Park Hotel Rjukan

This is our traveling day. Our plans as follows: 1. Take a bus from Voss to Gudvangen 2. Take a ferry from Gudvangen to Flam 3. Take a 1 hour train from Flam to Mydral 4. Take a 5 hour train from Mydral to Oslo Starting with our bus ride from Voss to Gudvangen was an ordeal. You see, this bus ride is quite popular with tourists and big tour groups ...

... t-bar I should say). There was also some decent tree runs here which we enjoyed. To mix it up, we went back to the Skisenter in Rauland - where more snow falls. It didn't disappoint today as the snow came down in droves and made for some nice turns. There's not much else to say - its just snowboarding - so enjoy the pics.

Its time for another day of snowboarding. Part of the fun is actually just getting to the mountain. We slip and slide all over the road in a few places, which is only "fun" if you don't end up off of the road - which we came close to a couple of times. Also, I can't tell you how spectacular the surrounding mountains are - just on the drive. Its a ...

... in use in Cali. I actually ride a couple of pomas as well...I don't think I've rode one in over 10 years, but I manage out just fine. Thomas and I set up shop on this one medium sized jump and I try to maintain enough speed to get off it better. I had forgot to wax my board and I noticed the results here a bit. I practiced my hiking a bit by going back up a few times where the ...

The second week of school was fine. I started to remember my confusing schedule and get used to all the things that were different. On Monday I had Spanish. I hadn't had it yet so I was really excited. I like the class. They are behind me but they do more reading, which we didn't do a lot of so it will be good for me. On Monday night I went to my first band rehearsal. I ...

After my first week of school I was very tired but also excited because I had a full weekend ahead of me. On Friday night I went to a church in Mjøndalen for a choir practice. The choir is called Nets. My two friends Heidi and Ingvild are involved in it so I went with them. It was fun. The song we learned was in English so it was easy to learn. They meet every Friday ...

From Thursday to Sunday I just relaxed and got used to life in Norway. I went to the local shopping center with Ingvild, my host sister. I bought some earrings and shirts. On Saturday afternoon we had a small party so I could meet some of the girls in my class. My favorite was Jenny. She lives really close to me and we got along great. We had a lot in common. During these days I slept really late so ...

... is amazing. When we arrived in Krokstadelva I was anxious to see the house I would be living in. Krokstadelva and Mjøndalen are sister cities in a valley. I don't really live on the side of a mountain, but to me it is a mountain. Really it is just a very large hill covered in forest. There is a river in between Krokstadelva and Mjøndalen. Both cities are quite small. So when we finally arrived at their house I was very happy. All the ...

... Borgund Stave Church from the 17th century) and heading into the worlds longest tunnel connecting Laerdal and Aurland (24.5 Km!). The village of Flam sits at the base of the Aurlandsfjorden and is very tiny. After figuring out some logistics for the next few days at the tourist office, we set up camp in a valley surrounded by amazingly beautiful peaks just off the small river feeding the fjord. The village is pretty touristy and thus it ...

Christmas this year was in Norway - our third trip here after 'whaling' in Tysfjord and 'fjording' in Bergen. I told KL we could go anywhere as long as there is a white Christmas - trust him to find Europe's premiere ice-climbing venue! All in all, Irene got her snow and white Christmas, and me - I certainly got my ice. At the end of the week, I had multiple bruises all over my body and arms so weak I could barely hold my cup of coffee - we headed for home in the glow of alpine light.