Today we said goodbye to Ian and Linn to embark on our journey across the rest of Norway, catching the train from Geilo to Bergen.
The scenery between Geilo and Voss was absolutely stunning, and we paid extra for our tickets to sit in the komfort carriage which meant free hot drinks and more space with comfortable seats!
We had a 2 hour stop in Voss which was perfect for a lunch break and a nice way to split up the 6 hour train ride.
It was so nice to finally see the sun – I even took my jumper off and wandered around in my t-shirt.
We carried on from Voss to Bergen, a section with less views, more people on the train as they boarded for their usual commutes, less comfortable seating and generally just not as fun of a train ride.
We’d been warned that the weather in Bergen is almost always rainy all year round.
However, we were treated with a beautiful, clear, sunny afternoon, so we checked into our accommodation at Steens Hotel and then went out for a walk to explore and to find dinner.
Bergen is such a pretty city, and again reminded us of Wellington being very pedestrian friendly, as well as quite artsy.
We had dinner at a restaurant recommended by Google, Spesial kafe, and while the dinner was enjoyable, our company was even more so.
A lady sat beside us on her own and for some reason I got the feeling she might be a Christian – I have no idea why as she had only just sat down and had given no indication of such a thing.
Then, after noticing her praying before beginning to eat her meal, I asked her the question and found I was right.
A fascinating conversation ensued – it turns out she is from the Netherlands and is in Bergen for the week lecturing about her masters thesis. She is an anthropologist theologist and her thesis was a study on a migrant church overseas, to look at the relationship between church community and integration into a new culture.
It was really interesting to hear about her findings and just generally chat about similar topics.
Assimilation for migrants is easier when they are surrounded by people who recognise their challenges, which is why they often tend to congregate even if its unintentional – they find like-minded people.
It was a conversation that made me reflect on how I interact with others and how important it is to be aware that we don’t always know what their needs/worries/challenges are in relation to their culture/background.
It made me question – what do I do to make people feel welcome in my world or community, and where can I improve?
After dinner we stumbled across St Pauls church where there was a concert service happening care of Polifonica de Puig-rieg. We caught the tail end which was very good and sounded impressive in the huge, old church.
We took lots of photos of buildings and the cobblestone streets on our way back to the hotel – Bergen is beautifully photogenic.
Pro-tip: Norway has long daylight hours in summer which is great when you arrive places late afternoon because you still have hours to explore and a long golden hour for photos of pretty places, with pretty lighting (it also means it’s very easy to lose track of time = late nights and early mornings).
KJ xx