[Aug. 2009] I am writing a memory because I have run out of new travel stories due to the consequence of Covid-19.
This is a continuation of the Norway in Nutshell Tour, which we participated in Norway in August 2009.
We boarded a boat from Flåm, a village on the coast of Sognefjord.
The Sognefjord is Norway’s longest and the second longest fjord in the world, with a total length of 204 kilometers.
We went slowly here by boat.
To be precise, what we saw was the Nærøyfjord, a tributary of the huge Sognefjord and a beautiful part and it is listed as one of the World Heritage Sites.
We had a typical Scandinavian overcast sky, but even that was a part of the amazing feeling.
Among the passengers who got in, there was a very rough group who could be the descendant of Viking.
The scenery of the colorful houses in the pale colour surroundings were lovely.
Just about a month before this trip, we had boarded another boat on Lake Como in Italy, so I told my husband, “It’s a wild version of Lake Como, isn’t it.”
This was not a lake, but the sea, though.
It was very quiet and the population of the scattered villages seemed to be small.
Occasionally we could see the scenes of only one house on the hill.
We got off the boat at the port called Gudvangen and got on the bus which was waiting for us.
It seems that the bus crossed a mountain, because I remember that it went down on the steep slope of a hairpin curve with a magnificent view on its side.
I also remember that the driver was fluent in English, and I liked the way he guided us leisurely.
We got off the bus at Voss and took the Bergen train, the same railway we took at the beginning of the tour and went back to Bergen.
The scenery along the way was fantastic and beautiful.
We arrived in Bergen while it was still a day, so we took a peek at the fish market, which was one of the famous places in the town to visit.
However, the scale was too small to be impressed.
The feature was that they were selling processed whale meat products that would never be sold in other countries in Europe.
Dinner for the day was at a restaurant called To Kokker in the historic area called Bryggen.
It was a very warm and nice atmosphere in the wooden building.
Both of us ate 3 courses set menu including whale carpaccio.
Carpaccio had a little smell, but I ate it gratefully as I had not eaten whale meat for a long time.
It was the first whale meat for my husband.
He seemed to like it quite a bit and said, “I want to eat again if I have a chance.”
I personally thought that Japanese whale dishes were more delicious.
I was just distracted by whale meat and unfortunately I don’t remember any other foods.
This meal costs about 75 pounds per person, and I remember thinking, “After all, Scandinavia is expensive” at that time.
