On the 29th, we mostly wandered around the center of Oslo and did a bit of shopping. We spent a long time in two bookstores called Tanum, one on Karl Johansgate and one in the Byporten shopping area (the store manager there is named "Karin Møller!"). Both were good stores; the one on Karl Johansgate was an especial delight.

We found a great coffee bar called Stockfleth's, at Karl Johans Gate 25 (Lille Grensen), which makes absolutely perfect hot chocolate and caffe mocha.

Several people, including Karen's folks, recommended that we take a tour called "Norway in a Nutshell." This is basically a train ride from Oslo to Bergen and back, with a rather significant detour. Karen, Clara, and Erik made the first half of this trip (Oslo to Bergen, with detour) on the 30th, and returned to Oslo the evening of the 31st -- while Timothy stayed in Oslo with Grandpa John and Grandma Judy. Until the last leg of the rail journey, our weather held -- lots of sun, big puffy white clouds, and reasonable temperatures (40s in the tundra, low 60s at sea level).

• We left Oslo on the "Bergen Line" at about 8:30. We were in the "barnekupe" or "children's compartment," a very nicely appointed cabin with sliding glass doors and curtains, a table with drop-leaves, etc. This lovely arrangement kept Clara from disturbing other passengers -- and other passengers from waking Clara. The Bergen rail line includes the highest stretch of train tracks in Northern Europe; the scenery is ever-changing with views of mountains, plateaus, glaciers and forests, gently sloping meadows and mountain ridges). Though many miles of the trip are now through tunnels designed to protect the tracks and trains from snow and wind, it is still a magnificent journey.
• Two-thirds for the way from Oslo to Bergen, the train stopped in Myrdal, where we changed for the Flåm railway. To quote from the excellent Flåmsbana web site:

  There are no railway lines of the adhesion type anywhere in the world steeper than the Flåm railway. The gradient is 55/1000 on almost 80% of the line, i.e. a gradient of one in eighteen. The twisting tunnels that spiral in and out of the mountain are manifestations of the most daring and skilful engineering in Norwegian railway history.

  The train drops an incredible distance, from the nearly arctic tundra of Myrdal straight down to sea level -- all in about 12 miles. Naturally, there is a breathtaking waterfall, deep gorges, and wonderful views of the fjord.
• "Fjord?" I hear you ask. Well, yes, the Flåm railway stops at the town of Flåm, right at the end of the Aurlandfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord -- the longest fjord in the world. First we had lunch (fresh air and majestic scenery had made us very hungry!), then we embarked on a 2-hour ferry ride through the Aurlandfjord and then back in another branch off of the Sognefjord to the town of Voss. Wonderful views! We saw farms precariously clutching to hillsides (and many sheep and new lambs doing the same). We passed Norway's smallest postal zone (6 residents). Lots of waterfalls and mountains. It was often very warm on board, but there was still plenty of snow at the tops of the cliffs. Some of the waterfalls fell nearly straight down the side of the cliff from the top down to water level; others bounced and careened their way down level after level, ending up as rushing streams flowing over giant piles of scree.
• At Gudvangen, we left our ferry boat and got on the bus which was to return us to Voss, on the Bergen Line. The bus travelled up an amazingly steep grade with 13 hair-raising hairpin turns -- naturally, the views were breath-taking. We stopped at the Stalheim hotel to enjoy some of the views without worrying about whether the bus was going to make it up the incline. Then we arrived in Voss. This is apparently one of the best places in the world for skiing, though, as you might expect, the snow on the last day of May wasn't particularly good.
• Finally, we caught the next train to Bergen in Voss. This seemed like the longest leg of the journey; Clara was getting a bit restive by then. Tired and hungry, we checked into the Strand Hotel (lovely, and less expensive than many of the hotels).

We wandered through Bergen, looking for a place to eat that wasn't Asian, Italian, or overpriced even by Norway standards (the cheapest items on two menus we saw were about $29 -- with entrees as pricey as $65). Desperate, we finally took the funicular Fløibanen up to the National Park of Bergen, where we'd heard there was an open restaurant; we'd seen their menu at the lower terminus of the funicular -- and it promised more reasonable prices ($20-$30 for entrees). From previous experience with restaurants with views from high places, we were expecting that the food would be unremarkable, but in fact, the Folkerestaurant Fløien was excellent in addition to sporting a breath-taking 180-degree view of Bergen, fjord, rivers, and mountains. We arrived by the 9:30 funicular and, except for a party of about 30 people over in one corner, we had the place to ourselves. The food was incredibly good: chicken, fresh asparagus, seafood bisque, etc.

For dessert, we had mixed berries with cream and ice cream. The strawberries (in season) were good, but the biggest surprise was to find cloudberries ("multe" in Norwegian). We were first introduced to cloudberries on our honeymoon in Newfoundland, where they are more usually known as bakeapples. They were delicious (they're like gold-colored raspberries), and reminded us, of course, of our honeymoon. We asked our waitress, Ragnhild, about them, and she told us that they grew in Norway and Sweden -- but that typically Norwegians wouldn't admit that they grew outside of Norway and Swedes wouldn't admit that they grew anywhere other than Sweden; she was very surprised to hear they grew in Newfoundland. Further, she said that people will keep the location of their cloudberry patches absolutely secret, rather like choice wild mushroom patches. We'll have more to tell about cloudberries later (see June 6th, once we've published it).

Clara and Ragnhild hit it off wonderfully, grinning and cooing at each other. Clara had been gamely sleeping and looking at scenery throughout the day, but I think the highlight for her was getting to chat and smile with Ragnhild.

As we left for the 11:30 funicular ride back into town, we took some pictures of Bergen. The sun had set a little before 11:00, but the sky was still plenty light for photos. In fact, the sky at this time of year even in southern Norway doesn't seem ever to get dark enough to see more than a couple of the brightest stars. The sun supposedly rises again at about 3:00, but after consistently staying up late we were never up at that hour to see it.

On | May 31st, we toured Bergen and returned to Oslo.