Train ride to Bergen...

I have come to love trains and the train ride from Oslo to Bergen was no exception... The route was absolutely stunning (and the ride incredibly comfortable). The terrain varied greatly as the elevation increased. I don't think I've ever been so fascinated by snow but found myself clicking away! The little towns were gorgeous and the landscape was breathtaking. I should have known that this was foreshadow for the beautiful city of Bergen...

Oslo

I have fallen completely in love with Norway, to the point of being obsessed with the country!

Oslo was a fantastic orientation to the country and filled with so much beauty. Vigeland Park was one of the absolute highlights and I have a separate entry for it. One of my favorite areas, Karl Johan's Gate, is a pedestrian precinct of shops and restaurants. It was alive with activity and a great place to people watch all the different characters that Oslo attracted.

Oslo had many beautiful shops which were bursting with color and fraught with amazing designs. The Bookbinders' Design shop was my favorite, not only because of the lovely journals, precious papers and creative card samples but also because of its gorgeous layout. I've included a few shops for your viewing pleasure...

Gorgeous cemetary where Edvard Munch is buried. It was huge and filled with amazing statues and headstones dating back to the 1800's.





Wonderfully cheesy Norwegian advertising. (Sweet)


The building we stayed at.


I love this sentiment... It was written on the wall behind the cashier at Bookbinders' Design and also printed on all of the bags given with each purchase.
Best stand ever!
Loved this busker and his marionettes! (I think I have a crush on the Adrian Brody marionette! Is that strange? Heh heh)
Is it me or does he not look like Robin Williams?
Waiting for Harry Potter to be released!
Hello Gorgeous!

Vigeland Park

One of the highlights in Oslo was Vigeland Park which covers an area of 80 acres and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland. At the highest point in the park lies the parks most popular attraction, The Monolith, is comprised of 121 human figures rising towards heaven and represents man's desire to become closer with the spiritual and divine.

This is one of my favorite pictures taken. It just speaks volumes to me - of a woman desperate to save the child she loves from danger... Medieval times, perhaps, or modern times. Running from an army of troops or from an abusive partner or towards a hospital. The story I imagine is one of a mother's love for her child...




The Monolith.

Stockholm

Stockholm was absolutely beautiful... from the architecture and statues to the people. (It felt a little strange to see so many blond haired individuals about but nevertheless, a welcome experience). Again, pedestrian-only thoroughfares were part of our sojourn and the locale of many hidden treasures both tangible and aesthetic.



My favorite statue (for obvious reasons).




Hairy Swedish bum.

Copenhagen

I am beginning to regret not blogging throughout our journey but luckily, I have my journal to refer to and my library of photos (over 3000, I think!).

I'd like to pay homage to each of the places we visited so without further ado, my visual diary (perhaps, with a few notations... not sure yet...) of the last seven weeks of unadulterated bliss...

[Disclaimer: Names and dates have not been changed but may not necessarily be remembered correctly or included. While I would love to share all 3000 shots taken, I have painstakingly selected a few to share. I apologize, in advance, for not truly capturing all of the beauty and wonder through this visual escapade. Oh yes, if I begin weeping, please ignore me. I'm just a girl suffering from withdrawal, after all.]
The reason people have Coulrophobia. Very scary (and menacing) clown statue at Tivoli Gardens. Strangely, he reminds me of Robin Williams in costume. Lately, many statues and people dressed up remind me of Robin Williams.
Nyhavn Harbor at night. (Our hotel was right across the street!)

Flea market on Saturday. (I was in heaven!)

Stroget (pronounced stroyet) - A pedestrian-only walkway filled with shops, cafes, restaurants and people like this mover & shaker (seen here) on his cellphone. (Look at that sweet couple making their way through the crowd...awww)
"Pick me!" "No, pick me!!" "No, me!" "Yoohoo, over here!" "Pssst!" Gnomes gone wild.
Canal tour. Beautiful. People were very friendly and loved to wave at us. We saw the infamous Little Mermaid sitting on a rock (which people were photographing while doing strange things). Loved it all.
Pretty lanterns at Tivoli Gardens.

Back to "real" life... (sigh)

I can't believe our whirlwind vacation has finally come to an end... We are back home in Toronto now and slowly easing in to "real life" again.

This summer has been such an incredible adventure... Scandinavia, Switzerland, L.A., Winnipeg and two of the most memorable days of my life - the engagement and wedding. I don't even know where to begin sharing as it has all been so amazing and I'm afraid my words won't adequately capture how special each moment was. (Plus, I'm experiencing some kind of weirdness with regards to stringing words together and articulating things. I think my sense of humour also needs some recharging. I'm not as quick with the witty banter... sigh). I think my head is still in the clouds (to which some of you wonder, "Does it really ever come out of there?")

Jet-lag, laundry, packing and reconnecting with my Mac...

This just about sums up how my day was spent yesterday. Of course, this was after getting up at 530 am with the little person, unable to fall back asleep. Ah well. There was so much to do! Sort through mail, do loads of laundry, spend some quality time with my little Mac, select handmade papers to bring back for one of my dearest friends... And now, just 3 hours to go before we get on another plane to Winnipeg to attend a wedding and visit with family/friends! (Love flying!)

My husband (gosh, imagine that? A husband!) is in the wedding party tomorrow. I'm anxious to see how the tuxedo fits! We took measurements while we were in Luzern with one of those stiff measuring tapes! A recipe for disaster! He won't have a chance to get it fitted prior to the wedding so however it fits, will do. Will give a full report (with pictures, if necessary!) and the final outcome. Could be interesting... ;)

On Sunday, my parents are holding a little celebratory wedding brunch for us at a beautiful restaurant. It's such a thoughtful gesture and we're very grateful. It will be nice to get together with family and a few very close friends to celebrate. Afterwards, whoever can make it, will come back to my parents' home for coffee and cake while we share photos from the trip and the short wedding video. I'm really looking forward to it. Whenever my family gets together with all the cousins, it's a complete gong show (but in a great way!). We all love to laugh too loud and make silly jokes and get completely out of hand, just like when we were kids (and J is just as wacky as the rest of us!).

Uh-oh... time to do some final packing! Until next time, I'd like to leave you with a parting shot of my two favorite people in the whole wide world in the words of a certain modern day philosopher titled, "I Believe I Can Fly"...

Already missing it...

Hello friends! Yes, I'm still alive and been having the adventure of a lifetime for the last four weeks!

Is it horrible to admit, we've been back for just 24 hours and already, I'm feeling melancholy...

I wish we were back walking along Nyhavn Harbor of Copenhagen, wandering the Stroget of Stockholm, hiking Ulriken in Bergen, urban spelunking in Oslo, shopping on Marktgasse and Spitalgasse in Bern, looking for treasures at Zurich's amazing flea market or hiking with the Swiss Alps in the backdrop.

(Sigh)

I plan to upload photos and share many of the amazing sites that brought us much happiness during our travels. Before I go on, I must send a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful people that watered and fed us at various times throughout the trip! Your hospitality was off the chain (but please don't try to engage us in a dialogue as to whether the Norwegians or Swiss do it better! Heh heh).

[Oh yes, and in case you hadn't heard - there was a very special engagement and exchange of vows in there somewhere!!! Teeheehee. More details to follow...]