Village nestling by the waterside in the fjords. Got up early to pack and have a quick breakfast before walking down to the station to start our Norway in a nutshell tour. This usually starts with a train from Oslo but unfortunately due to the extensive engineering works – the first stage of this was a replacement bus to Honefoss taking approx 1 hour. There was chaos at Oslo central with loads of people milling about hoping they were in the right queue for the right replacement bus, and then not enough buses turning up. We eventually did get onto a bus (though barely – I’d got on and saved a seat for Dave while he put our baggages in the luggage store – then he almost wasn’t allowed on the bus). But once we set off, we made good time to Honefoss and caught the train from there bound for Myrdal. The train seats were good and you could tilt them back into a nice reclining position. But our view through the window was not so good – and I had to crane my head to see out which you kind of wanted to do as the scenery gradually became really interesting – becoming rockier and bleaker and colder-looking as we climbed into the mountains, but still with lakes and forests – all looked like total troll country. I tried to take pics while craning my head but just proceeded to make myself feel rather queasy and aggravate an incipient headache. Within a few minutes I was feeling really ropey and just had to lie down on my reclining seat and hope the headache and queasiness passed. So I missed most of the views on the way into Myrdal – although I did perk up briefly when I realised that the snow and ice caps we were viewing on the tops were actually real glaciers – how exciting. At Myrdal, we changed for the scenic branch line to Flam. In a quaint old train with wooden interiors, we descended at a 5-10mph crawl steeply downwards with views into the Flam valley and across to other mountainsides covered in ice and waterfalls cascading 100s of metres into the deeps below. Apparently the train has five sets of brakes stopping you plummeting to your death. That was a bit of a relief as you can imagine. By this time, I’d begun to feel much better which was a definite relief as I had begun to wonder if I’d miss all the great views. During the journey recorded tour notes would come over the address system every now and then, highlighting particular features or facts of interest. Apparently, strange, eerie female singing has been heard on the mountainside luring travellers to unknown fates. The train stopped at a platform in front of a particularly scenic waterfall, the Kjossfossen waterfall for a photo stop. We all snapped away at this scenic loveliness when, suddenly, the eerie sound of women singing blared out from the mountainside – and we caught sight of a blonde woman in red cavorting high up on the mountain, waving her arms about like a really bad hippie dancer – she disappeared to be followed by another in another spot – and they alternated appearing and disappearing with their bad hippie dancing for a couple of minutes – just for us tourists – how wonderfully cheesy. Dave said it was Rod Stewart in drag. We arrived at Flam – full of tourist shops and enormous queues for the toilet – to catch the boat for the fjord cruise leg of our Norwegian nutshell – through Aurlandsfjord and the narrow Naeroyfjord – now a world heritage site. We found a spot on the open deck at the back of the boat and made ourselves comfy, having wiped down the wet chairs, and getting out our waterproofs and umbrellas as it looked like more rain. An initial heavy shower meant that I sat for a while with an umbrella, a plastic bag over my legs and my waterproof covering our luggage. The seagulls followed us for a while swooping to catch the crumbs of bread (and succeeding) thrown to them by Dave. The rain soon eased off however, allowing us full enjoyment of the magnificent views of the steep, craggy, waterfall-covered mountainsides looming up steeply on all sides. Hard to describe – but imagine all the pics of fjords you’ve ever seen – just like that but better obviously! Occasionally we passed small towns or little hamlets with pretty, red houses and wooden churches adding to the ridiculous picturesqueness of it all. Saw a few people canoeing, and some tents camped at the bottom of the crags, and also and at one point a Viking boat with Vikings on it – no joke – think it was probably some kind of novelty boat trip … After approx 2 hours we arrived in Gudvangen to pick up a bus for the next stage. This bit was also ridiculously scenic – as we descended impossibly steeply down the most hairpinny of hairpin roads into the Stalheim canyon. More fantastic waterfalls and views of mountains and biddy little houses deep down below. Even when we’d reached the bottom, the views were lovely with more wooden houses, forests and rocky, fast-running rivers. At Voss we picked up the train for the last nutshell stage to Bergen. This was supposed to be the l

from South America… Since I’ve been back in the office this week, many folks have been asking me about my impressions from Brazil and Buenos Aires…of course, lots of it is work related….but it prompted me to jot down some things that made an impression on me….total randomness in no order what so ever… 1) the people were wonderful….warm, engaging….seem to know how to enjoy life…and I had great fortune to meet my flickr friend Boby in Sao Paulo… 2) it is the first time I’ve had a total paparazzi experience while meeting some government officials….cameras flashing everywhere and even an entourage…very surreal. 3) fruit….the fruit in Brazil is the finest I’ve ever tasted…everything….fresh guava, papaya, melons, mango, oranges, pineapple….coconuts….I ate more fruit in 3 weeks than at any other time in my life… 4) Rio de Janeiro….is amazing…so urban, yet so much natural beauty…and you can look up and see the large statue of Christ (Cristo) watching over the city…I found the sight of it profoundly comforting 5) When in Brazil….drink caipirinhas…they are a fab cocktail made traditionally from Cachaca, sugar and lime…..they are also often made with vodka and a variety of fruits…totally de-lish…but be careful…. Cachaca is pretty strong stuff… the best caipirinha I had was in Rio.... made with a mix of crushed red berries....it was divine... 6 )When in Argentina drink wine…Malbec…also de-lish 7) Coffee in Brazil is totally fab…I miss it dearly… 8) I speak a bit of Spanish, so at first Portuguese had me completely baffled…but by the end of the first week I could understand about 70% of what was being said around me….the sound of the language is lovely… 9) In one of the meetings, I had a professional interpreter that spoke Portuguese simultaneously as I spoke English..it was very cool…I felt a bit like I was in the United Nations… 10) Personal hygiene seems to be a priority in Brazil… There were basins to wash your hands in many restaurants. And… seemed many people brush their teeth frequently…yay!!! (hehe, for those of you who have never met me, I carry my toothbrush in my purse) At many offices they had cubbies in the restrooms for folks to keep their toothbrush kits… and in many restaurants restrooms there was wall mounted floss… (I have never seen that before)…and while on the topic of restrooms, one of my colleagues noted an abundance of cushy toilet seats (he even noted this observation on his facebook status.. ;-P) 11) dinner is late….in Brazil seemed about 8:30 or 9pm….in Buenos Aires….more like 10-11pm…. And yes, we got into the swing of that schedule…I would not even get peckish until 9pm…. 12) There are many beautiful people…I mean really…I think I wrote in one of my posts that it seemed everywhere I looked people were beautiful….in Buenos Aires many men had that long-ish hair brooding look going on…and many women had long touseled hair… 13) music… was wonderful….but often when in cabs….you wld hear this ‘stuck in the 80s music’ very surreal indeed. 14) Guarana…a fruit…it is sweet and has about twice the caffeine as coffee beans….i often drank the soft drink made from this for it’s novelty and even brought home a tube of guarana and mint toothpaste (yes, I buy odd souvenirs ) 15) Tango – is an abolute art. Those who do it well can move you to tears… 16) I will return to both countries....still much to see and do....and yes, they both got a bit under my skin.... :-)