Author: Greg

Wandering through Bergen

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Bergen is a great town through which to wander.  Over the course of our three days there, we took a slower pace than earlier in our trip to take in the sights of this quaint town.  Here are some of the more notable things we saw on our stay.

Bryggen – A UNESCO world culture heritage site, this area of Bergen is its oldest, dating back to around the mid 1300s.  Due to many fires, there’s a mix of newer and older buildings with some cellars here dating back to the 15th century.  Even the reconstructed buildings are faithful to the originals.   They are beautiful buildings whose angles (few of which are perfect 90 degrees as you can see) add to the charm:

Bryggen Continue reading →

The price of eating in Norway

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I’ve been to a few expensive places in which to travel over the past couple of years (Zurich, I’m looking at you), but nothing really prepared me for the cost of eating in Norway.  In other costly cities – Paris, New York, Milan, I’ve had no trouble finding great economical places to eat where I felt I got a taste of the location.  Not so in Norway.  Seth Kugel, the New York Times “Frugal Traveler” put it best when he recently wrote:

Norway is the extreme Scandinavian case, though — the only country I’ve ever been in where I suffered from constant, low-grade budget anxiety. On the opposite end is Sweden, which, if you come directly from Norway, feels like you’ve entered a 173,300-square-mile Costco.

Traveling is about the memories – being a couple of accountants, we budget for trips so we’re not thinking about money while away.  With that planning we saved our travel dollars for the cuisine of Iceland laying ahead in our travels and quickly labeled Norway as a place where we’d live off of grocery store food for a few days.  This was our first supper in Bergen, and still clocked in at around $20:

Supper Continue reading →

Eagles and NFL in review – Week 2

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Two weeks. Nine turnovers. 2-0.

It doesn’t really compute, but after the 24-23 win over the Ravens, the resolve of this year’s Eagles is impressive in the early going. That resolve is going to be tested even more in the coming weeks with the season ending injury to their best offensive lineman. Here’s what I saw in Sunday’s dramatic win:

4th quarter comeback #2: Vick hasn’t been a clutch late game performer in his career with the Eagles, but led a long game-winning TD drive for the second week in a row. Very encouraging.

Balance returns to offensive play calling: The Eagles called more runs than passes, and although the run game statistically didn’t deliver exceptional results, the threat of the run opened up large areas in the middle of the field for Vick/Celek to take advantage of. The Ravens pass rush was relentless and Vick took a number of big hits, but the threat of the run game (and Vick’s scrambling) kept the rush just enough at bay to allow for bigger plays down field.

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A day trip to remember – Norway’s fjords

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The 11th day of our Scandinavian trip had us waking up in quaint Bergen.  We selected Bergen as a home base for the ease of a spectacular day trip to explore Norway’s famous fjords – in particular the Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord arms of the Sognefjord.

Despite ominous weather forecasts, as we leave Bergen on a train en route for Voss, the weather is holding and looking positive.  Here’s a view out of the train window about 20 minutes outside Bergen:

From the train just after leaving Bergen Continue reading →

Bergen. First stop: Fløyen

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A little over a week into our Scandinavian adventure, we board a quick flight from Stockholm to Bergen, Norway.  It’s a very clear day (something that apparently is a bit of a rarity for Bergen), so we have a wonderful view of the town as we land at the airport about 30 minutes outside the centre.  The clear day (and an ominous weather forecast for the rest of our stay in this coastal town) and the view from the plane inspired us to make a beeline to the top of Fløyen mountain.  A short funicular ride from virtually the centre of Bergen puts this panoramic view on display:

Fløyen mountain Continue reading →

Eagles and NFL in review – Week 1

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That was an ugly win. The Eagles did just about everything in their power to give away a week 1 game against a very inferior opponent, but pulled out a last minute TD drive to start out on the positive side of the ledger. Here’s what I saw, moving from bad to good:

Vick: Four interceptions, three of which were of the “cover your eyes bad” variety. He looked rusty, and my hope is that this was a week of him shaking off the lack of pre-season preparation and not a sign of a continuation of his turnover prone ways. Perhaps more troubling is his decision making tendency of always looking for a big play. Many times against the Browns there was at least one check-down receiver wide open who he ignored. He’s got to start taking the easy yardage that defences are giving him.

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Sunday in Uppsala

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A Sunday morning in late July seemed like the perfect time to visit Uppsala, the fourth largest city in Sweden.   Home to about 140,000 people, it’s a university town located about a 45 minute train ride north of Stockholm.   We arrived to a very quiet place ready for some exploring with no itinerary or plans in mind.

A quick walk from its newly refurbished train station and we’re at the Fryis River which cuts Uppsala in half.  It’s a beautiful walk along the river and a great way to start exploring the town:

Along the river Continue reading →

Stockholm from the water

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Stockholm is one of the most beautiful large cities I’ve been fortunate enough to visit.  The combination of 13th-16th century architecture, ample green spaces and the summer spirit of embracing the extended daylight hours combined to really pull at my heart.

We spent part of an afternoon taking a tour of Stockholm by water and from that vantage point, the beauty of Stockholm bloomed.  Here are some pictures of this gorgeous city from the water.

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Vasa and Skansen

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For our second full day in Stockholm, I turned the itinerary planning over to my love and she came up with two things I wouldn’t have if left to my own devices.  At the end of the day, I was very grateful for her insistence on seeing the Vasa Museum and Skansen.

We started the day with a short streetcar ride to Djurgården to time our arrival for the opening of the Vasa Museum.  A few minutes after entering, I was so very glad this was included in our plans.  The museum houses Vasa, a Swedish warship built in the early 1600s.  Before getting into the fascinating story of the ship, here she is:

Warship Vasa Continue reading →

10 more NFL predictions

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I’ve already made my first set of ill-fated 2012/13 NFL predictions on the order in which the teams will finish.  I must be a glutton for punishment, because here are ten more predictions involving stories that I think will emerge this season.

1. By the end of the season, the story around Michael Vick will be whether the Eagles will pick up the next season on his contract or if the organization will wash its hands of him and move on.  Even though I’ve picked the Eagles to win the NFC East, I’m hedging with this prediction.  I can see Vick having another middling season where he’s either hurt and/or continues to turn the ball over at a frightening clip.  I really hope I’m wrong.

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