Time to catch up on this. When last I wrote, we were in Oslo. While we
enjoyed our time there, I have mixed feelings about the city. In many
ways, the downtown area struck me a bit like an Omaha--not especially
pretty or cosmopolitan, it seemed a bit pinched and poor. Admittedly,
there are charming sections. And the big exception is the harbor area,
which is beautiful. But Oslo, and Norway in general, lived up to its
reputation for being very expensive. One evening, for a pasta dish
each (lasagna/spaghetti) and tap water, we paid $100 for four of us.
The next night it was the same, for pizza buffet and one beer each. Of
course, then we walked out of the restaurant about 11 and saw the last
colors of the sunset over Bergen harbor.

Because Bergen is where we are now. In Oslo we went again to the
Vigeland sculpture park (Jane and I had been there before) and again
loved the sculptures of people in every stage of life--hundreds of them.

The next day we took the Sognefjord in a Nutshell tour: train to
Myrdal, another train down the scenic Flåm valley, and a fast boat
from Flåm down the Sognefjord (the longest and deepest in the world)
to Bergen. All of that took about 12 hours. The weather wasn't great--
cloudy most of the day--but the scenery is still beautiful. Noah and
Micah continued their trip-long marathon cribbage tournament.

Today, in Bergen (which, by the way, I really like, in contrast to
Oslo), we took a 1-1/2 hour walking tour of the Hanseatic Bryggen area
(see photo), and then, at the suggestion of two friends named Garnaas
and Halvorson, we went to a local Salvation Army store, where Jane and
I each got a beautiful Norwegian sweater for far less than they're
selling them in the shops here. Oh, and in the fish market we talked
to a young Genoan named Stephano who gave us samples of fabulous
Norwegian salmon as well as whale meat. We'll probably be back there
tomorrow for the salmon--not the whale, which was actually quite
tasty, but, well, ethical issues. (Norway and Japan are the only two
countries where you can legally buy whale meat.)

Tomorrow we'll continue exploring Bergen, then catch an afternoon
train back to Oslo. We'll have most of another day there, then fly to
someplace completely different: the Republic of Georgia. I probably
won't be able to post from there, but if not, I'll try to save up some
photos and observations.