N.O.R.W.A.Y. 'nuff said.

The awesome thing about working from home is having the freedom to travel with Ben (whose new job requires almost 50% travel).  A few weeks ago Ben was in Cleveland for 5 days, set to go to Norway for a week after that, and back to Cleveland a week later. Two weeks without him was UNACCEPTABLE, so we made a way for me to travel with him.

 To Cleveland? No... not that first time, anyway. I'd rather stick along on the trip to NORWAY!

Part 1: OSLO

After 13 hrs. of traveling in a HORRIBLE plane, we made it to Oslo-- one of my new favorite int'l cities. It is AMAZING!

Ben, who has been there before, took me to a beautiful outdoor park in the heart of the city.  It's famous for their naked statues. 

Ben introduced me to his favorite statue...

This one was mine!

I found something I love...

Ben found something HE loves!

Part 2: THE DRIVE

A/D allowed Ben to get a rental car for the week, which he LOVED driving on the one-lane-no-direction-indicated-speed-roads of Norway. I was terrified, but he did great! I think there's a NASCAR fan in our family... 

Our hotel/ work was at the edge of a fjord 6 hours away, and we had such a great time driving out there.

Trolls are their national icon or something. No one could tell us why, but they are EVERYWHERE! Here's my nod to all my favorite "trolls"!

We took a detour to check out a gorgeous wooden church built on a hill. Isn't it a great idea to have a cemetery on a hill, with the gravestones overlooking the view?

Ben stopped to take pix of waterfalls all the time!

The good thing about not having a schedule is that you can take some time to play on a suspension bridge!

This picture was not re-touched!

We had to take a ferry across the fjord

And we're here! 

Part 3: SOGNFJORD

Our hotel and the plant Ben was visiting were on Sognfjord, a fjord that boasts that largest glacier in the world.  We decided to go there and add "climbed up a glacier in flip flops" to the list of amazing things we've done together.

It was really cool. I mean, neat. 

Part 4: OUR AREA

Sogndal is the largest city on Sognfjord, and it is small! 40 min. from the "big town", though, was the little village our hotel (and only our hotel) was in, and the town with Ben's plant was another 5 min. away. It was so cute... the towns are made up of just a handful of houses and a few hundred meters of land.

The view from our hotel room in our hotel in Marifjora

Across the lake is the town Ben was working in

There was NOTHING to do around Marifjora, so I was left to follow red dots up the mountain....

But it did lead to some amazing views of our fjord!

 And I met some new friends :)

After work one day we were told we should drive to a nearby sanitorium. This is where they took all the people who had Tuberculosis (in the middle of nowhere Norway with the clean mountain air) to cure the disease. Since then, however, the building has been vacant and is said to be haunted! 

We couldn't find a way in, though :(

Since water surrounds the fjords, there is lots of kayaking! Now that's more my style. 

The last day of Ben's visit the boss of the local plant decided to give the visitors a half day to tour the fjord by boat. It was so great!

But work is hard to get away from....

The point of the boat ride was to visit this Ulnes church, the oldest in Norway and protected by the World's Heritage Site list. It is also the official church of the King and Queen of Norway!

Part 5: The Road to Bergen

After Ben's 4 days of work were over, we made a very detour-y trip to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway.  Everyone told us it was different than any other city in the country and we HAD to find a way there. Well, going anywhere in Norway is a SLOW process...

We went on a funicular in Bergen. My first ever! Ben's engineer side had a blast.

A little cafe at the top of the mountain. It felt so European!

Yay for FUNiculars!

It really was a beautiful town.

Street market! 

Part 6: YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN NORWAY WHEN...

You see structures with growing grass and weeds on the roof. 

People have names like "Thore Thoreson"

Goats cross the road.

Apple grow on bushes.

Things for sale aren't monitored- people trust you to put money in a box.

It's always cold, rainy, or foggy.

Skinny jeans.

BOTTOM LINE:

We considered this trip a second honeymoon.  We had an amazing two-week trip to Central America, but it was stressful and adventurous- not the relaxing, easy trip a honeymoon should be. This was our relaxing, easy trip! Everyone speaks English, the food was great, it was beautiful, and we had a car and GPS. There were issues... we got a parking ticket it took an entire day figuring out, and I spent a lot of time bored, and Ben was working, but it was  a FANTASTIC trip!!!!!!!

Viva Norway!

This is why I love family wards.

We love the Hickory ward we attend.  Ben was just called as Elder's Quorum 1st councilor, and I was just set apart as RS Secretary! Kind of cool to share these callings, but I feel in over my head as secretary  since I still don't know many people! Guess this is a blessing in disguise, so I can get to know them and serve people better. 

Anywho, today was our annual Primary Sacrament Meeting.  We showed up just at the beginning, and since it's a popular week for visitors it was already packed. But you have to get a good seat on Primary Sunday, right? So we marched up to the front and sat by some strangers... new friends... just a few rows from the front. It was Ben's first Primary Sunday in years, and we had  a great time (too good of a time) enjoying the ward children. 

In fact, we made a list of our favorite things. 

• The blonde kid who points his hands like guns with one eye closed at the audience
• The spiky-haired kid by Gabe jumping up and down waving (will someone just wave back?)
• Mis-reading the scripture to say..."Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have neverlasting life"
• The sulky 11-ys-olds that don't want to be here
• Gabe, 7, sticks his tongue out and points his finger to the audience during his song solo (KISS fan?)
• The kid by the lightswitch who keeps turning it on and off (happens when there are over 60 kids...)
• The overambitious chorister who tried separating the songs into parts 
• In the middle of his solo verse of "Follow the Prophet" an older boy says into the mic, "Oh I just forgot."
• Trying not to sing aloud to your favorite Primary songs
• Little girl sits back in her chair, bored, and rests her script over her mouth
• "When Christ was in the Garden of Gotham..."
• Ben singing aloud with the Primary to their verse of the congregational hymn
• Little boy by the pulpit scrunches up his face and holds up balled fists to sing the song with rock-like passion
• By the end of the program half the kids aren't standing or singing along anymore. 

"Can we teach our kids to do funny stuff on the stand?" -Susannah

"Like what, give high-fives?" - Ben

"Yeah, run through the aisle and give high-fives like contestants on a gameshow!"

"I don't think we'll have to teach them that."