We made it!

We made it! We feel like we are so on top of things, at least for the moment. We actually managed to make all of our connections on June 20th which was our big day to travel from Bergen all the way across the country of Norway to Oslo via the Norway in a Nutshell tour which we had heard so much about, both online and in tourist guides and from our friends, some of whom have made the trip.  We had booked all of our own tickets had them all printed out and were really hoping that we could make all of our connections.  We started out great, getting our bags down to the reception on time at 6:30 to be picked up by the service that was going to take them to Oslo.  We had time for some of the great breakfast they serve here and we managed to make it to the train station on time for the 8:14 train trip to Voss.  At Voss, you have to figure out how to get to the buses next, and really it's quite simple, but if you don't know where you are or what direction to turn it can be complicated. I was surprised to only see one or two signs that even mentioned Norway in a nutshell since that's a big tourist attraction here, but we made our way to the bus. (God, I hate buses. I really do. If I never have to take another public bus I'll be happy.  They're always too crowded, the people are always obnoxious for some reason, there were people around us coughing and hacking and sneezing and I'm quite sure from the sound of it that none of them were attempting to even cover their noses.)  So we made it to Gundvangen, where we boarded the ferry that cruises through the Nærøyfjord.  We had read that there was absolutely no seating in the outside areas of the ferry, but we wanted to be outside, so we wandered around a couple of decks and found an area that we could actually sit on; some kind of large covering of some kind but nobody told us we couldn't be there and lots of other people came along and sat on this thing too, so we were very lucky.  It was also nice because we did actually meet some people; a whole family from Wisconsin that were traveling together who are of Norwegian heritage and have come here before.  It was a gorgeous day, low 70s, and no wind at all. The fjord was beautiful. 

Following the cruise, we had to make our way to the Flamsbana, which is supposed to be the steepest and most beautiful train trip in Norway.  There again we got kind of lucky; unbelievably Randy ended up being the first person in line.

We had read that it is a real scramble to get onto this train as there are no set seats and everyone wants to sit on the right-hand side. 
 
 A couple from Amsterdam came and sat across from us and they proved to be really nice people. Their English was perfect, and they had traveled in the US. 

There is a stunning waterfall along the way to Myrdal; I thought we had seen the most spectacular in Iceland, but the Kjosfossen is even more stunning, maybe because you get up close to it on a viewing platform.  

The Flamsbana stopped in Myrdal, where we had a two hour wait for the last connection of this day; a five hour train ride to Oslo.  Once in Oslo, we got an Uber to the office, which closed at 11:00; somehow we made it there by 10:58, and our luggage was waiting!  We hauled it about 1/2 a mile to the Frogner House Apartments, at which point I fell apart. 

We were so tired, and hot, and I was picturing the room as advertised on booking.com.  Not even close, and the room was hot and stuffy.  To add insult to injury, we were sooo hungry and thirsty, and it was well after closing for most everywhere.  Desperate, we looked for a bar.  We found one, and it was open, but it was a little sketchy.  Randy was sure that the women sitting at the next table were hookers😂.  At least we got a beer and a rather awful sandwich.