One of the benefits of living in Turkey is exploring and visiting so many interesting places, while being closer to my family and friends in Norway. We spent one week in April traveling across this beautiful country, visiting my parents in the west and going to my brother's wedding in the east. Between these two destinations we travelled by train (bus and ferry!) across the vast and sparsely populated mountain plateau.
Vestlandet
(Norway West)
Pictures from the island I grew up on - and where my parents still live:
 |
| Yes, you can see a glacier in the distance |
 |
| Still on the island |
 |
| Sleeping trolls in the daylight moss |
 |
| "Hestehov", one of the first flowers of spring |
Hardangervidda
(Norway Middle)
The train ride from Bergen to Oslo takes about 7 hours, and is a scenic experience. We were lucky enough to share the train with enthusiastic, true Norwegians on their way to what we were told to be the world's biggest ski marathon - Skarverennet. Over 12,000 skiers of all conditions participated in this year's race. A few of them entertained us while we were enjoying our Norwegian meatballs in the train's dining compartment. Our favorite moment was a rousing rendition of "Knocking on Heaven's Door" played on an accordion and guitar, while the rest of the 'team' was drinking beer or vodka out of tin cans.
 |
| You have to be very quick taking pictures out of the train window. Especially because the first half of the trip from Bergen goes through a lot of tunnels and a mistimed click gives you a black photo with your reflection in the window. |
 |
These are the hytte (cabins) we Norwegians love to spend our vacations in
(except for when we go to a Turkish beach hotel!) |
 |
| The local police with their police issue vehicle |
Østlandet
(Norway East)
These pictures are from a very little island in the middle of Oslo fjord, on which Fort Oscarsborg played a very big role in Norway's defense during WWII.
 |
| It all looks very peaceful now |
 |
| I think this is a much better use for an artillery slider |
 |
| The barrel of the cannon shot through the lens of my Canon |
 |
| A good Norwegian soldier armed with an umbrella |
I just can't help getting distracted by details:
Wedding
The grand finale of our trip was the wedding of my (not-so-little-anymore) brother
and his fiancé.
Dear Mette, you are such a sensitive photographer! And I love to read what you wrote about your homeland - it makes me curious to go there and to see it!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading the next posts!