Having Fun In Norway (1 Viewer)

[Euan Buchan]

I’m having a good time in Bergen Norway although I haven’t seen any new birds the ones I’ve seen are mainly ones we see back home. I have seen
House Sparrow
Magpie
Hooded Crow
Herring Gull
Black Backed Gull
Oystercatcher
Cormorant
Feral Pigeon

 

[delia todd]

Isn't Norway lovely Euan!!

Cemeteries are good places to find Nutcrackers it seems and it's about this time of year they start coming down into town.

 

[MikeInPA]

If you get the chance take a boat trip around the fjords. I spent a lot of time in Bergen in the late 70’s and that was a great way to spend 5 hours birding from the front of the boat. As it was midsummer it was cool on the front the boat but I ended up with horrendous sunburn😡

Also there’s the Hardangervidda inland which was good for birds, load of Bluethroats if I remember.

 

[Rich2121]

I'm glad you're having a good time.

I'd really like to go to Norway and Sweden and throw in some birding. Are you finding it easy to get around and travel etc?

 

[Pinewood]

Hello,

In my youth, I walked for a week on the Hardangervidda from hut to hut, then by bus to Geilo, then by train, along some of the highest railroad track in Europe, to Myrdal. I descended to Flåm, by a spectacular piece of railroad, dropping 863 metres in 21 km. In Flåm I boarded a fast catamaran to Bergen, transversing the Sognefjord, a journey of hundreds of kms. At the time, I had no interest in birds but the scenery was terrific. I recall walking through some misty area on the plateau and meeting a herd of reindeer which fled on my approach. That was more than forty years, ago, so I hope that I remember the landmarks' names.

Stay safe,
Arthur

If you get the chance take a boat trip around the fjords. I spent a lot of time in Bergen in the late 70’s and that was a great way to spend 5 hours birding from the front of the boat. As it was midsummer it was cool on the front the boat but I ended up with horrendous sunburn😡

Also there’s the Hardangervidda inland which was good for birds, load of Bluethroats if I remember.

 

[MikeInPA]

Hello,

In my youth, I walked for a week on the Hardangervidda from hut to hut, then by bus to Geilo, then by train, along some of the highest railroad track in Europe, to Myrdal. I descended to Flåm, by a spectacular piece of railroad, dropping 863 metres in 21 km. In Flåm I boarded a fast catamaran to Bergen, transversing the Sognefjord, a journey of hundreds of kms. At the time, I had no interest in birds but the scenery was terrific. I recall walking through some misty area on the plateau and meeting a herd of reindeer which fled on my approach. That was more than forty years, ago, so I hope that I remember the landmarks' names.

Stay safe,
Arthur

That sounds like a great trip trek in the wilds of Norway. Did you encounter any trolls along the way? My idea of camping is a change of towels in the bathroom only once a day. 😏 My visits to Norway were all work related so it was just weekends that I had a chance to visit some of the wild places. I also spent some time in Kongsberg and stayed in the hotel where the actors stayed while filming The Heroes Of Telemark. That was in the 70’s so 40 plus years ago for me too. A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. 😬

 

[Pinewood]

That sounds like a great trip trek in the wilds of Norway. Did you encounter any trolls along the way? My idea of camping is a change of towels in the bathroom only once a day. 😏 My visits to Norway were all work related so it was just weekends that I had a chance to visit some of the wild places. I also spent some time in Kongsberg and stayed in the hotel where the actors stayed while filming The Heroes Of Telemark. That was in the 70’s so 40 plus years ago for me too. A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. 😬

Hello Mike,

I encountered no trolls on that trip but I did not look under any bridges. In fact, there may be a lot more trolls on Birdforum than in Norway.

Yes, it was a wonderful trip. Some Norwegians even asked me "How I was enjoying a real Norwegian vacation?" On the Hardangervidda, in July, I had to cross swollen streams fed from the melting snow which was quite nearby. That water was cold!

As I recall, I left Kungsford to get to Rjukan, on the way to the plateau, when I saw a ghostly building: the Norsk Hydro plant, which "The Heroes of Telemark" wrecked, never to be rebuilt. Norsk Hydro was producing heavy water, which the Allies thought was for nuclear research. I believe that it was at Rjukan that the Norwegian underground sabotaged and sunk a ferry carrying heavy water headed for Nazi Germany, at the cost of many Norwegian lives.

Many of my trips have brought me close to historical tragedies: the Menin Gate at Ypres, Omaha Beach in Normandy, Anne Frrank's house in Amsterdam and memorials to members of the Resistance and to civilians in Paris and in Northern France.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[MikeInPA]

Hello Mike,

I encountered no trolls on that trip but I did not look under any bridges. In fact, there may be a lot more trolls on Birdforum than in Norway.

Yes, it was a wonderful trip. Some Norwegians even asked me "How I was enjoying a real Norwegian vacation?" On the Hardangervidda, in July, I had to cross swollen streams fed from the melting snow which was quite nearby. That water was cold!

As I recall, I left Kungsford to get to Rjukan, on the way to the plateau, when I saw a ghostly building: the Norsk Hydro plant, which "The Heroes of Telemark" wrecked, never to be rebuilt. Norsk Hydro was producing heavy water, which the Allies thought was for nuclear research. I believe that it was at Rjukan that the Norwegian underground sabotaged and sunk a ferry carrying heavy water headed for Nazi Germany, at the cost of many Norwegian lives.

Many of my trips have brought me close to historical tragedies: the Menin Gate at Ypres, Omaha Beach in Normandy, Anne Frrank's house in Amsterdam and memorials to members of the Resistance and to civilians in Paris and Northern France.

Stay safe,
Arthur

Hi Arthur,
looks like us two old fogies have hijacked this Norway thread of Euan’s. Sorry Euan but I have a little story about the icy cold Norwegian streams. After the previously mentioned 5 hour boat trip around the fjords my colleague and I noticed these healthy Norwegians diving into the fjord just outside Bergen. When the boat docked we dashed back to the hotel and put on our swimming gear. We found the diving board and the aforementioned healthy Norwegians. We ran down to the diving board ripping our clothes off and boing, off the diving board into the 700ft deep fjord. I screamed underwater. I found my penis and testicles about 3 days later. Those snow melted streams you mentioned, they all flow into the fjords. The memory still gives me shivers. 🥶

Cheers

Mike

 

[Andy Adcock]

Hi Arthur,
looks like us two old fogies have hijacked this Norway thread of Euan’s. Sorry Euan but I have a little story about the icy cold Norwegian streams. After the previously mentioned 5 hour boat trip around the fjords my colleague and I noticed these healthy Norwegians diving into the fjord just outside Bergen. When the boat docked we dashed back to the hotel and put on our swimming gear. We found the diving board and the aforementioned healthy Norwegians. We ran down to the diving board ripping our clothes off and boing, off the diving board into the 700ft deep fjord. I screamed underwater. I found my penis and testicles about 3 days later. Those snow melted streams you mentioned, they all flow into the fjords. The memory still gives me shivers. 🥶

Cheers

Mike

I did similar when I was a teen, dived off a 10m board and ended up in A+E after the water nearly tore my nuts off during a less than torepedo like entry. The official report said I had 'traumatised testes'....