Norway: High Adventure with High Prices

Thank goodness for salami and cheese sandwiches, because we have lived off them completely while in Scandinavia. The scenery is worth the cleaning out of our wallets though! Buckle your seatbelts boys, because you are in for quite the ride!

Our northern adventures started on a train to Sweden, where our train was ferried across the sea towards Mälmo at 4 in the morning. We discovered risifrutti...basically rice pudding and fruit. Heaven heaven heaven!

And after delicious pudding, it was on to Norway!

Oslo.

Where to stay in Oslo?? We took a ferry to the island of Langøyene, home to many campers over the summer, as you can camp for free on this island!

Langøyene. I do believe many nomads call this home...

Smooching at the old fortress in Oslo.

The Oslo Opera House. The roof slants and runs right into the ocean. You can even walk on it! I do believe I have found the best sledding hill!

Trying to find the church bldg on Sunday and lo and behold! There's a sign.

Church in Oslo. We were blessed for going too because met Emma! She invited us over for some salmon and spoiled us with goodies and a couch. We were even introduced to our new favorite food, plantain chips! 

Salty dried plantains... Amazing. Not to mention organic.

And Emma took us to meet her sister Sandra! We are now tight.

Hopefully we can meet up when they visit Utah!! :)

Our Oslo adventures sent us happily away to Stavanger, where we enjoyed the worst night train yet! Can't complain though, as this one was free!

Stavanger. Why? 2 reasons: Preikestolen and Kjeragbolten. This is where you with queasy tummies may want to sit down...

PREIKESTOLEN

1.5 hour hike, sweat scale of 3

Altitude: 600 m

Yup, those bright shirted lovelies are yours truly and Harmful Newhouse!

No, we did not fall off the edge. Harmon didn't faint and I didn't try to BASE jump off the edge. 

And as if that weren't enough...

KJERAGBOLTEN

2 hour hike, sweat level? Too cold to sweat.

Altitude: 1000 m 

We arrived at the parking lot below after a long and expensiveeee bus ride to find fog, rain, and cold. I could hardly see 20 feet ahead of me. We hiked up the rocks, holding on to chains and looking for the wizards that marked the way.

My hands were numb by this point, but what else is new? These pictures of the way up were taken during the better parts.... When it was clearer. Imagine a snowless blizzard. About sums it up.

We hiked up and down a few small mountains, until we reached it. This is the place! Only.....it was so dang foggy you couldn't see. Thing!

We waited until the last minute, hoping we might get some sun through the thick clouds... Just as I was ready to give up and turn to begin our descent, I thought I noticed it get lighter. The sun? It exists here?? Heavenly Father answered my little plea for sunshine :) and the result??

Beautiful.

Clear views all the way to the fjord!!

The hike back was a cake walk in comparison! And what a landscape! Too high up for trees, I loved the rocky landscape, covered by small mosses, with shrubs popping up as we descended. Definitely worth every second.

That far above the fjord... Awesome.

Our wee lil rock pyramid. 

We enjoyed a long bus ride back, snoozing and finishing up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets... Back to Stavanger.

Port of Stavanger.

Deciding if we wanted to treat ourselves to some fast food, but not only does it taste just as greasy as in America, it costs a titch more....100 krona = $17

But we DID get some ice cream

And we felt SO good after a long hike that we went back for seconds. (Also the popsicles were about the cheapest thing at COOP)

Our time in Stavanger other than the hikes consisted of sleeping and having our very own movie party in the coolest lime green tent around.

My life is good. REALLY good.

Traveling wisdom: 

Check the weather before going on long hikes to somewhere specific. It might be worth it to wait an extra day.

REMA 1000 is definitely the cheapest grocery store we encountered. Also cookies costing only 14 krona (about $2) might be your only affordable sweet staple.

Salami and cheese sandwiches can last you until you stop using krona and get back to euros...

Find out where you can camp for free, then you may be able to buy more than salami.

Rest days are necessary now and then... Especially when in between awesome hikes!

Make friends at church.

Sometimes a rail pass can get you a free chair on a night train.

Emergency blankets can make someone like me sleep nice and toasty warm all night!! Meet Brookito.

Berliners

If anyone has actually followed our itinerary, you would notice that we have stuck to it for the most part....until now. Up to this point we have had reservations or obligations and have gone where we have previously planned. Switzerland, although beautiful, was expensive. We wanted out. We cut out Appenzell, spent a few wonderful nights in Gimmelwald, and decided to cut out Chamonix as well after seeing how much it would cost us to get up to Mont Blanc. Not quite sure where to go next, we discovered a night train to Berlin. Why not right? And so the next day we found ourselves in northeastern Germany. Our original itinerary will now be, let's say, completely altered :) and we are hanging on for the ride!!

Night train to Berlin.... Basically one of the most uncomfortable night sleeps yet! Sleeping in a chair would be fine if the man behind us didn't have such an annoying laugh. Gotta love it when you pay double the price of the last night train and get a seat instead of a bunk. Let the adventure begin!

Our first stop in Berlin was Sachenhausen: Old Nazi concentration camp turned Soviet special camp. Definitely a sobering experience. The conditions in which these people lived made my skin crawl and my heart ache.

Gates leading into the camp

Prison inside the camp, reserved for those individuals deemed extremely dangerous or hated.

Basic layout of the camp interior. There was a lot of open space where the captives would work during the day on different assignments. The buildings still left included the prison, barracks, and kitchen.

Watchtowers surrounded the camp, and so did a tall stone fence, electric wire fence, and rolls of barbed wire. 

After the concentration camp, we ate some DELICIOUS curry, but failed to document because we inhaled it with such ferocity...

Then we moved on to the city of Berlin. So much history. But not the glorious or proud history we have encountered on our travels. Berlin has a hard, painful, and dramatic past. One riddled with death, sorrow, and fallen greatness. And yet the streets were alive with German pride! It could have been due to the fact that Germany had just beaten Brazil and would be playing Argentina in 2 days... 

Berlin Wall. Such a dark time... West and East sides constantly at odds. Us vs the Soviets. The wall memorial contained not only facts, but histories and memoirs to those that had successfully crossed or who had died trying to cross the wall during its existence from 1961-1989. The Berlin Wall history brought us to a historical point, Checkpoint Charlie, the most well-known Berlin Wall crossing point. It is now a symbol of the Cold War and quite the tourist attraction.

Here there was still a US checkpoint stationed in which you could pay to get your passport stamped... Behind us is the famous border crossing sign.

A riot broke loose at Checkpoint Charlie, where people stopped traffic and began chanting and handing out information on the poor immigration laws in the Germany and much of Europe. We curiously watched for the police to arrive and saw the protestors scatter at the first sound of sirens. I can still here their chants, "We are here, and we will fight. Freedom of movement is everybody's right!" Definitely a cultural experience there...

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews

Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor): the former city gate, now a symbol of German unity and basically a  "must see" in Berlin.

The entire street behind was ready for the World Cup! A giant big screen, tons of shops and promotional areas lined the streets that were probably packed full a few nights before. We Americans really have no idea how big this is... 

Traveling Wisdom:

When traveling with a Eurail pass, night trains can save you when you want to go somewhere-ANYWHERE-and not waste daylight. You only need pay the reservation fee, which varies greatly depending on the company. 

Sleeping in a seat on a night train yields little sleep, while a cot allows for a good night's rest. But sometimes you do what you've got to do!

 Street Asian food can be cheap and delicious. Don't be afraid of the diamond in the rough!

Sometimes street rallies can be informative or entertaining. I mean these guys had chants, banners, and smoke! ;)

Cities are more than their past histories. They are constantly evolving.

Ps I have showed our changes and future plans on an updated itinerary page!

Swiss Alps, Swiss Chocolate, Swiss Amazement

On the train again! Brooke and I have found that the eurail pass is great we are able to jump on most trains with just a moments notice. Europe is easy to travel with great public transportation everywhere! Busses, trains, planes and boats will get you anywhere affordable! This train picture is of us on our way to Switzerland!

Upon our arrival in the Laurerbrunen region we were greeted by this magnificent waterfall! Little did we know that this would be the first of many. Our goal was the small alp town of Gimmelwald. This town is a Rick Steves' favorite. And it is understandable why nestled in the alps just outside of Murren is this tiny community which is full of charm.

To get to Gimmelwald you may hike up, but the tram made for a quick trip after a tiring journey, plus it was raining. Our original plan was to camp,  but with the onslaught of rain we decided to relocate to a mountain hostel right in Gimmelwald. We are glad we did as in rained two days straight. Below is us taking the tram up to Gimmelwald. Brooke snapped a picture of me filming our ascent via cable car.

The sign is cut off a bit, but it is what welcomed us into Gimmelwald atop the tram ride.

This is the view out of the front door of any Gimmelwaldian. Beautiful! Brooke and I went for an evening stroll and just marveled at the view. There were waterfalls everywhere. And it was so peaceful, with the distant sound of waterfalls, and close but some how calming clang of cowbells. Gimmelwald was stealing our hearts.

While looking at the above view a young man walked up carrying a remote control helicopter Brooke and I looked at each other and thought that seems out of place here?? Ten the helicopter took off, here we thought it was some cheap toy a child had gotten, we were wrong. This thing flew to the other side of the valley, turns out it also has a go-pro (a small camera) attached to it. It was a student studying film at a university in the eastern United States. The helicopter was so cool and Brooke and I could not believe how far it flew. Guaranteed he had some majestic footage.

Just some local mountain goats we said hello to each morning.

The next morning we put on out water proof jackets an laced up our gore-tex shoes to battle the rain and do some kind of hiking through the Swiss alps. Along the trail we ran into yet another waterfall, they are everywhere. We decided to hike towards a portion of Lauterbrunnen  known as the end of the valley. It had a Swiss name for the location but it translates directly to this.

The hike was marvelous the trail winded along rushing mountain streams, as with all the rain and warm weather they are full! The hike took us about two hours to arrive at the end of the valley. We walked through wooded areas and then it opened up into a large circle formation of mountains (pictures do not do this place justice!), again waterfalls everywhere. Standing in one spot we could probably count thirty! It was quite foggy and rainy on arrival and the trail fizzles out were the  forest breaks leaving a large area a head of you begging to be explored. We headed out to investigate waterfalls, glaciers, streams, and caves.

This is one of the falls towards the back of the area right up against the farthest mountain point. Next to it was another waterfall. They just ran there, side by side. To get to this point we had to cross three or four streams, which actually became quite tricky a few times. However, we ventured forth for we knew this was our chance in the Swiss alps!

A glacier! Ok, I am not too sure on when something is deemed a glacier or a snowpack, but it was July and it was at the bottom of the valley in July. The holes at the bottom ran pretty far back and streams sprang forth from somewhere back in the glacier running down through the valley.

Another beautiful view of the valley we spent hours in here we weathered the rain and kept enjoying the scenery. The rain did eventually get the better of us as we became quite wet...everywhere.

We had packed a lunch but were thinking about heading back to the hostel to enjoy it in a nice warm location, but Brooke decided that we should investigate a cave that was a little ways up one of the mountains forming the End of The Valley. It turns out it was a surprisingly dry location, and someone that had been there about four days before us and left a note which read "I hope you find yourself warm and dry, and enjoy the view!" Someone before us had built a perfect fire pit with benches surrounding it, and whoever left this note left matches, paper, and firewood. Brooke and I went to work and had a fire going shortly we then settled in and enjoyed Salami sandwiches for lunch. This may have been one of our favorite meals, but I have a feeling that the scenery added to the overall quality of the experience. Finding the fire starting equipment truly made for a magical experience. 

Also while in the cave we kept hearing loud rumblings, sometimes we could tell they were a plane flying overhead, others though they definitely sounded different. Upon further investigation...Avalanches!! They were no where near causing a threat to us but it was awesome was watching the snow tumble down these sky high peaks! We dot have pictures of this on our iPod, but on another camera we do, the iPod just would not have shown it at all, as they were in the distance.

Also in Gimmelwald there is a small honesty shop where local cheese, milk, and bee jerky is sold. The door to the family's basement is unlocked and they have a small fridge stocked with real alp cheese! We couldn't pass this up so we bought. The cheese was labeled as mild, but was a lo stronger to the taste ten any of our boring cheese selections found back home in the grocery store. Very delicious cheese!

We also at one point hike to Murren ( about 40 minutes up the mountain from Gimmelwald) to find some dinner. We decided on some fondue from a local restaurant in the Murren center. The fondue was excellent and the warm, bubbly cheese was exactly what we needed on the cold day there. Te fondue was a cheese fondue that was served with potatoes, bread, pineapples, nectarines, and pears. We had never had fruit in the cheese portion of fondue, and we loved it! I was especially fond of the pineapple. 

Also, while there we stayed in what was known as the Mountain Hostel. It was 33 Swiss francs a night and included breakfast (toast and a cereal that we both loved!) we stayed in the lovers dorm which was a bunch of double beds built in bunk bed fashion, it was great for us because we were able to snuggle up on the cold nights in the Swiss alps, cuddling is near impossible in other hostels with only twin beds.

After our Gimmelwald adventure we decided that we would stop by the Bern Temple on our way to a nearby chocolate    Factory. The Bern Temple was beautiful, and it was undergoing a bit of upkeep.

It always impresses us to go to the Temple or to other wards around the works and feel like we are at home, the organization of the church in itself is miraculous.

After the Temple we headed to Cailler (pronounced ky-yay) Chocolate Factory, how could we not stop and do, I mean we are in Switzerland! Here we are at the entrance to the factory. It is actually in the outskirts of a small Swiss city, Broc. The setting was beautiful.

Inside there was quite a line of people eating to see the insides I the factory, we had about an hour wait. The factory provides a small theater that shows nostalgic commercials and videos regarding their chocolate and its history.

Once inside we walked through rooms that were automated and explained the history of chocolate, including the Aztecs and Cortez. It went through how chocolate became a European delight and its progression to where it is today.

At one point in the tour they had large bags full of cacao beans and they smelt soooo good! Brooke will forever attest to this (actually right when we got off the train which is right outside the factory, we could smell chocolate in the air!)

This here is live video of where the Cailler secret recipes are kept, if only we could get our hands on it! We would be able to create an endless supply of Swiss chocolate back in Idaho!

Te last stop along the tour was a room in which we were greeted by this sign. I will let you read it on your own pretty Michael chocolate lover's dream!

Here you can see how the chocolate was laid out in a rectangle bar and each section was labeled, we tried around twenty kinds of chocolate, an we even made a second lap! We also ended up sick of chocolate...just for the rest of the day .

Below is one of the trays of chocolate samples there was a lady there that as soon as a tray looked empty she would step into a back room and refill the tray it was literally a chocolate Buffett! 

The chocolate there was so good, even the plain milk chocolate was sooooo delicious it almost brought us to tears, we live Swiss chocolate and are sorry to say Hershey doesn't even come close. Our personal favorite Cailler at this point is called Chocomel, milk chocolate with honey and almonds. An absolutely perfect bar. In a near perfect country, we will miss you Switzerland, if only you were not so expensive!

Travel Wisdom

Go to Cailler chocolate factory if you are anywhere near Switzerland. Be sure to be prepared for any weather conditions in the Swiss alps, some fellow hostellers mentioned snow! Purchase local goods, cheese, chocolate, whatever you can find. Track down those small towns, it feels so good to get away from the touristy hustle and bustle, yes there are still tourists ad Gimmelwald, but nowhere near what we have found elsewhere. It truly is perfectly different!