A Glimpse of 
Italy and Norway

Michael and Kimberly Reiter
Summer, 2002

The adventurers enjoying their favorite near-the-end-of-a-fjord rock

The view of Rome from the American Academy, where we were housed.

Kimberly posing before the Temple of Saturn at the Forum.

Nighttime near the Pantheon. The days were very hot and humid, so evenings were when Rome came alive. Looks like something out of a 1950's film, huh?

The interior of the Coliseum. From here, you can look down into the old pens and preparation rooms underneath what used to be the floor of the arena.

A quiet street in Pompeii. The site felt quite mysterious whenever there weren't any people visible.

This is the signature mural from the House of the Hunt. Michael particularly enjoyed the numerous murals with nature themes.

A dramatic view of the Pantheon at night. The piazza in front of this temple/church was one of our favorite places for a glass of wine in the evening.

Stop! Change Gears!

This is a view of Bergen Harbor, which is definitely not in Italy. Michael tended to prefer Norway to Italy, Kimberly the other way around.

One of the excavated Viking ships at Gokstäd, now preserved in a museum in Oslo.

The fjord approach to Fjærland and the Jostedal glacier. The morning was still, the sky clear and bright, and Michael was in front on the ferry in order to take this picture. Absolutely spectacular!

Two meltwater caverns at the base of one of the fingers of Jostedal glacier.

They say that Norway's trolls don't like to come out during the daytime or when it's nice and sunny, so I guess this glacier troll was just taking a peek to check on the weather!

Can you see the troll?

Some fish aquaculture and research (salmon and similar species) in Norway is performed in pens right in the fjords. It was fun watching the fish jump in the pens.

Kvikne's Hotel in Balestrand, where we spent a few nights (in a corner room overlooking the fjord! We were so lucky!). There is a chair in the hotel in which Kaiser Wilhelm had been sitting when he received word of the start of WWI.

Looks sorta like a Maxfield Parrish painting, doesn't it? Maybe this is where he received his inspiration. I know that we sure did! 

Well my friends, just a few random images that happened to be around. Italy provided a lot of history for Kimberly, and Norway provided a lot of nature for Michael. Our scouting for student trip routes is completed; hopefully, we'll be able to introduce others to these wonderful sites in the near future.