Norway

Flew from Iran to Stockholm and then Oslo, which was an adventurous day. Topped it off by meeting my aunt and mom, who had managed to nearly lose a passport twice that day (all the while it was somewhere on the body). Finally we arrived in Oslo, after much hysteria. A nice Norweigan man offered to drive us to our hotel and he gave us a brief tour of Oslo on the way. It's a cute little city, much like Minneapolis. Laid back and quiet but very cute. Spent the next day wandering around the city-it is ridiculously expensive. The city bus cost $8 per person one way! We went out to dinner at a "nice, inexpensive" italian restaurant...one personal pizza, a pasta, and a caraf of wine later, and it cost us $100. Went to see a few viking ships, which were pretty cool. Spent the rest of the day walking around town and shopping. On the bus ride we saw a bunch of young norweigan school children who were as cute as could be...all blond hair and blue eyes which was quite a contrast to Iran;) The next day we took a train ride out and saw the beautiful norweigan countryside....rocky, very green with trees everywhere and in the middle of the country we past by a region with a few feet of snow everywhere and not a thing in sight. Got of in flam and took a very scenic little train through the valleys and by some amazing waterfalls. Then boarded a boat and rode through the fjords to our hotel...in the middle of nowhere on a fjord with stunning views.

The next day we went to see a glacier and enjoyed some more boating expeditions on the fjords. Talked to some kids working at the hotel and found out that they were mostly austrians, as Norweigans only work an average of 6 hours a day, and they expect too much pay. The Scandinavian countries serve amazing buffet breakfasts with a huge variety of food. Everything from fresh breads, cheese, meats, fruits, eggs, meat, fish, pancakes and sometimes even espresso. Quite a change from flat bread and feta cheese everyday for 3 months;) Next morning we nearly missed the boat to Bergen, a cute little town on the coast with lots of old style houses and fun little shops. It's quite a big city (for norway at least) and had a lot of character to it. Hands down, Norway is the most beautiful country (landscape wise) that I have seen. It's a beautifully rugged country, that reminds me of a more hilly northern minnesota, although mn pales in comparison. words and pictures just don't do it justice.