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Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Midnight sun
I'm a little surprised how much I miss the darkness of night. Not the December wake-up-in- the-dark, go-to-bed-in-the-dark kind of dark but the it's-time-to-sleep kind of night. The dusk gives me signals that it's time to start wrapping things up, that I should plan to go to bed. 24 hours of daylight is disorienting, however fun and novel it feels. Roger and I play Guess the Time all day. I have to check the time when I wake up at night because it could be 2 am, 6 am or noon. Room darkening shades help but the light filters through making the time checking necessary, especially if I don't want to miss a flight or a ferry. It's fun for a week, really fun, but I think I will enjoy the comfort and familiarity of nighttime darkness.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The most beautiful place on earth?
It's hard to describe, to even take in, the majestic beauty of the Lofoten Islands. We arrived yesterday and stayed at a simple guest house without a plan for our time. Lillian, our host, was helpful and suggested that we rent bikes, head east one day and west the next. I looked through some information and found a brochure for a midnight sun tour to Bunes Beach, a bucket-list worthy event, and our time was mapped out. I forgot to factor in sleep.
The guy at the bike rental shop was friendly and helpful, letting us know that our plan was an easy and scenic trip. DO NOT believe this advice. This is rugged country and flat is a relative term it turns out. We biked 7 miles the first day and had our first fish burger- delicious- and stopped about every 50 feet for more photos.
Today we headed towards Å (pronounced Awe) with cinnamon buns and fish on our mind, about 25 km round trip.
I fit in a short nap before our 10 pm boat ride to the hiking trailhead. I was expecting a sweet, sedentary ride but my first clue was when we suited up with big suits that double as life preservers. We walked to the boat which was a big rubber raft with two huge engines and saddle seating, meaning you straddle the set with both feet on the floor and handlebars in front to hold on to. It took about 30 seconds for me to bundle up even more despite wearing my down jacket and wool hat.
We got dropped off at a very small village with only one full time resident, an 80-90 year old woman. Why could I see my mom being this woman? :-) We went on an easy path until we reached a hill leading to a tall ridge, eventually leading to the beach. Photos can't show how large the beach is because it doesn't look it but it took forever to finally reach the water. I'll let the pictures speak for the experience.
That's a sperm whale vertebrae.
We got back to the guest house about 2:45 am and then discovered that there were no room darkening shades. Between being chilled to the bone, having a bright light in my eyes and the adrenalin that comes from such an experience, neither of us slept well. We had the alarm set for 9:00 so we could fit in the ride today.
Tonight we are back to Bodo at 11:30 pm and will leave for Tromso in the morning, luckily not too early but we have to be up early enough for the complementary breakfast. We stopped at a very simple breakfast buffet this morning that was $25 each.
I was just looking through my photos and even though it's only been a few hours, it seems nearly impossible to be surrounded by such beauty.
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The guy at the bike rental shop was friendly and helpful, letting us know that our plan was an easy and scenic trip. DO NOT believe this advice. This is rugged country and flat is a relative term it turns out. We biked 7 miles the first day and had our first fish burger- delicious- and stopped about every 50 feet for more photos.
Today we headed towards Å (pronounced Awe) with cinnamon buns and fish on our mind, about 25 km round trip.
I fit in a short nap before our 10 pm boat ride to the hiking trailhead. I was expecting a sweet, sedentary ride but my first clue was when we suited up with big suits that double as life preservers. We walked to the boat which was a big rubber raft with two huge engines and saddle seating, meaning you straddle the set with both feet on the floor and handlebars in front to hold on to. It took about 30 seconds for me to bundle up even more despite wearing my down jacket and wool hat.
We got dropped off at a very small village with only one full time resident, an 80-90 year old woman. Why could I see my mom being this woman? :-) We went on an easy path until we reached a hill leading to a tall ridge, eventually leading to the beach. Photos can't show how large the beach is because it doesn't look it but it took forever to finally reach the water. I'll let the pictures speak for the experience.
That's a sperm whale vertebrae.
We got back to the guest house about 2:45 am and then discovered that there were no room darkening shades. Between being chilled to the bone, having a bright light in my eyes and the adrenalin that comes from such an experience, neither of us slept well. We had the alarm set for 9:00 so we could fit in the ride today.
Tonight we are back to Bodo at 11:30 pm and will leave for Tromso in the morning, luckily not too early but we have to be up early enough for the complementary breakfast. We stopped at a very simple breakfast buffet this morning that was $25 each.
I was just looking through my photos and even though it's only been a few hours, it seems nearly impossible to be surrounded by such beauty.
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Friday, June 27, 2014
Bergen is one of my new favorite cities. It's stunningly beautiful and charming and has a wonderful energy. People are outside all the time and no matter how busy or tight the crowds are, there are people biking and hiking and running. I love that when we went up to the top of Mount Floyen to hike, that there were at least as many locals enjoying the trails, and at a much faster clip than me. We went on a hike on Thursday night after the fjord tour earlier in the day.
We arrived in Bergen on Wednesday and we spent the day going to Slotta to an Emigrant Museum were Roger's dad's WWII army battalion has a memorial. There's also a lot of exhibits with a church and other buildings moved from North Dakota. It was interesting but seemed a little silly listening to the immigrant stories when it is my ancestor's stories and buildings from the state next door and similar to other exhibits I've seen close to home. I would have loved to hear more about what it was like to stay in Norway as everyone was leaving and especially more about the 99th Battalion Seperate but there was no new information there. The scenery on the bus ride was breathtaking. All my photos are on my camera unfortunately. I try to always take photos with my phone too but I didn't here.
We spent a lot of time walking the streets of Bergen and through the fish market. The prices are high, really high with lunches on a paper plate running $35 and up. With my appetite so small, I got a little creative and bought shrimp by the pound rather than a shrimp meal. I could roam the streets for hours, enjoying the unique buildings, people watching and eating. My favorite was the reindeer hotdog with mustard and lingonberry sauce with dried onions.
Our shed/ cottage was perfect- clean, cozy and it had everything we needed, including s great location about a 10 minute walk from the bus station or the wharf. It was in a cute neighborhood and was close enough to fit in a short nap in the afternoon.
The fjord tour was stunning. The top level of the boat started out packed and it didn't take long for most people to move to the enclosed lower level. We came prepared with rain pants and rain coats (not raining but a great windbreak). And despite the wind and cool temps we stayed outside for about 2/3rds of the tour. It was awe-inspiring.
The boat trip did push me to buy a lightweight down jacket that fits in a bag and a Norwegian hat. I just checked the forecast for Hammerfest and despite earlier forecasts in the 40s with rain, now it's predicted to be near 60 with sunshine. If all it takes is for me to be prepared for the worst, that was a great $140 investment!
We arrived in Bergen on Wednesday and we spent the day going to Slotta to an Emigrant Museum were Roger's dad's WWII army battalion has a memorial. There's also a lot of exhibits with a church and other buildings moved from North Dakota. It was interesting but seemed a little silly listening to the immigrant stories when it is my ancestor's stories and buildings from the state next door and similar to other exhibits I've seen close to home. I would have loved to hear more about what it was like to stay in Norway as everyone was leaving and especially more about the 99th Battalion Seperate but there was no new information there. The scenery on the bus ride was breathtaking. All my photos are on my camera unfortunately. I try to always take photos with my phone too but I didn't here.
We spent a lot of time walking the streets of Bergen and through the fish market. The prices are high, really high with lunches on a paper plate running $35 and up. With my appetite so small, I got a little creative and bought shrimp by the pound rather than a shrimp meal. I could roam the streets for hours, enjoying the unique buildings, people watching and eating. My favorite was the reindeer hotdog with mustard and lingonberry sauce with dried onions.
Our shed/ cottage was perfect- clean, cozy and it had everything we needed, including s great location about a 10 minute walk from the bus station or the wharf. It was in a cute neighborhood and was close enough to fit in a short nap in the afternoon.
The fjord tour was stunning. The top level of the boat started out packed and it didn't take long for most people to move to the enclosed lower level. We came prepared with rain pants and rain coats (not raining but a great windbreak). And despite the wind and cool temps we stayed outside for about 2/3rds of the tour. It was awe-inspiring.
The boat trip did push me to buy a lightweight down jacket that fits in a bag and a Norwegian hat. I just checked the forecast for Hammerfest and despite earlier forecasts in the 40s with rain, now it's predicted to be near 60 with sunshine. If all it takes is for me to be prepared for the worst, that was a great $140 investment!
On to Norway
We did make our way to Norway on Tuesday morning. I was able to say some proper goodbyes but I missed far too many as we packed up the car for the journey to Oslo. We had to skip the part of Norway where Roger's father's mother was raised but this is also the easiest part of the trip to make up when we visit Sweden again, yes- when. We are so grateful to Mats for driving us. We know that some of this is outside his comfort zone so we are especially thankful. The drive was pretty uneventful, though we did stop to ask an older man directions and Mats offered him a ride. He was very talkative and he and Mats hit it off. As Mats put it, he probably took a bath about twice a year so that made the 30-40 minute drive... fragrant but the man was genuinely pleased to have gotten a ride and Mats equally thrilled to have made a new friend.
Our picnic spot.
The photo above is interesting. All those sharp large rocks were placed during WWII to keep tanks from crossing this area. We were right on the border here.
Oslo was a bit busier with traffic, even only driving to the airport. We were happy to finally get to our rooms so we could find some dinner. We ended up at a roadside stand where Mats made friends with the proprietors and we had a adequate dinner. We took the fast train into Oslo for a few hours to walk the famous streets and see the palace.
I was pretty tired and we had a 4:30 alarm for our flight to Bergen in the morning so we headed back by 9:00 or so. We said our goodbyes at 5:00 am and thankfully Mats could enjoy a bit more rest. I wish we could have enjoyed all our plans but it feels good to be up and enjoying the trip as much as I am.
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Our picnic spot.
The photo above is interesting. All those sharp large rocks were placed during WWII to keep tanks from crossing this area. We were right on the border here.
Oslo was a bit busier with traffic, even only driving to the airport. We were happy to finally get to our rooms so we could find some dinner. We ended up at a roadside stand where Mats made friends with the proprietors and we had a adequate dinner. We took the fast train into Oslo for a few hours to walk the famous streets and see the palace.
I was pretty tired and we had a 4:30 alarm for our flight to Bergen in the morning so we headed back by 9:00 or so. We said our goodbyes at 5:00 am and thankfully Mats could enjoy a bit more rest. I wish we could have enjoyed all our plans but it feels good to be up and enjoying the trip as much as I am.
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Monday, June 23, 2014
Not according to plan
For those of you not on Facebook, (hi, Tracy!) our plans have taken a slow turn. After not feeling well for 5 days, Mats brought me to the local hospital where I was diagnosed with pneumonia, thankfully bacterial so I could get antibiotics. We were suppose to leave for Norway today but I am taking one more day to rest.
Despite having pneumonia and sleeping far too much, we are having a great time and have only missed a few activities. We have been well fed, well loved and cared for throughout the entire visit and I'm so comforted by that.
I'm a bit nervous about the pace of the rest of the trip with my energy low and a nearly nonexistent appetite but we will take each day as it comes. Once I'm up, I feel pretty good. The crud in my lungs is moving more than yesterday so I'll take that as a good sign. This too.
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Despite having pneumonia and sleeping far too much, we are having a great time and have only missed a few activities. We have been well fed, well loved and cared for throughout the entire visit and I'm so comforted by that.
I'm a bit nervous about the pace of the rest of the trip with my energy low and a nearly nonexistent appetite but we will take each day as it comes. Once I'm up, I feel pretty good. The crud in my lungs is moving more than yesterday so I'll take that as a good sign. This too.
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Saturday, June 21, 2014
Catching up
It's been a challenging few days with an off and on fever, cough and headache though I couldn't be better cared for than I am here. We went on a short but picturesque hike on Thursday and ended at Per and Karin's fabod where we picked wild flowers for the maypole and had a nice lunch and relaxing afternoon. I decided to skip the maypole preparations at the museum that evening and instead got to see a new calf that was born on Thursday. Seeing Mats with his cattle is so sweet as they run to him. The new calf hadn't started nursing so he bottle fed her and eventually got her started nursing.
I slept about 18 hours Thursday into Friday but I felt good to go to the village midsommer celebration where Roger helped to raise the maypole. If you know Roger at all, this was a surprise as he doesn't Iike being the center of attention but he had a great time and has a new appreciation for the effort that goes into raising the pole. It takes about 45 minutes.
We ended the evening with pizza at the bagarstuga (bake house). It's a wonderful non-traditional midsommer dinner with delicious pizza.
Today Roger went to the church boat races where Magnus is competing followed by dinner at Sara and Lars' home. I opted out of the races due to the cold windy weather.
More special memories. :-)
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I slept about 18 hours Thursday into Friday but I felt good to go to the village midsommer celebration where Roger helped to raise the maypole. If you know Roger at all, this was a surprise as he doesn't Iike being the center of attention but he had a great time and has a new appreciation for the effort that goes into raising the pole. It takes about 45 minutes.
We ended the evening with pizza at the bagarstuga (bake house). It's a wonderful non-traditional midsommer dinner with delicious pizza.
Today Roger went to the church boat races where Magnus is competing followed by dinner at Sara and Lars' home. I opted out of the races due to the cold windy weather.
More special memories. :-)
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Thursday, June 19, 2014
Another lovely day
Today started with Mats' favorite rice porridge breakfast at his home before we left for a day in the forest. The day was filled with interesting information about being a forest farmer, family history and enjoying the beauty of the forest and stunning views.
I've been to many of these places before but the familiarity makes it more like coming home, and sharing it with Roger after only being able to share photos and stories is even better. We visited a number of special family locations such as Mats' fabod, another fabod built by my mother's father's mother's father. The photo below shows the carving in the door. Svarf is the family name followed by his initials and the family symbol. Because names were based on the father's first name (Anders-son or Anders-dotter), the family name identified the lineage. We had fika together male style with roasted hotdogs- delicious!
We spent time in the forest appreciating the respect that Mats shows the forest through his care. We saw the wind turbines that are on leased space and went to the top of one of the mountain to a fire tower that would never pass OSHA requirements but allowed for a great view.
Meeting up with Margareta and Nils Gunnar, related on my dad's side. We had a delicious meal of elk and potatoes and their daughter's family joined us later in the evening. It was fun to reconnect with Maria and Veronica whom we met last time and to meet Maria's husband and son who all have a great sense of humor. We visited the chapel up the hill that has a strong connection to the Marysville church west of Minneapolis that my great grandfather helped build.
I usual tend my day on the porch of Karin and Magnus to check email and tonight was no exception. It's been a bit chilly and I'm fighting a respiratory something or other so is was lovely to join them at their table and have some tea.
I've been to many of these places before but the familiarity makes it more like coming home, and sharing it with Roger after only being able to share photos and stories is even better. We visited a number of special family locations such as Mats' fabod, another fabod built by my mother's father's mother's father. The photo below shows the carving in the door. Svarf is the family name followed by his initials and the family symbol. Because names were based on the father's first name (Anders-son or Anders-dotter), the family name identified the lineage. We had fika together male style with roasted hotdogs- delicious!
We spent time in the forest appreciating the respect that Mats shows the forest through his care. We saw the wind turbines that are on leased space and went to the top of one of the mountain to a fire tower that would never pass OSHA requirements but allowed for a great view.
Meeting up with Margareta and Nils Gunnar, related on my dad's side. We had a delicious meal of elk and potatoes and their daughter's family joined us later in the evening. It was fun to reconnect with Maria and Veronica whom we met last time and to meet Maria's husband and son who all have a great sense of humor. We visited the chapel up the hill that has a strong connection to the Marysville church west of Minneapolis that my great grandfather helped build.
I usual tend my day on the porch of Karin and Magnus to check email and tonight was no exception. It's been a bit chilly and I'm fighting a respiratory something or other so is was lovely to join them at their table and have some tea.
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