Changes in Latitudes

I realized I never wrote about Mom and Dad's visit back in the beginning of September. They were here from September 2-11. We started in Oslo and then drove down to Copenhagen, via Gothenburg, for a long weekend before coming back up to Oslo. It was a lot of fun! I wish I could remember the "Dad-isms". I should have written them down! I will try to think of them for the next post. We had them in our little 44 m/sq apartment, so it was definitely pretty tight with the four of us, but we all share hotel rooms when we were on our little roadtrip anyways, so it we got used to it fast. When they left, though, it seemed so quiet. When they arrived we quickly got them into the Oslo experience with a visit to the famous sculpture park, Vigelandsparken. A walk is the best cure after travelling. The next day Marius went to the office and we went to the Viking Ship museum. But Marius caught up with us in time for the Kon Tiki museum. I highly recommend both of those...

 Tron and Rigmor took us on a trip to the Lofoten Islands, and luck was on our side! We had clear, blue skies all three days while we explored Svolvær, Henningsvær, Nusfjord and Reine. The accommodation was amazing and a real treat! [Dried fish was a common site and smell in Lofoten] [Cooking burgers and hotdogs in Trondheim] The trip back south began with an overnight in Trondheim again, and then a day spent in the city and the cathedral was the highlight! Following Trondheim, we swung down to Ålesund - great city for architecture buffs, and the museum was worth going to. Lucky on the weather again!! No rain during the day! [4 people living out of a car = constant repacking]  Following Ålesund was the famous Trollveggen and Trollstigen (the Troll wall and road). The landscape was spectacular and a great entry into Geirangerfjord. In Geiranger we went on a fjord cruise and took a hike up to a waterfall. However, we were not very impressed wit...

Mom and Dad came to visit Norway on August 3rd - "No luggage, no status..." upon arrival to Bergen. So for two days they explored some of Bergen in hopes of news of their suitcases by Sunday so that we could begin our adventure. Sure enough, Sunday afternoon, the next flight in from Iceland had landed with their luggage and the tour of Norway began. Our first night we stayed in Geilo, where Marius' company has a condo. The first hike of the trip was the next day with a trip up behind Prestholtsetter, where Marius and I had skied earlier this year. The trail was being worked on by Nepalese Sherpas, and at the bottom we enjoyed some rommegrøt just in time to dodge the rain. [Gjelvågan summer home] The next afternoon we set out for Synnfjell (the Engebrethsen's winter cabin) for an overnight, then continued on to Trondheim. We camped at a town called Levanger, just north of Trondheim. Each day we were fearing the rain, but we were really lucky and did not have a...

[Gokstad ship] Rigmor and Tron took Marius and I to the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo (Adults 60kr, Students 35kr). We learned a bit about the Viking age, and how proud the Norwegians are of their ships. These ships were excavated from the late 1800s - 1904, and they were all from around 850-900AD. People of high rank were buried in the ships with their valuables, servants and horses (or cows). One of the ships contained a man in his 60s, his horse, a game board, a suit of chain mail, a sled, and pieces of a broken ski! [Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't let me rotate the photos even though they were already saved rotated before uploading..technical difficulties] [Amazing detail preserved!!] [Viking shoes - looks a bit like what is "in fashion" today] [Photo from an excavation in the late 1800s]