Sunday, November 28, 2010

November Fun!



Happy Birthday and Thanksgiving to me! Nate came over for the Thanksgiving holiday, and what better day to pick for arrival than my birthday -- what a great birthday present! We crammed quite a bit into the week and had a great time doing it.

To get a change in scenery, more space, and be closer to downtown activity, we stayed at the Raddison in downtown Trondheim. On my birthday, Nate treated me to dinner at the Trondheim Mikrobryggeri (microbrewery) -- very tasty! The next day we were in store for more birthday celebrations with a birthday pizza party with the Trondheim Fulbright Crew at the Tyholt Tower. At the top of the tower they have a revolving restaurant that completes a tour of the city every hour -- and, more importantly (!) they have a cheap pizza buffet every Sunday!


Our next venture was a cruise on the Hurtigruten, a cruiseliner that travels up the Norwegian coasts. We were lucky to get one of the newest and largest ships, the Trollfjord. It's one of the few ships with hot tubs on the top deck, so we took full advantage of them, spending many hours watching the majestic mountain scenery pass by -- and getting strange looks from other brave passengers who ventured out onto the deck at night -- most of them dressed in parkas, hats, gloves, and blankets! I'm pretty sure we were much warmer in the jacuzzi than they were sitting in stiff plastic chairs on deck!

In spite of the fact that we were the youngest passengers by at least 2-3 decades, our night on the Trollfjord was great. Awesome scenery, sunny (but cold) weather, nice accommodations, and all-in-all very relaxing. We had a fancy 3-course meal including a reindeer appetizer, a main course boasting 3 types of fish, and a berry/custard dessert. We did make note though that we should make a better attempt to dress for dinner on our next cruise! Oh well!


I’m pretty sure that Nate would say that one of his favorite and most memorable parts of the trip was beating me pretty good at a game of cribbage – that sort of occasion is few and far between, so he made sure to document it! J


After about 28 hours on the boat, we made it to the ship’s last port of call in Bergen. We both agreed that a day in this city was definitely not enough and that we will have to go back. We spent a lot of time wandering the picturesque streets and checking out the shops (where I found and purchased an awesome Norwegian sweater!). We went to the Bergen Fish Market, but unfortunately there wasn’t too much going on this time of year – I’m sure it’s much more impressive in the summer! Regardless, we did get to sample some ‘fisk’ and bought a chunk of gravlaks to take back with us – tasty!


We also went of the Funicular railway, a REALLY steep railway that takes you up to a peak overlooking Bergen, Mount Floyan – great views! They also had some nice hiking trails in a forested area up at the top where we spent some time wandering. Nate also found his long-lost twin brother on one of the trails at Mount Floyan (see second picture below!) Our last stop in Bergen before catching a flight back to Trondheim was the Bergen Aquarium – we had fun wandering around checking out alligators, crocodiles, fish, penguins, and the dancing seals!





We made it back to Trondheim Wednesday evening and had a chance to rest up a bit before Thanksgiving festivities on Thursday. Our Trondheim Fulbright crew pulled off a pretty tasty meal, complete with turkey, all the sides, and pie for dessert – very tasty, and great company! We were even able to introduce a couple Norwegians to this American tradition.




As you can tell by the last pictures, Trondheim is much whiter this time of year than Bergen!! Nate, Rolf, Meghan, and I went out for an afternoon hike and some great winter views – a good way to get in the Christmas spirit! Only a couple weeks left to go and I’ll be home for the Christmas holidays!