book train trip from Bergen to Oslo,  then had evening meal of, typical Norwegian food, consisting of kjottkaker (meatballs) entestuning (mushy peas) potatoes,  carrots, tyttebaer (cranberries) the meal was delicious but then followed byblå plomme (similar to damsons) with custard. After we went for a walk I was hoping it would help me burn some of the meal off so I do not put to much weight on.

For me it was quite sad as was my last day in this fantastic setting with two fantastic people for company, I shall miss Jean and Mykle greatly but am hoping to keep in touch on my return, they have shown me how different life can be if we really try at it, if you read this Jean and Mykle again thanks for everything. After this I went bed to be ready for the long day tomorrow.

Norway and a meeting with Mykle and Jean at last

I rose early finished my packing, had a shower, I had by now got the hang of how not to soak the floor, then went down for breakfast, Brian was worried about the weight of his backpack,  so we checked he was still under the limit, it seems he wanted to take the papers he had collected to read at his leisure,  checked out, got metro to the airport, it was even busier than when we arrived, said cheerio to Brian,  warned him about security,  then went to check in, there were great long queues, but eventually all was sorted, had a wander round the departure area, bought sandwich and a drink for the flight then people watched, what a range of different people and cultures, eventually boarded the plane very pleasant staff,found that the quality of service from Scandinavian airline a pleasant experiance only a short flight, Bergen airport  was tiny compared to the last, picked up luggage,  then outside.

There was Mykle patiently waiting for me, we went for a snack, then got the bus into town, much better seats and ride than those back home,  the town was very pretty to look at as was the backdrop of mountains and fjords.

We wandered down to to the ship through the market, on the way looking at the live crabs and lobsters in tanks, got to the boat it was large and modern, found seats with a good view, when we set off I said I wanted to take photos, Mykle warned me not to go to the front, as soon a went on deck understood this with the wind, took a series of photos of mountains bridge etc,

the boat called at a number of ports, there was an announcement that we had to change boats, which was done with little fuss,

finally we got to Sogndal.

There waiting for us was Jean who was very welcoming then we set off on our way to our destination Myklebust,  along the way we saw beautiful fjords and lakes,  waterfalls and mountains and even a glacier,

because of my surname Glasser, at school any reference to glaciers always had brought out laughter concerning my name,  at long last here was one of these gigantic areas of ice so large its difficult to describe.

On our trip we stopped at various places to take in the landscape, we even stopped at a toilet in the middle of nowhere as I had mentioned in my other blog, finally we reached Mykle and Jeans home, it was well worth the trip what a stunning location and their home was very attractive also, they explained we were 100 feet above sea level but because of the height of the mountains  and lake it seemed much lower their home was as beautiful inside as out, I unpacked then we sat and chatted before finally going to bed

My Trip To Norway

Hi Folks, as some will be aware, I am off to Denmark then Norway for a holiday this Friday 21 June 2013 until 4 July 20913, it will hopefully be a trip of a lifetime, because I have promised myself that I would get see the Norwegian Fjords, for many years.

It all started with meeting my friend Mykle in London last year and him showing me photos of where he now lives in Norway, also my reading his story of how he moved there and the trip he does each year to come back over to England. This was the inspiration I needed to start planning the trip. I decided that a blog was the easiest way for me to give updates of the adventure rather than endless e mails.

Because I was waiting for an operation until that was carried out and I had the all clear nothing definite could be planned, then next task was to obtain travel insurance, which I eventually resolved, so the idea could start to develop into reality. I had also discussed a holiday with my friend Brian who has featured in previous Blogs and our other friend Alan, we talked about different destinations and in the end settled on Copenhagen, we were going for a week, so we then started working out how to get there and where to stay,

I contacted Which Travel for advice on things to do and see, then contacted my friendly travel agents Sue to ask for her help. It seems that Scandinavia, other than by ship is not listed in most holiday brochures. Unfortunately, Alan decided in the end that he was not going with us so we ended up booking for 4 nights, the first being the summer solstice(longest day) we booked the flight and accommodation and I bought a new lens for my camera to capture all the things I am hoping to see on the trip.

We are also hoping for a trip to Malmo in Sweden to see the bridge between the two countries. Brian will return home after 4 nights and my real adventure will really start I said I was considering visiting Norway and may call to see Mykle and his wife Jean, Mykle kindly offered that I could stay with them when visiting the area that they live in as a result we spent a lot of time through e mail and phone calls trying to work out an itinerary for me, up to this time I did not really know where he was in Norway apart from the fact it was away from the towns and cities, plus that it gets very cold in the winter, eventually we sorted out a trip that would enable me to see some of the best parts and beautiful scenery there, my friend Brian said I may see elk and wolves and possibly beavers, seems he had not done his research that well as Mykle stated this was unlikely, they lived further north.

The trip from Copenhagen, will take me by plane to Bergen where I will be met by Mykle, then boat to Sogndal, from there by car to his home in Myklebust for a few days, then we travel back to Bergen by coach, and I will stay for 3 nights, I then travel from Bergen to Oslo by train which Mykle tells me is quite spectacular, then later that day fly back to London, where as it will be in the evening I will stay before returning home the following day.

Due to uncertainty about the weather I will take a mixture of clothes, I have bought a tablet computer so I can continue to record the trip for the blog, the tablet has been a learning curve for me, but my son spent some time showing me what the various functions are for. I had forgotten how many pieces of paper are needed when travelling independently, as well as medication, transformers for charging devices, and guides, unfortunately over the weekend my back has gone into spasm, so yesterday I saw an osteopath, the pain has not yet abated, if it does not improve before Thursday I will have to go and see GP for strong painkillers, as I am not going to cancel the holiday