First Rainbows, then Reindeer

                   Written August 3, 2018

Although the May and June  weather in Alicante had been excellent, as it often is, it held a special surprise for us as we left: rain! And a rainbow. 

We were returning to our apartment after a visit to Punta Palo, just south of Alicante, hosted by Teresa, the apartment manager who has become our friend. It had been raining, unusual for this time of year. As we walked along the mirador near our street the sun, on its way down, peeked out from below the storm clouds. The light shone clear and bright on the buildings up the coast: then a stub of rainbow appeared out to sea. It morphed into a double, and up the coast, the far end appeared. (I noted which building; next time in Alicante we'll check for the pot o' gold.)

Double rainbow over the beach in Alicante, Spain

Early, so early the next morning we were on the street, our taxi waiting to take us to the mostly deserted airport. By 6:30 AM we were winging our way north. While I am certainly no fan of early morning plane flights, arriving before noon has advantages. We got settled into our Airbnb in Bergen, Norway with the whole afternoon before us.

             Bergen  (June 7)

As we flew in we were struck by how much the region resembled the Pacific Northwest. Bergen could almost be a stand-in for Seattle (if it were 20 times as big!). In fact, Bergen and Seattle have some kind of official connection, sister cites (or maybe just friends); in a park along the bay that surrounds Bergen we found a totem pole given by the city of Seattle! It was a bit bizarre, traveling so far to stand before this tall totem surrounded by lush greenery.

Greeting sign outside the Bergen airport. I'm still unsure about that "?" ?

A Pacific Northwest totem pole, gift from Seattle, WA!

One bit of good fortune we had was that it was not raining, Paula likes to check ahead for what the weather is doing in places where we will be going. For four months straight, it rained every day in Bergen. In fact, rain is one of Bergen’s claims to fame. Our days there, though, were sunny and bright. In fact, although we didn’t know it at the time, this was the start of a sunny streak that would follow us all the way through Scandinavia, Scotland, and Northern England to London!

I liked Bergen, in spite of the lack of rain J! It has a long history, and was a key element of the trading network build up by the Hanseatic League* in the High Middle Ages. The Norwegians (or whatever the residents were called then; modern Norway was only established early in the 19^th Century) traded cod, an oily fish that could be dried and kept for long periods, an important “feature” in an era with no refrigeration! The original Hanseatic buildings are still preserved on Bergen’s seafront, although we chose not to visit them.

* An early trade and defensive organization that spread throughout Northern and Central Europe in the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Centuries. We were to learn more about it in Hamburg.

Bergen's water front; this once was Norway's major port

Of more interest to us was the massive fish market that’s been going strong for several centuries; the funicular climbing the steep hill across the harbor; the amusing local art, and the Teslas!  I saw enough of these electric cars that I began to check license plates to verify I wasn’t seeing the same car over and over, because Bergen really is a small town. I found there are a great many electric cars of various makes. Our Airbnb host explained that the Norwegian government, to encourage the use of renewables, offered free passage to electric vehicles on toll roads. Ah! Then the incentive was removed (and everyone was left wondering, now I’m stuck with this crappy car…).

The fish market. Great meals here at a good (for Norway!) price.

Dried cod is still availabe in the market,but pricey: about $30USD per pound!

We toured the fish market, today given over to tourist restaurants. We skipped the old buildings, and on the day we chose to take the funicular (ride up, walk down, or so we told ourselves!), it wasn’t running. So we hiked up the steep streets for an excellent view across the town and the docks to the fiords beyond. And we found that the hill, forested and natural-looking from the town, is full of tiny roads and interesting homes clinging to the hillside. All in all, we got a really good feeling from cute Bergen! (Although it was sunny, and I kept wondering if I would be as keen on it with the “horizontal rain” our host described, cold and snow, and six hours of daylight instead of the 18 we experienced!).

Bergen really is a cute town. (Many of those cars in the foreground are electric.)

Is this the Argyll Forest? No, just quirky public art...

A couple of things struck me about the locals we saw: many of them had on backpacks – and not little day packs, like ours, but serious outdoor stuff. I expect they were doing errands, and carrying their groceries home, but I like to think on weekends those bags saw heavy use out on the trail. Also, there seemed to be a fair number of people on crutches; mostly young guys who seemed only temporarily affected. I don’t know, but again, I like to think these are the result of “outdoor” accidents: a skiing fall, a slip on the glacier. (Or maybe tripping on the roof of the Oslo opera house?)

Soon we were on the “Nutshell” train, the train that follows the “Norway in a Nutshell” route between Bergen and Oslo, giving a cross-section of the Norwegian countryside. It was a very pleasant seven-hour ride. We splurged for first class, only about $60USD with our senior discount. Free coffee and hot chocolate, large, comfortable seats with plenty of leg room, and quiet, pleasant fellow passengers (not that I would expect any public conveyance in Norway to be a hell-hole!) The mountains we passed through were fantastic, heavily forested with wonderful views (what we could see; half the time was spent in tunnels!).  Once above the tree line things were stark, with sharp peaks still snow-covered in early June, and small settlements alongside very cold-looking waterways. Paula found it strongly reminiscent of the Alaskan tundra; not surprising, since we were at about the same latitude. Once in the flats the countryside was pleasant but less interesting: gently rolling hills and green pastures.

Oh, one thing that struck us as a huge negative in Bergen and Norway in general: the high cost of food and especially alcohol. We paid 49 Krone for a can of beer in a store, about $6USD. A few days earlier we had been paying less than a third of that for una cerveza, seated in a restaurant!

Heavily forested hills on the "Nutshell" route to Oslo

A bit further up in the mountains. Snow and ice in early June, around a pristine lake.

             Oslo  (June 9)

We both liked Oslo, a clean simple city, full of lively people and impressive public art works. We were given to understand that Norway was a very poor country for much of its existence, being passed around between Sweden and Denmark for a few centuries. In the mid-1800’s as much as one-third of the population emigrated elsewhere looking for a better life, much like Ireland. And, of course, many of those dirt farmers ended up in North American, providing one American story teller with endless tales of Norwegian Bachelor Farmers.

The discovery of oil in the North Sea changed all that, and Norway is now a very rich country (in addition to the Teslas, there are plenty of Porsches and Mercedes on the roads). But its past poverty means its traditional ceremonial buildings (the palace, the cathedral, stuff like that) are quite simple and understated – overall, architecture in Oslo is rather bland, compared to other, older, European capitals. Meanwhile, there is now a huge construction boom on, with cranes dominating the sky along the waterfront – to some controversy, of course.

The Stenersnmuseet, Oslo's Museum of Fine Arts. Public sculptures in the foreground.

The Oslo opera house is fantastic. Made of white Carrera marble, from afar it’s distinctly reminiscent of a glacier. We only briefly saw the magnificent interior on our way to the roof, which is open to the public. People swarm over the steeply-slanted stone, as did we, looking over the harbor (and forest of construction cranes) with an ever-changing perspective. And I got to thinking: a place like this in the US would shut down in a few weeks, burdened with “slip and fall” lawsuits. But Norwegians are a hardy lot, used to taking risks while engaging in the many activities available in their rugged countryside. (And they know, if you fall off a glacier, it’s your own damn fault!)

Opera house roof and hikers. Note the construction going on behind!

A cute back street in Oslo that almost got ripped out for highway construction.

The Akershaus Fortress, overlooking the harbor (behind us)

View of the harbor from the Opera House roof.

Although we are not big museum goers (“moments, not monuments!”), we did take the effort to get to the Viking Ship Museum, where three of the best-preserved Viking longships are on display, along with numerous other Viking artifacts. The displays are fantastic, and the short video of Viking exploration and conquest was very well done. We were thrilled to see these ancient ships used for some pretty amazing voyages – those Norsemen really got around, from North America to the Baltic and inland to the Black Sea, and south to the Mediterranean. (Norse settlements in the north of France – Normandy – ultimately were to have a huge impact on English history and language.)

The Viking ship museum. Fantastic!

Intricate carvings on the ships prow. (Those Vikings were poetic and sensitive...)

But our time in Oslo was short; in only a couple of days we moved south to Sweden’s capital, Stockholm.

Paula watches the beginnings of a beautiful sunset in Oslo... at 10PM!

Public sculpture by Norway's premier sculptor, Gustav Vigeland. Imaginatively titled "Mann og Kvinne" (Man and Woman)

Vigeland Park, a huge park full of sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. Quite, quite remarkable!