Norway

13 days, 3 countries later, I am writing from Bergen, Norway, a stunningly beautiful city by the Sognefjord.

Boyfriend and I took an overnight cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo, then immediately jumped on the 7 hour train ride from Oslo all the way to the western Norwegian city of Bergen.

The train ride has been called "the most beautiful train ride in the world". We were literally riding in the mountains, so high up that trees don't even grow anymore, passed by the highest train station in the world, and saw all through the way, crystalline lakes and streams tucked in between cliffs and peaks, white glistening glaciers, and miles and miles of virgin pine forest.

Bergen is a colorful little city on the western coast, with a bustling town center (with the obligatory cobble-stoned streets, of course), beautiful row of houses by the water, a busy harbor, and lots and lots of nice cafes and historical buildings.

Norway is much more rugged than the other 3 countries. So far, Copenhagen has been the most cosmopolitan of all the cities, with a ton of fantastic museums, castles, palaces, and galleries. Finland has been the most exotic, because it seems very Eastern European to me. Everyone we saw there has been very Slavic-looking. Sweden has been most... Scandinavian, or what is commonly imagined to be Scandinavian -- clean, polished, with blonde and beautiful people walking around. And now, Norway, which seems to be just pristine and unspoiled nature, and a little bit of culture carved out of the nature.

I'm really looking forward to exploring Bergen tomorrow.