First Year

First hour: 

First day: 

First week: 

First month: 

First Christmas (first tutu):

First flight (first class :):

First Easter: 

First passport/international trip: 

First year: 

Second tutu...be continued:

Trip #2 - Norway in a Nutshell (a bunch more stuff)

A little explanation of the phrase "Norway in a Nutshell" - it's not something we just made up, it's a tour package (http://www.norwaynutshell.com/en/) that quite extensively used by foreigners (more on what this meant to us later) but we basically did the exact tour just booked it all on our own, some ahead of time and some just whenever we got to where we were. We think it saved us some money but, to be honest, not too sure. Either way, it ended up being a good decision to as that tour route (Oslo to Myrdal to Flam to Gudvangen to Voss to Bergen) is a near-perfect one to see the area in a small amount of time.

Day 0 - Getting to Oslo
Stephanie summed up our whole departure routine pretty well. She forgot to mention that she chopped and baked up a huge amount of granola for us to take and snack on. This is relevant in that the one thing that sticks out to me still is after Stephanie made the long trek to drop Laska off, I had met them at home, and we had packed everything up, as we closed the door to our apartment I remarked "you know, I always get this feeling before we leave that we forgot something." We both thought and said we had everything and we took off. Turns out we forgot a crucial thing - that granola. Left it on Laska's crate because I took it out of the bag to prevent Kateria from ripping it open. So we did forget that. Oh, and our passports, but more on the later.

Like Stephanie said, it is pleasant to travel by train. The space and ability to stand up and walk around more freely is nice. Though we initially were sitting across from two business gentlemen in "first class" (much different and less fancy than planes) who gave us "the look" for having the gall to bring a baby up there, it really was easy. Most of the people in our car got out before we crossed the border into Norway so that made things even easier. Kateri was wonderful except when she refused to go to sleep so Stephanie had to strap her on using the Ergo (thank you Allie and Maria, it's one of the most useful things we have!).

One thing we did witness on our evening train ride to Oslo was one of the most beautiful sunsets (Stephanie actually said "the" but I contend that the sunset over Lake Taupo in New Zealand that I mentioned in my "best man speech" at my brother's wedding might still top the list) we've ever seen. It's hard to describe but, of course. I'm going to try. Picture golden and reddish rolling sand dunes from afar that extend into the horizon. Now add a smooth dark blue ocean leading to the dunes but the beach is covered by whitish/grey fog. Now flip that upside down and you are perfectly picturing the sunset. Huh, wasn't so hard after all I guess.

Important point of fact referring to our evening adventure of hiding from Kateri in our Oslo hotel: Stephanie did not tell me to "army crawl," she said "ninja crawl." I'm sure you're also aware, but ninja's do not crawl to remain unseen, they disappear into the shadows. I was fully aware of this fact and my inability to be a true ninja so I simply created my own shadow. Using a towel. It was white and so were the walls. True, it didn't quite work out, but in my opinion I think I did take Stephanie's advice - I ninja crawled.

Day 1 - Oslo to Flåm
The Bergen railway is considered one of the more beautiful train trips in Northern Europe, and also one of the highest (goes from sea-level at both ends to ~1250 meters/4,000 feet). Below is a picture of the route in red. The only part we didn't end up doing was the line between Myrdal and Voss.

The train ride, once again, was quite pleasant - even though the I researched which side of the train to sit on to get the best views (it was the left going from Oslo to Bergen) and confirmed with the lady who reserved our seats and, when we boarded, we were sitting on the right - as we were free to move around. We sat for a good bit of time in the cafe car and in the family car where there was a play area (think small McDonalds play area sans plastic ball pit). So even though I was disappointed with the seat reservations it didn't matter in the least.

One of the biggest reasons for this trip was to simply look out the windows of all these trains we were traveling on. I must say that I had super high hopes for being blown away by the scenery. I can't say I was blown away but we definitely saw some very beautiful landscapes. One thing that was remarkable was how the landscape changed over a relatively short period of time. It went from picturesque valley's with mountainish hills dotted with evergreens and little towns and houses around lakes to, after traveling through a long tunnel, a more stark and unwelcoming landscape. Similar in topography but different in feel.

When you arrive at Myrdal you're still high up in a mountain. The Flåm railway that takes you from Myrdal to the small town of Flåm on the fjord is known for it's beauty and the steep gradient. You're in tunnels for some of the time and the other parts you see remarkable views of the valleys leading down to the fjord. These valleys and fjords themselves were carved out by glaciers a long time ago. The landscape is just remarkable. Seeing it reminds you of fairytales and seems to put into reality images that you couldn't really imagine. No picture does it justice. What we did notice as we neared the valley floor was the river stream that all the waterfalls seemed to feed was crystal clear. As in you could see to the bottom of a 5-10 foot waterway as if the water wasn't there. It was crazy!

I won't repeat our walking adventure to the farm on the fjord as Stephanie summed it up quite well. However I'll expound a little bit more about our "Viking meal" that evening. The hotel we stayed at was connected to what seemed like a recreated Viking hall. Not big enough but definitely in the style of what you'd imagine it to be. This building was also the location of a micro-brewery located in Flåm called Ægir. Their beer was absolutely amazing. And expensive. But super tasty. The reindeer and "viking burger" we had were also superlative. Kateri didn't mind it either except she hated the napkin. It always ended up on the floor.

Oh, one more thing: we build a wall between Kateri's crib and our bed using the backs of the two sofa chairs in our room. That's how we hid from her. Worked like a charm - no need to ninja crawling ;)

Day 2 - Flåm to Bergen
We were visiting in the "off season" which had actually just started (it was October 3rd and off season starts in October). What this means is that most of the trips or excursions you could take to see specific view points or whatnot were not available. Also it meant only a single ferry time between Flåm and the city of Gudvangen by which you must navigate the Nærøyfjord (the UNESCO world heritage site) so we had our day planned out for us: 1) walk around and see things, 2) eat something, 3) get on ferry, 4) take bus from Gudvangen to Voss, 5) get on train in Voss to Bergen. Simply right? Ends up it actually was. Public transportation in Europe is so convenient (though not as cheap as you think).

Walking around the township/village of Flåm was quite interesting. Almost every house had either apple trees or goats. We had learned that a rare flood hit this area just last year (2014) due to high snowfall in the winter and thus a huge thaw that Spring. You could still see how high the water level had risen and carved out the land. At one point you could see where a bridge used to be and one bridge that definitely withstood to tide. New sections of road were also apparent. No lives were lost but quite a bit in damage was incurred, I think they said something like 20 million Norwegian Kroner. The touristy parts seemed unaffected (or already completely rebuilt/finished) but you could definitely tell further upstream where the village was.

After gallivanting a bit we grabbed a quick bite to eat (along with our last pint of Ægir) before our ferry trip. Here is also when we learned what a celebrity our daughter was. I mentioned that the Norway in a Nutshell tour package is heavily used by foreigners...well those foreigners are primary from Asia - Japan, China, and Korea. I'm going to go ahead and group them all together for purposes of explaining this though as at least two/three people from each culture asked the same question: "can we take a picture of your boy/daughter?" Apparently cute white babies are quite the tourist attraction. When I joined Stephanie after purchasing our food, the first picture and baby-snag had occurred. Yes, some also wanted to hold your baby to get a picture with it.

I can't really over exaggerate how much attention she (and we) received during our ferry trip. We had actually traveled with all these same folks on the train from Oslo to Bergen but, being on a train and more spread out, you don't really have much personal interaction. Being crammed into the limited space of a ferry makes for quite the personal interaction. Anywho, lots of folks that are probably back in Japan, China, and Korea have some sweet pictures of a cute baby that is not smiling - Almost unfailingly Kitty didn't smile during these pictures, I mean you can't always take one of these :)

Back to the interesting stuff: in Norwegian the term "fjord" applies to other types of waterways (like bays) that weren't created by glaciers. The "oslofjord" naming the bay of water that Oslo is located on wasn't actually created by glaciers. We discovered this fact when we visited Oslo in May and so we were quite excited to see some true fjords. We had walked around the Flåm area but you don't get a true appreciation of them until your on the water gently gliding past them.

Gudvangen was a very tiny town, smaller than Flåm, that we didn't see except walking a very short distance from the dock to the bus. The bus ride to Voss, however, was jam-packed with beautiful vistas. One other thing we msssed due to being here 4 days into the "off season" was taking the "old post road" which apparently zig-zags back and forth up a mountain but can be treacherous in winter-time. Instead we took a tunnel. But the ride was pleasant as you trail a river stream upwards into the mountains and eventually come to the large city of Voss. This city is situated party in the mountain, partly in the valley, and partly on a lake. It's awesome. Apparently it's a popular ski resort/destination in the winter time. Reminded me a bit of some of the towns in Colorado.

Arriving in Bergen was a mixed bag. We were happy to be here but about 20 paces after getting off the train is when we realized we had forgotten our passports. And all identification for Stephanie and Kateri. What a depressing moment. How did this happen? How did we even get here? Did we break a law? How do we get through security? Were they next to the granola? Lots of questions, no answers except one - no, the passports were not next to the granola. We actually thought ahead about the granola. Neither of us even thought twice about passports. Ridiculous. Busch league.

Well, we were glad to have brought at least one umbrella as it was raining. Matched our mood at this point. But like Stephanie said, our B&B "To Søstre" (the Two Sisters) was super pleasant. We hid again from Kateri using the 'ol "build a wall out of the backs of chairs" trick as we ate a delicious pizza from the Kebab stand right down the little cobble-stoned alley. Fell asleep trying to not think about passports and airport security.

Day 3 - A day in Bergen
Just check out the previous post by Stephanie about our day Bergen. The 3.5 hour fjord cruise we took here was super fun. And so was catching that water from the waterfall. Stephanie for to mention that before we knew that everyone on board got a chance to drink the water, I had drank half my cup and then poured the rest on my head (I was still wearing that awesome orange garb). Stephanie saw I had only drank a little but was thunderstuck when I poured the rest on my head - it was a running joke between us that whenever we saw running water form a mountain that she needed to drink it. Here I was, catching the water with my bear hands, not saving some for her to drink. She got some, but that was funny.

Oh yeah! Kitty was a celebrity again. Though we had to ask for privacy after she spit up a bit and when we were starting to change her this guy wouldn't stop taking pictures. Some people. 

Day 4 - Sneaking back Home
Not much more to add to description of the day other than:
-This organic bakery had amazing pastries. It was right after we were finished with our walk down from that thing on the top of the mountain there down to a block from the water:

-Antique shops get overwhelming.
-Tourist shops get overwhelming.
-We found a fun (and quite typical as we'd seen them sold on the streets in Tallinn as well) wool winter hat with a super long top that doubles as a whip (and a scarf). And the second traditional Norwegian little outfit for Kateria. All at our favorite second-hand shop called Fretex (Salvation Army).
-We walked quite a long distance to get to a gastro-pub that was converted from an old pharmacy. It sounds cool on paper but was super weird to be inside of. The food was quite amazing (though super expensive).
-McDonald's are the most convenient and trustworthy places to find bathroom.


I must say that ever since we had arrived in Bergen two nights before, a steady stream of dread was piling up within me: were we going to make it home tonight? We had called and talked with someone at the Bergen airport service center as well as some from our airline (Norwegian) and confirmed our decision to just go to the airport and hope for the best. All we needed was a super smooth check in procedure. Here was the plan: 1) Go to self-service ticket kiosk and print tickets, 2) split up, Andrew to luggage check and Stephanie with Kateri to hide out, 3) Andrew check luggage because he has a Minnesota drivers license = totally legit, 4) Walk through security, let Kateri charm them, scan tickets (no ID should be required), 5) board plane, 6) land and get off plane, 7) claim luggage, 8) run. Things went swimmingly until step #3 (plus I realized I messed up step #2).

The check-in process is even more automated than the US, even when traveling internationally. You can print both your tickets AND your luggage tags, tag your luggage, and check your luggage, all without talking to a person. Me not knowing this I printed our tickets and walked to the Norwegian service desk for assistance with our stroller. He informed me that my luggage tickets were already printed. I looked at him imploringly - should I go back and get them? No, he said, he'll cancel them and reprint them and add another for our stroller. Sweet! three checked items for the price of two. As he was tagging the luggage, he innocuously asked "do you have your passports?" Why would he ask this?!? Hmm...tell the truth, but not the whole truth. "No, we didn't bring them. We have residence permits." "Wait, are you Swedish?" "No, we're living there temporarily on my work visa." "Okay, thanks." Boom. Done. Step #3 - more intense than anticipated. Security only scans your boarding pass, no ID. Home free. Except for landing. No worries, Kitty only screamed non-stop for the last 20 minutes of the hour-long flight. Landed feeling energized. Picked up bags. Strolled by customs. Boom. Home. Celebrate by purchasing a brownie (was actually crumbled up brownies on top of a brownie) and ice cream.

So here's the deal: there is this thing called the Schengen Agreement that established the Schengen area in Europe that abolished passport and most other forms of border control within these countries. Noway and Sweden, along with Denmark, are also the three Scandinavian countries linked together within history for quite a long time. I'm not too sure if travelling between all Schengen countries by plane (basically most of Europe) would happen like it did between Norway and Sweden but what I do know is that we will not attempt to find out - those passports are coming with. We're flying to Copenhagen tomorrow (Denmark, part of Scandinavia and Schengen) but those passports will be there!

Trip #2 - Norway in a Nutshell (Bergen)

Bergen!

We arrived in Bergen Saturday evening, when it was already dark. It was also raining and cold. (apparently Bergen only has 60 days of sunshine a year!) we had also just made the dismal realization that we did not bring our passports (or in fact any ID at all for me and Kitty) along on the trip. Pretty problematic, as we were flying back to Stockholm Monday evening. We were in disbelief- what an amateur move! How could we have been so irresponsible????? Of course, we had taken the train over the border to Norway, where no passports were required, none of us- not I nor Andrew, nor even Kitty thought ahead to airport security and the flight home.

The combination of these facts made it a very stressful walk to our lodging  that night- a little BandB tucked just around the corner from the busy city center, on a hilly narrow cobblestone alleyway called "two sisters." Our room was delightful, a lofted attic happily big enough that Kitty could have her own little area AWAY from us which meant sleep was going to come a bit easier. We decided to think about the passport situation later- take trains back home if we needed to- and try to enjoy Bergen!

Though it was another cloudy day on Sunday,  we were able to appreciate the charms of this fishing city much better in the daylight- so great to be walking distance from the port/famous UNESCO street in Bergen... though the famous Bryggen street itself felt almost staged. From pictures and shots in movies, it appears that ALL of Bergen is made of little wooden fishing structures, leaning this way and that, painted in traditional colors, when in reality it is just one short stretch of street that holds these structures (still darling and cute and wooden and painted!).

After strolling the area a bit, wandering in and out of the few open tourist shops, we realized that most everything is closed on Sunday... and the best way for us to take advantage of the day was to get on boat to take us back out into the fjords! We bundled up, boarded a large catamaran and set off onto another beautiful journey into Norway's natural wonders of the world.

Even though it was cold and windy on the boat the three of us stayed outdoors as long as we could to breathe in the fresh air and soak the sights. I said to Andrew "I'm trying to let my soul memorize the way this looks!"- beauty like that is something you want to remember and reflect on for your entire life! The further out from Bergen we got, the taller the mountains surrounding the fjord, and yet again there were countless waterfalls trickling their way down into the water. At a certain point it became apparent that one of our destinations on this 3.5 hour tour of the fjords was a waterfall- and the captain of the ship asked for some volunteers. We had no idea what the volunteers were for- but I slapped Andrew on the back, and made him go up front, where he was made to put on a bright orange rain suit...

He was one of the chosen to collect some fresh waterfall water!!!!!!! Super exciting and funny, Andrew (and the other volunteers) collected enough water to provide a refreshing treat for the rest of the passengers- and also get splashed in the face by the playful crew :)

We arrived a bit late, and a bit wet to church that evening- but yet again overflowing with gratitude for the beauty with which God graced Earth.

Monday was sunny and warm! We took a tram up one of the mountains (apparently Bergen is built on 7 mountains- no idea which 7, as it seemed there were about 70 mountain peaks all around us!) where there is a viewing area for us to see all the surrounding country, pretty stunning. Even though we purchased a round trip tram ticket, we decided to walk down the mountain (it was billed as a 45 minute walk- I was SURE the time was exaggerated, printed that way for fat tourists, who weren't used to walking, I convinced Andrew that we would get down super fast and in time for breakfast, after all I am a MARATHON runner... it took us 50 minutes:) Though we were a bit late for breakfast, we are happy we opted for the walk, the winding path was so beautiful, and the moss covered pine trees and rocks made us feel like we were walking through a fairy tale- we expected to see little gnomes running through the waterfalls and rocks at every turn.

After eating plenty of cod (though neither of us are huge fish eaters, we kept forcing ourselves to order fish dishes, as we were, after all, in Norwegian Cod county) and doing plenty of walking and sight seeing we headed to the airport, to try our luck with security. (we had been told that they often don't ask for ID and only scan our tickets, our fingers were crossed!) Hugely relying on Kitty's cuteness, we made sure she was facing outwards, smiley chattery and giggly as we went through security, and lo and behold-it worked! We were so relieved to be safely on our flight back to Sweden that we almost didn't mind the fact that Kitty screamed (nearly) the entire way home. almost. We did, however make the decision to not fly after Kitty's bed time ever again. Oh- and also to always check and double heck for our passports!!

Trip #2 - Norway in a Nutshell (Oslo to Flåm)

We returned from Norway late Monday evening - filled with awe and gratitude for God's beautiful world... and completely exhausted.

The journey (and exhaustion) for Mommy (Andrew and I are now at the super sophisticated point in life where we constantly refer to each other as 'mommy' and 'daddy') began on Thursday when I took a solo 4+hour journey with Laska and Kitty to Laska's country estate. The process of getting Laska to Oakwood Ranch is rather extensive, involving a 20  minute bus-ride, a 45 minute train ride, and a little more than a mile walk through (stunning) Swedish country side- no sidewalks! This is a bit difficult when there are two of us- so I felt like super-mom doing the journey alone. I left the apartment at 9 am, and returned a bit before 2, just in time to meet Andrew and hurry to catch our 3:50 high speed train to Oslo.

Traveling by train with a baby is terrific. It really is. Even thought this was a five hour trip, it was so stress free and comfortable- we were free to roam from car to car, and Kitty was super pumped about the kids play car, where she could pull ALL the books off the shelf again and again and again.

Once in Oslo, our real 'Norway in a nutshell' tour began- Friday morning we boarded a train on the famous Oslo-Bergen line (supposedly one of the most beautiful in Europe).

We had to consume quite a bit of coffee to feel truly energized for our 8 am departure- we had a less than perfect evening in our Oslo hotel, playing "hide from our daughter while she screams at us because she is sleeping in the same room as us, two feet away from our bed" late into the evening. We actually did hide underneath the blankets- and Andrew had a not so brilliant moment where he returned from the bathroom hiding behind a towel (blatantly ignoring my advice to army crawl to and from the bathroom, he instead just looked like a ghost, Kitty definitely wasn't fooled, and she definitely resumed her cry/yelling at us) ANYWHO- soon enough the scenery out the window provided enough incentive to keep our lids wide open!

After about 4 hours climbing west into the mountains on this particular train (again, Kitty was a dream, thoroughly enjoying the 'kid car' which also had great big windows and excellent views).we arrived in a little town called Myrdal, where we were welcomed oh so appropriately with sleeting snow and switched train lines to get on the 'world famous' Flåm line- a breathtaking winding trip down the mountain, full of stunning views, huge waterfalls and sheer drops to the little town of Flåm, where we stayed the evening.

Flåm is situated at the very end of one of Norway's gigantic fjords, pretty isolated- there wasn't much to do there except soak in the fresh air and gorgeous scenery. And walk! We walked and walked and WALKED, we followed signs to a little farm that was a town over, and part way up the mountain- and closed, unfortunately, but we were able to meet some sheep and goats... goats who were climbing trees!

Kitty slept the whole way, so we had to tell her about those crazy goats while we feasted on local reindeer and pork at the viking restaurant next to our hotel. Then it was early to bed for round two of "hiding from our daughter" so that we (fingers crossed) would be fresh for round two of Norway in a nutshell tour, the ferry ride through the UNESCO protected 'narrow fjord' to town where we catch a bus (and then another train, uffda!!) to our final destination, the bustling town of Bergen.

(There were waterfalls EVERYWHERE, sparkling down the mountainside, we didn't even try to count them, there were so many, all full of very cold VERY CLEAR delicious mountain water. It was my goal of the trip to drink from a waterfall, which I eventually achieved thanks to my devoted husband, more on that later)

Photos cannot not do justice to the majesty of the views... and we didn't even really try, we were busy feasting our eyes and filling our souls, as long as our bodies could handle the crisp breeze.. and then going inside the boat making sure our little girl (apparently unimpressed with National Geographic's number one destination for beauty) didn't fall off the table on which she chose to sleep:)

and then we arrived in Bergen! 

this post will be continued...