Norway
We had our last real "adventure" of the summer which brought us to Bergen, Norway during this final week of August. While researching flights for our trip to Holland, we learned we could fly internationally out of Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY on Norwegian Airline. Stewart airport is TINY, but all that matters is where the flights take you. Our own local airport is larger and newer, but doesn’t have international flights, so we only use it domestically. Stewart is only an 1 hour 45 mins away, so we were pretty excited to learn we could halve our drive and avoid JFK or Logan! The only thing was, to get to Schipol, in Amsterdam, we would have had to make 1-2 connecting flights, so we decided it wasn't worth it. However our interest was piqued with Norway and some of the pictures of the fjords and mountains that came up on our web searches
After an uneventful 6.5 hour overnight flight, we landed at 0930 in Bergen, Norway. We picked up the tram just outside the airport, which took us into the city center. Since we couldn’t check into the AirBnB until 3 pm, we stashed our luggage in some lockers in the train station right next door to the tram stop. From here we set off through the city looking at the sights making our way to the Fløibanen, so we could go up the mountain for the views and to get some lunch. Our timing was spot on, because we had just finished taking pictures at the overlook when the clouds rolled in and began dumping rain on us. Thankfully the restaurant was only a few meters away and we were able to have a nice lunch of soup while temporarily avoiding the weather. Once we got back down the mountain, there was no avoiding it and we were soaked by the time we made it back to the train station lockers.
Our AirBnB was literally Nextdoor to bus-& trainstation and we had no trouble finding it. We even managed to avoid the rain for a bit by walking through a mall and bus station. Once we got to our accommodations, we unpacked, dried off and took a short nap before heading back out so I could get some Jiu-Jitsu training in.
On each of my trips dating back to 2013 I’ve always packed my gi in my carry-on. Because this was only a short trip, I decided to leave the gi home and just pack my no-gi gear. I emailed two places in Bergen, but only one of which, Frontline Academy, had training that I was able to make. The academy was an easy walk, only a few blocks from our place so we had no trouble finding it. The first thing which struck me when I walked in was the look, it reminded me of a hair salon reception area, clean looking and smelling. The locker room was the same, clean and neat. Their mat space was clean, large and smelled nothing like a gym. Overall it was impressive.
After changing, i introduced my self and warmed up with some stretches for a bit before grabbing a partner and getting some rounds in. I had about 4 partners before taking a break for a bit and chatting. After catching my breath I hopped back in and was promptly partnered up with one of the Brown Belts in the academy… and he smoked me. He was fast and technical and I was quickly a step, then two and three behind him. He had an unencumbered flow to his movements, like he had nothing else on his mind other then passing the guard. It would have been pretty to see, if I was a spectator, although even being on the receiving end, I could still appreciate it. Come to find out he was a multiple time Euro NoGi champ, medaled in both the Mundials, and the Euros in the Gi and won the Copa Podio Iron Brown Belt in Europe. I felt a bit better about myself after learning that.
Before I left the academy I sat down to talk with one of the Black Belts, Vinicius Silva. I can legit say it was one of the more engaging conversations I’ve had in a while. Originally from Brazil, then he went to Boston, before ending up here in Bergen, and achieved the rank of black belt only a few weeks before my visit. He was a genuinely interesting person and I’m glad I had the chance to meet him. Afterwards I packed up my gear and headed back to the AirBnB, but not before extending an invite to my new friends to contact me if they were ever in NY or Boston and I would try to meet up with them.
For now, it was time to shower up and keep exploring Norway!