Norway

In the latter part of 2000 I visited Norway for initially 6weeks - this grew to a few months, then on to christmas, then for a few months in 2001.
I travelled a little bit within Norway perhaps not as much as I should have - it allowed me to venture to Sweden and Denmark a bit as well.
Bergen is Nice but it rains almost as much as Ireland!
Oslo is a nice compact town - Aker Brugge is a bit weird like the IFSC. The park in Majorstuen is kinda weird - with some holocaust memorial with all these statues of Fat Naked people.
I recommend the ski jump in holmenkollen and the tryvann ariel tower which you can go up for 50 or 60NOK good exercise.
Places we went out to, Cafe Opera, Studenten, Barons... Smuget, the obligatory Irish bar Killkenny Inn(there was a dublinner and dirty nellys as well), and Odeon, Grappe out on the way to majorstuen.
One of the major benefits was that my stay in Norway allowed me to learn to ski (well sort of) I even had an abortive attempt and snowboarding and cross-country skiing- suffice it to say snowboarding I kept fallin on my bum (so much so I thought I would get nappy rash!), Cross country was one of the most exhausting things I have ever done! I was so sore after it I spent the next week walkin like John Wayne!
But when I settled I caught the downhill bug - when you spend a day trying to stay on your feet you forget about nearly everything.
Over all Oslo and Norway are nice places, the country side is lovely the mountains, the people while teutonic and insular are friendly when you get to know em.

Corfu Greece

With my able accomplice Ivan -
A Ipsos was ok perhaps too late in the season for much fun and frolics, weather was fine ok could have been better, Corfu town just a commercial port not mych to it.
The bus trip exposed us to the driving techniques of the greeks! and the commentary of "Panoramic view"over and over again....
We were denied a trip to Albania by political sensitivities due to the war in Yugoslavia.
Cycling was difficult but good fun in a masacistic kinda way - up to the celestialnamed Kassiopi
The boat trip was good as well got a chance to try a few knots when docking - the clove hitch!
When the US Aircraft carrier came to the bay it was full of yanks loud and broke the restfulness