The Day Norway Won My Heart

  Abby and I were supposed to wake up to catch a boat to see some museum on an island…but somehow spending the first night in Bergen led us astray from our tentative schedule.  Needless to say we did not make it in time.  However, we were feeling adventurous and determined to make the most of our entire Saturday.  I knew I wanted to find this tree called a monkey puzzle tree and hike to the top of Ulriken which is the highest mountain in Bergen.  On our way there, we ran into Alejandro who had also missed the bus and decided to come along with us.  We were in nike's and t-shirt and he was wearing jeans and crocs.  It was going to be a tough day for him but he was excited.  At first we tried to see if we could go kayaking but found out that it wasn’t open on the weekends.  Our next stop was to find the tree.  We got on a tram, got off where it was close to the pin on my maps app and started walking.  We had no idea where to go and eventually I got an irking to walk up a side street.  As soon we saw someone in the yard, I went up and asked him if he knew where the tree was.  He immediately pointed through his backyard and there it was.   I am still in shock to this day that I found a random in tree in the middle of a neighborhood in Bergen. We walked around and took a bunch of pictures and continued to the hike.   The bottom of the mountain was near the hospital so we started hiking towards the signs.  As soon as I saw a bus driver I asked where to go and he told us to wait on the 12 bus.  ~I love asking questions because I'd rather ask someone that knows instead of standing around for thirty minutes trying to figure it out myself. ~ As soon as we made it to the bus stop, the bus arrived and we hopped on.  It dropped us off at Montana which was at the bottom and we did a quick snack and bathroom run.  Then we started the trek up the mountain.  It was very rocky and kind of steep but so pretty. Before we started the hike Alejandro offered to carry my backpack, in his crocs and jeans mind you, and I was so grateful. He is such a gentleman and I could not get over how much he cared for others before himself.  At one of our break points we ran into a women who was going through cancer and about to start her first round of radiation after several rounds of chemotherapy.  She was telling us about her life but, still kicking butt and continuing on.  Abby and I couldn't get over how much of an inspiration she was to us.  It was difficult for us to make it up the mountain and we had not even gone through half of the trials and tribulations that she has.  We continued on and made it all the way to the top! There were really cute cabins and a restaurant with a bar.  There was even a little pond at the top.  Dinner time was quickly approaching and we started the way down.  As soon as we found the bus stop we sat and waited for a bus.  An older man was walking by and I asked him if he knew when the buses would be running.  Turns out he was heading the same way so we walked with him.  He told us a little about how he used to live in San Francisco and played soccer and he happened to be on his way to a soccer match.  As soon as we made it to the main road he told us to get on the bus coming so we ran to the bus stop and made it just in time.  We were worried about being late to dinner so we ran straight to the restaurant.  The bus happened to drop us off right in town.  We showed up in our sweaty and stinky clothes into this beautiful and fancy restaurant.   Apparently, we did not get the memo that we were supposed to dress up.  It was Abby's 20th birthday which is the same as celebrating a 21st in America so we sang happy birthday and went out for a night of fun.  One lesson I will take with me when traveling to a foreign country is to bring your drivers license. A passport is not the smartest thing to bring with you when you are jumping from bar to bar.  The day ended up to be the perfect day.  I learned to never be afraid to ask questions and that maybe jeans and crocs aren't the best for a hike up the tallest mountain in Bergen but determination and positivity can make anything possible.