Well, we made it to Odda!
The weather today wasn’t spectacular, but considering
that we spent most of the day traveling it wasn’t too bad. Ryan, Courtney and I
met up with a group of SASers this morning after breakfast. Together we all
walked through the rain to the local bus station. Let me tell you, Bergen is
still the cutest town even in awful weather. We had to wait a while for our bus
to come, but we were sheltered from the rain so we didn’t get too wet. I
somehow managed to pack enough clothes, toiletries and other necessities for
three entire days into the hiking pack Zane got me last Christmas (Thanks love
for the pack by the way! I seriously use it almost every day in port. I’m so
glad I brought it!!). And even though the pack isn’t waterproof, I can fit my
rain coat can fit around me and my backpack and still zip up all the way
(thanks mom and dad for the raincoat!). I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame
walking around with backpack inside my jacket, but my stuff stays dry so I
don’t mind.
We then took a four hour bus ride to Odda where we
will be staying for the next two nights. Although it was long, the trip wasn’t
bad at all. A bunch of other SAS kids ended up getting on the bus last minute,
so I think they’re all planning to do the hike as well. I slept for a little
bit, and Courtney got some awesome pictures of me napping (note the sarcasm
here).
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| What are real friends for? |
About halfway through the bus ride, we
unexpectedly got on a ferry. It was awesome! We got to take a little cruise
across the fjords. It was a really nice surprise, and it was incredible to be
able to see the area we were in from the middle of the water. I really
appreciated how big the mountains were once we got away from land and got to
look around on all sides. We also saw some crazy, cool houses that had grass
growing on the rooftops. I’m not entirely sure what the point of that was, but
it looked awesome.
In mid-afternoon, we finally got to where we were going
to stay in Odda. All of the SAS kids got off at different stops, but there was
a small group of us all staying at the Trolltunga Hotel. It was a really
quaint, humble little place. It was rainy and foggy outside, so we couldn’t
really see where we were when we first got there. We checked in, used the wifi,
and waited for the rain to let up before we went out to explore. Our room was
cute and plain with three beds. I got top bunk, Courtney got bottom and Ryan
got the single on the other side of the room.
When the sun started to peek through the clouds, we set
out for dinner. A meal at the hotel cost $40, and we were pretty sure we could
get cheaper somewhere else in town. Our hotel was about a 20 minute walk from
Odda, but we were in such a beautiful place that we didn’t mind at all.
So I seriously cannot explain how beautiful of a place
we are at. And even though I have a very nice, new camera, my photos do not do
it justice. Literally right outside our hotel is a lake that turns into a river
that turns into a waterfall all within a couple hundred feet. And the mountains
are just ginormous. I mean, I’m from Montana so I’m used to big mountains, but
these mountains are completely different from the ones we have at home. On
either side, the mountains just shoot up straight into the air, and in between
them at the bottom in a never-ending body of water that stretches all the way
from the ocean to the heart of the countryside. Then the little town of Odda is
nestled right at the foot of the mountains alongside the water’s edge. I know
I’ve probably said this a dozen times in my blog so far, but this is truly THE
MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I’VE EVER BEEN. Like it even beats Sintra! And everything
here is so green! It’s like if Montana and Washington had a baby, it would be
Norway. But it would be a freak, mutant baby because that’s how beautiful it is
here.
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| Our view from the Trolltunga Hotel |
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| Odda, Norway |
Words will never suffice to explain the beauty of Norway.
So back to my day, after ogling at the scenery for a while, we walked into the
city to find some grub. We passed some SASers along the way, and they said they
ate at an endless pizza and salad buffet right in the center of town. We
thought that sounded again, so we found the pizza palace and dug in. And the
best part was that it was only $16! Cheap for Norway. I ate so much pizza and
salad it was ridiculous, but in my defense I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
There was also a lot of SASers at the Pizza Palace, and we ended up running
into some friends when we were leaving. We all went out to the water while they
ate their pizzas to go. I’ll try not to keep saying this, but the view was very
pretty.
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| Chillin' by the water |
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| Say cheese! |
Ryan, Courtney and I left the group and wandered around
town for a little bit. We found a convenience store and bought some candy to
munch on. While we were exploring, we happened to walk by a majestic horse
statue, so naturally Courtney and I had to get on its back and take some
pictures.
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