Norwegian Seaplanes and Whale Sushi

Long overdue but now finally the tales of our Norwegian adventures. Norway was not on our official List of 28, but despite the fact we couldn't tick another destination off our list, our visit was absolutely worth it. What a beautiful country this is. We made our way to Scandiland for the wedding of our good friends and fellow "sabbatictravelers" Per and Hildegunn.

 

Having never been to Norway before, we decided to approach our latest adventure in typical James Bond style, what better way to make your entrance at a wedding than by sea-plane? We wouldn't want to travel any other way anymore. 

So together with Carlo and Michela (the real masterminds behind Operation "Death by Seaplane") we stuffed ourselves in a small Cessna plane in the Bergen harbor. Kjaer - the prototype Norwegian Viking, blond with a two-day beard and a hangover from the previous night - was our pilot for the 40 minute trip over the Norwegian fjords from Bergen to Utne. The take-off was, well, how can we best describe it, spectacular. As we started to make our way out of the water, the whole plane started to shake uncontrollably and all kind of items started to fall off in the cockpit. Then alarmingly a red light started flashing while the sound of warning beeps filled the cabin. Certain death seemed close. But against all the odds, the plane made it out of the water and started its journey to Utne, like a drunken sailor stumbling out of a bar. Looking down the fjords from the seaplane above gave us some spectacular views of the absolutely stunning Norwegian landscapes. I think this is what they call the "wow factor".

Landing a seaplane turned out to be a lot easier - and smoother - than taking off, you just plunge it down into the water. After trespassing some private property while disembarking, we got Brian to pick us up and we checked into the only hotel in town, the 288 year old Utne Hotel.

After getting the small matter of Holland beating Brazil in the Quarter Finals of the World Cup out of the way (which we had to watch in a sports bar in Odda as the Utne Hotel "does not do televisions") we could finally move on to the main event: the wedding! And it didn't disappoint. A beautiful ceremony in the small wooden church of Utne. The bride looked gorgeous, for the first time in his life the baby-faced assassin called Per looked like a grown-up, everyone said yes at the right time and the best men (all 3 of them) managed to hand over the rings in time without getting into a fight. 

After a small boat trip we arrived at Per's parents home where the drinks, dinner and party took place. Until half past four in the morning that is. These Scandis know how to party, that is for sure. Grand conclusion of this all: beautiful day, great location, fantastic wedding.

After three hours sleep we dragged ourselves in a taxi the next morning. We got dropped off at some sort of small harbor 15 minutes from Utne. Cue good old Kjaer, who turned up exactly on time and managed to splash his seaplane in the water next to the boat of an astonished elderly couple who almost choked on their coffees. Hangovers and seaplanes are not the best combinations in the world, but we survived and Kjaer got us back to Bergen safely.

So what else did we get up to? Well, in Bergen we stayed in Det Hanseatikse Hotel, a well-hidden boutique hotel in an old refurbished railway station. We had some fantastic sushi in the excellent Soho sushi restaurant on Hakonsgate and I even managed to squeeze in some whale sushi at Nama restaurant, although I have to admit it is not the best hangover food ever (it looks and tastes a bit like steak though, so it is not bad).

To finish off, some trivial and completely useless football stats. Did you know that, even though Norway didn't manage to qualify for the World Cup, it is the only side in the world with a winning record against Brazil (played 4, won 2, drawn 2)? Well you know now.