Ever since the snow suddenly disappeared, the weather has been stunning: whilst not always warm, the sun has been enthusiastically shining and we have had some days where we were able to take off our jumpers and just wear t-shirts!
The sun does something to Norwegians, and all of a sudden there are happy people everywhere. I find it hard to believe that only 500,000 people live in this city from the number of people I've seen in the last few days.
Thursday was our study day as usual, and after a brief trip into town and icecream with Lena, I set off on the bus to Bygdøy, one of the islands in the Oslo Fjord (and home to the wealthy citizens of Oslo). The French students had ridden ahead on their bikes and found a spot so we arrived to find the BBQ warming up and the food (sausages with Norwegian flat bread (made from potatoes), baked potatoes and Camembert) ready to cook. As we unpacked the food, we looked around: it was a lovely spot, green grass, shining sun, beautiful view of the fjord and islands. There was even a small beach that we looked down onto. Suddenly we realised we weren't just seeing meat on the BBQ- we had inadvertently settled down next to Huk nudist beach and the fine weather meant it was well-populated. But, BBQ lit and meat grilling, it was too late to move! A leisurely few hours in the sun was enjoyed by all, followed by the one crazy Australian who went for a paddle up to her knees (and got my trousers wet!).
That evening I attended a pub crawl organised by the International Student Union. Whilst it was a fun night meeting more students from around the world, it's not quite the pub crawl I remember from my earlier uni days. One glass of wine (at nearly ten dollars) and 2 pubs later, there was very little crawling done!
Luckily, I made up for it the following night with some drinks (forspiel) at my house followed by a spanish party down the road. In Norway, due to the cost of alcohol, people have drinks at home before going out for one or two drinks, then continuing with drinks at someone's place afterwards. The pre-drinks are called forspiel, which means something like pre-drinks in Norwegian, but foreplay in German, which confuses every German student when they first arrive. When we have forspiel or nachspiel (drinks afterwards), everyone brings their own drinks, it's too expensive to provide it!
Strangely (!), I felt slightly ill on Saturday when I woke up early to get to the Anzac Day Service, held at the Commonwealth War Graves in a large cemetery in Oslo. As the sun is now rising at 4 or 5am, it was held at the more respectable hour of 10am as opposed to dawn. The service was lovely: the weather was a sunny 17 degrees (but felt so much warmer), there were about 30 Aussie accents ringing through the air (very strange to hear) and they had all the traditional trappings: a bugler, wreaths, 2 minutes silence, the 'ode of remembrance' and so on. They also had a representative from the Turkish embassy who read a poem in English and Turkish. We were then all invited to the pub to drink VB afterwards!
The two other Aussie exchange students and I declined the pub invite due to the lovely weather and lack of will to pay 10 dollars or so for VB. Instead we headed to the train station, but got slightly distracted on the way by an outdoor market, complete with snags and onions done on the barbie and other delicious smells. The street was absolutely packed as everyone enjoyed the weather and the opportunity to grab a (relatively speaking) bargain.
Following our stroll at the market, we made our way back to the island we had our picnic on the day before and met at the Norwegian Folk museum, an outdoor museum exhibiting more than 100 buildings from Norwegian history, for another International Student Union event. This time, we got free entry to the museum and a tour guide for an hour who took us into various buildings such as traditional farmhouses and the stave church. I think the guide was somewhat cyanical about these items being displayed as examples of Norwegian history, as he explained that these building were chosen after the union with Denmark ended. Thus they were examples of a history untainted by Denmark that Norway could claim as their own as it sought a national identity. Thus the buildings often came from very isolated areas of Norway where the Danish influence could not pervade.
The museum also had an 80s exhibition that had just opened, where people donated their 80s memorabilia for display. I did offer to go on display myself, but no one would have me! It was interesting to see images of Norway in the 80s: for example, Chernobyl, one month before my birth, had a far greater impact here as nuclear fall out landed in peoples gardens and food growing areas.
Our enjoyable day continued with a brief stroll to the harbour where we decided to catch a ferry over the Oslo fjord back to town. These ferries are included in my regular public transport ticket and are definitely a more enjoyable way of heading back (although not so good for a slightly nauseous stomach).
The last hours of sun were spent relaxing on the Opera House roof (which you can walk all over) in the sun with Lena and her visiting German friend, followed by a BBQ with a small group of friends in the sun on the lawn at our student village. It's so perfect to sit there with some music, grilling hamburgers and marshmallows whilst nursing rum (the others) or apple juice (me) and chatting as the sun goes down. Chilled, we headed inside, and Lena and her friend drank more rum and taught me more German, the phrases getting more and more ridiculous as the bottle got emptier. So, if you ever want some German pick up lines, you know where to come.
This morning also brought a moderately early start as we set off into town to pick up a free Oslo Pass. Every year, the city of Oslo arranges a day called 'turist i egen by' or tourist in your own city. Anyone who goes to the town hall between 10:30 and 4 is given a free Oslo Pass, which is a city pass usually sold to tourists for around 50 dollars a day. The pass gives you free public transport, free entry into 35 museums in Oslo and discounts at restaurants and other attractions around town.
So, I had free entry and made the most of it, visiting the Munch museum to see another version of The Scream (the other one I saw in the National Gallery), checking out the balsa wood and reed vessels (kon-tiki, Ra, Ra 2) used to sail from South America to Barbados in the Kon-tiki museum and taking in some of Norway's maritime history at the Norsk Sjøfartsmuseum (Norwegian Maritime Museum).
The Scream has been stolen twice (once by the son of my friends' tutor!) and hence the security at the Munch museum is insane- you must leave your bag in a locker whilst in the museum, go through an xray machine, and two sets of airlock doors to get inside. On the way out there was mass confusion by some tourists who went through the first exit door of the airlock and stood inside the airlock dithering with the second exit door open, thereby preventing any one else from getting inside the first airlock door. Finally they realised what they were door and chaos was averted.
Munch's paintings are interesting and feature themes of life and death (there are many of couples in which one is alive and the other dead), jealously and anxiety and depression. But its very interesting to look at the eras and see the difference, the painting he did in the early 1900s are full of brightly coloured spring flowers and children playing!
The Kon-tiki museum displays the reed boat Ra 2 and the balsa Kon-Tiki raft used by Thor Heyerdahl to demonstrate that ancient populations in Africa and South America could have visited and influenced each other. It also has displays of caves, figures from Easter Island and a giant whale shark! Thor sounds like a cool guy, when he first got married, he and his wife moved to an island in the Pacific Ocean to live. When they arrived they refused to take aboard provisions, planning instead to live off the land and build their house from what they found there. He also did his boating missions with a completely international crew, to investigate what would happen when people from such different backgrounds were forced to live together 24 hours a day for months at a time. And I bought a postcard with a quote from him today "I'm prepared to take a risk, but not the risk of smoking".
The maritime museum was less interesting as it mainly consisted of model boats. There was, however, an interesting temporary exhibition about Vietnamese refugees escaping by boat, as Norway took in many refugees, apparently having a policy that if they were picked up they could stay and the ship who picked up refugees was reimbursed for any extra expenditures. There was also a model of the Tampa there, having been a Norwegian boat, and a lengthy explanation about the situation. Reading that, I felt like keeping my mouth shut, I didn't want to admit to being Australian!
As well as the warmer weather and the sun, the coming of spring has brought another phenomenon. I kept seeing teenagers with red or blue coloured overalls running around the city in groups. Whenever a little kid stops them, they give them a business card from their pocket. What's going on?
It's called Russ and it's a tradition for Norwegian high-school leavers. It starts properly on May 1 (which is a public holiday here) and culmunates in a massive party on 17th of May, Norwegian national day. From April 30 until May 17, the students run crazy around the city, drinking and partying every night and attempting various tasks. They wear these traditional hats with a long piece of string on them. When they complete various tasks from a 'knotlist' set by their school's Russ (students) committee they are entitled to tye knots or items onto the string. The tasks can be tame such as crawling from Burger King to McDonalds, staying up all night or placing ads in the newspaper, or completely outrageous involving having sex in trees (must be witnessed to receive the prize), doing things to their teachers etc. In Oslo, students also often buy (!) buses which they paint and outfit according to a theme, and travel from party to party. Outfitting often includes the best stereo systems, bars and other luxuries. The cost of the bus outfitting often comes to 5000-10,000 dollars PER STUDENT! This is on top of the clothes, the booze, the entry to special parties, the food and all the other costs they pay for three weeks of partying. They also print special business cards with their names, pictures and favourite quotes which they give out to family and friends. Kids in Norway collect these cards and you often see them stopping the teenagers in overalls to collect a card from them.
Did I mention also that this is before their final year exams and that they are still attending school at 8am each day? Apparently, they used to have final exams before May 17, but they were moved to later in an attempt to curb Russ celebrations. It didn't work. Unfortunately, every year some students are killed in road accidents as their ancient buses (or Russ cars) combine with fatigue and alcohol (though the legal limit is 0.02 here).
I think this is a pretty interesting cultural thing, so I found some more links if you're interested:
the first shows some pictures of the bus and the overalls and hats they wear every day of Russ:
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/bildeserier/article1027893.ece
The next takes you to a wikipedia article about the history and traditions of Russ:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ
So, schoolies seems tame in comparison.
Well, will keep you updated with any Russ pranks I come across!
Anneke
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Back in Oslo
Well, I'm back in Oslo for the time being after a few weeks of travelling.
I went to Ireland for easter to visit Ros and Boz and their guests, Elinore (my cousin), Nick and Sofia (their 6 month old baby). Sofia was gorgeous, smiley and happy to be passed from person to person. We also went down to Carrick on Shannon to visit my aunt and uncle, who met their grand daughter for the first time!
Uni started back with vigour on the Tuesday after Easter, and I returned from Ireland on the Wednesday to launch into Gynacology fun. We learnt how to perform pelvic exams on models and saw lots of videos of deliveries to prepare for our obstetrics term. I brushed up on how to say "this might be a little cold" in Norwegian and was turned loose onto the wards this week. Back to early mornings and actually working!
But it's not all work. Last Thursday night we were attended a dinner at our professor (and my PBL tutor's house) with all the international students (>30). We ate reindeer with potatoes and brussels sprouts. Reindeer is not that different to other meats, but it tasted great because it relieved our vegetarian diet!
The sun is out in Oslo at the moment. Everywhere you see people shedding their winter coats and hesitantly trying out their spring wardrobes. Despite the sun, its still only 5-15 degrees but the atmosphere is fresh, and when you have a jumper on and sit in the sun, it feels a bit like summer. Days that are warmer than about 12 degrees feel so amazing, and the sun, flowers and lack of snow (it melted so quickly) remind us that summer is coming.
Spring has seen everyone sitting outside on the lawns, having BBQs on the disposable grills (which consist of a metal oven tray, charcoal, a flammable piece of paper and a grill on top). When it gets a bit warmer we hope to catch a ferry to an island in the Oslo fjord and have our own BBQ there. We may even consider camping there...
Saturday saw me hitting the shops to replace my broken sunglasses and dying my hair brown. My friends headed off to one of the many flea markets hosted by schools that have popped up everywhere. There is even a website to trace the markets. They returned with treasures such as bicycles, decorations for their rooms and balls to play with in the sun, all obtained at bargain prices. There's one up the road next weekend, so watch and see what I come home with!
I thought I'd comment on a few other aspects of life in Norway, firstly the public transport system. In Oslo, a city of half a million people, there are buses, trains, trams and ferries, which all run well, servicing the city until 12:30 even on weeknights, and are supplemented with a night bus on weekends. All public transport options except the night bus are covered under the monthly ticket I own, but I laugh at the number of ticket options there are available. I have still not figured out what the various boxes at the train stations are for, I think they are trialling several different ticketing systems as well as currently using at least two. So I see some people scan tickets in one machine, others punch tickets in another, others who don't validate anything and others who buy tickets for a machine which prints out valid tickets.
Catching the bus from Majorstuen, the starting point of my bus route, is sometimes a bit frustrating, expecially during a snow storm. The bus will arrive at the stop 5-10 minutes early and sit about 50m from the stop with its door closed, regardless of how many people are waiting at the stop. If you attempt to get on before the bus is due to leave the driver (who remains sitting on the bus) will kick you off. At exactly the time the bus is due to leave the driver drives the bus to the stop and opens the door to let people on and continues on its way.
Another interesting experience is shopping at the supermarket. You grab what you need, including bread (sold unsliced, with an electronic slicer provided for customers who wish to use it) and make your way to the checkout. You then unload your goods onto the conveyor belt and fiercely defend your goods by making it very clear that the sliced cheese 30cm behind your items doe not belong to you.
Once you reach the head of the line, your goods are scanned and unceremoniously dumped down a sloping bench. You then start to sweat as you pay, separating your coins from your notes and sometimes putting your coins into a little coin machine, purchase a plastic bag if you wish, and furiously throw your goods in your bag, disregarding the position or nature of the goods you are packing. You meanwhile pray that the customer behind you has bought a large number of goods. This is because the bench that your goods slide down is divided into two by a sliding divider so that customer A can pack whilst customer B is having their items scanned. Once this transaction is completed, the divider is pushed to seal off customer B's goods so that they can pack whilst customer C's goods are scanned and slid down the other side of the divider. So, if you're customer A and customer B only has a few items, you will either have to separate customer C's goods from yours or hold up the line as you finish packing.
If you wish to buy items such as razors, condoms, snus (tobacco that goes in your mouth in a little pouch- very popular here due to smoking bans) or cigarettes, you first purchase a card at the receiver, then insert the card into a machine after you have gone through the checkout. Your goods will then be dispensed into your waiting hands.
Another novelty at the supermarket is the recycling system. You bring all your bottles to a hole in the wall, which accepts them and gives you some money back for each bottle (maybe 25cents). You can then use this as store credit, automatically donate it to charity or claim it by presenting the receipt.
Well, off to watch a movie now, so will write more later.
Best wishes to you all,
Anneke
I went to Ireland for easter to visit Ros and Boz and their guests, Elinore (my cousin), Nick and Sofia (their 6 month old baby). Sofia was gorgeous, smiley and happy to be passed from person to person. We also went down to Carrick on Shannon to visit my aunt and uncle, who met their grand daughter for the first time!
Uni started back with vigour on the Tuesday after Easter, and I returned from Ireland on the Wednesday to launch into Gynacology fun. We learnt how to perform pelvic exams on models and saw lots of videos of deliveries to prepare for our obstetrics term. I brushed up on how to say "this might be a little cold" in Norwegian and was turned loose onto the wards this week. Back to early mornings and actually working!
But it's not all work. Last Thursday night we were attended a dinner at our professor (and my PBL tutor's house) with all the international students (>30). We ate reindeer with potatoes and brussels sprouts. Reindeer is not that different to other meats, but it tasted great because it relieved our vegetarian diet!
The sun is out in Oslo at the moment. Everywhere you see people shedding their winter coats and hesitantly trying out their spring wardrobes. Despite the sun, its still only 5-15 degrees but the atmosphere is fresh, and when you have a jumper on and sit in the sun, it feels a bit like summer. Days that are warmer than about 12 degrees feel so amazing, and the sun, flowers and lack of snow (it melted so quickly) remind us that summer is coming.
Spring has seen everyone sitting outside on the lawns, having BBQs on the disposable grills (which consist of a metal oven tray, charcoal, a flammable piece of paper and a grill on top). When it gets a bit warmer we hope to catch a ferry to an island in the Oslo fjord and have our own BBQ there. We may even consider camping there...
Saturday saw me hitting the shops to replace my broken sunglasses and dying my hair brown. My friends headed off to one of the many flea markets hosted by schools that have popped up everywhere. There is even a website to trace the markets. They returned with treasures such as bicycles, decorations for their rooms and balls to play with in the sun, all obtained at bargain prices. There's one up the road next weekend, so watch and see what I come home with!
I thought I'd comment on a few other aspects of life in Norway, firstly the public transport system. In Oslo, a city of half a million people, there are buses, trains, trams and ferries, which all run well, servicing the city until 12:30 even on weeknights, and are supplemented with a night bus on weekends. All public transport options except the night bus are covered under the monthly ticket I own, but I laugh at the number of ticket options there are available. I have still not figured out what the various boxes at the train stations are for, I think they are trialling several different ticketing systems as well as currently using at least two. So I see some people scan tickets in one machine, others punch tickets in another, others who don't validate anything and others who buy tickets for a machine which prints out valid tickets.
Catching the bus from Majorstuen, the starting point of my bus route, is sometimes a bit frustrating, expecially during a snow storm. The bus will arrive at the stop 5-10 minutes early and sit about 50m from the stop with its door closed, regardless of how many people are waiting at the stop. If you attempt to get on before the bus is due to leave the driver (who remains sitting on the bus) will kick you off. At exactly the time the bus is due to leave the driver drives the bus to the stop and opens the door to let people on and continues on its way.
Another interesting experience is shopping at the supermarket. You grab what you need, including bread (sold unsliced, with an electronic slicer provided for customers who wish to use it) and make your way to the checkout. You then unload your goods onto the conveyor belt and fiercely defend your goods by making it very clear that the sliced cheese 30cm behind your items doe not belong to you.
Once you reach the head of the line, your goods are scanned and unceremoniously dumped down a sloping bench. You then start to sweat as you pay, separating your coins from your notes and sometimes putting your coins into a little coin machine, purchase a plastic bag if you wish, and furiously throw your goods in your bag, disregarding the position or nature of the goods you are packing. You meanwhile pray that the customer behind you has bought a large number of goods. This is because the bench that your goods slide down is divided into two by a sliding divider so that customer A can pack whilst customer B is having their items scanned. Once this transaction is completed, the divider is pushed to seal off customer B's goods so that they can pack whilst customer C's goods are scanned and slid down the other side of the divider. So, if you're customer A and customer B only has a few items, you will either have to separate customer C's goods from yours or hold up the line as you finish packing.
If you wish to buy items such as razors, condoms, snus (tobacco that goes in your mouth in a little pouch- very popular here due to smoking bans) or cigarettes, you first purchase a card at the receiver, then insert the card into a machine after you have gone through the checkout. Your goods will then be dispensed into your waiting hands.
Another novelty at the supermarket is the recycling system. You bring all your bottles to a hole in the wall, which accepts them and gives you some money back for each bottle (maybe 25cents). You can then use this as store credit, automatically donate it to charity or claim it by presenting the receipt.
Well, off to watch a movie now, so will write more later.
Best wishes to you all,
Anneke
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Southern Norway from A to Z pictures day 5 & 6
1. Grilling the fish for breakfast
2. Another foggy morning...
3. Norwegian Wood!
4. Tea break (fog all gone!)
5. Arriving in Utnes
6. looking down Sørfjorden
7. Crusin'
8. Are you sick of fjords yet? (Mum close your eyes at the next picture)
9. Hardangervidda.
10. Stave Church
11. Meteortire Crater...At least I won't forget my sandwich when the meteorite comes
12. One more reason to love Thorla: bum warmers.
Southern Norway from A to Z pictures day 3 & 4
1. Foggy start to day 3
2. Dragne, on Dragnefjorden
3. Perfectly still water reflects the fjords
4. Egersund
5. Stavanger (day 3)
6. reading in the boot
7. view from our reading nook
8. West Norway thing- living roofs...
9. Pulpit Rock
10. Pulpit Rock
11. Pulpit Rock
12. Pulpit Rock (love my camera!)
13. Oil drill in the Norwegian Oil Museum
14. Crazy Engineers...yes I know a few of those
15. Ready to evacuate the oil rig
16. Oil museum from the outside
17. Zoe, Bergen's famous harbour and Bergen's famous rain.
Southern Norway from A to Z pictures from day 1 and 2
1. And we're off! Zoe, Thorla and I before departure.
2. Ferry leaving Moss
3. World's End
4. Stavern Yellow
5. Jarlsberg...Bingo
6. The first night's campsite
7. Breakfast near Helle
8. Rørvik
9. Farmhouse museum
10. Streets of Kristiansand
11. NOT Norway's most pristine beach
12. Norway's most pristine beach according to the guidebook
13. Think this is just a tourist trap- we didn't see any!
14. The view at Norway's southernmost point
15. Lindesnes lighthouse, Norway's southernmost point (on the mainland)
16. The only moose I saw....
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Southern Norway from A to Z
Time flies when you're having fun! Happy belated Easter. Hope the bunny was kind to you...
I last posted about my adventures in Germany. I was back in Oslo for a week. The week was far from mundane however, involving a Spaetzle (German floury pasta dish) night, international vodka tasting evening- 5 different vodkas from around the world, and a scavenger hunt which saw us asking the good citizens of Oslo if they were named Bjarne, hanging out of trees like monkeys, trying on bathers in H&M, busking to earn 20 Kroner, singing the Norwegian national anthem in pubs, squishing 3 people in their underwear into a phone box and acting out scenes in front of the Norwegian Theatre Museum.
Friday April 3 saw us heading into town to pick up the car Zoe and I had hired for our easter trip- Southern Norway from A to Z. We had to pick it up by four, take it home, then race back into the city by public transport for the Scav Hunt by 4:15.
Things were looking good at 2:50 when we'd gotten the car and were ready to drive the 20 min or so drive home. Zoe settled in behind the wheel (I was too young to drive, and a manual was cheaper, so Zoe was the designated driver), I had my map of Oslo out and we set off.
Things weren't looking so good at 3pm when, having found the road we wanted to take closed, we found ourselves on a freeway in the wrong direction. Having sorted out our slight navigational issues we laughed the whole way home as we decided to base our route home on the tram that goes near us. We took this a bit too literally though when we found ourselves driving through a tram stop. We're still not sure if that was actually allowed.... Other challenges included trying to determine how close to the edge if the road we were and scrutinizing pedestrian crossings for lurkers as every driver stops politely for pedestrians at any crossing in Norway. Luckily, we made it in plenty of time and set off to enjoy a night of scav hunting.
After the scav hunt we headed back home and decided that as we had a car in Oslo we really should use it. We found a lookout on the map and decided to drive there, optimistically ignoring the foggy weather. Besides, we figured, it would be good driving practice. We set off ok, following the bus route, until we got a bit lost. We made it up the hill, saw nothing of the view (Couldn't even see 2 cars in front), and decided to head back. Confused, we found ourselves in a tunnel. Fearing it would be a long night driving back to Oslo from wherever we were, we suddenly emerged on the freeway less than a km from home! We still don't know how it happened.
The next day dawned even foggier and colder, after a week of beautiful weather in which people had told us it would be 15 degrees and sunny in the destinations we were headed. Nevertheless, we excitedly packed up the car and set off at 9:30- exactly on time. Though we were going south-west of Oslo, which lies at the top of a fjord, we had decided to go south-east and cross the fjord on a ferry from Moss to Horten (see map on top-click on it for a larger view). Perfect idea when you can actually see the view of the fjord, but somewhat disappointing on a day when you can barely see the cup of tea we stoically sipped on the outside deck. Coming off the ferry was a bit stressful we were the first car in the column, the steering wheel had locked and the car wouldn't start. Luckily, just as the ferryman started to push we managed to get it going.
We spent a very relaxed first day (compared to the days to come) travelling a distance that probably shouldn't have taken us more than about 3 hours. In the meantime though, we went to Verdens Ende (world's end) which is a point at the end of a peninsula (near Tonsberg on the map above); the ICA supermarket in Sandefjord (having already been to 2 different supermarkets in Moss) where we ate lunch on the free samples- fruits, buns, cooked mushroom dishes, cold meats, alcohol free beer; Jarlsberg, which we visited with dreams of free samples only to discover it was a racecourse; Stavern, a pretty seaside town with houses painted in 'Stavern Yellow' and lots of bridges marked as having panoramic views on my map from which we could barely even see the bridge supports.
We'd decided to try our hand at camping round Norway, as the Countryside Act permits camping on land that is not fenced off, used for agriculture or close to houses. We naively believed that there would be no snow any more in Southern Norway and that all the areas of green on the map meant it would be easy to find a camp site. At 6:30pm we were starting to get a bit worried about finding a place. There were more houses than we thought, nowhere to park a car off the road and there was snow everywhere! Luckily at 7pm we had found the perfect spot and we grilled our hamburgers and marshmallows on the disposable BBQ in the remaining hour of light, before setting up our tent in our own personal forest on a soft bed of snow, warm in our tent with a doona and sleeping bag. We had one brief moment of concern (not about our safety, but about whether we had inadvertently camped too close to a house) when we heard a car stop in the long driveway near our forest, but the car drove on again and no one seemed upset.
Luckily the next day was beautiful and sunny and we managed a rapid turnaround as we packed up and set off again, stopping in Helle for a stunning breakfast on a rock overlooking a frozen fjord. We had to increase our pace in order to see everything we wanted to see in 5 and a half days. So, whilst it was a day full of scenery, most of it was seen from short rest stops rather than long detours like the day before. We still had plenty of time for sightseeing though as we stopped in Risør, a pretty town famous for its white houses and little islands; an outdoor museum which showcased houses and farmyard buildings from around Norway, and the pretty city of Kristiansand with its fortress, church and colourful streets.
After Kristiansand we decided to stop at what my guidebook described as Norway's most pristine beach, with eggshell-white sand. As I guided us to where I thought Sjøsanden was, we looked out the window at an area bustling with forklifts, piles of industrial materials and lots of large machines. A second glance at the map and we were on our way to the real Sjøsanden, which is not quite as impressive as the guidebook says. Though I can proudly say I have frozen my toes in the North Sea now!
Our second evening was spent less than a kilometre from the Southernmost point of mainland Norway (there are some uninhabited islands that are further south). We stopped in for a look at Lindesnes lighthouse, marking the southernmost point, and explored the manmade tunnels and caves which have some military significance from the second world war, though it is hard to find out what.
Our camping site that night was a great spot where we could pull the car off the road and camp in the nearby bushes. Its location felt a bit eerie, and I felt a bit isolated that night. To compound this, as we were setting up the tent in the bushes we heard a car stop on the road. I saw a person get out and head over to our car. When I yelled out 'hello' he replied (partly to me, and partly to his mates) 'oh, it's only camping' and got back into the car and drove off. He had seen the car partly unloaded and thought we had broken down or there was something wrong and was just stopping to check we were ok! We came back to the car to find everything exactly in place and we had an uneventful night. Well, almost uneventful- I fell into the bog on the way to bed.
The next morning dawned a bit foggy. The fog was pretty in a way though, as you could see below and above it, creating some nice scenes of mountains and fjords. We took a windy road back to the main freeway, only just wide enough for one car, let alone one coming in the opposite direction! Our route took us past sleepy towns, with colourful houses reflected onto the completely flat fjord water with foggy mountains in the background. We were not following any tourist route, this was just one of many roads we could have turned down in this part of the country.
Luckily the fog cleared a bit and the views from the bridges were stunning as we could see the whole way down the fjords, with their still black water and rolling edges. We travelled through a series of tunnels and the view each time we emerged was amazing. We had a few brief stops- Egersund, where we drank our cup of tea whilst overlooking the town to see the water, town and snowy mountains in the background and at an ancient burial ground which consisted of various stone rings.
After Egersund the scenery started to change- the scenery from the road looked like Ireland or the UK, with green pastures and rocky walls to keep live stock in, the fjords were more steep, longer and more dramatic and the islands were more barren and rocky. This continued until about 2:30pm when we arrived in Stavanger, the Oil capital of Norway.
We spent a pleasant hour or so in Stavanger, eating the first icecream of the season in the sun, strolling round the relaxed and pretty streets and visiting the tourist info centre. As we had arrived earlier than we expected in Stavanger, we decided to drive along a tourist route we had been recommended, camp near the end of that and head back to Stavanger the following day after our hike to Pulpit Rock.
Route 13 was very pretty although perhaps needs some work before being called a tourist route. As part of it involved a ferry, there were lots of cars in both directions on this narrow road, which we could barely fit on ourselves. I enjoyed the view, but I don't think Zoe saw much of it!
Once again, we cooked our dinner near a place called Helle, and as we had arrived much earlier than usual even got to spend an hour reading in the boot of the car with our quilt over us as we surveyed the view. It felt like ours, as we were the only ones admiring it. Later, we moved on to our campsite for the night, in a gorgeous forest with a stream following near us. We even had a picnic table to eat our breakfast on the next morning!
And a good breakfast we had, as we prepared for the first of the day's activities: hiking to Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen). We decided to get an early start in order to fit in time to get back to Stavanger and so we made the carpark for Pulpit Rock by 8:30 and set off on the 2 hour hike by 8:43.
The hike was basically up a mountain, with occasional plateaus of bogs, which we traversed on board walks. Going up, though, meant scrambling up rocks and, higher up, trudging through snow. I hadn't expected there would be so much snow on the way and spent a lot of time sliding down! The final approach took us on a narrow path on the edge of the cliff. Let's just say this probably would not have been allowed in Australia due to public liability concerns! As we ascended, we enjoyed a view of mountains, waterfalls, a frozen bathing spot and brief glimpses down the fjord, tantalising us with what was to come.
Only an hour and a half after we set off we arrived at Priekestolen (pulpit rock), a rock jutting out with a straight drop 604m to the water below, resembling a pulpit. When we arrived we realised how glad we were for setting off early- we were the only people there. Every picture of the rock we'd seen showed it covered in tourists, so to have it to ourselves was amazing. And wow- the views down the fjord are absolutely stunning.
Several dozen photos later, having been warmed from the freezing winds by a cup of tea, we set off back down the mountain, sliding and slipping in the snow. The way down also took only 90 minutes, and led us past probably 30 people in all degrees of age and fitness ascending. Once again, we were glad to have gone early!
We were back down by 12:15 and set off on the road again, having paid 80 Kroner ($20!!!!!) for the privilege of parking in the outdoor car park. On our way to Tau for the ferry, we stopped briefly to look at some Bronze Age rock paintings practically on the side of the road, and were on the ferry to Stavanger by 1:15. Perfect timing, we thought, for an afternoon in Stavanger and then a few hours driving to get a bit closer to home for a big day driving the next day. And then we looked at the map.
"You know," I said, looking at the map, "Bergen's not that far from Stavanger...". And that was it. All of a sudden, our plans had completely changed: we decided to head to Bergen after our afternoon in Stavanger (a 160km drive involving 2 ferries) then head home on the national tourist route (that everyone talks about) the following day. This was something we had initially considered doing, but had ruled out in favour of taking it slowly and stopping when we felt like it. However, we had done Pulpit Rock half a day ahead of our rough schedule and thus decided we might as well drop by Bergen 'on our way home'.
But first: we'd seen the day before that there was an Oil museum in Stavanger, the home of the Norwegian Oil industry, the 2nd largest oil producers in the world. Being somewhat nerdy and keen to have an educational experience after all the scenery, we dropped in. Scandinavians do museums well and after 2 hours of 3D films about oil production, trying on escape equipment, sliding down the evacuation slides, investigating the source of oil and examing life on an oil rig, we suitably informed. One of the other interesting experiences we had was the evacuation training room, which you enter and have to evacuate from in the dark. Sirens wail, a man yells "you have to get out" in urgent Norwegian repeatedly, doors have to be opened and windows climbed through and you have to be out within 2 minutes. They opened it up for us after we asked to give it a try. A stranger went first and was out in 50 seconds. I was next: I got inside and was doing well until a tuft of air shot up in front of me (part of the simulation). Apparently the whole museum heard my scream and that was the only part of the experience that Zoe, waiting in the wings for her turn, heard. Nevertheless, I kept going and was out in 55s, followed by Zoe in 35!
We stopped by a boat on the harbour on our way out of the museum to pick up a whole fish for dinner, and we were on our way to Bergen by 4:30pm. The drive was uneventful, we went though two 6km undersea tunnel, on 2 ferries. The undersea tunnels descend for 3km and abruptly ascend again, and our little car struggled a bit on the way up. We decided to name her Thorla at this point, a strong powerful name which we hoped would encourage her.
Predictably, we arrived in Bergen in the rain. We then set off to find the harbour. Geez, it was stressful trying to find our way through a myriad of one way streets, lanes that may or may not have been taxi and bus lanes and streets that were not marked one way but were too narrow for 2 cars. We eventually made it to the harbour for a brief stroll and then decided to go up the funicular railway for a view over Bergen. Our sightseeing completed, we were back on the road again. By this time it was 10:30 and we had decided that camping would not be a good idea in the rain. We were therefore hoping for a nice spot to pull over and sleep in the car. We'd seen some small roads on the map, but everywhere seemed too suburban. Getting desperate, at 11:00pm and exhausted we decided to just settle for a suburban area, eat a cheese sandwich for dinner and go to sleep.
Excited at the sunny sky and stiff after a less than comfortable night, we set off early the next day with the intention of stopping after an hour or so for breakfast. Things were going well until we actually got on the tourist route and realised the fog was thick and wasn't showing signs of lifting. Pulling into a layby on the road, we cooked our fish for breakfast, cleaned out the car, filled up with petrol, shopped and did all the tasks we needed to do for the day in the hope that the fog would clear. Dismay set in as we realised it was actually getting worse and if we didn't leave soon, we wouldn't get very far!
The road took us up through a mountain and as we descended, suddenly the sun appeared, the skies were a perfect blue and the fog was all but gone. And just as well: if you're ever in Norway, take the route 7 from Bergen. The fjords in this part of the country are deep and long, with snowy mountains, still black water and in the shimmering sun it looks so perfect. It's tranquil and quiet and the scenery is 360 degrees.
Our plan had been to take a ferry across the Hardanger fjord and Sørfjorden to Kinsarvik, but the ferry only ran 8 times a day and we missed it by just 5 min. Luckily, from the same spot we managed to catch a ferry to Utnes, on the other side of Sørfjorden and we drove about 2 hours down the fjord to Odda, then up the other side to Kinsarvik. It was weird arriving in Utnes and seeing Kinsarvik just across the narrow fjord, but knowing there was no way of reaching it soon. Luckily we did though, as Sørfjorden was probably one of the most scenic views of our (very scenic!) journey. We had a brief stop in Kinsarvik as we watched the next ferry arrive, having beaten it by about ten minutes!
And lucky we did stop in Kinsarvik as the next 2 hours was probably the hardest part of our trip. After the gentle, sunny scenery of the morning, it was a bit of a shock to suddenly emerge from a tunnel and be completely surrounded by snow. We had reached the mountains where it seems every Norwegian goes skiing and staying in their cabins over the easter break.
Things were a bit hairy for an hour or two (though it felt like far longer) as we drove along a road, which although recently plowed, had some fresh snow on it. On each side of the narrow road the snow was like a wall high above our heads and there was a fair bit of traffic in the other direction preventing us from steering around the icier parts. Zoe drove with great care and was fantastic despite being a bit scared and we made it safely over Hardangervidda and into Geilo for a well-earned coffee break.
The rest of the afternoon went quickly as we stopped briefly at old Stave church, found a campsite in a snowy forest and cooked dinner by the side of the road. We even found time for Zoe to give me a brief lesson in driving a manual on the other side of the road (don't worry, the it was a quiet country street and the only other car we saw was a tractor).
We slept well that night in the snow again and packed up the car for the final time as we set off back to Oslo, stopping briefly at the site of a 5km meteorite crater on the way. Once again, the scenery was different as we drove alongside a river that had large sheets of ice in it. For the first time in the trip, we overtook someone (no one seems to drive at the speed limit here, at least 10km above seems to be the norm) and arrived back in Oslo around lunchtime to unpack, have our first shower in 5 days and clean Thorla up for her return. As the office was closed we had to drop her at the carpark and then take the keys into a nearby hotel. By 3 o'clock we were back home and already missing each other after 6 days of 24 hr contact. But it was nice to spend the night in a real bed!
Another great trip, and I've now travelled the entire length of the Norwegian coastline. I hope to put photos up soon!
I last posted about my adventures in Germany. I was back in Oslo for a week. The week was far from mundane however, involving a Spaetzle (German floury pasta dish) night, international vodka tasting evening- 5 different vodkas from around the world, and a scavenger hunt which saw us asking the good citizens of Oslo if they were named Bjarne, hanging out of trees like monkeys, trying on bathers in H&M, busking to earn 20 Kroner, singing the Norwegian national anthem in pubs, squishing 3 people in their underwear into a phone box and acting out scenes in front of the Norwegian Theatre Museum.
Friday April 3 saw us heading into town to pick up the car Zoe and I had hired for our easter trip- Southern Norway from A to Z. We had to pick it up by four, take it home, then race back into the city by public transport for the Scav Hunt by 4:15.
Things were looking good at 2:50 when we'd gotten the car and were ready to drive the 20 min or so drive home. Zoe settled in behind the wheel (I was too young to drive, and a manual was cheaper, so Zoe was the designated driver), I had my map of Oslo out and we set off.
Things weren't looking so good at 3pm when, having found the road we wanted to take closed, we found ourselves on a freeway in the wrong direction. Having sorted out our slight navigational issues we laughed the whole way home as we decided to base our route home on the tram that goes near us. We took this a bit too literally though when we found ourselves driving through a tram stop. We're still not sure if that was actually allowed.... Other challenges included trying to determine how close to the edge if the road we were and scrutinizing pedestrian crossings for lurkers as every driver stops politely for pedestrians at any crossing in Norway. Luckily, we made it in plenty of time and set off to enjoy a night of scav hunting.
After the scav hunt we headed back home and decided that as we had a car in Oslo we really should use it. We found a lookout on the map and decided to drive there, optimistically ignoring the foggy weather. Besides, we figured, it would be good driving practice. We set off ok, following the bus route, until we got a bit lost. We made it up the hill, saw nothing of the view (Couldn't even see 2 cars in front), and decided to head back. Confused, we found ourselves in a tunnel. Fearing it would be a long night driving back to Oslo from wherever we were, we suddenly emerged on the freeway less than a km from home! We still don't know how it happened.
The next day dawned even foggier and colder, after a week of beautiful weather in which people had told us it would be 15 degrees and sunny in the destinations we were headed. Nevertheless, we excitedly packed up the car and set off at 9:30- exactly on time. Though we were going south-west of Oslo, which lies at the top of a fjord, we had decided to go south-east and cross the fjord on a ferry from Moss to Horten (see map on top-click on it for a larger view). Perfect idea when you can actually see the view of the fjord, but somewhat disappointing on a day when you can barely see the cup of tea we stoically sipped on the outside deck. Coming off the ferry was a bit stressful we were the first car in the column, the steering wheel had locked and the car wouldn't start. Luckily, just as the ferryman started to push we managed to get it going.
We spent a very relaxed first day (compared to the days to come) travelling a distance that probably shouldn't have taken us more than about 3 hours. In the meantime though, we went to Verdens Ende (world's end) which is a point at the end of a peninsula (near Tonsberg on the map above); the ICA supermarket in Sandefjord (having already been to 2 different supermarkets in Moss) where we ate lunch on the free samples- fruits, buns, cooked mushroom dishes, cold meats, alcohol free beer; Jarlsberg, which we visited with dreams of free samples only to discover it was a racecourse; Stavern, a pretty seaside town with houses painted in 'Stavern Yellow' and lots of bridges marked as having panoramic views on my map from which we could barely even see the bridge supports.
We'd decided to try our hand at camping round Norway, as the Countryside Act permits camping on land that is not fenced off, used for agriculture or close to houses. We naively believed that there would be no snow any more in Southern Norway and that all the areas of green on the map meant it would be easy to find a camp site. At 6:30pm we were starting to get a bit worried about finding a place. There were more houses than we thought, nowhere to park a car off the road and there was snow everywhere! Luckily at 7pm we had found the perfect spot and we grilled our hamburgers and marshmallows on the disposable BBQ in the remaining hour of light, before setting up our tent in our own personal forest on a soft bed of snow, warm in our tent with a doona and sleeping bag. We had one brief moment of concern (not about our safety, but about whether we had inadvertently camped too close to a house) when we heard a car stop in the long driveway near our forest, but the car drove on again and no one seemed upset.
Luckily the next day was beautiful and sunny and we managed a rapid turnaround as we packed up and set off again, stopping in Helle for a stunning breakfast on a rock overlooking a frozen fjord. We had to increase our pace in order to see everything we wanted to see in 5 and a half days. So, whilst it was a day full of scenery, most of it was seen from short rest stops rather than long detours like the day before. We still had plenty of time for sightseeing though as we stopped in Risør, a pretty town famous for its white houses and little islands; an outdoor museum which showcased houses and farmyard buildings from around Norway, and the pretty city of Kristiansand with its fortress, church and colourful streets.
After Kristiansand we decided to stop at what my guidebook described as Norway's most pristine beach, with eggshell-white sand. As I guided us to where I thought Sjøsanden was, we looked out the window at an area bustling with forklifts, piles of industrial materials and lots of large machines. A second glance at the map and we were on our way to the real Sjøsanden, which is not quite as impressive as the guidebook says. Though I can proudly say I have frozen my toes in the North Sea now!
Our second evening was spent less than a kilometre from the Southernmost point of mainland Norway (there are some uninhabited islands that are further south). We stopped in for a look at Lindesnes lighthouse, marking the southernmost point, and explored the manmade tunnels and caves which have some military significance from the second world war, though it is hard to find out what.
Our camping site that night was a great spot where we could pull the car off the road and camp in the nearby bushes. Its location felt a bit eerie, and I felt a bit isolated that night. To compound this, as we were setting up the tent in the bushes we heard a car stop on the road. I saw a person get out and head over to our car. When I yelled out 'hello' he replied (partly to me, and partly to his mates) 'oh, it's only camping' and got back into the car and drove off. He had seen the car partly unloaded and thought we had broken down or there was something wrong and was just stopping to check we were ok! We came back to the car to find everything exactly in place and we had an uneventful night. Well, almost uneventful- I fell into the bog on the way to bed.
The next morning dawned a bit foggy. The fog was pretty in a way though, as you could see below and above it, creating some nice scenes of mountains and fjords. We took a windy road back to the main freeway, only just wide enough for one car, let alone one coming in the opposite direction! Our route took us past sleepy towns, with colourful houses reflected onto the completely flat fjord water with foggy mountains in the background. We were not following any tourist route, this was just one of many roads we could have turned down in this part of the country.
Luckily the fog cleared a bit and the views from the bridges were stunning as we could see the whole way down the fjords, with their still black water and rolling edges. We travelled through a series of tunnels and the view each time we emerged was amazing. We had a few brief stops- Egersund, where we drank our cup of tea whilst overlooking the town to see the water, town and snowy mountains in the background and at an ancient burial ground which consisted of various stone rings.
After Egersund the scenery started to change- the scenery from the road looked like Ireland or the UK, with green pastures and rocky walls to keep live stock in, the fjords were more steep, longer and more dramatic and the islands were more barren and rocky. This continued until about 2:30pm when we arrived in Stavanger, the Oil capital of Norway.
We spent a pleasant hour or so in Stavanger, eating the first icecream of the season in the sun, strolling round the relaxed and pretty streets and visiting the tourist info centre. As we had arrived earlier than we expected in Stavanger, we decided to drive along a tourist route we had been recommended, camp near the end of that and head back to Stavanger the following day after our hike to Pulpit Rock.
Route 13 was very pretty although perhaps needs some work before being called a tourist route. As part of it involved a ferry, there were lots of cars in both directions on this narrow road, which we could barely fit on ourselves. I enjoyed the view, but I don't think Zoe saw much of it!
Once again, we cooked our dinner near a place called Helle, and as we had arrived much earlier than usual even got to spend an hour reading in the boot of the car with our quilt over us as we surveyed the view. It felt like ours, as we were the only ones admiring it. Later, we moved on to our campsite for the night, in a gorgeous forest with a stream following near us. We even had a picnic table to eat our breakfast on the next morning!
And a good breakfast we had, as we prepared for the first of the day's activities: hiking to Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen). We decided to get an early start in order to fit in time to get back to Stavanger and so we made the carpark for Pulpit Rock by 8:30 and set off on the 2 hour hike by 8:43.
The hike was basically up a mountain, with occasional plateaus of bogs, which we traversed on board walks. Going up, though, meant scrambling up rocks and, higher up, trudging through snow. I hadn't expected there would be so much snow on the way and spent a lot of time sliding down! The final approach took us on a narrow path on the edge of the cliff. Let's just say this probably would not have been allowed in Australia due to public liability concerns! As we ascended, we enjoyed a view of mountains, waterfalls, a frozen bathing spot and brief glimpses down the fjord, tantalising us with what was to come.
Only an hour and a half after we set off we arrived at Priekestolen (pulpit rock), a rock jutting out with a straight drop 604m to the water below, resembling a pulpit. When we arrived we realised how glad we were for setting off early- we were the only people there. Every picture of the rock we'd seen showed it covered in tourists, so to have it to ourselves was amazing. And wow- the views down the fjord are absolutely stunning.
Several dozen photos later, having been warmed from the freezing winds by a cup of tea, we set off back down the mountain, sliding and slipping in the snow. The way down also took only 90 minutes, and led us past probably 30 people in all degrees of age and fitness ascending. Once again, we were glad to have gone early!
We were back down by 12:15 and set off on the road again, having paid 80 Kroner ($20!!!!!) for the privilege of parking in the outdoor car park. On our way to Tau for the ferry, we stopped briefly to look at some Bronze Age rock paintings practically on the side of the road, and were on the ferry to Stavanger by 1:15. Perfect timing, we thought, for an afternoon in Stavanger and then a few hours driving to get a bit closer to home for a big day driving the next day. And then we looked at the map.
"You know," I said, looking at the map, "Bergen's not that far from Stavanger...". And that was it. All of a sudden, our plans had completely changed: we decided to head to Bergen after our afternoon in Stavanger (a 160km drive involving 2 ferries) then head home on the national tourist route (that everyone talks about) the following day. This was something we had initially considered doing, but had ruled out in favour of taking it slowly and stopping when we felt like it. However, we had done Pulpit Rock half a day ahead of our rough schedule and thus decided we might as well drop by Bergen 'on our way home'.
But first: we'd seen the day before that there was an Oil museum in Stavanger, the home of the Norwegian Oil industry, the 2nd largest oil producers in the world. Being somewhat nerdy and keen to have an educational experience after all the scenery, we dropped in. Scandinavians do museums well and after 2 hours of 3D films about oil production, trying on escape equipment, sliding down the evacuation slides, investigating the source of oil and examing life on an oil rig, we suitably informed. One of the other interesting experiences we had was the evacuation training room, which you enter and have to evacuate from in the dark. Sirens wail, a man yells "you have to get out" in urgent Norwegian repeatedly, doors have to be opened and windows climbed through and you have to be out within 2 minutes. They opened it up for us after we asked to give it a try. A stranger went first and was out in 50 seconds. I was next: I got inside and was doing well until a tuft of air shot up in front of me (part of the simulation). Apparently the whole museum heard my scream and that was the only part of the experience that Zoe, waiting in the wings for her turn, heard. Nevertheless, I kept going and was out in 55s, followed by Zoe in 35!
We stopped by a boat on the harbour on our way out of the museum to pick up a whole fish for dinner, and we were on our way to Bergen by 4:30pm. The drive was uneventful, we went though two 6km undersea tunnel, on 2 ferries. The undersea tunnels descend for 3km and abruptly ascend again, and our little car struggled a bit on the way up. We decided to name her Thorla at this point, a strong powerful name which we hoped would encourage her.
Predictably, we arrived in Bergen in the rain. We then set off to find the harbour. Geez, it was stressful trying to find our way through a myriad of one way streets, lanes that may or may not have been taxi and bus lanes and streets that were not marked one way but were too narrow for 2 cars. We eventually made it to the harbour for a brief stroll and then decided to go up the funicular railway for a view over Bergen. Our sightseeing completed, we were back on the road again. By this time it was 10:30 and we had decided that camping would not be a good idea in the rain. We were therefore hoping for a nice spot to pull over and sleep in the car. We'd seen some small roads on the map, but everywhere seemed too suburban. Getting desperate, at 11:00pm and exhausted we decided to just settle for a suburban area, eat a cheese sandwich for dinner and go to sleep.
Excited at the sunny sky and stiff after a less than comfortable night, we set off early the next day with the intention of stopping after an hour or so for breakfast. Things were going well until we actually got on the tourist route and realised the fog was thick and wasn't showing signs of lifting. Pulling into a layby on the road, we cooked our fish for breakfast, cleaned out the car, filled up with petrol, shopped and did all the tasks we needed to do for the day in the hope that the fog would clear. Dismay set in as we realised it was actually getting worse and if we didn't leave soon, we wouldn't get very far!
The road took us up through a mountain and as we descended, suddenly the sun appeared, the skies were a perfect blue and the fog was all but gone. And just as well: if you're ever in Norway, take the route 7 from Bergen. The fjords in this part of the country are deep and long, with snowy mountains, still black water and in the shimmering sun it looks so perfect. It's tranquil and quiet and the scenery is 360 degrees.
Our plan had been to take a ferry across the Hardanger fjord and Sørfjorden to Kinsarvik, but the ferry only ran 8 times a day and we missed it by just 5 min. Luckily, from the same spot we managed to catch a ferry to Utnes, on the other side of Sørfjorden and we drove about 2 hours down the fjord to Odda, then up the other side to Kinsarvik. It was weird arriving in Utnes and seeing Kinsarvik just across the narrow fjord, but knowing there was no way of reaching it soon. Luckily we did though, as Sørfjorden was probably one of the most scenic views of our (very scenic!) journey. We had a brief stop in Kinsarvik as we watched the next ferry arrive, having beaten it by about ten minutes!
And lucky we did stop in Kinsarvik as the next 2 hours was probably the hardest part of our trip. After the gentle, sunny scenery of the morning, it was a bit of a shock to suddenly emerge from a tunnel and be completely surrounded by snow. We had reached the mountains where it seems every Norwegian goes skiing and staying in their cabins over the easter break.
Things were a bit hairy for an hour or two (though it felt like far longer) as we drove along a road, which although recently plowed, had some fresh snow on it. On each side of the narrow road the snow was like a wall high above our heads and there was a fair bit of traffic in the other direction preventing us from steering around the icier parts. Zoe drove with great care and was fantastic despite being a bit scared and we made it safely over Hardangervidda and into Geilo for a well-earned coffee break.
The rest of the afternoon went quickly as we stopped briefly at old Stave church, found a campsite in a snowy forest and cooked dinner by the side of the road. We even found time for Zoe to give me a brief lesson in driving a manual on the other side of the road (don't worry, the it was a quiet country street and the only other car we saw was a tractor).
We slept well that night in the snow again and packed up the car for the final time as we set off back to Oslo, stopping briefly at the site of a 5km meteorite crater on the way. Once again, the scenery was different as we drove alongside a river that had large sheets of ice in it. For the first time in the trip, we overtook someone (no one seems to drive at the speed limit here, at least 10km above seems to be the norm) and arrived back in Oslo around lunchtime to unpack, have our first shower in 5 days and clean Thorla up for her return. As the office was closed we had to drop her at the carpark and then take the keys into a nearby hotel. By 3 o'clock we were back home and already missing each other after 6 days of 24 hr contact. But it was nice to spend the night in a real bed!
Another great trip, and I've now travelled the entire length of the Norwegian coastline. I hope to put photos up soon!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Frankfurt
1. Jana and I eat breakfast
2. Saturday morning, red light district. Discarded faux fur.
3. Friday night, red light district.
4. Euro statue
5. Aussie beer in the Australian shop. Apparently it sells well!
6. Aussie shop in Frankfurt
7. The town hall
8. Part of the old town, Sachsenhausen
9. Banking city- this is one of the banks!
10. Frankfurt train station. Flower pots on the buffers.
2. Saturday morning, red light district. Discarded faux fur.
3. Friday night, red light district.
4. Euro statue
5. Aussie beer in the Australian shop. Apparently it sells well!
6. Aussie shop in Frankfurt
7. The town hall
8. Part of the old town, Sachsenhausen
9. Banking city- this is one of the banks!
10. Frankfurt train station. Flower pots on the buffers.
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