Changes in Latitudes

First Carlsberg of the trip As we crossed the bridge from Malmö, Sweden, into Denmark, we saw blue sky, blue water and white sail boats. The bridge was long, but before we knew it we were in Denmark...yet again, no indication that we actually entered another country, and it felt more like we were crossing the bridge up to the U.P. Following our GPS passed lots of houses that Marius described as "typical Danish", but to me they just looked like "typical northern Europe": brick homes with steep roofs. There were tons of cyclists! A lot of people bike in Norway, but Copenhagen sets the bar really high. We came to the street with our hotel and parked in the street. As well as there being two other hotels, there were also two "gentlemen's clubs", and the street smelled like pee. At least the room was alright! We went to the tourist information center around the corner and got a map for a walking tour of Copenhagen that "should only take...

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...

Marius' former boss invited us to join the REN trip to Rome (May 9-12). Marius went on Wednesday morning with his former colleagues and a couple of other companies. The first few days were spent in meetings for them. I arrived Friday night. I wasn't sure when exactly I would get there because the winds were too strong in Amsterdam - the famous windmills must have been making lots of power. Some of the other significant others from REN and I arrived to Rome around 9pm. We stayed at a hotel within eye-shot of the Colosseum, it was pretty darn cool. Of course the first night in town we had an authentic Italian multi-course dinner: cooked mixed veggies, pizza, pasta, cheeses, pizza and tiramisu. Yum! Saturday morning we had a three-hour group walking tour from the Colosseum, past the Roman Forum, Pantheon and finishing up at Piazza Navona. Basically the bigger tourist attractions on the east side of the river. Naturally, REN had a fancy 5-star lunch planned and Marius and I had...

 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...