Norway Days 5 & 6: Saying Goodbye
A final goodbye
to Norway. I don’t even know where to begin. The perfect weather, the
incredible boat trip, our wonderful hosts making us breakfast at 5:30AM, the
great flights back to Dublin… everything in the past two days has made my trip
to Norway absolutely unforgettable. I cannot wait to go back to Scandinavia
with my family someday—and maybe even discover some of my family history there,
too!
Sunday morning
started off a little slower than the others. We had been going strong for four
whole days and we were all a little tired. The weather was perfect for eating
outside, so we set up breakfast and brought our plates and hot tea out to the
patio. We looked out on the mountains and the glass-still ocean and got excited
for the boat trip ahead.
When 11AM rolled
around, we all piled into the big van with our backpacks, hot dogs, and
exploring shoes and drove over to the small launch where the family has their
boat docked. As soon as everyone was on and everything was in order, we fired
up the engine and went out across the fjord to some of the neighboring islands.
On the way, we saw a swan swimming so quickly he left a wake! Apparently a few
years ago the swans got so angry and protective of a certain area that they
started flying at boats and attacking people. I knew swans could be mean, but I
definitely will not be offending any once we get back to Ireland.
The sun soaked
into our skin and the breeze kept us cool as we made our way to a free dock on
a small island called Skarvøy. (Sidenote: I have since learned that øy means
island, so that makes sense for a lot of the place names I’ve heard these past
few days. In this case, Skarvøy would then mean Cormorant Island. Pretty cool
what language can do!) I knew we would be exploring, but I was not prepared for
what we would find there. Right next to where we docked, not only were there
free sheep running around with their babies, but a WWII war memorial with a
swastika put right in the stone. We talked about how people want it destroyed.
But personally, I agree that the Third Reich and the Holocaust are parts of
history that cannot afford to be forgotten. If we destroy evidence like the
stone, we concede to those people who forget it happened or those who believe
it never happened at all.
After that
profound introduction to the deep history this country has, we continued on and
found many other abandoned and ruined structures from both world wars. There was
a tunnel from WWI 1915, now too covered in mud and sheep manure to traverse
into very far. There were also many bunkers and remains of buildings scattered
around—some were completely intact with doors and all, and others were just a
skeleton of walls. Amidst the grass, there was a little section of black and
white tile flooring that had been exposed, picked at, and overgrown. These
little memories were like ghosts of a past that Americans are not used to
dealing with or interacting with. Just being on that island opened up a broad
picture of what life was like not just back then, but what life would be like
in a warzone. People remember these things. Those houses and those floors were
once inhabited by soldiers doing their jobs, for better or for worse. Unused to
this level of interaction with history, I walked around feeling haunted by a
past that I have never been exposed to. It was eerie and eye opening.
Our exploring
over with, we walked back to the waterfront for a good old-fashioned cook out:
grilled hot dogs, salad, and chips. Delicious! I ate two whole hot dogs and
didn’t even feel badly about it. Usually, I never miss summertime. But being
away for so long has really made me look forward to coming home, relaxing on
the sunny patio whilst sipping some sun tea, eating fresh vegetables and
smelling the grill cooking something for later. The great warm weather and
cloudless sky in Norway reminded me of all the great summer days to come once I
get home. I left that little island feeling full and happy.
As soon as we
got our things all packed up, we climbed back into the boat and drove a little
further to an island called Herdla. It is home to more WWII ruins—the vast
expanse of flat land that is now the largest farm in the area was once used as
an airport. Many of the large concrete walls still stand, as do a few smaller
buildings and a part of the runway. It is now a popular camping destination, as
well as a bird watching site and a popular picnic spot. There is a beautiful
freshwater lake on one side and a little sandy beach on the other, so it is
perfect for families and people from Bergen looking to get into nature. We
walked around there for a few minutes, watching others have their own cookouts.
It really was a perfect day for being outdoors.
By this point,
we were getting a little bit worn out. As beautiful as the landscape was,
especially from the boat, even I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. The
sun was warm, the fresh air was calming, and everything we had done in the past
days started to hit me. But we had to make one last stop to visit some family
members who were out on their own boats. We had passed them earlier on the way
to Skarvøy, so we went back to where they were docked to say hello and have
some dessert. The little inlet was calm and peaceful, with only one other
person anchored. We set up the boat’s table and had tea, cookies, fresh
strawberries, and lefse bread with cinnamon and sugar. I am going to have to
learn how to make lefse now, because it was absolutely delicious. The
strawberries went perfectly with the sweet filling and the bread. It was a
perfect way to end a tiring vacation. Though it was a lot to do in a short
time, it was all completely worth it.
The next
morning, we woke at 5:30AM to eat some breakfast and get to the airport by 7AM.
We reluctantly put food into our confused bodies and then set off for Bergen.
On the way there, one of the craziest things happened—Percy Grainger’s “Irish
Tune from County Derry” came on the classical radio station in the car. Not just
Danny Boy. Not just a Percy Grainger piece. Literally the song that we play as an encore for our seniors and alumni. The
song we play to say goodbye to the people we love, and to remind those who have
left to come back so that we can tell them we still love them, too. It was like
some sort of weird coincidence that cannot be attributed to plain chance. We
drove on into the gorgeous morning sun and listened to our song, knowing that
Norway was doing its best to say goodbye in the greatest way it possibly could.
If it wasn’t certain before, I will never forget that trip and I will most
definitely be coming back for an encore.
The plane rides
both went well, even if we had to sit on a hot bus in Oslo for a half hour
while something on the plane got fixed. It was a perfect day for flying, so
nothing got at all in our way. We grabbed some “lunch” (and chocolate) at 10AM
Oslo time and then caught the bus back into Dublin at 1PM Dublin time. We did
have a very strange encounter with the passport control booth, however—they had
us come through together, for one, which never happens because we are not
related. And two, she kept us there for about five whole minutes just asking
what we had done while we were here, how we were supporting ourselves, where we
were staying, where we had been so far, when we were going home. I know that
they have the right to ask all those questions, but… why? Why to two students
who are traveling alone and have already been in the country without issue for
two and a half months? They let us in for that long in the first place! Anyway,
that was very odd. But she eventually let us through and we made our merry way
back to O’Connell Street.
We breathed a
sigh of relief when we got our things back into our own room. But it was a
quick stop, since we were both pretty hungry and wanted to get some food to
hold us over until dinner. We walked to a place called Rocket’s, which is a
fast food version of the 50s diner place called Eddie Rocket’s that we ate at
in Navan. I ordered a chicken tender basket and a brownie shake. I would get
the chicken again, but not the shake. Sitting in the mall, drinking that runny
shake reminded me of another summer staple I am looking forward to: good, hard
packed ice cream. Even the “American” restaurant can’t beat true American ice
cream. It is a hard thing to master.
The day was
basically done after that. We said hello to our friends and our professors at
dinner, then basically got ready for bed and slept a lot. In the morning, we
are going to the Wicklow Mountains to see Glendalough Monastery and the
surrounding land, so we need to get our rest! Saying goodbye to Norway and our
amazing hosts was difficult, but I feel like we ended the trip on a great note.
It was sad to leave, but it was time to get back “home” so that we could start
preparing to go all the way home. Twenty one days seems like a lot, but I know
that it will fly by.
♥
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