Bergen Norway (Norge)

God Dag (go dahg),

Havordan har du det? (Vordan hahr doo day?) (How are you?) Over the last week we've been introduced to key phrases in Norwegian so that we would be able to communicate with the locals. We are told that they are one of the nicest people you would meet and showing a genuine interest in attempting to speak in Norwegian will allow for new friendships to form. This is very true, it gives you a moment to reflect on the type of people we interact with on a daily basis in the US and in many ways, I'm disappointed that we aren't nicer and in a society where people get along.

So, we arrived into Bergen at 6am on Tuesday 6/23. As a ritual, everyone wakes up super early that morning to watch the "pilot boat" drop of the port pilot that would then help the captain steer us into the dock. So by the time I got up at 5:30am, only having gone to bed at 1am, I was excited to see the students, faculty, and staff get together to experience the arrival together. It was a very special moment that I don't think I've had or ever experience except "check in" morning. So many of the pictures that you see in this "Bergen" album is from the early morning. As we slowly move in you see the shoreside properties. It was interesting that in the starboard side we would see houses that looked like we were in New England and on the port side houses that look like I was in Laguna Beach. So we headed off to breakfast because a diplomat would be giving us a briefing. Norway history is really unique and cool, I would go into detail but just know that they are one of the riches countries in the world. Cost will be another topic of discussion as I sum up my current expenses in Norway.

So we finally got clearance to leave the ship and since I had to lead a trip at 12pm, I only had 2 hours to try to walk around the city. A bunch of us walked off, only to be greeted with rain. Bergen is famous for its fish including (whale meat) which is another discussion about values. I'm not sure where I stand with it, I think I've only recently in the few years become more environmentally conscious, so I'll have to think about it some more and then formulate an opinion. What was interesting about it was that the US doesn't agree with Norway's practice on whaling but then they don't agree with our stance on the War in Iraq, so everyplace will have it's own opinions and values.

I think i'm jumping a bit as I try my best to contain all the info. Laarni and I split up with the large group because people just wanted to walk around and we entered a cafe. As we got the courage to practice our Norwegian, they ended up speaking to us in English which made things all so much easier. We had coffee at this "cafe spelled kafe" and I ordered the best Caramel Macchiato that I've ever tasted before. Starbucks, as much as I love you cannot compare with the authenticity of a nice drip coffee with a layer of foam. As I was sitting in the kafe, I really tried to soak in my environment. The decoration was very modern with colorful paintings. Everyone was mainly by themselves enjoying their cup of coffee. To the right of me, against the wall sat a man in his late 30s who just had an expression of thought. One look or in my case, staring at him, I caught a glimpse of emotion. Sometimes I forget to just take a moment to look and in this case I got that chance to.

I was running late as I was heading back to the ship and was freaked out about missing the tour but I made it with a few minutes to spare after doing a costume change since my clothes were soaked wet. The tour was scenic and beautiful, it gave us a historical perspective of the city which was nice, we ended the tour by going to the top of Mount Floien which is a classic attraction. We rode this cart like we were going up a rollercoaster and from the top had a picture perfect moment of the entire city. It reminded me of my visit to Chiang Mai in2006. I think being able to see the city from that perspective allows for you to appreciate the beauty.

After getting back, the group decided to meet up for dinner. We soon learned that traveling in a large group would be nearly impossible and not the best idea. After having a slight disagreement, the group split and went in separate ways. This wasn't a bad thing and we were all okay with it. We ate a pub and it was really nice, the server was friendly and helped answer questions. I was exhausted by the end of the day and after unwinding from the night, caught some sleep.

I almost slept over my trip today, luckily I wasn't the trip or bus leader so I didn't feel bad that I was running late. We went to the island of Lysoen where we visited the home of Ole Bull who is a famous violinist from the 1800s. He is also popular with the US as he was in Europe. His home was beautiful. It had a mixture of many cultures and countries. The outside of it looked like mix of russia, india, and the US. The inside living room where we had our orientation had carved wood from floor to ceiling that was made of pine from the trees on that island. Read more about it if you're interested.

Sorry my hands are getting tired of type. The last thing I would leave you with is that I need to start a "Norway" consummed my budget fund. Everything is really really expensive. A soda is 6 dollars, coffee is 5-6 dollars, and a meal is about 20-30 dollars for simple things. I think I've spent over 100 dollars just on food.

Okay if my hands are not sore, I will try to type some more later.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=40936232&l=92a19&id=813178

David