Norway in a Nutshell

My parents left this morning at 4:00am.  It was great having them here (even though my mom lost her wallet yesterday and totally stressed me out--it didn't seem to phase her at all, though).

On Tuesday, I took a "Norway in a Nutshell" day trip with them.  We traveled by Bergen Railway to the town of Voss, then by bus from Voss to Gudvagen, seeing spectacular scenery all along the way.

A Photo Taken by my Mom from the Window of the Train

My Dad Took this One

A View from Gudvangen

My Mom and Dad on a Bridge in Gudvangen

 

Another View from Gudvangen

In Gudvagen, we boarded a ferry for a cruise along the Nærøyfjord and Arlandsfjord arms of the Sognefjord (Norway's deepest and longest fjord).  The Nærøyfjord is one of the narrowest fjords in Europe.

The boat docked in the village of Flåm, from which we took the Flåm Railway, climbing 864 meters to Myrdal before returning once again by Bergen Railway.

Arriving at Flåm

My Mom & I in front of the Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana)

Rallarvegen Road, the zig-zag path above, is used by cyclists and walkers.

The train stopped briefly in front of the Kjos Waterfall.

I have crutches in the photo (in front of the train) because I twisted my ankle Sunday night.  It was bizarre because I was just walking with my mom on a normal sidewalk, wearing normal shoes, but I guess I just stepped wrong.  It hurt like crazy at first, but after a few minutes it didn't seem so bad.  I was able to keep walking on it.  Later the foot got more difficult to walk on and I thought it might be sprained.  But when I got up in the night to use the bathroom, I couldn't put any pressure on my right foot at all--it was super, super painful.  Davin heard me scream (which I don't remember doing) and came in and found me passed out on the bathroom floor.  He helped me up, but I lost consciousness again right away.  So we figured the ankle must be broken.  In the morning (Monday) I couldn't walk at all and Davin could only carry me so far, so we had to take a taxi (!) rather than a bus to the health clinic.  I got X-rays and talked with a super nice doctor who wrapped my ankle, told me that nothing was seriously wrong with it, and said I should use it as much as the pain would allow.  I got some crutches, but by Monday afternoon my ankle was already feeling much stronger.  Tuesday morning (the day of the tour) I was already able to stand on my right foot without a problem, but we figured I'd better bring the crutches along anyway, since it might get sore after I walk around on it a bit, and only the morning before I couldn't walk at all.  But my foot was totally fine and I felt like such a fraud carrying those crutches around all day.  I was so worried people would see me and think I was trying to pull some kind of scam.  Oh, well.  At least now that we have crutches we won't have to spring for a cab for any future leg/foot/ankle injuries.

My parents should be arriving home right around now.  I hope they had a safe and pleasant journey.  We miss them already.