Last weekend, six of us travelled to Scandinavia to see fjords in Norway. When we came abroad and someone told us that we would have the chance to go any place in Scandinavia, we probably wouldn’t have believed them. And looking back on it, I am so glad that we went. It was one of the coolest and most unique trips I’ve ever been on.

IMG_4579_2IMG_4528_2We flew into Oslo on Thursday night, and on Friday morning, took a train across the country to Bergen. We wanted to see fjords and there are a lot of fjords in Bergen. The train was six and a half hours long, but it didn’t seem that long because we had gorgeous scenery the entire way. A lot of the way through, we saw many little mountain towns. But when we really got up into the mountains, all the trees disappeared and we found ourselves in a frozen tundra where everyone travelled either by skis or by snowmobile. It was a beautiful ride, and didn’t feel long at all.

IMG_4701_2Bergen was an amazing city. We got there in the afternoon, and took a tram up a mountain to a scenic overlook over the entire city. We wandered around the mountain on trails until sunset, where we watched the sun go down over the fjord and the city. It was a gorgeous sunset. For dinner, I had the BEST fish soup I’ve ever tasted. It was INCREDIBLE, and a wonderful way to end the evening.

IMG_4805_2We spent Saturday in Bergen before training back to Oslo. We walked along through an old castle in Bergen, and walked up to the top of what looked like it may have been the remnants of the castle keep. It had a great view of Bergen, and we spent an hour up there, taking pictures. After that, we wandered around the town before our train left, and all bought hats to let everyone around us know that we were tourists. But they’re really warm and will keep us very happy in the frigid Valpo winters.

IMG_4881_2Our last day was spent in Oslo. We walked to a castle that was built in the 1700s. Most of the buildings weren’t open, but the grounds were open, and we got to climb on top of the walls and walk around them. We also got to see a woman riding her horse around the grounds for awhile.

We were all so sad to leave, because it was such a beautiful place. We were very lucky to have good weather the entire trip, and it was amazing to see a country that not many people think to go to, and where the culture is so incredibly different from our own.