Monday, October 29, 2012
Wonder Bea
A couple of days ago, Bea summoned her Dad for a photo shoot of her new Halloween costume. I peeked out the back door into the lovely evening light and saw her jumping on the trampoline, pretending to fly, and my heart was seized with a little pang of tenderness. With all the drama and busyness of teenagers in the house, it is easy to forget that she is only five years old and there is still so much magic and wonder in her world. I am trying to be better about taking time to really enjoy this happy, fun stage of her life. She is such a pleasant little girl and so eager to be part of all that goes on.
Here are a few pictures of her in costume and also coloring on the front porch, which she loves to do after school. (And a couple of me watching her from the front door.)
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Fjord Tour Extravaganza
Friday was our ultimate marathon Norway day--from 7am until 9pm, we went by foot, bus, train, kayak, bicycle, and ferry through the famous fjords. I hardly know what to say except that it was every bit as awe-inspiring, beautiful and magnificent as I thought it would be, and then some! We had a great time taking pictures out the windows, visiting with other tourists on the train, and stopping at waterfalls now and then. The adventure really started when our train arrived in Flam, deep in the mountains. Rob and I had arranged to go on a kayaking trip and Kay and Cecile planned to rent bikes. We had a 3 hour stop before catching the ferry back to Bergen. It wasn't raining (for once!) and it was just me, Rob, and our guide, John (a really nice 20 year old from Sweden).
We headed out and my heart was so happy to be in such a beautiful, peaceful place, doing something so exciting and active. It was the best feeling ever. Then it started to drizzle. Then the wind started. Then Rob started to complain about getting wet. He and I were in a double kayak, wearing full wetsuits and spray skirts, but the water was really starting to come up over the sides. Then we turned around to head back around the mountain toward the shore and we found out that paddling against the current is a lot harder, especially with a stiff wind and more intense rain. Then I started feeling wet too. John towed us a for a while (we kept paddling with all our might!), but we were all getting blown around a lot and all of us were so tired and frustrated. I don't know that we were ever in danger and it would have been a lot less stressful if we didn't have a deadline, but we DID have a deadline and knew that Rob's parents were waiting for us on the ferry which was supposed to be leaving that very minute.
With a last heroic, heart-bursting effort, we paddled desperately hard to shore, leaped out, stripped off our wetsuits and set out on a dead run for the ferry, which was about a quarter mile away. John was running ahead with the radio, telling them to wait for us and Rob and I were absolutely DRENCHED from head to toe. When Rob's panicked mom saw us, she thought for sure we had capsized. I had some dry clothes in a backpack, but poor Rob did not and spent the rest of the day shivering under emergency blankets on the ferry. It was a close call and has made for a good story now that the danger and stress is past. It kind of makes me laugh that all the pictures we took are "before" and show us so dry and optimistic. We were so frantic, cold and wet that we didn't take any "after" shots, but they would sure be funny!
We loved this whole trip and thought Norway was an especially lovely and peaceful place. We were really able to relax and enjoy doing things together and loved having that special time with Rob's parents too. A super nice college girl from our ward stayed with the girls are were so grateful to her for taking such good care of them. We were all happy to see each other again at the end of the week! It is always good to get away and always good to be back home.
THE END
We headed out and my heart was so happy to be in such a beautiful, peaceful place, doing something so exciting and active. It was the best feeling ever. Then it started to drizzle. Then the wind started. Then Rob started to complain about getting wet. He and I were in a double kayak, wearing full wetsuits and spray skirts, but the water was really starting to come up over the sides. Then we turned around to head back around the mountain toward the shore and we found out that paddling against the current is a lot harder, especially with a stiff wind and more intense rain. Then I started feeling wet too. John towed us a for a while (we kept paddling with all our might!), but we were all getting blown around a lot and all of us were so tired and frustrated. I don't know that we were ever in danger and it would have been a lot less stressful if we didn't have a deadline, but we DID have a deadline and knew that Rob's parents were waiting for us on the ferry which was supposed to be leaving that very minute.
With a last heroic, heart-bursting effort, we paddled desperately hard to shore, leaped out, stripped off our wetsuits and set out on a dead run for the ferry, which was about a quarter mile away. John was running ahead with the radio, telling them to wait for us and Rob and I were absolutely DRENCHED from head to toe. When Rob's panicked mom saw us, she thought for sure we had capsized. I had some dry clothes in a backpack, but poor Rob did not and spent the rest of the day shivering under emergency blankets on the ferry. It was a close call and has made for a good story now that the danger and stress is past. It kind of makes me laugh that all the pictures we took are "before" and show us so dry and optimistic. We were so frantic, cold and wet that we didn't take any "after" shots, but they would sure be funny!
We loved this whole trip and thought Norway was an especially lovely and peaceful place. We were really able to relax and enjoy doing things together and loved having that special time with Rob's parents too. A super nice college girl from our ward stayed with the girls are were so grateful to her for taking such good care of them. We were all happy to see each other again at the end of the week! It is always good to get away and always good to be back home.
THE END
Troldhaugen & Edvard Grieg
Two pictures to prove that Rob really did attend "some" of the intended academic conference--I went with Rob's parents to hear him present his paper and felt so proud to have a smart husband. He is so good at what he does and I am happy he loves his work. We were able to visit with two colleagues from our Indiana days, Jim Perry (Rob's mentor) and Mete Yildiz, a fellow grad student who now lives and teaches in his native Turkey.
The day after the conference, we took the train out to Troldhaugen (The Troll's House), home of composer Edvard Grieg. We are all fans of classical music and piano performance, so it was very interesting and inspiring to learn more about Grieg's life. Lucky for us, the Grieg Competition (an international piano competition) was being held in Bergen the week we were there and the initial judging rounds were held at the concert hall near Grieg's home. We really enjoyed the performances and bought tickets for the final competition in Bergen on Saturday night. It was AMAZING. They held it downtown in a beautiful hall (Grieghallen) and each piece was performed with the Bergen Symphony Orchestra.
Our night at the symphony was one I will remember always. We had great seats with a perfect view of the piano keyboard and the talent and beauty of the music was truly breathtaking. We all enjoyed it so much. The three finalists were all Russian men, but my favorite was Anton Igubnov . He didn't win (though he won audience favorite!), but we saw him at the airport on our flight home and were able to meet him and tell him how much we admired his performance. I still had the program in my bag and had him autograph it. I was too shy to ask for a picture, but I wish I had done it!
The day after the conference, we took the train out to Troldhaugen (The Troll's House), home of composer Edvard Grieg. We are all fans of classical music and piano performance, so it was very interesting and inspiring to learn more about Grieg's life. Lucky for us, the Grieg Competition (an international piano competition) was being held in Bergen the week we were there and the initial judging rounds were held at the concert hall near Grieg's home. We really enjoyed the performances and bought tickets for the final competition in Bergen on Saturday night. It was AMAZING. They held it downtown in a beautiful hall (Grieghallen) and each piece was performed with the Bergen Symphony Orchestra.
Our night at the symphony was one I will remember always. We had great seats with a perfect view of the piano keyboard and the talent and beauty of the music was truly breathtaking. We all enjoyed it so much. The three finalists were all Russian men, but my favorite was Anton Igubnov . He didn't win (though he won audience favorite!), but we saw him at the airport on our flight home and were able to meet him and tell him how much we admired his performance. I still had the program in my bag and had him autograph it. I was too shy to ask for a picture, but I wish I had done it!
Scenes from Bergen
Our apartment was also close to Bryggen, the old city center of Bergen. It is right on the harbor and has a famous fish market (from which we enjoyed some mighty delicious crab legs, smoked salmon, and shrimp!) On Saturday, they held an agricultural festival, so there were lots of tents set up and we got to sample many delicious Norwegian delicacies, including lingonberry pancakes (amazing!), reindeer sausage (surprisingly tasty!), and brown cheese (completely nasty!)
We found that Bergen is the "Seattle of Europe"--it rains an average of 88 inches a year and almost every day. The weather is very changeable and gloomy. I think because of this, there is a lot of vivid color in the city and it was so beautiful to me. Besides the painted houses, I noticed many windows with bright or pretty things arranged in the windows and tiny plots or planters next to front doors with cheery flowers. And the GREEN, oh the green. Just so amazing and lush, everywhere we went.
We found that Bergen is the "Seattle of Europe"--it rains an average of 88 inches a year and almost every day. The weather is very changeable and gloomy. I think because of this, there is a lot of vivid color in the city and it was so beautiful to me. Besides the painted houses, I noticed many windows with bright or pretty things arranged in the windows and tiny plots or planters next to front doors with cheery flowers. And the GREEN, oh the green. Just so amazing and lush, everywhere we went.
Walking Tours and Mount Floyen
Our apartment was located on the foothills of Mount Floyen, the most popular of Bergen's seven peaks. We were high on the hill, on the 4th floor (no elevator) so we got A LOT of walking in each day and then didn't feel guilty about eating those delicious European pastries!
Rob and I hiked/walked/ran up Mt. Floyen several times and also took the train up. It was just a beautiful place. At the top was a fancy restaurant (where Rob had his conference dinner), a gift shop, a fun troll-themed playground and many more hiking trails. It seems that hiking is a national hobby in Norway and even though it rained every day of our trip, people just put on their rain gear and head out!
We didn't take pictures of our apartment, but here is the link. We HIGHLY recommend Airbnb!! This is our second trip staying in an apartment instead of a hotel and it is, in my opinion, a much better way to travel!
Rob and I hiked/walked/ran up Mt. Floyen several times and also took the train up. It was just a beautiful place. At the top was a fancy restaurant (where Rob had his conference dinner), a gift shop, a fun troll-themed playground and many more hiking trails. It seems that hiking is a national hobby in Norway and even though it rained every day of our trip, people just put on their rain gear and head out!
We didn't take pictures of our apartment, but here is the link. We HIGHLY recommend Airbnb!! This is our second trip staying in an apartment instead of a hotel and it is, in my opinion, a much better way to travel!
Norway in a Nutshell
Well, several nutshells. I'm breaking the trip into several posts so it's not so overwhelming! We've been home a full month, but it has taken me forever to sort through, caption, organize, and actually get around to posting pictures. We had SUCH a great trip. Rob's parents met us there and we shared a fun apartment right in the old harbor district of Bergen. I felt like we were on a catalog photo shoot all week--everywhere we looked there was incredible scenery, gorgeous Nordic people, and fascinating, beautiful details tucked away in every corner
Rob and I were on our own the first couple of days and had lots of fun exploring around and checking out the local shops. We took a cable car to the top of Mount Ulriken and thought we'd hike the "easy" trail down. Not well marked, and definitely not easy, we found ourselves hiking straight down the huge mountain in wind and rain. It took several hours and we got very wet and very sore, but it turned out to be one of those fun, memory-making adventures.
Rob and I were on our own the first couple of days and had lots of fun exploring around and checking out the local shops. We took a cable car to the top of Mount Ulriken and thought we'd hike the "easy" trail down. Not well marked, and definitely not easy, we found ourselves hiking straight down the huge mountain in wind and rain. It took several hours and we got very wet and very sore, but it turned out to be one of those fun, memory-making adventures.
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