20 years later...

[I am going to end the description of my Norwegian adventure with one post describing our day in Bergen rather than having 3 very mini posts]

Also: START AT THE BOTTOM (this is post #2)

We got off our beauuuutiful train ride in Bergen, which is known to be one of the rainiest cities in the world. However, as luck would have it, it did not even drizzle the entire time we were there! It was late when we got it (since our train had been delayed nearly 2 hours), so we checked into the hotel and then set off for dinner. Our time in Bergen was scheduled to be pretty much completely independent time, which was a nice change. I was staying in a room with Faith and Mad, and the three of us went off in search of something to eat.

We took in the city around us, which seemed like Copenhagen in a sort of alternate state... it looked very familiar, but it was not exactly the same. I imagined that it would be something like what CPH would look like if I were experiencing it in a dream. The colors on the building were similar, as was the architecture, but still it didn't feel quite like "home."

The three of us were very hungry (it was after 8pm), but we could not find anywhere to eat. This was not because there was a shortage of restaurants; quite the contrary. The problem was that everything was RIDICULOUSLY expensive. We had not yet had to purchase anything on the trip because everything was prepaid, and the evening made me SO grateful that DIS had taken care of all our previous meals...

In Copenhagen, I can easily get a good, hearty sandwich for about 50 Danish kroner (DKK), which is about $8. If you know where to look, you can get a sandwich or kabob with fries for about the same price OR a sandwich alone for only $6. In Norway, the prices were INSANE. We passed places with $50 hamburgers and others with $55 fish dishes. In the end, we found the cheapest place (which DIS recommended in our little guide) where I found a ham and cheese sandwich (as in two slices of bread, ham, and cheese) for 72NOK, which is $12.75. I also opted to get a side of potatoes, though the price wasn't listed (this ended up being a mistake). In all, for my puny sandwich and 7 mini-potatoes I paid 122NOK, about $21! Mad and Faith got more substantial meals, though they were small in size in comparison to US dishes (a pasta dish costing $32 and a fish dish costing just over $35). YIKES!

We did enjoy the meal, and sat talking in the cafe for almost three hours. The chairs were comfortable and the whole atmosphere was really interesting, bringing a very eclectic group of people together: motorbikers, older residents, people in business suits, young teenages. At about 11pm we decided to head home. I will include a photo here from our time in Flam because there is something I wanted to show you, but I failed to take a picture in Bergen:

This is the scene out the window at dinner in Flam. It is 10PM and still this light outside!!

We wandered the city for a little while as the last of the light began to fade before we eventually headed back to our hotel and collapsed to sleep. 

The next morning we awoke to a loud knocking on the door. We sat up in our beds, confused, and then looked at the clock... AH! We had overslept our alarm! We threw our belongings into our bags, quickly got brushed and dressed and met the rest of the group in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Thankfully we were eating where we stayed and no one had to wait for us. 

After our meal we went on a final group activity: a trip to Mount Floyen via the Floibanen FUNICULAR! I could not get over saying the word funicular, which I had never before heard (I am not sure whether it is an actual thing outside of this context). I thought it was hilarious and kept asking people if they had read the children's book, Bunnicula (a book about a vampire bunny) which the sound reminded me of (sadly, no one had even heard of it... a true literary tragedy). Anyway, a funicular is basically a rail car that "effortlessly ascends the 320 meter-tall mountain." We boarded and enjoyed the views as we broke above tree line. 

View out the back

Bergen from above 

This is the main harbor (kind of like Nyhavn in CPH)

Faith and I had matching hats :-)

Very pretty

We looked around the souvenir shop at the top of the mountain (though everything was equally expensive). I enjoyed meeting a "real" troll (perhaps a cousin to Roger?). 

I also got to check one item of my Denmark bucket list... taking a picture in a viking hat! This is more difficult than it may sound because in Copenhagen shop keepers are usually sitting outside watching you with the merchandise and are very angry if you try to take pictures without buying their product. 

Perhaps one of the greatest pictures of all time

Rather than riding the funicular (hehe) back, we walked down the mountain, passing through some quaint little towns along the way. When we got to the bottom, Faith, Mad and I went off in search of little shops and stores.

Admiring things in the window (unfortunately pretty much everything was closed because it was Sunday)

We did find one store that was open and that my mom would have been very excited about... perhaps I managed to find her a Christmas present? hmmmm she will have to wait and see.

After shopping the three of us split up. Mad and Faith (who were willing to spend a bit more on lunch than I was) went to find a good sit-down restaurant while I went in search of a sandwich place. In truth, I was not the least bit upset about having to split because I also had a mission to do!

One of the photos in my
"Growing Up" album

When I had been on the plane to Norway, I was looking at some photos on my iPod touch. I have an album of photos called "Growing Up" that is full of old family photos. As I flipped through the images, I came across one that looked like my family standing in some Scandinavian city:it looks like I am about two years old and Mike is about five. I remembered my mom recently telling me that I'd been to all of these places in Norway when I was very, very little (during the time when we lived in Sweden). When we arrived in Flam I looked around to see if the scenery matched my picture. It did not. But when we arrived in Bergen I looked again. I was sure it was where we'd been standing in my photo!

And so on Sunday afternoon I went off walking! I had a few clues in my photo and enjoyed being a detective. I could tell that the backdrop of the picture was a certain side of the harbor and I saw the names of some buildings on the very, very edge. I walked and periodically held up my ipod with the picture on the screen, checking the real life image against the photo. I walked and looked. I walked and looked. And suddenly I stopped. I smiled. I had found what I'd been looking for:

A perfect match! 

There was something incredibly, incredibly special about standing in the exact spot that twenty years ago (probably pretty much to the day) I'd stood with my family. I sat down on a bench nearby and looked at the scene. I  reflected on how strangely wonderful it is that things have turned out as they have and that I am lucky enough to be able to travel and study abroad and find my way back to where I once stood. 

After a few minutes I got up and approached a couple taking a picture nearby. I explained my desire for a photo to share with my family and they happily agreed. I showed them how the trees, the mountains, the white houses staircasing down the hills, and the buildings on the water all matched up, and I took a step back and smiled :-)

Later that afternoon as we sat in the airport enjoying a late-afternoon snack of french fries and coffee/tea (paid for by DIS), I showed my classmates the photos. They talked about how cool it was to see me then and now. It's 100% true. We boarded our plane and two hours later arrived at Copenhagen airport. I felt an overwhelming sadness as I collected my bag and went to the metro knowing that the next time I am at the airport, I will be leaving for the end of the semester. 

On the train home something occurred to me: Somehow, without any effort or intentionality at all, the fates aligned and I was able to make it back to Bergen to the very spot where I once stood. Perhaps then, I can surely know that I will find my way back to Copenhagen maybe someday with a family of my own (but certainly before then too). 

I nodded: When I leave in just three weeks, I am not leaving forever.