Norway, beautiful again

I recently came back from my third time in Norway; it's definitely a country to go back to again and again. Three years ago, I went to the Lofoten islands, last year to Oslo, Bergen and the Hardangerfjord region; this time I spent a couple of days near Bergen and a few days above the Arctic Circle.

Arrived in Oslo in a cool and rainy day, which was a relief after Lisbon's heat - the weather is one of the reasons I love Scandinavia in the summer, and the light. Already familiar with most of the "sights" of the city from my last year's visit, I spent a great afternoon of chatting and drinking with a Norwegian friend I had met through facebook; it was really a splendid beginning.

The next morning we took the train to Bergen; it's a beautifully scenic trip. Bergen was unusually sunny - meaning it just drizzled a few times and there were actually periods of sunshine - perfect to stroll along the Bryggen and the harbour. Unfortunately, the Floybannen was not working, so I couldn't enjoy the view from the top of the hill on such a clear day, so we finished the day with some reindeer meatballs at a nice bar, the Pingvinen.

We rented a car and drove for two days around the country, spending a night at the small village of Eidfjord (I had also stayed there last year). The region is extremely scenic: fjords, waterfalls, wooden houses villages (my son said they looked like "pinypon villages"; the weather was good and we were in a good mood. I don't like to drive, especially in highways and speedways, so Norway is perfect for me, I just didn't like some long tunnels and a few steep roads - I remembered once, in Tours, in 2000, a Belgian doctor talking about all the highways that had recently been built in Portugal: "maintenant, c'est un plaisir rouler au Portugal!", and thought: "c'est un plaisir rouler en Norvège!". The highest point of the tour was driving on a narrow road through the Folgefonna glacier, a stunningly beautiful place, amid snowy mountains and iced lakes, the road ended at a closed ski facility, where the posts disappeared in the clouds.

A Norwegian Airlines flight took us to Tromsö, a nice small town strangely known as "the Paris of the North" (didn't see any resemblance...). Another car, and, after a short drive, a long wait in the sun and a ferry trip, we reached the island of Senja, another stunningly beautiful place (I can't help repeating myself, "beautiful" is just the best word to talk about these places).

The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm, it was midnight sun time, so there was always light, and the scenery so uplifting I felt really happy. I treasure moments like when I felt the seaweed smell when We stopped by a small rocky deserted beach, or when I was walking on the pier in Mefjordvaer at midnight, watching the bay amid the mountains. That's why I never regret the money spent traveling.

We slept at a nice inn in Mefjordvaer, the Mefjord Brygge, where I ate a surprisingly tasty and spicy cod dish, and then crossed Senja and caught another ferry to the Vesteralen islands, to Harstad. Being a rainy day, I didn't go to the Lofoten, and just drove around Hinnoya and Ofoten, slept at Bjerkvik, and caught the plane back to Oslo at the Evenes airport.

Oslo was rainy again, so we visited the National Museum - apart from the great Viking and Polar collection, also small but very good collections from other places - and headed for Vigelands Park to see the bizarre but lively and interesting Vigeland statues, before the time came to catch the plane back to Lisbon.

So, it was a very pleasant vacation, and also a good opportunity for bonding with my son, who turned out a better travel companion than I expected - of course there were a few moments of exasperation at teen's "logic" and he always put a fashionable boring look to the photos, but all in all it was a very positive experience.