About a month ago (or so), I won the business trip lottery and got to go to Norway. Norway has been on my countries-to-visit bucket list for approximately 21 of my 26 years, starting when I learned that my great grandmother had been born there. Since she married another Norwegian, I get to call myself a quarter of a Viking.

Since it was a business trip, it almost meant I had to travel by myself. But despite that, I decided to leave on Friday instead of Sunday so that I got to spend an extra day and a half touring around. My original travel plans went like this:

Fly to Oslo through London (1.5 hour layover)
Catch a train from Oslo to Bergen (7-hour train ride)
Spend the night in Bergen
Spend the morning in Bergen until noon
Catch the train back to Oslo from Bergen
Eat dinner
Sleep
Work

Due to a number of various things (extra-long security in Heathrow, getting up early, missing a train), my actual trip went like this (overlaps highlighted):

Fly to London
Stand in a useless security line for .75 hours
Miss flight to Oslo by a single minute
Realize there's no possible way for me to catch the train
Tell the customer service person to fly me to Bergen instead
Realize I now have an 8-hour layover in London
Head into London for the morning/afternoon
Fly to Bergen
Spend the night in Bergen
Resolve to get up early and get an earlier train to Oslo
Miss earlier train to Oslo, but realize there's another an hour later stopping at Myrdaal
Hang out in Bergen for an hour
Take the train to Myrdaal
Realize I have three hours between trains
Find out I have just enough time to take another train to a town at the bottom of a fjord (Flåm)
Go to Flåm for 20 minutes
Return to Myrdaal
Wait for 40 minutes to catch the Myrdaal - Oslo train
Make it to Oslo
Eat dinner
Sleep
Work

As a result of my ultra-spontaneous route, I ended up being REALLY thankful I was traveling by myself. Going solo also meant that I had no one of my personal acquaintance to witness when I totally wiped out while standing up on the train resulting in bruises for weeks, so...#blessed.

I know what you've really been waiting for is pictures, so I'll stop waxing eloquentish here and just put those up instead.

...with a run to Portobello Road Market.

...where I caved on my loose no-selfie policy.

Back in Myrdaal, waiting for the train to Oslo.

And I finally made it Oslo, where there was an ancient fortress.

Woodstock Writings