On to Norway - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (Busses and Ferries, too)

The jaunt to Iceland was an add-on to our main vacation, Norway. The Norway adventure has been discussed for a couple of years. We attempt to plan a trip that includes Randeen’s brothers and their families. This allows us to have a visit and a vacation at the same time. Why Norway? Randeen’s heritage is all (or 90% +) Norwegian. She has contact with maternal and paternal relatives east of Bergen on the Sognefjord and in and south of Trondheim. We are going to travel with Randeen’s brother Jay and his partner (life not business) Beth. We will be joined for portions of the trip with Randeen’s brother Ross, his wife Karen, their son Ben, and their daughter Alia with her husband Greg. It is a Torvik invasion. Torvik is the family name shared by her brothers and her.

Waiting at the Oslo airport for our train to the main station, about 3 hours

We departed Iceland by one of our favorite airlines, Iceland Air, for Oslo. After arriving in Oslo, we took a train from the airport to the main train station. We were joined by Jay and Beth for the first leg of our Norway adventure, Voss.

Waiting on the platform

We were to meet Randeen’s mother’s distant cousin, Gunnar Lee. Gunnar is about 70 years old. He is retired and was married for the first time 8 years ago. Gunnar and his wife, Lily, have an apartment in Voss and a house in Framfjord. Framfjord is in the kommune of Vic (for those following on the map). Gunnar and Lily come to Voss to do major shopping and to escape the dark of winter (more on that later). It is important to note that Gunnar has some rudimentary English language skills, and Lily does not speak English (okay, she does have yes, no, hello and “don’t speak English” pretty well perfected). Gunnar, on the other hand, does fairly well. After a couple hours of questioning in English, he will default to using “yes” as his principal vocabulary word.

Our 1st class train coach

Gunnar and Lily met us at the train station in Voss at about 21:00 (9 PM) and shuttled us to the Voss hostel. It took 2 trips as his car couldn’t handle all 4 of us and luggage. Then, Gunnar and Lily took off for Framfjord about an hours drive over the mountain. They were to meet us there at 13:00 (1 PM) the next day. We took the bus.

The lake in Voss behind our hostel

Voss was nice, but arrived at the hostel after 21:00 and departed the next morning at about 10:00. Just enough time for breakfast and a quick look around. Breakfast was pretty standard: bread, cured meats, cheese, yogurt, cereal, hard boiled eggs, herring (in a couple of different sauces), tomatoes, cucumbers, juice, coffee, and tea. I may have omitted something but I’m pretty close. It was rare to see any fresh fruit. Of course, we were not staying at hotels with stars.

In the winter, there are not too many hours of day light in Norway. This is due to the northerly position of Norway and the tilt of the earth on its axis. If you are just north of a high mountain, there are periods during the winter where you will not see sunlight. Gunnar’s hometown of Framfjord is one of those places. When he and Lily would like to see the sun, they travel across the mountain to their apartment in Voss. Often the mountain road is closed due to snow. Therefore, trip timing is essential.

At about 10:00, we boarded the bus to Vic to meet Gunnar and Lily. More to come once we cross the mountain and come face-to-face with the Sognefjord, the largest and longest fjord in Norway (maybe the world).