Heaven must look a bit like Norway. We woke up on the night train to Trondheim to a mix of fog and mountains. It felt surreal and took a few groggy minutes to figure out where we were. We spent our first two nights with some of John's relatives there. They were so hospitable and Jomar even drove us to town and too k a whole day to take us to the Thun farm to see some other relatives. The people are so good natured and humorous. We brought some Swedish liquor, as requested, which was recieved with great delight. We tried some of it and now I know why they drink it in cold places. It burned everything going down, including my nostrils.
Next we took a train to Otta and from there a bus to Rodane National Park. The bus ride ranked in my top 5 scarriest drives ever (the Siwa drive takes 1st). The mountain was so steep and I really panicked a few times as the bus was swaying. Once we got above the tree line there was a huge plateau and some peaks where we hiked around for 3 days. On the second day our packs started feeling really heavy. We hiked for almost 7 hours that day due to a 4 hour detour. So the last day we took it easy and just did the 5 km hike out to the bus. The weather was pretty rainy and cold, but the sun did make a few glorious appearances.
The train rides here are really incredible. When we left for Norway I was halfway through my final book that I brought for the trip. I got a bit worried that I should have brought another, but there's really no need because the scenery is so beautiful you don't spend much time reading. John enjoys looking up every city where we stop in his lonely planet.
We took a night train next to the most famous fjord, which I can't spell or pronounce. A ferry through the fjord was 2 hours long and then you end up in a tiny tourist town with no way out except through an exorbitantly priced train ride with a stop at a beautiful waterfall ruined by a ridiculously cheesy dancing viking woman. John and I couldn't stop laughing though I think we were supposed to be impressed. We were sitting across from a British couple who were equally horrified by the scene, while the other tourists snapped away.
Our final stop was in Oslo where we stayed with more relatives who showed us a great time, taking us to museums and their cabin where we ate amazing amounts of food which more than made up for our camping meals and long hikes. The cabin was on a gorgeous lake and was a wonderful way to end our time in Norway.I can't get these pictures in order but they are from camping, the cathedral in Trondheim, and the the ferry ride through the fjord. We both left Sweden carrying a lighter load, not just on our backs but we got some serious hair chopped off. I was very thankful ( to Linnea who cut mine) for the short hair, especially when I, shamelessly, washed my hair in a train station bathroom. After 3 days of camping and a few nights on the train I was desperate.