Country #59 - Andorra

The Dali Statue

When I landed in Barcelona from Reykjavik, Iceland, it was about 2:00am. My bus for Andorra was leaving the airport at 7:30am so it made no sense for me to try and stay in a hotel. I had read about the Barcelona airport and knew that I needed to find gate U to sleep - and luckily it was where my flight arrived! Gate U had benches without armrests making it possible to lie flat, and there were tons of other people sleeping there. It took me a while but I think I got about three hours of good sleep.

It was a bit difficult to find the bus outside as there were bus areas on both sides of the street but I eventually found it (it was described as being the bus stop near the technical block, whatever that is, but I eventually found it). I talked with my brother on the phone while I waited because I still had thirty minutes until the bus would show up. I was the only person picked up at the airport and we took the bus into the heart of Barcelona to pick up the rest of the passengers. During the ride, the iPhone X went on sale and both me and my brother tried desperately to get one ordered for me (my iPhone 6 is caput and, as the major Apple lifelong fan that I am, this is a necessity). I finally got through to T-Mobile on the phone and to my surprise, there were still some left! I was so excited! Thanks to my parents for helping on the best birthday present. Oh yeah, my birthday was last week - I turned 23!

The rest of the bus ride was through winding beautiful Spanish roads but honestly, I fell asleep because I was just so tired and the winding roads were too much to handle. The bus ride was about three and a half hours. Andorra is not in the EU (even though they are right in the middle of it) so when crossing the border police boarded the bus and checked to make sure everyone had a passport or ID but other than that they didn’t do anything. When I arrived in the heart of Andorra, Andorra la Vella, there were luckily luggage lockers right at the bus stop which was super helpful.

I immediately noticed a few things about Andorra including the emphasis on shopping, the abnormal amount of cigarette ads everywhere, and the beautiful mountains surrounding it. Weird mix, I know, but it seemed pretty accurate. I walked first to the tourist information center which was super unhelpful - I needed witness signatures and they could barely speak English which, for a tourist center in the middle of Europe, doesn’t seem too smart. I walked through a cute market along the river and in the same area found the famous Salvador Dali statue, Nobility of Time, just sitting in the street in Andorra. It’s a melting clock statue (naturally) but it was really cool to see!

I then set out further on my quest to find witness signatures - how this hasn’t been more of an issue I’m not sure but it’s definitely just a bit annoying to run into problems in countries that shouldn’t be so difficult. I asked at two different hotels which were super unhelpful and also spoke poor English. This was pretty surprising because hotels are usually a safe bet for English. The third time was the charm, though, as the super kind people at the front desk of Art Hotel helped me out as witnesses!

It was a huge relief to have that finished and I spent the next thirty minutes or so walking around town. I went to one of the buzzed-about Andorra shopping centers, Andorra 2000, and it was honestly no more than a glorified grocery store. I then walked past what was basically a giant car show and then back down the water past the cute Parc Central to eat pizza at an Italian food spot on the bank of the La Valira. It was a great and much-needed meal after only having a tiny airport croissant for breakfast.

From there I headed to the Plaça del Poble area. I walked past the strangest thing on my way - basically a fully fledged cattle show? It was bizarre and smelly and I’m still just very confused by Andorra on the whole. I made my way up a small hill to Plaça del Poble which had really good views of the surrounding mountains. I then walked past Sant Esteve d'Andorra la Vella church which was closed but still beautiful on the outside. My last stop was Casa de la Vall which was, once again, closed but, once again, beautiful and also very historic.

I made my way back down to the bus terminal where I had thirty minutes to spare before headed back to Barcelona to catch another flight. Fun fact is that during my day today Catalonia formally declared independence so technically I was kind of in a country on the day it was formed! Also then Madrid declared power like a few hours later so who knows what’s going to happen, but I got extra witnesses in Barcelona just in case it becomes its own country in the next few months or so. The bus ride back was just as winding as the first and I slept again because I was still so tired from the attempted airport sleep.

On the way out of Andorra, I asked the bus driver to stop at the border so I could get a passport stamp which is definitely a thing you can do, and it was super simple to do so! Andorra was an interesting stop but I definitely wouldn’t put it high on your list - I’d honestly probably just stick to Spain if you’re in the area unless you just want to tick off another country on your list! There are things to do just not a ton, and it is pretty but not incredible. If you’re driving nearby then give it a stop but otherwise, I don’t think it’s really worth dealing with the bus ride!

I had a really late night flight out of Barcelona to Bilbao which I will be exploring tomorrow. The flight was really short and I took the inexpensive bus from the airport to the city center and then took the Metro from the city center to where I’m staying, Bilbao Hotel Jardines. I was absolutely exhausted after not having good sleep in two days so I was really excited for a good night’s rest and fell asleep instantly.

59 countries down, 137 to go.

Country #58 - Iceland Day 3

The Blue Lagoon

This was the first time I’ve spent almost three whole days in a country (other than the US, obviously) and I’m so glad it was Iceland. Sydney had an earlier flight than me so we decided to actually walk around Reykjavik this morning before taking her to the airport. Our first stop was breakfast - we ate at Sandholt again and this time we actually sat down for the meal which was a good call because it was very tasty.

We then began our walk to the few spots in town to see. For the capital city of an entire country it is very tiny (but cute) and there is not a ton to see, though we definitely saw some of the highlights. Our first stop was Hallgrímskirkja church. You can see it from all over town and it is an incredibly unique design. The inside was very plain but there was an organ player playing the giant organ which was cool to see! From there we walked the main street, Laugavegur, where Sydney bought some gifts and I bought a wool sheep magnet (of course).

After we finished up on Laugavegur we headed to our last stop in town, Harpa. It was one of, if not the most, incredible Opera houses that I’ve ever seen. It was unlike anything architecturally I’ve seen before and the use of glass and light was really amazing to see from both the inside and out. After walking through we started the drive to the airport. It’s only about forty-five minutes from the city and Sydney was there in plenty of time for her flight. It was so great having someone join me for a stop, especially in Iceland! I think it would be really difficult (but obviously not impossible) to do Iceland on your own of every country that I’ve seen because there is so much driving, it can get really expensive, and seeing some of the coolest stuff ever it was nice to have a friend along to experience it with!

From the airport, I made my way to the infamous Blue Lagoon. I was not going to pay (almost $60 minimum) to go in the Blue Lagoon but I still wanted to see one of Iceland's most famous landmarks in person. I had three hours to kill before I needed to be back at the airport for my flight, and it was only a twenty-minute drive away. When I got there I found the cafe where I bought an orange juice and was able to sit and look out at the Lagoon from inside! It was definitely interesting, but I enjoyed walking around the other blue pools outside of the main entrance much more. You could get up close to the water which was better than watching a bunch of people swim around in basically an overpriced pool (that’s blue). I am glad that I saw the Blue Lagoon but also glad I didn’t pay to do it.

From the Blue Lagoon, I drove through some of the cool mossy rock landscape for a bit before turning back towards the airport. I drove past the airport to the coast where I found two cool lighthouses and also almost completely froze when walking to take their picture because it was so windy. I then drove on to the next town near the airport and just enjoyed driving around and seeing more of the country and especially the small towns because we saw so few of them. After a short drive back to the airport I returned the rental car with ease and was only a little early for my flight.

I’m really sad to leave Iceland and I can’t say enough good things about it. It was the coolest place that I’ve ever seen from the incredible landscapes throughout to Reynisfjara Beach, the Northern Lights, and everything in between. There is so much to see and I definitely recommend you put it towards the top of your list! And the good news is, even though I’m leaving Iceland at least I’m headed to Spain (and Andorra)!

58 countries down, 138 to go.

Read about my second day in Iceland here.

To learn more about Old Charm Reykjavik Apartments click here.

Country #58 - Iceland Day 2

The Northern Lights

Today we started the day off by pretty expectedly oversleeping. We were so tired and another long day was ahead of us so an hour late start was totally justified. We grabbed a quick breakfast to go from a place called Sandholt and then headed off towards the Golden Circle. The first thirty minutes of the drive were exactly the same as yesterday, and then we curved off towards the left to start the Golden Circle at Kerio.

Kerio is a giant crater formed by volcanic activity - basically, the magma drained out, the ground collapsed, and Kerio was born. That’s the gist of what I gathered, at least. We walked along the outside of it and it was a pretty quick stop as literally there is nothing to see other than a hole in the ground. From Kerio we drove on to our farthest point for the day, Gullfoss (another waterfall!). This one was pretty spectacular but, unlike Skógafoss yesterday, it actually reminded me a lot of Iguazu Falls. It basically felt like a mini Iguazu, but even at that, it was amazing and breathtaking. So much water was continually flowing over Gullfoss and it was so interesting to learn about the history as well. There are great views from the top and bottom of Gullfoss so I recommend you do both!

From Gullfoss, we drove maybe five minutes back up the road to Haukadalur. Haukadalur is an active system of geysers and is right next to a geyser called geyser which, uncoincidentally, is where the name geyser came from! The namesake is actually no longer active but it was really cool to see Haukadalur in action. It would explode to varying degrees and send water shooting up between every five and ten minutes. It was also enjoyable to walk around and see the smaller pools of water.

After Haukadalur we made our way to Þingvellir National Park. We didn’t spend a lot of time there because we didn’t have time to really walk through it, but at the main visitors' entrance there is an amazing view out over the park and you can also actually see the break in tectonic plates. This was our last stop for the day before dinner. There aren’t a ton of restaurants outside of Reykjavik near where we were so we had to drive back into the city. We ate at a cute place and I had an amazing and much-needed burger, fries, and garlic mayo. I finished the whole burger before Sydney was even halfway through proving definitively that she is the slowest eater I know.

After dinner, we stopped back by Old Charm to put on extra layers before driving forty-five minutes outside of the city to attempt to see the Northern Lights! We were too tired to even possibly try last night, and also yesterday there ended up being clouds that were not originally in the forecast (and clouds make the Northern Lights impossible to see). So all day today I gave an hourly cloud update and good news, the clouds never came! My hopes were definitely up after reading the forecast that we had a possibility of seeing them. This is the second time I’ve tried to see the Northern Lights, the first being when my brother visited me last year during study abroad and we walked around a frozen lake in Norway to no avail. So I was definitely hoping that this freezing lake experience would be a more positive one.

The drive out went from being in Reykjavik to being in the middle of nowhere in what felt like ten seconds. Once we were on the road driving to the lake I drove so slow because there was no one around and it was so dark I wanted to avoid driving off the side of a cliff into a lake that I couldn’t see. We found a parking spot on the side of the road and started to look. I had read that you never know when during the night that they will be active, so when we saw a faint light upon our arrival I almost didn’t believe it. It was really faint - so much so that we weren’t sure it was the Northern Lights. But within maybe five minutes tops we were positive. It was them! I was so excited!

They were so cool to watch the lights move and we took pictures for about an hour and a half (keep in mind that it’s actually freezing outside). We tried so hard to take pictures that weren’t blurry and thankfully got a few good ones! There are definitely some pretty funny bloopers, though. The Northern Lights has been at the top of my list to see for a very long time, and they definitely surpassed my expectations. Seeing the Lights, coupled with more stars than you could even imagine, just did not feel like it was even real it was so cool to see and experience.

It was another successful day in Iceland and I really don’t want to leave tomorrow. Every second was amazing because even on drives across the country I was constantly enamoured with the otherworldly views of the country. I would love to come back and spend a week (or more!) driving all over the entire country, especially since we Googled it and, square mileage wise, Iceland is smaller than the state of Alabama (so very easily doable to drive the whole thing). I had no idea that Iceland was so small because like everything else near the poles of a globe it looks so large! If you weren’t convinced after day one to visit Iceland I hope that you are now. It is truly indescribable but I hope that I’ve done it at least a little justice in the blogs!

58 countries down, 138 to go.

Read about my first day in Iceland here.

Read about my third day in Iceland here.

To learn more about Old Charm Reykjavik Apartments click here.

Country #58 - Iceland Day 1

The Early Arrival

Day one of Iceland is in the books and boy what a rollercoaster of amazing emotions. I started the morning off with a 7:00am flight from Dallas to DC. I slept most of the flight and when I arrived in DC I took the metro to meet up with one of my best friends, Sydney, and her boyfriend Trevor. I’ve known Sydney since high school and we have travelled pretty much all over together, and I’m so excited that she will be visiting Iceland with me!

We had a great brunch in DC followed by a visit to the Renwick Gallery. The coolest part was definitely the special exhibition “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death” which was a collection of basically tiny doll house replicas of murder scenes created by Frances Glessner Lee, a really cool lady basically known as the “mother of forensic science.” We attempted (likely unsuccessfully) to solve them all before visiting the rest of the museum. Renwick Gallery is small, free, and definitely worth a visit.

After the Renwick Sydney and I drove for an hour to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) for our flight to Reykjavik on WOW Airlines. I had heard a lot about WOW before and I was really interested to fly them for the first time. Our terminal felt really new but unfortunately had very few food choices even though we had to eat before the flight. The one thing that I didn’t like about WOW was having to pay extra for any bag other than a personal item (make sure you do this beforehand!). We boarded easily and even though we had separate seats on the plane it ended up okay because we both had window seats to possibly help with sleeping.

It didn’t end up helping me too much, though, as it was such a bumpy flight! For probably the last four hours of a six hour flight it was pretty consistently turbulent. There were few large drops but just small bumps throughout, making it very hard to sleep window or not. Luckily I probably got an hour or two before struggling to sleep the rest of the flight. We arrived in Iceland at about 5:00am and went through immigration and customs with ease. The airport has a really interesting set up which I think is because WOW has so many connecting flights, but I had never really seen the configuration of Keflavík (KEF) Airport’s terminals before.

After waiting less than five minutes we found the rental car guy we were meeting to pick up our car. The unfortunate thing about Iceland is that you 100% need to rent a car to visit. It was definitely a hassle to find a company who would rent to my age (23) and had a good reputation. After lots of searching I finally decided to go with Route 1, a local rental agency. My only qualm is that they don’t allow drivers under 23 which means I have to drive the entire trip. However, they have the best reviews by leaps and bounds! Picking up our car was very easy - we just signed a contact at the pick up point (always read these very carefully when renting a car), were given helpful instructions about the roads in Iceland, and were then on our way!

It was a forty-five minute drive in to Reykjavik and was still pitch black outside as we learned it would be until about 8:30am. When we got into town we found a place to park and decided to nap in the car because nothing was open and our accommodations for the trip, Old Charm Apartments, were not yet ready. Also, we were both so tired. I fell asleep instantly in the backseat of the car and we ended up sleeping for about an hour and a half. When we got up I felt a thousand times better and ready to take on our first full day in Iceland! We grabbed a quick breakfast and hot chocolate, planned out our day, and then set off on quite literally an adventure.

The Other Planet

Today’s drive was 100% the most incredibly beautiful drive of my entire life. Every thirty minutes the landscape seemed to change entirely. From the sprawling moss covered rocks to the ocean views and mountainous fields it is impossible to describe (so I’ll add some pictures). There were also lots of sheep, rams, and horses everywhere you looked. Today we decided to drive up the coast towards the town of Vik. Our first stop, about thirty minutes out, was a horse farm but it was unfortunately closed. After another thirty minutes of driving (and an intense debate on Taylor Swift’s feminism) we arrived at our first stop of the day, Seljalandsfoss.

As we quickly came to learn, foss means waterfall. The bar is set pretty high for me on waterfalls ever since visiting Iguazu Falls, but Seljalandsfoss was something completely different. You could walk all the way around Seljalandsfoss! It was freezing to do so as mist from the falls was everywhere but it was so cool. It was of course beautiful just like the land around it. There was a second waterfall down a path about a ten minute walk away and it was definitely worth seeing - it was hidden back in a cave! After only an hour drive and stop number one in Iceland I was completely and totally blown away.

The next leg of the drive was another hour. We drove to Dyrhólaey and were amazed when the landscape changed from the mossy rocks to radiant fields filled with plateaus. We attempted to play a game where you go down the alphabet and name things in a specific category and I was both very bad at understanding the rules and subsequently bad at playing the game. But that didn’t really matter because the drive was just so beautiful. I think the best way to describe Iceland would be to say that it either looks like something straight out of a movie (many movies film here including Star Wars) or that it looks like another planet (or multiple other planets in my opinion).

Dyrhólaey was so cool. I know that I am going to use way too many adjectives in this post, and likely the same ones over and over again, but it would be impossible not to. Iceland is just repeatedly indescribable. Dyrhólaey was basically a plateau that you drive straight up the side of. It was a one lane road and needless to say I was a bit panicked when having to pass a bus while hoping that it didn’t fall off the side of a cliff. One thing Iceland could use is a few more guard rails. We decided to call my driving in stressful situations (like the side of a cliff) as really good but lacking grace. Which is appropriate because I was, indeed, slightly freaking out. It was so worth it though. The views from the top were just amazing. On one side was the water, where there was the black beach and incredible rock formations.

The black beach was really interesting to see from above (we would see it up close later) because the water was basically white, so the lines that the tide formed on the shore were such a cool contrast. We walked over towards the edge overlooking the ocean where there was a cool lighthouse. Looking out at the water were two different rock formations. One was close by and was a huge formation with a hole in the middle. I can’t do the description justice so see the pictures below. Off in the distance was a second formation which, from afar, looked like the rocks from Harry Potter when they go to the cave in the Half Blood Prince to get the horcrux. We later discovered that this was filmed in Ireland but it looked so similar! Honestly, Iceland looks a lot like Ireland at times and also looks a lot like what I imagine New Zealand will look like.

The last view was looking back inland at what we had just driven through and it was, once again, just stunning. The drive back down was much less perilous (there were no busses thank God) and we decided to drive over to the Harry Potter looking rock formation. We missed our turn but right past where we should have turned we found about seven wild horses! People were pulled over to pet them and they were so sweet. They were obviously very used to people and posed perfectly for pictures. It was definitely a good turn to miss to be able to see the horses!

We then made our way back to the Harry Potter rocks which we discovered were called Reynisfjara Beach. It doesn’t get discussed as much on things to do in Iceland lists as things like the Golden Circle (which I continually accidentally referred to as the Ring of Fire) or the Blue Lagoon, but it was both of ours’ favorite stop of the trip, and one of the coolest things I have ever seen. First there was the black beach, which was cool enough in itself and is actually made of lava. Then there were the rocks out in the water that looked like Harry Potter rocks. Then there was the absolute coolest rock formation I’ve ever seen on the shore. They were like stacked rectangularly would be the only way I know how to describe them but they are actually basalt columns (see pictures for sure). Then there were the circular rocks between the beach and the land that helped add to the other planet mystique. Then you could see where we just were, Dyrhólaey, off in the distance. And finally, there were the waves.

They were the largest waves I have ever seen by at least ten times. They were ten, maybe twenty feet, when they broke into the land. They were amazing and terrifying at the same time. I was actually, unfortunately, attacked by a wave which was less than ideal. It only soaked my shoes (which were waterproof but apparently not enough) and the bottom of my jeans, but it was freezing. It was the only wave to hit where I was standing the entire time we were there and there was no way to out run it. Sydney was off to the side and it didn’t come in as far where she was. My shoes were filled with sand and I was so cold but luckily our luggage was still in the car so I was able to change into clean (and more importantly dry) clothes! I was very lucky not to have dropped anything (I was carrying my phone, GoPro, and camera at the time) and to only have to deal with getting sand out of my shoes and camera.

Even after being hit by the wave Reynisfjara Beach gets five star, A+ reviews. If you can do one thing in Iceland, in my opinion it would be Reynisfjara Beach. It completely embodies the feeling of what it would be like to be on another planet and is so beyond cool that it did not feel or look real. After changing clothes we started driving back towards Reykjavik as the sun was starting to set. We had one last stop, though, at Skógafoss (another waterfall). It was long and skinny and beautiful but by this point I was still frozen from the water and actually bordering on exhaustion so it was not a super long stop.

The drive back was painful because it was two hours and I was jetlagged while running on maybe three hours of sleep. We attempted to play the naming game again and I was getting worse and worse as the sleep deprivation (and now hunger) wore on. We finally arrived back in Reykjavik where we met Steinnum at Old Charm Apartments. I cannot thank Old Charm Apartments enough for sponsoring our stay in Reykjavik! She showed us to our super cute apartment (it could fit seven people!) that was right in the center of town. The rooms were adorable and, most importantly, warm.

Before we left for dinner I worked to clean sand out of a few things. We headed to a restaurant that only served soup and I wasn’t a fan of either choice (picky eater problems) but it was a really cute spot. It was super late (about 10pm) so I just ate a snack when we got back to tide me over until tomorrow, which wasn’t a problem considering how tired I was. I washed my socks, scooped handfuls of sand out of my shoes, and rinsed the sand off of my jeans. The only problem with the entire day (besides exhaustion) was for some reason the alarm in our apartment went off at 1:00am. I wasn’t asleep yet (Sydney was) but it definitely startled me!

It was pretty funny honestly attempting to figure out how to turn it off while someone came to help us. Sydney ended up holding a bucket with a towel inside of it over the alarm - it felt like the episode of Friends where Phoebe tries to silence her alarm! We eventually got it resolved thanks to Steinnum’s husband and afterwards I had no problem whatsoever falling asleep after such an incredible day! I’m in love with Iceland already (can you tell?) and can’t wait to see so much more tomorrow when we take on the Golden Circle route.

58 countries down, 138 to go.

Read about my second day in Iceland here.

To learn more about Old Charm Reykjavik Apartments click here.

Country #57 - Norway

The Friend

I had a really early flight this morning from Oslo to Bergen. It was so early that the girl who checked me in at Scandic St. Olavs plass was genuinely surprised to see me again so soon after checking in. I had a much needed few hours sleep and wish I would have had more time to spend in my awesome room! I was also sad to spend so little time in Oslo but I know I’ll be back.

My early flight was the only flight that I could take to have enough time to spend the day in Bergen so it was worth it! Luckily my flight was domestic (which doesn’t happen too often for me) so I didn’t have to be two hours early, only one. I took the airport train back to the airport and boarded my plane with no problems. The flight was under an hour and I ended up arriving in Bergen around 8:00am. I loved the “Bergen?” arrival sign when you first walk out of the airport!

I took the Flybuss shuttle from the airport directly to the bus station in town. When I got there it was freezing so I unpacked some extra layers before finding the luggage lockers in the adjoining train station. I then made my way to Festplassen where I was meeting my friend, Mia! I met Mia in La Paz, Bolivia at the airport and we ended up spending the day exploring La Paz together. I was very excited to see her again and to see Bergen from a local’s perspective! It was also great seeing her and catching up throughout the day.

Our first stop was to take the funicular up Mount Fløyen as it actually wasn’t raining yet (a rarity in Bergen). The ride up was cool as you could see out over the whole city but the best view was definitely once you reached the top and could see out over everything. You could see the city as well as the seven mountains surrounding it. Apparently, it’s a thing once a year to climb all seven mountains in a day, which Mia has done - I couldn’t believe it! They aren’t huge mountains but it still seemed really difficult to do. After taking pictures over the lookout and learning more about the layout of the city we decided to walk back down the mountain.

This was a great idea in theory until, of course, it started to downpour. And it was a fun driving rain too, so much so that my hood wouldn’t even stay on my head! It died down after a few minutes but it was definitely intense for a bit. On the walk we also passed where there are supposedly goats kept on top of the mountain (I was sad they weren’t around), some adorable houses, and trees that had been knitted their own sweaters (it was adorably Norwegian).

Once we made it to the bottom we then walked to the Bryggen area which is probably the most well known spot in the city. The buildings are really cool (and quite colorful) and are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We walked not only in front of them but in between them as well - it was really cool to walk up and around them, especially knowing how old they are (some date to the 16th century).

We then walked around the water to the fish market and then made our way to walk more around the buildings in the center of town. The rain definitely picked back up again and it was very wet and cold outside. We began a search for waffles as Mia wanted me to try some traditional Norwegian waffles but we were consistently thwarted in our search. We tried a few small cafes as well as the mall. In the grocery store area of the mall I loaded up on chocolate and goat cheese to take back home. Norwegian goat cheese is a favorite of my grandfather’s (he is from Norway but I’m not Norwegian as he technically isn’t my biological grandfather) and it’s a favorite of my brother’s as well.

We then walked more around the area, saw the Blue Stone (a popular meeting point), and then grabbed some coffee and hot chocolate in a cute travel oriented shop! The hot chocolate was much needed and very tasty. We decided from there to try one of the new Mexican restaurants in town as we had been discussing queso in depth (I had to explain it, we decided that a good definition is that it’s basically spicy fondue with chips). We like to talk a lot about the differences between the US and Norway and lack of Mexican food was unsurprisingly a big one. The restaurant was unfortunately closed, however, and it was still literally pouring down rain so we made our way to the most convenient restaurant, TGI Fridays! It felt pretty funny to be eating at a Fridays in Norway but hey, it worked!

After a good meal and being able to warm up a bit, it was time to walk to the bus station to head back to the airport. I ended up being able to see many of the main highlights of the city but it still was not near enough time to see it all! I would love to come back and see more of the city and the surrounding area and visit Mia again in the future, which is definitely a possibility as Norwegian Airlines has super cheap flights from New York direct to Bergen. We said our goodbyes at the bus station after a great day. I cannot thank Mia enough for showing me around and telling me all about Bergen. I learned a lot and loved having a friend to spend the day with!

The trip back to the airport on the Flybussen shuttle was just as simple and I went through immigration and to my gate with ease. I was surprised that the plane was so small - it was the size of most domestic planes - but it was fine with me as the flight was cheap and I ended up having a whole row to myself! I flew directly from Bergen to Newburgh, NY, which is about thirty minutes from where my Aunt Dana lives. She picked me up and we headed straight to my cousin Robert’s sprint football game at West Point where he is a freshman! It was absolutely perfect timing, and I loved getting to spend time with Aunt Dana during the game and to talk with Robert for the first time in months after the game (which they won by like 50 points!).

I stayed with Aunt Dana that night and took the train into NYC the next day where I was able to see my friends Natalie and Jennifer before heading back to Dallas. It was a great ending to an awesome trip! I’m looking forward to having about a week in Dallas before I head out again - my next stop is Iceland!

57 countries down, 139 to go.

To learn more about Scandic St. Olavs plass click here.