pfeffy hopes she's back to 43T

i don’t really know how to explain it, but it just felt right over in norway. the people are nice, everything is mellow, the scenery is beautiful. i’m going to start planning the next stage of my life and figure out how i can live over there for a while.

we took a bunch of pictures, check ‘em out!:

http://web.mac.com/rossie/towelsforeveryone/Albums/Pages/Norway_Vacation.html

I can’t believe we leave tomorrow! It’s hard to imagine that it’s already upon us. I am really hoping to see some very cool cities, maybe do a little fun Norwegian shopping, eat some fish, and see some wicked cool fjords. it looks like it’s going to be on the chilly side, but I’m o.k. with that. It will be a nice break from the 90-degree temps we’ve been putting up with here in the midwest. I’ll let you all know how it went when we get back!

I cannot believe we are less than two weeks away! Hotels, Norway in a Nutshell, flights are all booked, and my passport arrived a week or so ago (whew!). So far, this is what we have planned:

Oslo (1-1/2 days): Frognerparken (Vigeland statues), Karl Johan Gate, Aker Bryyge, the Nat’l Museum
Norway in a Nutshell to Bergen
Bergen (1 day): ?? see Bryygen, but I don’t know what else (suggestions?)
Cruise to Stavanger
Stavanger (~2 days): ??maybe check out Pulpit Rock and get in some sweet hiking.
Flight back to Oslo for one last night in town before we fly back to the States.

If anyone has any must-see places or must-do things-to-do, I am all ears! I trust my Northern European 43Thingers!

and i used to like roller coasters a lot more than i do now (apparently). in any event, the park is big, with lots of trees, and even though lines were long, they weren’t nearly as bad as i remember them being at kings island. maybe they just moved quicker, but in either case, it was better overall.. the scenery is much nicer, too, since it’s right on lake erie. lots of pretty views of the water and the beach from atop all of those high coasters. oh, and if you have time, go to the beach. we didn’t realize there was beach access until near the end of the day. it would be a great way to do lunch.

Tickets are booked, and I’m working on accommodations and other travel arrangements. It’s going to be so hard to decide what to do; we only have a week. As of right now, we’re going to be in Oslo for the first couple of days we’re there. Then I hope to head to Tonsberg to catch up with the fam. After that, I think we’ll do the Norway in a Nutshell train/tram/bus/ferry trip. I really want to spend some quality time in Bergen, but I want to see fjords, too! And the coast! Kristiansand! There’s too much to do and not enough time to do it in. Must reel it in and start making some hard decisions.

this is going to sound totally dorky, but hubby and i, well, hubby, really, checked out a show called “WonderFalls” from Netflix that is set in Niagara Falls. I’ve always thought it would be cool to check out one of the seven natural wonders of the world, but now I want to see it for kitsch value, i suppose. it just seems like a cool little town to check out and spend a couple of days. i think hubby’s on board, too, so we might go for our anniversary this year! yay!

here it is: http://www.whitefishbayfarm.com/

the couple who own it are awesome. really good food, and like i mentioned in my previous post, quiet and relaxing.

stay on the “quiet side.” if i remember correctly, this is the eastern side of the peninsula. there’s a lot to do on the west side, but there are also a lot of people. visit the west side, but stay on the east side. we found an awesome b&b that was also a sheep farm. very cool. if i can find the name of it, i’ll post it.

we were only there overnight, and i was in high school visiting friends, but we had fun. i seem to recall harrisonburg being a little drab, though.