UPDATED!!! Easter Week 2008

After a nice ski vacation a few weeks ago, we are back at it. Another week off for a vacation. You really need to hand it to the Norwegians. They love to vacation. It is the one thing that just might keep me living in this country!

Many (most?) companies in Norway give employees the week of Easter off. So we can ski of course! Well, this time we aren't skiing. Instead we came back to the farm house on the west coast to hang out. The snowy weather followed us. At least it tailed us. The trip west was beautiful. We snaked along the Gubrandsdal Valley and through the mountain passes. We saw winter and spring. Until we were well north and west of Lillehammer the "holiday" traffic from Oslo was nasty. Essentially we were part of a parade. We had no funny hats, no candy to throw...and no one to throw it to, but the traffic was bumper to bumper for miles. But, the weather was nice and sunny, and we enjoyed seeing people skiing across Lake Mjosa, and then the downhill skiing and ski jumpers in the old Olympic venues around Lillehammer. The ice castle at Hunderfossen has melted - or at least shrunk sufficiently that we could see no trace of it as we snaked past into the Gubrandsdal.

The giant snow slides coming down off the mountains and cliffs are starting to drip and in some places they are gushing. The ice sickles and fountains are either light green, gold or hues of blue depending on the elements in the soil. But for 6 hours we saw waterfalls, and valleys starting to spring into life just in time for Easter week.

By the time we crossed the continental divide it became obvious that the days are FINALLY longer. And, as we drove down towards the coast and into the fjords the long days were a reality. No more hidden sun hiding behind the mountains like in Gjøvik, but we saw the sun glistening on the sea. So divine. And, it was warmer. Out of the mountains of winter and into the coastal regions of spring...or so we thought.

Each time we make the trip to the farm at Myklebust (in the fylke of Møre og Romsdal, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B8re_og_Romsdal), NK wishes out loud that the Norwegian transportation department would build a tunnel under the fjords from Andalsnes to Brattvag so that we wouldn't need to zig zag into the fjord and back out, around a mountain and then back into another fjord and back out and so forth for two hours until we make it to our ferry stop in Brattvag.

Our trip west gave us lots of time to talk about our first year (still underway) in Norway. NK is liking school a whole lot more. They have the forth graders split into three groups and he has been moved into the top group. Even his Norwegian language is now scoring near the top in the weekly assessments. He is catching on so well. He has whined a lot about how easy the math is, but the trade off of having more time to focus on Norwegian has been important - or so we have tried to convince him. Now, in the top group he can get challenged in all subject areas.

JH and I now work together. Strange huh? His company brought us to Norway, and now we both work for the "man". Although we work in the same division we work in different areas, but I expect that as we continue to work on some of the exciting projects that we might actually work on a project together. I am enjoying my new job. So much to learn! I have taken a couple of professional classes - one in Oslo and another in-house class. Of course although I speak Norwegian, I am really in a steep learning curve with the technical language. I look forward to actually speaking with the clients - the US, Canadian, British companies and governments as I manage contracts to move products and supplies around the world. I am getting settled in my office and everyone has been great, and I am trying to balance how to use my new language and when to use English...but, it has been hard not allowing English to be my crutch.

So, one our trip west, we visited about the excitement and sense of accomplishment of finally feeling as though we can really make Norway "work" for our family. A lot of our excitement centers around our new house. We can't wait to move in! I believe we will take possession around April 30 - May 1. May 1 is a holiday in Norway and our employer gives us a paid day for moving - so we will have a four day moving spree to get our apartment and our storage facility cleaned out and into the new house. I think I have mentioned before, I forget what I have...since most of it is still in boxes. Some of our stuff has been packed since January or 2007! And, here it is...anyone who wants to show-up to help us move will be feed...great Norwegian cuisine..."kebob" (yes with an "e") pizza! Ha. We are trying to put our moving crew together.

So, here we are on the west coast. We came to do some yard work, hiking and nature enjoyment, but the snow followed us. During the week we were here at Christmas it didn't snow - but it is now. Our ferry ride across the fjord to the island was on the last sunny warm day. Each day since the weather has been so confused and confusing. From minute to minute - literally, we get sunny, rain, sleet, snow, rainbows, sun and then crazy hail. During the sun and the rain NK runs outside and rides his ATV like a little mad man. His cousin Ruben has joined him in trying to maximize riding time between the hail.

We have had some nice drives around the island. The view is magnificent. A pod of orca whales have been hanging around the south tip of the island grazing on herring. The seagulls track the orca and the herring, and it looks like a feeding frenzy. Strange that this island is the base for the whale hunting in Norway and the orca hang out here. Although, the whaling industry catches minke whale, not orca. Remember Willey from Free Willey? When he was released he showed up in a fjord near here and lived with the locals until his death.

I have been hoping for nice enough weather to go down to the beach and walk along the sand. I am planning my retirement house that will sit on a bluff overlooking the beach and the coast across the fjord. The past few days as I have been looking through bathroom remodeling magazines picking out the design for the new bathroom and laundry room in our new house, I can't help but think about a small beach house to retire here along the coast. Just me, JH, and the whales.

Thank God NK loves this kooky little island. Generations of his father's father's family have lived here. JH loves it. It is so apart of him - the reason he wanted to be back in Norway - to defend the old farmhouse and the property. So, we sold, packed and restarted here in Norway to be close to this island and this house. As I type, JH and NK are below me in the basement of the house, sawing and taking tools in and out to trim the apple trees, the berry bushes and address the clumps of bulbed flowers which and growing like crazy all over the farm. And, in the little snow that is still left here and there, especially under the trees and bushes there are crocuses and daffodils bursting with color.

We will spend the whole week here just tooling about. Tomorrow the sun is supposed to be out and the weather is supposed to warm - maybe a day or two that I can stroll along the beach, or climb the mountain and sit on the rocks. This afternoon I will start photographing and cataloging the contents of the house. I will post some photos and some more comments later.

Charlotte - this posting was especially for you. I hope your health improves enough so you can return to Norway to enjoy the coastal breeze and the seafood!

Skiing & Sweden - UPDATED!

Instead of Spring Break, like the American school systems traditionally have, Norway has two weeks off. One week of vacation is in February and it is called Winter Break, the second week of is the week of Easter, and it is called Easter Break. Sometimes, Winter Break is called by the Swedish term Sports Break. Families are encouraged to do...what else...SKI!

We rented a condo in a ski town called Trysil, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trysil. Trysil is a small, old ski town. It has the oldest ski club in the world, and it hosted the world's first international ski competition. It reminds me of some of the Colorado ski resorts - before too many of them became bombarded by the huge, mega ski hotels and high-end shops. Trysil is quiet, and family oriented. It is beautifully peaceful. It is just a few hours drive east from where we live.

The condo we stayed in had a nice loft which NK enjoyed! The view below is the view from a window in our condo.

I was surprised at how people just left their skis stuck in the snow drift outside the hotels and condos. Skis and poles and goggles - and sometimes additional ski wear was left on ski stands (like bicycle stands) throughout the village. At the end of skiing, or during lunches people just abandoned their stuff. They came back an hour or a day later and their stuff was where they left it. Thousand dollar skis, expensive gloves, poles and nobody bothers it...wow, Norway!

We did notice that almost all of the people we heard speaking were Swedish, Danish, German or Polish. We met or heard hardly any Norwegians. Even most of the people working at the resorts were Swedish.

After spending most of the week in Trysil we headed just across the border to Sweden for a few days. We went back to Karlstad where my grandmother (Mary), aunt Suzie and I visited in August. Karlstad is a great city, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlstad. It is a college town with a lot of shops, and old architecture. It is situated on the largest lake in Sweden (irony that we live on the largest lake in Norway).

One of NK's favorite activities was riding a rental bike around the area near the hotel. NK and his Björn Bjorg hair and headband raced around the hotel. I suppose it is fitting that NK modeled his headbands in Sweden - just like a little Borg!

On one of the islets in the lake there is the remains of one of a pre-Viking age city called Tingvalla. In the medieval age (pre-1000 AD), Tingvalla had a counsel site, like a seat of government. The counsel site and burial site is shown above where NK is standing on the burial mounds. The people that built the civilization would dig huge pits and light fires and then dump the dead bodies of the important societal figures into the fire pit and then cover the pit with earth.

This is reindeer moss. It grows all over Scandinavia. A few months ago I blogged that JH and I ate the moss at a fancy dinner party at a villa in Norway. It was served as part of a salad in an Icelandic dinner theme. Until then, I thought only the reindeer and moose eat the moss. Now, I can forage for my own moss!

One of the days in Karlstad it was so beautiful. The sky was clear and the sun was shining. I dreaded going back to Norway where it was still winter!

On one of our nature walks, we found these fungi growing on trees. They start so small and they become huge, and hard...maybe harder than wood. Below you can see NK standing on the fungi

We heard woodpeckers that were pecking about in the forest. I didn't see then, but I saw their work!

Somewhere in the church archives in Karlstad the history of my family (grandpa Wilmer) is written in the books of church and communal records. Since my family is from the area north of Karlstad (left in the 1800's...see past blogs from August 2007) - I am fond of this area. Someday, I will need to dig into the records. The church above is on the shore. To us, the church steeple looks like a lighthouse.

Winter Sports in Norway

This is how much Forrest likes winter...not much...he starts to look evil.

When we look out the windows we see snow. The snow is higher than some of our windows. Forrest doesn't like it. We kick him out into the snow and he creeps around like it is a mysterious substance. A few weeks ago he came running down the street and leaped into the air and landed on the snow and sank. He pulled himself up and slinked away. Most days he sits in our windows and watches the other cats - the Norwegian cats and the birds outside. A lynx was hit by a vehicle here in Gjøvik, so maybe Forrest is just afraid of the bigger cats or the bears or the moose. Chicken.

NK on the other hand loves the snow. I helped him get out the door today with all of his ski gear on. They regularly have ski day at school. They ski all day. It is the Norwegian communing with nature thing. They strap on their skis and their backpacks and away they go...all day skiing and enjoying the Norwegian mountain air.

In these photos NK was working with his private snowboard coach. He is wants to learn tricks so he can do extreme stuff...great. He has a small inexpensive board he practices his tricks on and then his bigger board to learn the technique of real snowboarding.

Living on a mountain, NK can strap his stuff on and away he goes. We have a good downhill course not far away, but the Nordic tracks run close to our apartment - so there is no driving to ski.

A lot of kids ride their sleds to school. NK doesn't have a "mushing" style sled, but many of his friends do and in the photo below, NK and one of his buddies are having great fun. With room for one to sit and one to drive they can have hours of fun riding around the mountain.

We found a great apartment company in Oslo which allows guests to rent for one night or a month at a time. The apartments are located in great locations and they come in different price brackets from budget to luxury. These apartments are much less expensive than a hotel, and the apartment we have stayed in recently on weekends in Oslo is located near the castle and the center of Oslo. It is in the budget class - and reminds me of my college apartments. Very basic - but very clean and perfect for weekend getaways! Close to the apartment is this outdoor skating rink. NK loves to skate - since we have a rink close to our apartment in Gjøvik. Here he is trying out his moves.

The World Cup speed skating competition was held not to far from Gjøvik in Hamar. Hamar is across the Lake Mjosa from Gjøvik. The skating hall in Hamar was designed and built for the 1994 Olympics which although based up the road in Lillehammer had the speed skating competition in Hamar and the hockey competition in Gjøvik. The hall in Hamar looks like an upside down viking ship.

When we arrived at the Viking Ship hall we looked for the American flag. The American section was down front in the center of the hall. I breezed up to the usher and stated that we were with the American delegation and presto magico we were front row center. Come to find out the American fans weren't even Americans they were friends of the Americans from Norway and the Netherlands. They thought it was great that REAL Americans came to Norway to support American speed skaters. Apparently these fans fly around the world to support the skaters. They looked a little perplexed when I stated that we live nearby and we were bored so we drove the short distance to the Viking Ship and then told the ushers that we were with the American delegation. But - they were great and we had great fun visiting with then as they spent two hours trying to catch us up on speed skating and the American team.

It was great that the predominantly Norwegian crowd cheered every athlete - but boy did they go crazy when the Norwegians competed. We waved at the American skaters and they smiled and waved back - even they looked surprised to have "fans" NK wore a hat with an American flag and we sat above the huge American flag. Every time the TV cameras focused on us NK got a big cheesy grin on his face and said "hello Dale". He is convinced his buddy Dale from Wichita will see us on ESPN. Okay, so maybe I posed too.

It was a lot of fun and we cheered like crazy. In a few hours we got caught-up in our new favorite sport. I think it really inspired NK who wants to skate more and he has been practicing a lot of new moves...although a few nights ago he tripped himself with his own hockey stick...but then he laughed and thought it was hysterical that he "checked" himself.

The Viking Ship in Hamar. Of course when I snapped the photo from a moving car we drove past a bridge which partial obscures the Ship. Oh well, you get the picture. Heeheeeheee.