Steen's Hotel Bergen

... I know, well it rained for half of our time here, Bergen is set on the side of a mountain/fyord so we took the rail car up the side of the mountain and wow, what a view... Let me say that Norway does not disappoint! <br><br>side note, all the scandinavians speak perfectly in all there scandinavian languages and in english, its awesome, kinda crazy, but awesome!!<br><br>Tomorrow we are off to Gieranger!!<br><br>until then!<br><br>Cheers<br>Leanne

... has an attached water park. The kids really enjoyed themselves at Badeland while Todd &amp; I relaxed and listened to all the 80's pop music the place was playing. On that note - there must be some Scandic fascination with Johnny Cash. We keep hearing his songs on the radio A LOT. <br><br>We came back later afternoon and picked up some groceries for dinner. The apartment has been well-equipped, so took advantage of that and made ...

... normally an alluring temptress but now the sum of all our fears- her Summit well and truly shrouded in mist concealing the 'Fires of Mount Doom'. If anything this ascent and descent would break us. The Summit also offered the highest elevation of 640m. The initial climb was steep and hard but the trail was also wide and with more favorable hard rock. We reached the alpine meadowland to find it covered in fog with visibility up to 20 metres ahead ...

Norway. What a gem I didn't expect. Nancy picked us up at the train station. She looked exactly how I had remembered her. (For those of you who don't know, Nancy is my mother's cousin, she is married to Terje and they live in Norway.) I haven't seen Nancy in years and I don't believe I'd ever met Terje before. We walked to the parking deck, and for Nancy's sake, I'll spare you the details, but we kinda sorta "lost" the car. It took -a few- minutes to find, it was quite funny. Nancy thinks ...

... to Mount Dalsnidda, for a fantastic view of the fjord far below. We drove further to the town of Geiranger, a village surrounded by high mountains with cascading waterfalls. We stayed at a hotel in the center of Geiranger for the night. June 26, 2008 After breakfast we left for the Briskdal Valley. When we arrived, we stopped to eat lunch at a cute little restaurant. After lunch we started our one hour hike up to the glacier. The glacier was truly ...

... trips meet at the ship. Anyway, we loaded up, made fools of ourselves in our wetsuits, and combined into groups to head out. Luckily I was wearing under armor because I would have been freezing in the ice cold Norwegian water and the rain. The river was about a class 3-4, so a little weaker than what the Maine Three Rivers Whitewater group would be used to, but it was still a blast. At this point I hadn't slept for two days though, so after an amazing 4 course dinner ...

... slot. Not sure why i proceeded to another bank, and another, and another. By the fourth bank i was really starting to panic, i was starting to sweat from the anxiety rather than the carrying of my heavy backpack in the heat. I just couldn't believe that my card was no good, how could it be possible, what would i do for the next few days with no money!! Eventually while watching somebody else at the machine i realized that over here the card goes in with the magnetic strip side facing ...

... bunker and great view, then walked some more and then had to catch the boat...as Sasha was saying in Germany they are very timely and will many times leave early so you have to mind your time. so on this boat ride it was completely amazing, about an hour or so riding through the fjord...which flam is the longest one in Norway. while Sasha decided to warm up i went up to the top deck and there was Andreas...who asked me almost immediately...what are ...

... but instead we found ourselves running to the closing gate and the plane doors literally closing behind us. As we approached Bergen a myriad of islets and islands appeared beneath us, sourrounded by the calm sea with its surface glistening in the sun. It was like a jigsay of water, forests and rocks. We landed on a tiny Flesland airport from which you still can see the sea. The day ...

... are incredible. I walked all along the lanes that go along the hillside, and found many great viewpoints up there. I would highly recommend walking along Brattlien or Fjellveien. You won't be disappointed by the views. Initially, there was some fog which obscured the view, but after awhile the fog cleared away (and the rain stopped) and I just took in the views. Bergen is a very picturesque city as the photos I took show. I also like the ...