Explore the possibilities.

Never be afraid to choose a road that nobody chooses.

Challenge new boundaries

Nobody knows what lies beyond.

There is always something new every day.

Pay attention to little details in your life and appreciate them.

Share the knowledge.

It is always fun to talk to someone who knows the subject as well as you do.

Be excited, and remember the excitement.

Never say you're too old to do something.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Norway - Bergen

We arrived at Bergen under a gloomy sky, but the festivities in Bergen kept us from being down.



We arrived from Oslo at around 6:30 AM, tired from the 7-hour train ride. Fortunately, the train seat was not too bad; I had enough leg space for myself, and since we were riding the night train, they provided us with thin blankets and inflatable pillows. Oh, and a pair of ear plugs and eye mask. Not the best quality you can find, but it was definitely much better than nothing :)




Light breakfast at the cafe in the station was certainly refreshing. We had a sandwich + orange juice + coffee deal for 75 NOK. Pricey indeed, but in general things in Norway are pricey. And currency conversion hurts even more.



At around 9 AM, we headed to our first destination: the Tourist Information centre. From experience, the tourist information is always the best place to visit when you first arrive in a new city in Europe. They are almost always very helpful.

The Tourist Information centre is located directly next to the Fisketorget, or the Fish Market.



The Fish Market was starting to get busy when we reached there. Right after we got our tickets to Flåm bought from the Tourist Centre, we headed back to our hostel to see if we can check in earlier. When we were back to the Fish Market again around noon, the Fish Market was brimming with merry.





According to the Tourist Information, the day we arrived (8th of June) was the Torgdagen (Market Day), where people sing and sell goods on boats, and also sing and dance in traditional Norwegian clothes. There were also additional stalls selling traditional local dish set up at the back of the Market.



Most salmon meat around the world is exported from Norway. Why not try it at its country of origin? :)



The Fish Market is just overflowing with fresh seafood. And most stalls can cook them right away for you!



By the way, this was my first time seeing live scallops:



Quite different from what I had in my imagination.

Ah, by the way, I found a really interesting food: røkt hvalkjøtt, which is translated as smoked whale meat.



These black pieces of meat are smoked fish. The flavour was really, really strong! I tried a sample from a counter, and... I would say the meat was lean, gamey... it's just really hard to describe. I had whale steak before, and I had to say that I didn't quite like it.

What was even more interesting is that the Market Day also featured unique firetrucks of the town.



Around noon, the city streets were occupied with firetruck parade. It amazes me that there were so many different firetruck models in this town, and that firemen were highly appreciated in this town. In Indonesia, you could almost say that people don't really have faith in our own firemen. And the firemen are under-appreciated. I have not seen any Indonesians saying that the firemen are cool, or they want to grow up to be a fireman to save people. Nope.

Anyways, we left Bergen for a tour around the fjords (will be explained in the next post about our day trip to Flåm). The next morning, I headed to the top of Mt. Fløyen (320 m above sea level), which can be reached by a mini train called Fløibanen Funicular in 6-7 minutes, or 1 hour by hiking. We didn't have much time left, so I bought a round trip ticket up and down the mount for 80 NOK. The view from up there was just splendid.






From Fløyen, I decided to explore Manakirken (St. Mary's Church) built in the 12th century, only to find out that it was under construction. I was so stupid to even try going there because it was even written on the free guide book we got from the Tourist Information centre that it was closed. Well, at least I saw it :P


On the same side, west to the city centre and close to this church, is Bergenhus Fortress Museum and the Haakon Hall - 13th century Royal Ceremonial Hall.




I didn't enter the museum because I had no time and the trip has cost me so much. I don't want to spend more money on museums at this point.

Next was the Bryggen Houses. These houses often appear on postcards from Bergen.



And then I spent the rest of the day exploring the city centre.

Den National Scene


Øvre


Across the Pestplassen, on Kyrres Gate ("gate" means "street" in Norwegian)


Ah, and on the 9th of June, the Volkswagen Auto Club Bergen (VWACB) held a Bug Out, where VW owners showcased their cars at Pestplassen, just next to Lille Lungegårdsvann, a lake close to the train station.










Two thumbs up for Bergen. It's a great city for a weekend getaway :)


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Norway - Oslo Vigeland Park

Vigeland Park is one of the top travel destination in Oslo according to Tripadvisor and the tourist centre in Oslo. It is a little far from the city centre: about 45 minutes on foot. The walk from the city centre to Vigeland Park is also a little bit against the gravity, but it also means that going back to the city centre will be a breeze. Anyways, it's a free attraction (very good for students like me haha!).

Vigeland Park hosts 192 statues of naked human beings in various poses and expressions. 



The park itself is green and beautiful, although there were not that many flowers in the park (I love flowers). There were quite a number of people sitting down on the grass, either sunbathing or having a barbecue on disposable aluminum trays.



By the way, the rental bikes in Oslo are somewhat unique: the front wheel is smaller than the back wheel. I'm not sure why, though.

At first, when I thought of a park with statues, I thought, "meh, let's check it out since it's free and just skim through this park kind of quick" but I think I ended up enjoying these statues too much! :)





The statues are imbued with interesting details of expressions. I am not a sculpture expert and I'm not too gifted in terms of judging the aesthetical value of an object, but I like what I like and that itself is how I judge artworks. After all, I still don't get why Mona Lisa is THAT famous.

Anyways, this is the famous statue of an Angry Boy:



It's an interesting statue. You can feel the emotions of the boy: his frustration, anger, dissatisfaction... and I think even if there was no title on this statue, I would name it the "Angry Boy". I like arts that are understandable at my level.

Here are the highlights of interesting statues I found in the park:









Ah, and here comes the real highlight of the park.


I don't know how to describe the whole scenery I saw with my eyes. Flabbergasted? Astounded? It is a mixture of some kind of admiration and unsettlement. It's just... how on earth can someone design something like this? A tall pillar of human bodies piling up... just thinking of it made me feel disturbed. And yet, when I saw the pillar, I kept racking my brain, thinking of different possibilities how this pillar was made.



Surrounding that pillar seemed to be statues portraying familiar relationships. 






I love how children can do whatever they like to suit their imaginations.



If I were to do the same, I would have been labeled as a weirdo and someone would probably try to get me down just because I might destroy the sculpture. Nevertheless, I think this piece is pretty thought-provoking.

A little walk further is the end of the park, where (I believe) the Circle of Life is located.




If I ever come back to Oslo and have some spare time, I would love to visit the Vigeland Museum.


I'm glad we came at the perfect day to enjoy another aspect of Oslo :)