We made it back!

Two weeks in the books! Though I can't say I understand what my host mom is saying about the laundry procedures any better. 

For my first weekend in Spain, I spent my days catching up on sleep and exploring the city. On Saturday, I went with some friends to Toledo, Spain, which is about an hour south of Madrid. The beautiful ancient city is perched on a hill that provided a lovely backdrop for some pictures at sunset.

We wandered the streets, admiring the architecture and talking to locals. We ran into one man who happened to work in jewelry workshop, which he took us to and showed us some jewelry that was specific to Toledo. Naturally, I bought myself a little souvenir.

Pressing strings of gold into the plate with small tools

¡Que guapa!

My next trip on the docket was the beautiful Noruega. Norway was just incredible. Even though it was my first trip this semester, I honestly don't know how any other trip could possibly top the beautiful landscapes I saw.

We began the trip somewhat oddly though with a connecting flight to the London - Gatwick Airport first where we had to go through security and customs all over again. The airport was a maze that demanded you walk through what appeared to be Mall of America to get to your gate. Not to mention that every worker we encountered asked where we were going then proceeded to tell us that we needed to hurry if we didn't want to miss our flight as they were closing the gates. Sorry - what?! And no, this sudden information did not speed up their pace for us.

So we sprinted down this yellow brick road of overpriced perfume sections until we found our gate... which was entirely empty. We were earlier than everyone else. Looking back on it now, I wonder if the employees at Gatwick airport simply chose to tell a group of young Americans they were going to miss their flights as part of some late night amusement.

Best restroom sign I've ever seen

Street in Bergen

Shortest street in Norway 

We began our first day in Norway with a cruise through the fjords of Bergen in the morning. As we searched for the dock, we looked for coffee shops as we were all in need of caffeine. When we found the fjord cruise company, they told us where the boat would dock to pick up passengers. One of the guys asked a worker where we could get some coffee in the meantime and he paused for a long time to think before pointing out a 7-Eleven (Norwegians love their 7-Eleven's - there was one of every corner). We thanked him and went on our way to buy some crappy coffee. Of course on our walk back to the boat we passed a massive Starbucks one block from the 7-Eleven. Once on the actual boat, we realized that they sold coffee there! Not only that, but the worker we talked to about coffee worked that very station! Are you kidding me?

Struggles of Megan wearing 4 pairs of socks

Struggles pt. 2

The fjord cruise was probably my favorite part of the trip. Even though we battled strong winds and potential hypothermia on the deck of the boat, every second was worth it. The views looked almost in Black & White as the white snow was crisp and the water black as night. With my toes nearly falling off, there were moments when my phone died strictly because of how cold it was. That evening we took a tram up Mount Fløyen to look out over the city, which was also truly incredible. We had an oh-shit-moment when we realized Michael's backpack with our keys to the apartment was gone, but luckily the people of Norway are kind and we were able to retrieve it easily. 

Unfortunately, none of my videos are uploading on this. These pictures cannot do the fjords justice as they just went on and on. The shaky photos I took in the wind will have to suffice. 

Panorama from Mount Fløyen

First thing we did at the top of a mountain? Fell down it

Fish market at the harbor

Home cooked dinner on Friday night

Something that I've decided to do this semester is to try a local beer in every city/country that I go to. I wanted to experience the variety of one item wherever I go and what better item than beer? My first one in Norway was Hansa followed by a Frydenlund Bayer which I have to say was my favorite of the two. Stay tuned for more on my opinions of hop counts and all that. 

Bergen's local brew

Letting out some steam

On Saturday, we took a seven hour train ride from Bergen to Oslo, Norway. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds as it was easily the most beautiful traveling I've ever done. The countryside was absolutely stunning and made you want to cozy on up in one of those little homes on the mountainside. 

Casual train ride views

Seven hours of this wasn't enough

Once in Oslo, we had a bit of a challenge receiving the keys to our Airbnb. Unlike the last one where we were able to punch in a code and get the keys out of a lockbox, this Airbnb required that we meet with some friends of the owner on a street corner for the exchange. With no phone and a dropping temperature, this provided quite the challenge. While waiting for these men, Christian's debit was also sucked into an ATM with the words "card captured" so it wasn't the best start to this "big city" life. Once we found the men, they were fairly vocal about their expectation and anger that we were not 7 American girls. After one of the weirdest encounters I've ever had, we finally got the keys. I was very grateful to be traveling with guys at this moment. 

On Sunday morning, a few of us got up early to head down to a local coffee shop to start planning our day. We went to a Viking museum and the Nobel Peace Center, which were both extremely interesting. The exhibits at the Nobel Peace Center were artistically presented and provided sobering accounts from war veterans. 

Tasty cafe in Oslo

Nobel Peace Center

Nobel Peace Center

Ornate viking burial ship

A real viking!!

Frydenlund Bayer - locally brewed beer in Oslo

The entire trip Megan and I were pining for some milkshakes (turns out that frappuccinos from Starbucks cannot fill that void). For our last meal in Norway we found a pub that had some! So we got some good ole Oreo milkshakes to end the Norwegian trip with a bang. 

Alas, milkshakes! How we looked on the outside-

-versus how we felt on the inside

Megan's first froosh. Survey says: "not bad."

On our way out of the country, we encountered some interesting blips at the airport in Oslo. A security worker told me that I needed to throw out some toiletries as each person is allowed one small plastic bag. When Megan said that was odd, he responded by flipping her the bird as we walked away. Thanks, man. We also landed 25 minutes early in Madrid and were driven via shuttle to the airport where we walked straight to the metro. At no point during the day did we show our passport or go through customs. We must look very trustworthy, even though we carry too many toiletries. 

And that's a wrap for my first trip experience! Thank you, Norway, for being the best possible place to go to kick off this semester. This weekend I head to Ireland with some ladies to experience the motherland once again. 

Spoiler alert: my Local Brews List may contain lots and lots of Guinness.