Am I Swedish or Norwegian?

An Indian on a boat trip in Norway started a conversation with me:

"Are you Swedish or Norwegian?"

It took me a moment before I realised he was talking to me. "Me?!, I'm Australian!"  

"Oh," he replied, "well you have scenery like this in New Zealand at Milford". 

I have met quite a few people in the world who think New Zealand is part of Australia, and I wondered if that was what he meant by saying I have this. But he qualified his remark: "I mean New Zealand is so close to Australia. I hear it's  like Pakistan and India". 

Clearly this guy hadn't studied a world map. It was too much for me, I remember watching the ceremonial closing of the border gates a few months ago at an India-Pakistani border. "No," I said, it's not, we don't share a border, it's about 3 hours flight for me, even Delhi is closer to Pakistan". 

"Oh, it's like USA and Canada."

Me: "well, India and Pakistan share a border, as do USA and Canada."

Later, talking to more tourists I understood his Milford remark a bit better. I haven't actually been there, but many people compare it to Norway. And it's less expensive to travel in NZ so he's wondering why I would be here if I didn't need a visa for NZ. Many Asians are traveling in Europe because they can do so without a visa. 

European hospital tour

While I was in Peru (about 3 months), I had three accidents for which I had to go to hospital. Some of my friends at home joked about me doing a hospital tour of Peru. 

Well, I'm at in again. In Spain, I was encouraged by my fellow pilgrims to go to hospital for my knee, so I did. The treatment recommended was no different from what I was doing. For my second knee injury I went to a physiotherapist, and the treatment was worth going for. 

Now in Norway, I found myself yet again at the hospital, as I had diarrhoea for 2 days, and the stuff in my travel kit wasn't fixing me. I also decided to get the doc to take a look at my toe that I stubbed 3 days ago, as the pain has been quite severe. Frustratingly, every Norwegian I've needed to talk to so far has spoken good English, but not the doctor! He seemed to understand me well enough, but mostly talked at me in Norwegian. 

Anyway, they tested my blood, found nothing wrong but a slightly high temperature, and he told me to take Imodium, eat soup and cooked apples, and drink juices, soft drinks, and electrolytes (I've been paying attention to menus and grocery items, this helped me to understand)... And prescribed an antibiotic ointment for my toe, which the chemist explained in good English. 

All this is making my decision making very difficult. I came to Norway hoping to hike a little, even do a Glacier, but I have a very sore toe. I mostly rested the last 2 days (well, with 2 health complaints and cold rainy days there wasn't a lot of encouragement to do anything). My last sore toe (Peru, a dislocation) took 6 weeks to heal.  

Today, I feel quite well. I'm doing a sightseeing trip (Hardanger in a Nutshell) to see how capable I am. 

But really, Norway is an expensive place to be sitting around, and the weather isn't great. So if I need to rest, I probably need to go somewhere cheaper. But I hate sitting around, I want to be active, and all my options seem uninteresting. 

Btw, Norway and Australia have reciprocal health care agreements, but I still had to pay part, and it wasn't cheap (but not enough for the $100 minimum for my travel insurance excess.) The Norwegians in the queue said they also have to pay part. 

Travelling again: Norway

I stayed 6 nights in Stavanger, visiting an old friend (actually she's young, but we've been friends quite a while). It was nice to just be in a home for just a while. 

Stavanger is a really beautiful little city. Its centre and harbour front display beautiful old timber buildings on cobbled streets, and in the middle there's a little lake with a couple of swans currently displaying their new cygnets (swan chicks for those not knowing this). 

My friends took me to plenty of sights and a couple of museums. My favourite excursions were drives in the countryside, and a visit to an old Viking farm, called Jernaldergården. (Although it's only open on Sundays and we went mid week, a guy there escorted my friend and I into the main building and told us all about it, so, we were lucky). 

I also went salsa dancing! This was my first time since I left Australia. I don't travel with dance shoes (borrowed my friends), and I find its usually a lonely experience to go alone to a place where no-one knows you can dance. But, this time I was introduced to some very good dancers (and felt rather rusty in my style- or lack of!). 

In Stavanger I tried to make plans for the rest of Norway, but I know I'll change them. Firstly though, I'm in Bergen now... And it's horrible weather!

Norway: expensive!

I took a flight from Malaga (Spain) to Stavanger (Norway) to visit a heavily pregnant friend. I will, of course, take the opportunity to see some of the country too.

The first thing that struck me about Norway was the colour of everything. The light seems to have a different clarity to it and it's really lovely. It makes it seem as though the edges of everything are all the more crisp.

It's cold here, of course, but when the sun shines during the day it can be quite nice. I'm pleased I haven't yet throw away all my worn out layers.

The other thing that people will tell you is that it's quite expensive here. They're not kidding! A coffee in a cafe is about $6. A smoothie and a sandwich $30. And this was just a cafe in a shopping centre.

My highlight so far was taking a hike to Pulpit Rock. 2 hours of rugged hiking up, another 2 back down, and a bus and ferry journey each way. Here's a photo.