Norway, Part 1

Troy and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in June!  Last year, we were mid-move and on a 16 hour road trip (26 weeks pregnant and with the cat!), so we thought we’d do something special this year.  Wanting to start our European travel adventures with a place neither of us had previously been, we settled on Norway.

As soon as the plane broke through the clouds over the coast of Norway, we knew we were in for an adventure.  Green mountains, pristine waters, and perfectly clustered villages as far as the eye could see…

We arrived in Bergen, dropped in at our hotel, and set out to explore the beautiful city.  The Tourist Information Center was our first stop.  Time to book our travel to the magnificent fjords for the following days!  Then, we leisurely roamed the waterfront area of Bryggen, the fish market and shopping streets.  The first day was cold and rainy, but the misty weather only added to the romantic atmosphere of this little coastal town – and provided a far better setting for the heavy Norwegian sweaters lining the shop walls than a mid-summer heat would have!  We ended the evening with an early dinner at the Bryggleoftet & Steune Restaurant and headed back to the hotel to put E to bed and watch the World Cup (in the dark. on the computer. with headphones, of course. whatever you do, don’t wake the baby!).

Friday, E and I enjoyed a slow morning while Troy took a work call at a nearby cafe.  We met up around noon for an indulgent anniversary lunch at the Fishmarket, complete with Norwegian king crab, lobster, mussels, and sashimi.  We’ve really been missing fresh seafood, can you tell?

Once the food settled and the fog lifted, we made our way up to Floyen Mountain via the Floibanen train.  The overlook offered amazing views of the city below and North Sea in the distance.  We sat on the steps for a moment, surveying the streets we had already walked and areas of town yet undiscovered, then, headed past the restaurant and on to the nature trails to explore the mountain further.

We followed trail #6 and took our time winding back and forth and up and down the rocky paths and footbridges.  The birds, trees,  babbling brooks and awe inspiring views provided an incredibly serene and relaxing environment, and we made sure to pause often to enjoy. Impressively, the sun doesn’t set until 11pm in Norway mid-June, so even though our hike began at about 3pm, we had plenty of daylight left to wander! (We weren’t so fortunate with our last hike through the English countryside. Read here, if you missed that story!) The evening ended with a cold drink at the top of Floyen before grabbing take-out on the way back to the hotel.

The trip doesn’t end here, but the fjords simply require a space all their own, so be sure to watch for a post about the rest of our adventure later this week!

In the meantime, I thought I’d leave you with a few travel tips for anyone headed to Norway with Baby:

-Bergen was a perfect destination for travel with Baby!  Streets and sidewalks were easy to maneuver with a stroller, and all sites and attractions were very accommodating.  Grocery and convenience stores were also located on almost every corner, making it very easy to pick up baby food packs or those go-to bananas and rice cakes when needed!  A great balance, considering Bergen is well known for its nightlife.

– Unlike other locations we’ve traveled to in the last several months, Norway is very strict about babies in car seats.  The entire taxi fleet at the airport had to be surveyed to find a driver with a seat for us, and even then, it was for a toddler, not infant.  When headed to Norway, make sure to book your taxi service prior to landing – with specific car seat requests!