Earth
There were a couple of confused looks when we reported to others that back home we had to drive at least five hours in order to get to mountains, that it was terribly flat where we lived. For further perspective, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) and Swiss have special allotments for skis and ski boots as part of their baggage rules. Fjords, mountains, actual variance in topography. We stepped on stone, clay, brick, gritty shoreline, gravel paths. I recognized shale and granite and was too caught in staring to pull out much more. I touched a wall from the 16th century with another from the 11th century just on the other side of the barrier.
Fire
There is a concept in Norway called koselig. This roughly translates to cozy, but there is more weight to it than that. Hospitality, kindness, warmth, welcome. This picture was inside of a Sami structure called a Lavvu, with a central stove of bright fire leaking out the gaps and candles. We had more candlelit dinners in Norway than we've had in the rest of lives together because every cafe and restaurant had at least tea lights at every table. Shops had standing furnaces or candles outside of their shops to indicate that they were open or a sale was going on. Fire was everywhere and symbol of welcome, to make people feel at home. Fire was also a large part of every city's history, in that each was old enough to have seen some great fire or another (or many times), coming together in community to rebuild again.
Water
We took two trips by boat, once in a ferry from Flåm to Gudvangen and then a larger boat from Bergen to Trondheim. However, no matter where we were, we were still close to water in some capacity--water flowing down the mountain, an inlet in the fjords, the coast, snow snow snow. I remember clearly the rumbling beneath my feet and the crunching sounds from the bow of the ferry as we plowed casually through the frozen water on our trip to Gudvangen. These fjords were carved by glaciers.
Air
It almost looked like clouds at first, a greyer spot against a dark, clear sky. And yet here we see evidence of something much, much more. Hints of color were visible to the naked eye, but the camera was set to see something like what we see in this image here, glorious greens, reds, and a hint of purple. We drove a couple hours out of Tromsø to find clear skies, actually crossing into Finland for a bit of time in our search. We found a place with less clouds, but the activity remained minimal--all the more reason to go back one day. Particles from the sun striking Earth's magnetic field, making invisible components of the air visible and brilliant against the field of stars.
Hey, all!
I've had more than one person ask for it, so here it is: the following is a day-to-day itinerary of where we are when.
February 10th
Heading out of Bloomington around 1045. Our plane leaves O'Hare at 1615. We'll be in for a long, overnight flight.
February 11th
Arriving in Frankfurt, Germany. Departing out of Frankfurt to Oslo, Norway. Collapsing in the hotel room until we forage for food, unless, of course, we're too excited to sit still.
February 12th
Continuing to acclimate to the jetlag, hopefully going to the Royal Palace and seeing Edvard Munch's The Scream (below) and otherwise seeing what happens. Maybe heading down to Bogstadvein.
February 13th
More random adventures in Oslo (perhaps the Viking Ship Museum) and ending our time there with La Cenerentola at the Oslo Opera House.
February 14th
Big travel day, dropping our luggage off to meet us at the end. Train from Oslo to Myrdal. Then a train from Myrdal to Flåm, boat from Flåm to Gudvangen, bus from Gudvangen to Voss, and then a train from Voss to Bergen. Phew!
February 15th
Thus begins some of our adventuring in Bergen, involving taking the tram to top of the mountain for some scenic views.
February 16th
Another day in Bergen, hopefully including a visit to Grieg's Tomb (you've heard of Edvard Grieg here and here). We'll end the day getting on a boat, heading off toward Ålesund.
February 17th
I'm on a boat. I'm on a boat. (Yay, dated references!) We'll be stopping in Fløro, Måløy, and Torvik on our way to Ålesund, embarking here at least shortly to wander around the city before spending a second night on the water.
February 18th
Our boat arrives early in the morning at Trondheim, the Capital of the Vikings. With a name like that, I'm sure at least Andy's beard will fit in just fine.
February 19th
Flying from Trondheim to Tromsø. We'll have a little bit of time to settle in before a guided tour to hopefully see some of the best views of the Aurora.
February 20th
Day two in Tromsø will end with dog sledding and learning a bit about Sami culture. I think I also heard mention of reindeer stew.
February 21st
A day of leisure in Tromsø. Honestly, I think we might ask the front desk what they recommend.
February 22nd
Fly from Tromsø to Oslo and stay our last night in Norway.
February 23rd
Fly from Oslo to Zurich, Switzerland, for a brief layover and heading back to O'Hare around 1600, in theory
You'll notice that there is plenty of time in there that don't have a specific activity outlined, where we might have a something for the day but certainly not a minute by minute calibration. They call it a "self-guided" tour. All of our travel and lodging (apart from local taxis and buses) is taken care of, but the rest of the time we can fill in with a random adventure or whatever strikes us next. It's a road map, subject to pit stops, tourist traps, and whatever else.
Can't wait to see what we'll fill it in with.
