Norway

The top of the rock is only 82ft square, and perfectlyflat.  It looks straightdown into Lysefjord, 1982 ft. below. Whoa.

Not for the faint of heart, more of aboulder climb than a trail in parts...Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock in Englishis by far the most popular hike in Norway.About 5 1/2 hours round trip.We started our [...]

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuseof your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless,tempest tossed.I lift my lamp beside the golden door ! The origin of the copper mined for the statue?Stavanger, Norway.  Ya [...]

After pilot training with Mike, Olav became ahelicopter pilot, flying to oil rigs off the coastof Norway.  He now leads a team of 100pilots.  This is as close as I hope I'llever get to the [...]

Norway reminded us of Washington and AlaskaOur train trip took us through 20 tunnels,then came around the corner to sceneslike this with farms and houses.Imagine living here next to a waterfall! At some point, weactually stopped [...]

Completed in 2007, the Oslo Opera Housefacade of white marble and granite risesfrom the water imitating a glacier.Sod roofing is traditionalin Scandinavia, for itssuperior insulation.  Peopleactually water and mowtheir roofs here!Homenkollen Ski Jump dominates thelandscape, [...]

The world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist,  Vigeland Park has 212 graniteand bronze nudes, all age groups and sizes.Completed between 1939-49, Vigeland wanted to portray people in situations rather than poses.The monolith contains 121figures carved out of a single piece of granite. Norway's favorite son, [...]

One of the most famous paintingsin the world, The Scream is saidto represent the anxiety ofmodern man.  Munch paintedit after seeing a brilliantorange sunset in Oslo.The entire museum is dedicated to Edvard Munch, containing only his paintings.Norwegian [...]

My favorite masthead,graceful yet tremendously strong having lasted for hundreds of years.Captain Roald Amundsen (1872-1928)had planned an extensive expedition to explore the unseen North Pole, whenhe received a letter that Cook and Perry had already made it there.  He [...]

Mike's claims to fame,from the pilot yearbook!Mike's Air Force training roommate wasOlav Omdahl, who was sent to the USfrom the Norwegian Air Force.40 years later, a couple of good looking guys!!Mike gets his official dunking after [...]

Trolls are ever present in Norway -Scandinavian folklore reports that theyare notably ugly and strong but dimwitted.  And afraid of lightening.Sheep seem to outnumber the trolls -we frequently dodged them on country roads.Blond hair is [...]