Uff Da! Beauty in the Land of the Vikings.

Well, as Whitney so sensitively described in her previous post, the start to our Norway leg was a little rough. After I recovered what little pride I had left after forcing my bride into our 7X7 ft. room (is it getting smaller every time we talk about it?), I coerced myself into enjoying what was left of our fun in fjords. Let me tell you, it wasn't a difficult task. Upon waking in Flam, the landscape of the previous evening, mostly just large peaks shrouded in the looming darkness of the late hour, turned to a breathtaking beauty with the break of dawn. Guided by our new Irish friend Mr. Bannon, we dipped our Cigg water bottles into a nearby stream and tasted some cold, fresh Norwegian water. After checking out of our hotel, we grabbed a $13 cup of coffee and parked ourselves on a bench with a view. We watched the tourist groups come in and go out, watched the sun scribble new pictures across the mountainside every hour and sipped in utter amazement. What we saw from the shore became simply more stunning from the water. Once on the ship, we headed for the very Scandinavian-sounding village of Gudvangen. The two hours at a snails pace was perfect; Peaks jutting straight up, off the cool, deep green-blue of the fjord; "Towns" of three houses and a barn, nestled in cool patches of green grass between hills; And on, and on it went. From Gudvangen to Voss by bus (views continued) and from Voss to Bergen by train. This time I had taken absolute charge and not only did we have a place to spend the next three nights, it was a NICE place. From where I sit, I can see directly out into the fjord on which Bergen sits. We could smell the fish from the moment we arrived and while today was rainy and spent mostly bustling from one tourist trap shop of trolls and wooden horses to the other, yesterday was gorgeous. We rode the funicular (a train, set up at angle to crawl up the steep slope of the mountain) to the top and overlooked the city. We met a man, with whom we chatted for hours, but that story is for another day. Come check out the fjords someday, you will not be sorry. Oh and we're leaving at 3:45 am tomorrow for the Emerald Isle. So...goodnight.