Norway continued

On thursday the 26th, I spent the day in Norway's countryside. It was everything I imagined it to be: awe inspiring and impressive. In the morning we walked from the pier to the railway station and boarded a train for about two hours that took us to Myrdal. Almost everyone around me was sleeping and even though I was exhuasted, there was no way I could shut my eyes. The scenary was too fantastic to ignore. I could sleep later. When we arrived in Mydral, we started our hike down a valley to Berekvam station. My friend Momoko and I made it a point to walk with the first guide, so that we could see the landscape from the best viewpoint (with no one in front of us). Our guide was so sweet and we enjoyed her company very much. As we walked downhill, we passed waterfalls and were surrounded by mountains. There was still snow in some areas. The most amazing feature was the waterfalls on the side of the mountains, they were just incredible! And the water was the clearest I've ever seen...you could see everything in the streams. Our guide recommended trying the water and we were not disappointed....fresh indeed! At one point we encountered a goat farm and took the opportunity to have a break from the walking. There were probably about 60 goats, all of which were very sweet tempered. We continued walking and I tried to take in as much as I could....I couldn't imagine a healthier, more pure location. Clearly, nothing existed beyond this...it felt like an entirely different world. And yet I felt as if I had been there many times...it was a natural connection between myself the environment, but of course there is nothing like this in the states. If I could, I would walk our hike every day....and I think I would be a better person for it. When there's such beauty, it's almost unfathomable to think of all the pain in the world....
I had the same sensation as we crossed the Atlantic. Feeling completely isolated was peaceful....the world was so large but here, there was nothing but us and the waves....
When we got to Berekvam station it was only a few minutes until we reached Flam, where we had a buffet lunch waiting for us at the Fretheim hotel. We only stayed there for a little bit, and then boarded a bus which took us up the Stalheim Canyon. Apparently, the road was built in the mid 1800s. And we all held our breath as the bus continued up the steep canyon, making more than 10 extremely tight turns. Thank God for the talent of our bus driver...the view from the top was breathtaking....
After the canyon, we continued driving through the countryside, passing waterfalls and various lakes. We stopped in the town of Voss, which was having some sort of "extreme" sports festival. Most people went to check that out but I just walked along the streets, peeking into a few shops here and there. Overall, Thursday was my most enjoyable day in Norway. The landscape of Norway, the fjords especially, are just fantastic. If any nature lovers are reading this, GO TO NORGE! You won't be disappointed...it will be your paradise.
When we returned to Bergen, we decided to go out to the bars later that night, seeing as it was the last night in Norway (we had to be on the ship friday evening around 6-7). Besides alcohol being extremely expensive, I ran into other problems. Being one of the youngest on the ship, most of my friends are at least a year or two to three years older. And surprsingly, in Norway, most bars are 20 and up. There didn't seem to be any official law regarding drinking age, for I was was able to get into three different places we tried and had no problem buying beer or a cocktail. But the majority of the bars and clubs were off limits for me, which also made it difficult for my friends if I was with them. One of the nice things about the nightlife was that it didn't get dark until way after 11pm. Even as I write this, on route to Russia, it is 10pm and still completely bright out.
Friday was a pretty relaxing day but also a very rainy and gray one. It rained off and on during our stay in Norway, but Friday was the only day it seemed to have been overpowered by stormy clouds. So, I took this opportunity to see the art collection at the Bergen Art Museum and stayed there for a good hour (it's pretty small, an hour is perhaps all one needs). Three highlights for me were:
-the Nikolai Astrup collection
-the J.C. Dahl collection
-various Russian Orthodox icons

Before Bergen, I had never heard of Nikolai Astrup so his work was a wonderful surprise! Born in 1880, Astrup was known for "depicting nature in a characteristically intimate way, loading the pictures with mystery and symbolic content." Some of his best works included in the collection include "Birthday Party in the Garden," "Mother and Child by a table in the garden," "Clear night in June," "Morning in March," and "Kari-Motif from Sunde." There was also some Munchs there, which was great because I didn't have a chance to travel to Oslo to see "The Scream."
More widely known is the work of J.C. Dahl, who was born in Bergen in 1788. Known as the father of Norwegian painting, he is famous for his romantic landscapes. Personally, I did not enjoy his work as much as Astrup's, but was still very grateful to see his pieces. There was also a section dedicated to some Russian Orthodox icons, which was great to see. It also puzzled me as to why Norwegians would have them...I never did find out my answer...oh well, was happy they were there. The rest of the day was spent meandering around the city, but most of it I had already explored. One really doesn't need to have an extended stay in Bergen. Although quaint, a tourist can see most of the highlights in a day or two.
I was really happy to have spent my first port stay in Norway. The two major things I will remember is how beautiful the scenary is, and how expensive everything was. As I expected, I routinely encountered negative American sentiments, from a wide variety of people. Some Norwegians were extremely rude and most thought Americans supported Bush. Of course, I tried to persuade them otherwise.
So that was Norway! After four days, I was exhuasted. Yesterday and today we resumed classes, but tommorrow is Russia day, which will be filled with various lectures about Russian politics, culture, and language (the theme of this trip is Russia's relationship with Europe, so our global studies class is basically a Russian history course. All we have been reading since we arrived on the ship was about Russia, all the movies are Russian or about WWII, etc. I have learned more about the country of Russia in the past two weeks than I have my whole life). We had our cultural preport tonight and our logistical preport is tommorrow at 2000. Upon leaving Norway, I found out that our interport lecturer is none other Masha Lipman, a Washington Post contributer from Russia. This spring, I had actually read her articles! I couldn't believe it! I distinctly remember reading an article she had written called "Putin's Puppet Press" which aroused my curiosity. Here is a short bio:

Maria (or Masha) Lipman is the editor of the journal Pro et Contra, which is published by Carnegie Moscow Center and was co-founder of Itogi, the first news weekly magazine in Russia. Itogi was published in cooperation with the American news weekly Newsweek. It was part of Russia's first privately owned media group "Media-MOST," which was shut down by the government in 2001. That same year Ms. Lipman co-founded and became deputy editor of the news weekly magazine Ezhedel'ny zhurnal, which was published until 2003. Ms. Lipman has worked as a translator,researcher and contributor for The Washington Post Moscow bureau. She has had a monthly op-ed column on Russian politics, media and society in The Washington Post since 2001. She has contributed to numerous publications and has been featured as an expert in many international broadcast venues.

She actually came into my women in cross cultural perspectives class which was great. I better be off, but I would like to leave with a quote from the famous Russian writer Gogol's letter to a friend:
This is how you should make your voyage: first of all get out of your head all your opinions on Russia, whatever they may be: repudiate any conclusions that you have already drawn; present yourself knowing exactly nothing....
After you have arrived in the chief town or a disrict or province, strive to get to know the sights. They are not in architectural works and antiquities but in people. I swear to you that a man is worth being considered with greater curiosity than a factory or a ruin. Only endeavor to look for him with a drop of brotherly love and you will not be able to tear yourself away from him, he will appear so interesting to you."
-N. Gogol, in a letter to a friend.
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