Visitors/Autumn in Norway and Update :)

The weather and colors are changing here, more and more every day. As well as the time passing fast. We have been very busy the past 1.5 months with visitors and traveling. It was all wonderful and I would not have changed a thing. We had Sean (my brother) visit at the end of August/early September and we had a great time. We spent a day in Oslo, and then he spent the rest of the time in Kongsberg with honestly the most perfect weather (Sunshine and temperatures in the 70's/80's).  He was in heaven after the hotness that was Louisiana the summer-- or so I am told.  We went hiking and biking everyday, and he loved it. I even brought him on an 8 hour hike one day. He is a natural.  We showed him a night out in Kongsberg with some of our friends here as well. Lots of pictures were taken and I loved having a buddy all week.  We could not have had a better time.

When Sean first arrived in Norway!

Viking Ship Museum

Ice Bar-- (Sean had shorts on)

Beautiful Bike Ride 

On a bike ride

Our 8 hour hike to Knuttehytta

King's Wall

Top of Langevannstoppen

Kongsberg look-out point!

Then...3 days later...Kevin's parents came! :) They came early September, and also had wonderful weather.  We had a lovely time in Kongsberg (first--to let them get over any jet lag).  Everything was still green at this time, but they warned us it would be changing soon...and it did. I had them touring the city and going to museums. Made them try lots of Norwegian foods, and I think they enjoyed them, including reindeer. :) We also took a hike to the King's Wall one day!  We then explored Oslo, and took a wonderful cruise to Copenhagen. Lots of memories made, it was a great time.

When they first arrived in Kongsberg!                        Our Hike to the King's Wall!

Beautiful Kongsberg

Ice Bar Fun!

Perfect weather for a Cruise

Trying Waffles with jam and sour cream :)

Then....One day later.... we were headed to Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest! Which was more than we could have every imagined! I will have a whole post just for that. We were able to go to two of the most beautiful castles while there was well (Neuschwanstein and Linderhof) by King Ludwig the II of Bavaria. We loved Munich and Oktoberfest was larger that life. Kevin is still on a high from going. Once we were back, we started to notice the leaves were changing and within days we had yellow, red, and orange trees everywhere. It happened so fast!! And I have to say, it really was beautiful..and still is. Although you can definitely feel it in the air that winter will be here soon.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Linderhof Castle

Celebrating Oktoberfest with the only size beer they served!

Then.....We had about a week, and my parents arrived for 10 days! My mother was excited to see the Autumn trees, and they had cooler but nice weather while they were here.  We spend a good amount of time in Kongsberg showing them our city and I also brought them on some hikes! It's just nice for them to see my day to day life, and put a picture to everything I had been talking about.  Kevin and My Dad had a fun time sampling the Oktoberfest beers we had brought home from Germany (Of course me and my mom did as well, ha).  From there we went to Bergen, which is on the west coast of Norway. Kevin and I have been really wanting to go there, and my mom really wanted to see the fjords so we made a trip there. It was one of the most beautiful train rides ( about 7 hours long), and we couldn't stop taking pictures out of the train windows. I will also do an individual post for Bergen to show some of the wonderful pictures. We went on a day tour that included a Fjord tour and the Flåm railway tour. It was beyond beautiful. We were there for two days and returned to Kongsberg, long enough to repack and head to the cruise to Copenhagen. Everyone loved Copenhagen, it is such a cute city with so much to do! I'll make sure to do a post on Copenhagen so I can post lots of pictures! Nyhavn was soooo cool.  I also enjoyed showing them Oslo once we got back.  Kevin was able to join us on the Cruise, but worked while we were in Oslo.  However, he was able to meet us for dinner and the Ice Bar friday night. We brought both of our parents to a place called, Nilsen Spiseri which has great Norwegian food. They all tried Whale, Reindeer, and Karbonade. On Saturday (the day my parents left), I actually went to the airport with my parents. While they flew back home, I actually flew to Greece to meet up with one of my good friends, Casey Gray!
Below are pictures of my parents trip and pictures of Norwegian Fall:

Kongsberg on their day of arrival! 

Bergen! Beautiful views

My Parents at the King's Wall

Norwegian Troll in Bergen :)

Dad's Favorite beer here! Paulaner Oktoberfest

Our hike up to King's Wall

Copenhagen- Nyhavn

Langevannstoppen View! 

 

Ice bar fun! Again!

Love

On the way to the grocery store

Beauty on my running path

One of my favorite spots in Kongsberg

Kongsberg

Vigeland Park in Oslo

So Greece!.....Casey was in Northern Greece presenting and attending a National Bear Convention. We were able to meet up in Athens, and then we went to Santorini for a few days. It was wonderful! We met up with her friend, Melinda, who is from Hungary. She was so sweet, and we all had a great time together! It was just beyond beautiful, and the food was delicious! We were so amazed by the Acropolis and all the ruins in Athens. It was surreal to see, and Santorni was like a dream come true. Honestly, we had the best time. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. One of our favorite things we did was (of course) riding the donkeys up the Kaladores Stairs in Fira. We also loved the sunset in Oia. But one of our big highlights was going to a "Greek wedding."  We went to a wedding performance where you were a active guest. We got to be "real" guests at the reception. We ate greek food, drank wine form the island, learned some greek dances, and we even go to break plates! There are some pictures below, but I will definitely be sharing more!

Casey and I at the Temple of Zeus

Sunset in Oia

At the Red Beach In Santorini

Beautiful Santorini

Red Beach

Now, we are enjoying the rest of what is left of Fall. The day I got back from Greece, it was actually SNOWING outside. I could see it through the plane window when we landed.  It was October 16th. It snowed again the next morning! It has not snowed anymore though, ha. Jillian, Warren, and the kids will be coming the week of Thanksgiving and we are so excited! We have started to plan round 4 of visitors :) It will be so nice to see them and the kids. The kids are hoping for snow, and I think it may be possible! The weather has been changing a lot! Also, I have become a new member of Ancestry.com (that's right) and have been doing a ton of research on my family's heritage.  I have been having the best time! It is truly amazing, and I have found out so much so far.  I will be making more posts soon. :) Happy Halloween! 

                                     

My train ride home from the airport on October 16th

The view from our window the morning of October 17th