The Train Ride of a Lifetime: Oslo to Bergen

The train from Oslo to Bergen is known as being one of the most beautiful rides in the world, and it was nothing less than incredible. We left while it was still dark in Oslo, but the light slowly rose and over the trees and snow that lined the rails as we climbed into the mountains. The whole ride took the majority of the light part of the day, and I was thankful that the sun actually came out as we passed through the winter wonderland that I longed to play in.





The train passed through snow-covered mountains, frozen lakes and snowed-in villages. The light looked so beautiful since it never rose that high above the horizon and it lit the mountains from the side. I wished at every train station that I could just get out there and hang out in the white mountains, but I would just take a breath of icy fresh air, snap a photo or two, and then get back on in hopes that the next stop would make staying on the train worth it (and it usually was).















I understand why people from all over the world take this train just for the fantastic views.

Trip to Norway: Part 2, Oslo

It was quarter to ten in the morning on the train from Göteborg to Oslo, and the cloud cover outside made it look like it was more like five in the evening. I am not sure how much the darkness has to do with being far north, or just the weather. We passed through forests and farmland. Winding dirt roads popped in and out of the wooded hills, with houses scattered among the trees. The trees were tall, skinny pines which showed signs of standing up to strong winds over the years with their twisted tops. A lake stretched along side the tracks, lining the landscape of fields are forests. Patches of birch trees added a lightness to the dark forests, and the red barns and yellow houses stood out in the brown, green scene. Everything was wet and reflected the dark sky. The trees were so dark with rain that the almost look burnt and black as they stood up against the grey sky.












I reached Oslo around one in the afternoon and was picked up at the train station by a friend of a friend, Petter, who I met in the states, and lives in Oslo. It was fantastic to be shown around by a local and have a place to stay in the city. Petter and his girlfriend Kristine showed me all around their fantastic city and took me to more than just the usual tourist attractions, although we did have to see those as well.


We visited the sculpture park in the rain after I arrived, and I experienced the weather of Oslo at it’s best. Petter and Kristine fixed an amazing Norwegian dinner for me. We had salmon, potatoes, a buttery sauce, and a cucumber salad. After dinner they took me to a brewery in the city that had fantastic beer, and showed me a fantastic night on the town.












The next day, Sunday, was a whirlwind of sight seeing. We started down by the water, visiting the fortress, seeing where the Nobel Peace Prize is given out, and touring around the waterfront.












We then made our way up the mountain and into the snow, and ate lunch at a fabulous café that looked out over the whole of the city.












Although it didn’t take long for the fog to set in, we had amazing weather and it didn’t rain at all. We visited the famous ski jump and biathlon course, saw the ski resort at the top of the mountain, and then stopped for tea at Petter’s parent’s house that looks out over the city. We ended our exhausting day of sightseeing with a walk in the woods with Petter’s dog. We were too tired to cook that night, so we went out for sushi and saw American Gangster in a fancy theater.











My visit in Oslo was so amazing, and I never would have been able to see as much without such fantastic hosts. I really feel like I have a good sense of the city of Oslo and the mountain above it. It’s not a huge city, even though it’s the biggest in all of Norway, and I would go back there in a second if I had a chance. The most incredible part of the city is that it is on the water and in the summer everyone sails and is outside in the sun, but it takes only a few minutes to drive or take the train up into the mountain and hike or ski in the winter. Such a healthy place to live with so many reasons and opportunities to be outside!

Göteborg, Sweden: first leg of my trip to Norway

I have traveled alone many times, flying back and forth between school and home, visiting grandparents, driving to see friends, but I have never undertaken an entire trip by myself. Although I stayed with a friend in Oslo, I really made this trip happen myself. There was no conferring with the group as to where to eat or what sights to see, I was completely independent. The first leg of my journey was from Lund to Göteborg in Sweden, but my final destination was Bergen, on the western coast off Norway. The Swedish countryside flew by as the train sped along the well-used tracks. Long stretches of farmland suddenly became seaside towns with brightly colored Swedish style houses, as the train rout went up the western coast of Sweden toward Göteborg. Even with the cold weather, the fields still appeared to be alive, and the stonewalls had a hearty green tint. The longer grasses were yellow and had clearly been shaped by the harsh winds that fly through the meadows. The ocean looked rough and the whitecaps looked like snow upon the dark and menacing sea. The icon of Göteborg is Neptune the god of the sea, and it seemed to fit quite well.












I spent two nights in Göteborg at a hostel, which was located right next to Liseberg, the biggest amusement park in Sweden. The hostel was nothing exciting, but the city was beautiful. I found the most darling little chocolate shop that had just about every kind of chocolate you could imagine.


I went to the opera and saw My Fair Lady, which was fantastic, even in Swedish! It's a good thing that I know the story and the songs in English, otherwise I would have been lost. The show was beautifully done, and it was the perfect activity to do alone.









The next night I went to Liseberg, the amusement park, when it was all lit up. It was really quite beautiful even though it was still just an amusement park. I drank warm glögg and had a Swedish waffle as I sat and watched a fantastic figure skating show. The crowd at the park was the same as at any amusement park, so I did some thorough people watching, and the fact that it was night with and all lit up for the holidays, gave everyone a warm and friendly façade.


After the figure skating, I was walking around and a man offered me a ticket to see a concert playing in the concert hall in the park. I was a bit skeptical, especially when he told me that it was a hard rock concert, but I decided to go out on a limb and take him up on the offer since he was just giving it to me. It turned out to be quite an experience, but it was definitely a haaarrrdd rock concert, and everything that I would expect a hard rock concert to be, fully done-up with explosions, fire and light of all sorts. The opening band and the feature band were both from Finland, but luckily they sang in English, and mostly spoke in English in between the songs.












During the two days that I was in Göteborg, I mostly just walked around and saw the usual tourist attractions and looked in shops. Even though the sights were beautiful, I got kind of bored just walking by myself and listening to my ipod on occasion.



I am going to write about the other two legs of my weeklong journey soon, but I still have to write my final paper for a class, and my dad just arrived and is visiting me for a week.

November in Lund

I am coming to the end of my time here in Lund, with less than four weeks left. The time seems to have slipped by, as have the hours of sunlight and the warmer winds of summer and early fall.
















The leaves on the trees have lost their bright fall colors, and have begun their process of turning rejoining soil. The bare trees are beautiful silhouetted against the grey sky that looks like it is about to dump snow on us, but has yet to do so.












There is still some green that has managed to stick around despite the cold weather and it sticks out among the browns and grays that seem to have taken over the town.













I now understand why there are so many colorful houses and bright lights around. The sun is definitely showing itself less these days, starting to set at around 3:30, and I know it is only going to get darker in this last month that I am here.

This past weekend the city of Lund was lit up to bring in the holiday season. There are candles in practically every window downtown, and decorative lights are strung across all of the shopping streets. Somehow, even though the cold winds are sweeping across the streets and freezing my nose off, the lights everywhere make me feel warmer and even happy to be outside in the cold.







Sitting in a café and letting a latte warm me from the inside while surrounded by fantastic friends seems like the perfect activity in these cold and dark late-November days.












Sarah, Maria and I spent hours in Café Ariman the other day reading, knitting, writing and discussing our futures, while slowly sipping our over-priced drinks. It is going to be hard to leave this amazing place!

Winter at the Småland Glass Factories

The flat farmland surrounding Lund turned to snow-dusted fields and then to snow-covered forests as we drove north to Småland, the area just above Skåne. The wintery wonderland made me nostalgic for Vermont, and think about Christmas. And although the three and a half hour drive in the bus was a bit tiresome, the scenery and the forests of central, southern Sweden made the trip worth it.

The international office at LU organized a trip to visit the glass factories of Småland, which Sweden is apparently famous for. The chandeliers in the Kennedy Center in D.C. were made in Orrefors, one of the factories we visited. We stopped at three factories, Kosta Boda, Målerås, and Orrefors.

At Kosta Boda, we watched as the teams of glassblowers magically created decorative colored vases, delicate long-stemmed champagne glasses, and everything in between. We were allowed to stand very close to the artists, and watch as they went about their work.












A guide gave us the history of the factory, and context to why the factories were located there. Two hundred years ago, before other sources of heat could be used, wood was how they heated the glass, and Småland, with all of the forests, was the perfect area, and located in the center of the southern part of Sweden the glass could easily be transported. The factories used to use sand from Sweden to make the glass, which gave it a greenish tint, but as that is a sign of impurity, they now import sand from Germany. What a funny commodity to import!

At the two other factories, we didn’t get a tour, but we were able to look around in their factory gift shops where they have the “imperfect” pieces for purchase. Everyone loaded up on Christmas presents and holiday gifts for family and friends.

Prague, November 9-12

Prague. Enchanting. Timeless. Magnificent.
I visited Prague this weekend with a group of UC students. It was not an organized trip, we just planned it on our own, and all decided to come on the same weekend. We flew into Prague on Friday afternoon, settled into our hostel, and walked to the city center just as the sun was setting. Maria’s friend who had just visited Prague suggested a restaurant, and that is where we ate dinner. It was a cozy little place that seemed to attract a more dressed up crowd, but our meals with pasta, wine and tiramisu cost about $6usd. We were definitely all asking ourselves why on earth we chose to study in a country where you pay that much for a café latte. After our meal we walked to the Charles Bridge, the famous pedestrian bridge across the Vltava River. Since it was dark and around dinner time, the usual crowd on the bridge had dissipated somewhat, and looking over the water at all of the lights that illuminate the castle, buildings and streets gave a feeling of enchantment, as well as the Christmas spirit, coming a bit early.
We walked up the other side of the water to the castle and looked out over the whole city. I found it amazing that I could see so much of the city because it is on so many different levels. As we climbed up a staircase, which seemed like more of a street for pedestrians, we found a little café selling hot, spiced wine. I gladly bought a cup that warmed up my whole body. The view from the castle was ever more special since I was drinking a hot cup of wine, and I felt like it was December already and everyone was getting ready for Christmas.


We stopped by the John Lennon wall, which used to be a huge painting off his face, but he has been mostly covered up by other paintings now. It is still quite beautiful though, and is much more than just Lennon.


We made our way back to the hostel through all of the sparkling lights and chilly winds, in the beautiful city of Prague. We ended the night in a little bar where beers were about fifty cents apiece.


It snowed at night, and I ran outside in the morning to feel it, even though there wasn’t very much. The Clown & Bard hostel where we stayed serves a free breakfast, which consists of hard-boiled eggs, toast, cereal and an assortment of condiments, as well as coffee, tea, whole milk and juice. It was great not to have to find a place to eat so early in the day, and our $12usd/night really paid off! The breakfast was served in the basement of the hostel that also doubles as a bar at night. It is a great way to meet people from all over, and I definitely had some interesting conversations.


After breakfast, we braved the cold and rain to see all of the sights we had seen the night before, only in the light. We climbed all of the way up the church tower and looked out over the whole city. The view was incredible, but the sky was a little hazy, and photographs could not catch the beauty of the scene, although I made many attempts.



Since we were a lot of people, there was quite a bit of time spent waiting for others, and that got a little frustrating. The cold made the waiting even harder, as did the rain. It never stopped us from exploring, though, and I really feel like we saw so much in the three days we were there. I would love to visit again in the summer sometime, when the sun stays up past 4pm, and you can feel your nose, fingers and toes.

Gdansk, Poland October 28-30

I went with an international student organization on a cruise to Gdansk, Poland. Because it was a cruise, we only spent a day in Poland, and the rest of the time was on the boat.
Gdansk is the city where the solidarity movement against Communism began in Poland. Our first stop was Solidarity Square, with a huge statue depicting the movement against Communism. The tall statue going up represents the shipyard workers, who went on strike and started the solidarity movement. Each of the three structures going up break out of the hard cement that represents Communism, and get more sturdy and solid as they get taller, showing the strength of the movement. There are carvings showing the workers themselves as well as dates of certain important events that took place. There are concentric circles that go out around the statue which represent the waves of Communism falling around the world.



























Our young tour guide told stories of seeing men with guns at every street corner while growing up, and how common it was for people to just disappear. Poland was very unstable in the transition from Communism, and there were many deaths and tragedies. It was a very interesting trip, and if I go back to Poland sometime, I would love to see a different part to compare. I am glad that I had the opportunity to visit there, even if it was only for a day.