norway. a recap.

Hi all.  I know, I know.  It has been a little while since I last posted.  I’m sorry.  My family flew back to the US on Sunday, and I’ve spent the last few days settling into my new home.  However, before going any further with life in Sweden, here is a quick recap of our trip to Norway…

After flying over the Atlantic, my mom, dad, sister and I all jumped into the car.  Now, I should probably mention that this car wasn’t just any car.  It was a manual car.  That's right, stick shift.  To some, this small detail may seem inconsequential.  But for those of us who aren’t accustomed to the ways of this beast and are a bit groggy from a not-so-short flight, this small detail is no small detail.  Let’s just say we might have stalled out a few times while learning to tame the beast.  

We spent the first two days on a quick excursion down to Sweden.  This excursion gave me just enough time to get a taste of Borås.  While in Sweden, I was able to set up a fake bank account (you can’t have a real bank account until you have a Swedish social security number), get a quick tour of the school I will be teaching at (more on that later), meet the principal (she seems amazing), and scope out my new accommodations (again, more on that later). 

Here is the staff lounge at the school I will be teaching at.
I love the splashes of color and clean IKEA look.

After our excursion down to Sweden, the fam and I swung by Oslo once more to pick up my brother who flew in from Seattle.  We then made our way westward towards what was to be our base camp for the week—a lovely nordic house in the small town of Vassenden.  On our way across the country, we drove over snowy mountain passes, passed through quaint villages, sampled the local cuisine of fish and tomato sauce in a can, and crept passed several dozen sheep who were napping on the road.

This house was our base camp for the week.
From the dining room, we had a spectacular view of
Jølstravatn lake and the small town of Vassenden.

From our base camp, we went on daily adventures to various parts of Norway’s lush countryside.  Our first adventure took us south to Balestrand.  This town is located on the shore of Sognefjord—the largest fjord in Norway and the second longest fjord in the world!  We spent the afternoon wandering through Balestrand’s quiet streets, and enjoyed a few Nordic treats at the local aquarium. 

Emily enjoyed all the Nordic treats in Balestrand.

The following day, puffins were on the agenda.  (Puffins are a small sea bird with large orange beaks and orange feet.  They only live on cliffs, fly like a hummingbird, and mate for life.)  Before continuing on, I must explain to you my brother’s passion for puffins.  James likes loves has an unexplainable obsession for puffins.  He wears his puffin t-shirt.  He eats puffin cereal.  He has puffin pillows.  He even outfitted his deck with a lovely puffin wind chime.  I think you get the picture.  So, upon finding out that Norway has a puffin colony on the small island of Runde, it was a no-brainer that this island would be a destination.   Two ferry rides and a short hike later, there we were standing on the cliffs of Runde admiring the puffin colony.  As my brother would say, “puffins are always good.”

James found his puffins.

We weren’t sure what could top puffins, but the following day we found that Norway had even more to offer.  On this day, we took a drive down to the tiny town of Solvorn.  Solvorn has one shop, about a dozen residents, and beautifully gigantic raspberries.  Beautifully gigantic and delicious.  From Solvorn, we took a short ferry ride over to the even tinier town of Urnes. Urnes houses Norway's oldest stave church, built in the early 1100s.  At the church, we were greeted by one of the most sincere tour guides I have ever met.

Left: Here is the oldest stave church in Norway.
Right: Dad picks up some scrumptious GIANT raspberries.

The next day, our adventures took us north to Geirangerfjord.  Our first ferry ride down this fjord lasted about 5 minutes before we realized we had gotten on the wrong ferry.  But, no worries, the captain turned the ship around and let us drive off.  Our second ferry ride was a bit more substantial.  For almost three hours, we cruised down the fjord, enjoying the elegance of the steep cliffs which rise out of the water.  On these cliffs clings a number of old, abandoned farms on which farmers used to tether their cattle to prevent them from falling off the cliffs.

The fam enjoyed cruisin' down Geirangerfjord.

After traveling by boat, we thought it appropriate to also travel by train.  So, our next adventure took us south to Flåm, a town nestled in the crevices of Aurlandsfjord.  (You may recall that I visited this town a little over a year ago with Maria, my Finnish flatmate.)  From Flåm, the fam enjoyed riding the Flåmsbana, one of the world’s steepest trains.  This piece of track winds through 20 tunnels, passes by surging waterfalls, and parallels a river filled with only the clearest water.  After Flåm, we wandered over to Undredal.  With approximately 75 residents and 400 goats, this town’s claim to fame is its goat cheese.

Mom and Dad enjoyed the Flåm train ride. 

You can only get goat cheese like this
from one place in the world—Undredal.

Our final adventure took us southwest to the town of Holmedal.  It is in this town that one of my neighbors back in Minnesota has family connections.  His cousin works at the local Helle knife factory, and his relatives’ names are listed in the church records.  We had a very nice time in Holmedal getting a detailed account of this town’s history from one of the local volunteer historians.

Here's the Helle knife factory in Holemdal.  It is located
right on the sea for easy shipments in and out.

On our final day, we made our way back to Oslo, and parted ways the following morning—James back to Seattle, Mom, Dad and Emily back to Minnesota, and me down to Borås.  Needless to say, I think we all had a lovely time exploring the simple beauty of Norway.  

Here is one last photo to convince you of Norway's beauty.