Day 10: We woke up at the Augustus Hotel in Bergen, had a quick breakfast, and got ready for our "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. We walked down to central station to catch a train. We took the train to Voss. Ran from train to bus. Found out there were 3, all going the same place. Got seats on bus, fortunately next to each other. The bus ride was about 2 hours. We drove out a road that got narrower and narrower. The road went up a mountain, and then down the other side (familiar theme yet?). On the other side, we had entered a fjord like area, with a very steep drive. The bus took switchbacks, steep ones! The road was about 5 feet wide (exaggeration here) and it switched back every 10 feet. I thought it was going to fall over on its side every time we turned. But! There were waterfalls and wonderful views. So, the bus dropped us all off in Gudvagen, where we boarded a ferry. The ferry 
took us thru beautiful fjords(It was cold and raining, by the way). It pulled in at several very tiny towns, and delivered the mail. They put the ramp down just long enough for a man with a canvas bag to toss it to a person standing in the town, and then we'd back up and head for the next town. We ended up in Flam (sounds like flome). We ate at a restaurant there, and then took a walk through town and up the street, took pictures, and looked at postcards and various souvenirs. Then we got on a train which continued our trip through the fjord. We passed more waterfalls and pretty landscape. Got off the train in Myrdal, had a snack, and got on another train. This train took us back to Oslo. We were glad we knew our way around Oslo, so we could jump on the tram and go back to the hotel we had stayed in a few nights before. A very long day. At the hotel we were in a diff
erent room. We'd been upgraded, they said, and it was quite nice. There was a huge lampshade over the bed, and an even huger number on the wall (the number of our hotel room). This actually came in handy, cuz after breakfast the next morning I couldn't remember which room was ours, which is kind of awkward 
when you have a generic keycard in your hand. Then I just thought back romantically to the night before (ahem) and bing! 411. (Which is, of course, on the 5th floor to us Americans.) 
By the way, when you travel for awhile you end up with dirty socks. You wash them in the sink, and then you stick them on the end of a hair dryer to dry them. Works great!
took us thru beautiful fjords(It was cold and raining, by the way). It pulled in at several very tiny towns, and delivered the mail. They put the ramp down just long enough for a man with a canvas bag to toss it to a person standing in the town, and then we'd back up and head for the next town. We ended up in Flam (sounds like flome). We ate at a restaurant there, and then took a walk through town and up the street, took pictures, and looked at postcards and various souvenirs. Then we got on a train which continued our trip through the fjord. We passed more waterfalls and pretty landscape. Got off the train in Myrdal, had a snack, and got on another train. This train took us back to Oslo. We were glad we knew our way around Oslo, so we could jump on the tram and go back to the hotel we had stayed in a few nights before. A very long day. At the hotel we were in a diff
erent room. We'd been upgraded, they said, and it was quite nice. There was a huge lampshade over the bed, and an even huger number on the wall (the number of our hotel room). This actually came in handy, cuz after breakfast the next morning I couldn't remember which room was ours, which is kind of awkward 
when you have a generic keycard in your hand. Then I just thought back romantically to the night before (ahem) and bing! 411. (Which is, of course, on the 5th floor to us Americans.) 
By the way, when you travel for awhile you end up with dirty socks. You wash them in the sink, and then you stick them on the end of a hair dryer to dry them. Works great!Day 11. We slept in. It was sunday so many stores were closed, but all the sightseeing places were open. We had gotten smart at some time on our journey, and learned to purchase 24 hour bus/tram/train passes. So we used our pass from the night before, and hopped on a tram (or 2) to the Olympic ski jump. It was raining, and by the time we had walked up the hill to the ski jump area we were soaking. We walked up stairs, looked at the olympic ski museum, went up an elevator, and walked up about 100 more stairs (the tall kind with traction for ski boots) and arrived at the top of the ski jump. Gulp! You've gotta have a lot of guts to go down one of those! Went back to the hotel, claimed our luggage, and got on a high speed train to the airport in Oslo. Flew to Stockholm. Dropped our luggage off at the Berns Hotel and headed off to dinner. You know where. On a canal! Ate at the Diplomat, a tasty place. I think a guy had just proposed to his girlfriend there, cuz he kept holding her hand and admiring her ring and they were dressed really nice and they both kept smiling like crazy. Now comes the dum-dum-dum part. We got back to the hotel. We were tired, we had walked a lot in Oslo, and at the airport, and in
Stockholm getting from the various trains to hotels and such. We were ready to fall asleep by 10. But a band started up at 9:45. We were on the 2nd (3rd to you) floor. The band was on the 1st (2nd) floor, not far from our window. Did I mention that we had been given a hotel room upgrade again? It was a beautiful room, nice big bed, TV, nice bathroom (I think it actually had washcloths). But we were fooled. The bathroom apparently had a heated floor, and we couldn't figure out how to turn it off. So our room was warm. Couldn't open the windows, because the band was so loud. Couldn't go enjoy the band, cuz I had already taken my ambien (although acting like a drunk person I may have fit right in!). The band and music played until 3 am. Rob was going crazy. He asked for a different room around midnight (sorry, they're all full), went for a walk around 1 am, complained around 2 am, the people shouted and were noisy in the street until 4. Finally, sleep. And at 7am. Bang! Crash! Garbage truck. We had this same hotel book for a couple nights later. Needless to say, we cancelled our reservations. The band plays Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun nights. We'd be back in town on Thu. No thanks! This was definitely the low point of our vacation!
Stockholm getting from the various trains to hotels and such. We were ready to fall asleep by 10. But a band started up at 9:45. We were on the 2nd (3rd to you) floor. The band was on the 1st (2nd) floor, not far from our window. Did I mention that we had been given a hotel room upgrade again? It was a beautiful room, nice big bed, TV, nice bathroom (I think it actually had washcloths). But we were fooled. The bathroom apparently had a heated floor, and we couldn't figure out how to turn it off. So our room was warm. Couldn't open the windows, because the band was so loud. Couldn't go enjoy the band, cuz I had already taken my ambien (although acting like a drunk person I may have fit right in!). The band and music played until 3 am. Rob was going crazy. He asked for a different room around midnight (sorry, they're all full), went for a walk around 1 am, complained around 2 am, the people shouted and were noisy in the street until 4. Finally, sleep. And at 7am. Bang! Crash! Garbage truck. We had this same hotel book for a couple nights later. Needless to say, we cancelled our reservations. The band plays Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun nights. We'd be back in town on Thu. No thanks! This was definitely the low point of our vacation!Day 12: We checked our luggage into a locker at central station in Stockholm and got on a tram to Gamlestan. It's a really old town, full of twisting streets and alley ways. We found a keychain from Sweden, and wandered a lot. I had to go potty, and we found one of those pay potties on the street. It cost 5 Kroner. I went in (P. U.) and it said "this door automatically locks after 30 seconds." I was like, so, I have to do everything in 30 sec or I get locked in? So I hurried and pottied, and then, of course, being the good citizen I am, I was ready to flush. I looked all over. No flusher on the back of the toilet. No flusher on the wall. No flusher on the sign that said "be sure to flush". Finally, I decided to leave. Opened the door. Flush. Opening the door triggered the flusher! Why hadn't they told me that. Argh! So. 
We happened to be outside the Swedish Mint. So, we went in for a tour. It turned out the Mondays are free. It was neat. There were 3 floors, and we saw coins from all sorts of countries, and in all sizes and shapes. They had the biggest piece of money in the world. Not sure what value it was, but it was about 6 or 7" across, about 15" long, and at least 1/4" thick. Looked like it was made of copper or something. So, who was gonna carry that around? How would you keep it hidden? Can't hide it in a pocket or a skirt hem! Anyhow, I think it started raining about then, so we headed back towards central station, got soaked, hid under a bridge to wait for a break in the showers, reclaimed our luggage, and got on the train to the ship. I think this is the ship we almost missed. They had already closed the doors for boarding by the time we got to the ramp that lead to the ramp that lead to the ramp that lead to the ship. They let us on. Whew! By now, I was really tired of lugging luggage everywhere we went. On this ship, we were headed to Helsinki, Finland. We opted for the cheaper cabins, without windows. It turns out that was great, because it was totally dark in our room and we slept well!
We happened to be outside the Swedish Mint. So, we went in for a tour. It turned out the Mondays are free. It was neat. There were 3 floors, and we saw coins from all sorts of countries, and in all sizes and shapes. They had the biggest piece of money in the world. Not sure what value it was, but it was about 6 or 7" across, about 15" long, and at least 1/4" thick. Looked like it was made of copper or something. So, who was gonna carry that around? How would you keep it hidden? Can't hide it in a pocket or a skirt hem! Anyhow, I think it started raining about then, so we headed back towards central station, got soaked, hid under a bridge to wait for a break in the showers, reclaimed our luggage, and got on the train to the ship. I think this is the ship we almost missed. They had already closed the doors for boarding by the time we got to the ramp that lead to the ramp that lead to the ramp that lead to the ship. They let us on. Whew! By now, I was really tired of lugging luggage everywhere we went. On this ship, we were headed to Helsinki, Finland. We opted for the cheaper cabins, without windows. It turns out that was great, because it was totally dark in our room and we slept well!
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