Our Norwegian Adventure - The Why

When we told friends and family that we were going to take a trip to Norway, we were asked A LOT of questions.  So, to try and answer all those questions - and to remember all we can about this trip of a lifetime - I decided to blog again.  Here we go...

In March of 2020, as the pandemic rolled over the world and we stayed home, baked bread, read books and watched a lot of TV, I started clicking around on YouTube knitting videos -- I can't remember if I was searching out something in particular or if I had been nudged in that direction by an Instagram post or a Ravelry comment.  

Either way,  I landed on the Arne and Carlos channel, watched every one of their videos, fell in love with their giggles, knitted their patterns and felt like I had made two new virtual friends in a time when my real-life friends seemed so very distant.  

They were from my favorite country: Norway, the country I had studied and drawn and colored and written a report about for my 4th grade geography project.  (OK, I'll admit that for many years, Norway has taken a back seat to all things UK - I'm a Mini Cooper-driving, Corgi-loving, Earl Grey tea-drinking, Jane Austen-reading Anglophile.  But there is so much history between Norway and the UK, and Scotland is just a couple of days sail across the North Sea from Bergen.  Yikes - seasickness, anyone?  But more on that later...)

Arne and Carlos love so many of the same things I do - fabric and yarn, Christmas and Christmas cookies, books and dogs.  Candles, sweaters, embroidery, dollhouses, Dolly Parton, thrift shops, British TV.  I looked forward to every new episode, eager to learn something (the Norwegian purl, aka "cha-cha-cha" changed my knitting life!) or to just relax and listen to them chat.  

And they love travel.  Their travel vlogs are some of my favorites; you should watch their trip to Japan from three years ago - just beautiful.  

They host knitting, garden and museum trips all over Europe, and each year take several cruises up the Norwegian coast.  When they announced that they would be hosting cruises again when the pandemic quieted down, Clay and I decided a trip would be a great 40th anniversary gift to each other; we put our names on a waiting list, crossed our fingers and were lucky enough to get spots on a cruise.

We'd never been on a cruise.

Probably because I am not a fan of boats.  

Or water.  

But as I learned on previous adventures, if you want to do fun things, you need to stuff your fears way, way down. 

And pack some Xanax, just in case.   

So this is why we went - to celebrate, to be with two of my knitting idols and to explore a new country.  And, as it turns out, to make new friends, to eat new foods and to find out that deep down, Clay is a knitter.  But more on that later...

Peace.

Our Norwegian Adventure - The How (We Got There)

This part probably isn't very exciting, but I want to write it all down so we never forget. 

Our first look at Norway - thanks for the window seat, Clay!

We left Indiana on Friday, March 3, after a 3-hour delay in the Indianapolis airport.  We'd left our dog Harry at Dog World, our car in Fly and Park (Park and Fly?) and our big suitcase at the United counter. Along for the ride to Houston were some very big men who had been in Indy for the NFL scouting combine.  I had no idea what they were talking about, as it was complex and footbally, but they sat behind us and talked loudly for the entire 3 hours.  There was an older couple sitting across from us who were trying to get to LA; we talked Broadway shows, which was much more enjoyable (to me).

We landed in Houston after a nice flight (a little turbulence, but the aeronautical engineer I'm married to enjoys a little turbulence - I listened to Dave Grohl's autobiography, The Storyteller, and pretended I was somewhere else) and headed to the Singapore Airlines gate.  Everything about this flight was lovely, even in economy.  The flight attendants, dressed in colorful uniforms, were kind and attentive; we were served two meals and a snack.  Clay and I watched Sam and Kate (with Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek) together, then he watched Maverick and I watched Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris (sweet!) and Steel Magnolias.  

We should have had plenty of time when we got to Manchester to get to our SAS flight to Oslo, but once we got through immigration, we were told we'd have to claim our luggage, re-check it and go through security again.  Which wouldn't have been a problem if our luggage had made it to Manchester.  According to our air tag, it was still in Houston. 

It was about a mile walk from the terminal where we had landed to the terminal we were to take off from; there was no train, tram or even working people movers.  I walked as fast as I could, but we knew we were running out of time; I told Clay to go ahead, hoping that he could get to the SAS counter and maybe the flight would be delayed.  I could see him hustling down the hallways (hallways?) until I couldn't, but I didn't panic.  Yet. 

I wasn't exactly sure where to go once I reached the elevators, because the Manchester airport has shit signage.  Turns out, the SAS counter is tucked in behind other airline counters (no sign); I had to ask to find it, and when I did, there was no one there -- not the SAS people, not Clay.  And, in our hurry to get off of the Singapore flight, I had handed him my phone.  Which he still had.  

And then I panicked.  And cried a little. 

But a kind young woman with the airport took me downstairs to the information counter (no signage), where they paged Clay.  And within 5 minutes, there he was.  This would have been the perfect time for a Xanax, but instead, we sat at a coffee shop, Clay got me tomato soup and tried to figure out our next move, while I tried to stop shaking.  

To make this long story shorter (and readable), know that we got a little hotel room right next to the airport, caught an early flight to Oslo  Sunday morning, spoke with a kind woman about our lost bag (she gave us toiletries and t-shirts!), rode a train to the city center, found our hotel, had a nice Thai dinner, a good night's sleep, and on Monday morning, March 6 (after an incredible breakfast buffet at the hotel), we met up with Lise from Aller Travel, climbed on a tour bus and we were off!  

And that's how we got to Norway.  

Peace.                                                                                                                                  

Our Norwegian Adventure - The Where, Part 1 - Oslo

 Once we were in Oslo, once we were with our group, once I resigned myself to the fact that I might be living in two outfits for the next 12 days, once I knew I could buy yarn and needles just about anywhere in Norway (even at the grocery store) everything was good.  Great.  Fantastic.

Us, after a wonderful lunch at the Frognerseteren Restaurant, high above Oslo -
I was fairly certain we had stepped off the bus and into Arendelle (for you Frozen fans)

 - 
Oslo is an amazingly beautiful city, and two short days here really weren't enough.  But we loved every bit of what we saw.  We jumped on the tour bus with Lise and all our new friends; we started at the harbor to see the Opera House and Munch Museum.

Oslo Opera House, designed to look like an iceberg

We saw the Royal Palace, the Akershus Fortress, and where Sonja Henie practiced skating.  

We saw statues of Grieg and Ibsen, kings on horseback, kings looking kingly, which were all very nice, but then we toured the largest sculpture park in the world - amazing and a bit odd -  where all the 200+ naked sculptures are by one artist - Gustav Vigeland 1869-1943 (who, in all my art history classes, I had never heard of).  The sculptures are meant to represent the "cycle of human life and all its emotions".  

Entrance to the park

The Monolith - I got some spooky Holocaust vibes from this
and the sculptures surrounding it, although they were created many years before.

Angry Boy, one of the "most beloved sculptures" in the park.
Um, ok.   

Clay's favorite

I'm choosing to believe that there was a pool of water or a trampoline
under this man, and it was all fun and games.  Right?

Anita, our wonderful tour guide

After the sculpture park, it was time for lunch in what I can only describe as a magical restaurant on top of a mountain, just past the Oslo Ski Jump (Holmenkollen.)  

Our first salmon meal - delicious!

Some art on the walls of the restaurant -
our friend, Hi, told us the story of this painting -
The Rescue of Prince Haakon by the Birkenbeiner Vikings in 1206;
I want to read more about this

More restaurant art - Trolls!

The view of Oslo from the restaurant.  

The ski jump

Our next stop was the Kon Tiki Museum.  Clay and I didn't realize we both were fans and fascinated by Thor Heyerdal, as I guess any kid whose family subscribed to National Geographic in the 1970's was (although he probably wanted to BE Thor Heyerdal - I just liked to read about the adventures.)

This photo of Thor Heyerdal reminded us of our friend, Alex Rust. 

Our final stop for the day was at the Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.  Beautiful murals told the stories of Norway's working history and also of the occupation era during World War II.

Back to the hotel, a little shopping, supper.

It was a great day. 

Peace.

Our Norwegian Adventure - The Where, Part 2 - Bergen

I've watched the Trolls movie so many times with Olive and Abby that I was very suspicious of  Bergen (in the movie, that's where the monsters live who eat cute little trolls - the monsters believe that will make them happy.)  I'm happy to report that there were no trolls or monsters in Bergen, Norway, and that everyone seemed quite happy anyway.

Bryggen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, right down the street from our hotel

We took the train from Oslo to Bergen, a 7-hour journey.  

But it certainly didn't seem like 7 hours; we chatted with new friends, read a little (Clay), knit a little (me, as Clay wasn't a knitter -- yet) but spent most of the time just looking out the windows, as almost every time you looked up and out, there was something beautiful to see.  And neither my words nor these photos do Norway justice. 

The train station

It was just as wonderful as I always imagined a train journey would be - very White Christmas/Harry Potter/Murder on the Orient Express (without the fancy sleeping cars.  And the murder.)

We got settled into our hotel, and explored a little up and down the street, and, as a nod to our Purdue Crew friends, sat outside at a bar and had a beer.  

King Haakon VII, who looks remarkably like the actor
who played him in Atlantic Crossing

The next morning (Wednesday, March 8) we climbed onto another tour bus and after a drive around beautiful Bergen, we headed to Hillesvag Ullvarefabrikk for an incredibly interesting tour of their yarn factory, family owned since 1898.

One of the brothers who now own and operate the mill explained
the process of making yarn.

Our whole group of beautiful people (who left the factory with a lot of yarn!)

Our bus.  I can't say enough good things about our bus drivers,
who maneuvered us around so many narrow, icy switchbacks

Our next stop was to Oleana, a knitting factory which produces the most lovely clothes and home items.  

Housed in what was once the first textile factory in Norway, they use modern technology to turn merino wool and silk into fabric that feels soft as butter and seems to float in your hands. 

All the pieces of a garment are bundled together to be sewn up

I was fascinated by these specialty sewing machines, and even though I watched the seamstresses for quite a while, I still couldn't figure out how these round machines worked.  I need to go back and apply to be an apprentice. 

There was a small museum on the site, which told the story of textile manufacturing in the area - so very interesting. 

Back on the bus, back to Bergen city center, we took a ride on a the Floibanen funicular. 

 

(Not our photo - copied from the funicular company)

 Yikes. 

Our ship is down there somewhere...

The views were amazing, but I was happy when it was time to go back down.  And, happy to add "funicular railway" to my list of things I'm not so scared of any more! 

And THEN, it was time to go to board our ship!  

Peace.