Xmas Foods?!

There are some things here in Norway that are packaged and marketed as foods that I am rather dubious about. As we all knuckle down and start preparing whatever version of our lavish extravaganza constitites the Christmas feast in our lives, I wonder, is there any place for these new 'food' items J and I have discovered?

First on the menu...Reindeer snacks! Naturally good they tell us...

Reindeer jerky no good you reckon? How about some dried fish snacks then?
Both of these were offerings in the mini bar at the Radisson Hotel in Tromsoe. Let's just say we let them they stay there! Perhaps you think these are not 'christmassy enough' though - well, except for the reindeer of course...mmmm rudolph...let's kill him, dry him out, sprinkle him in herbs and eat him... so here is a real Christmas offering. Juleskum. Translation? Christmas skum. Sounds delicious!
Or how about we make a political statement and mark our christmas celebration with, what else but Fluff?

No good? Let me keep searching then. Lots of christmas work parties had traditional offerings of half a sheep's head with potatoes and mashed swede. Tempted? Sorry no photo of that, but let me see what else I can find! xxx

Last Holiday Installment

Here is the last installment from my summer holiday - and about bloody time considering that the Christmas holiday starts in a couple of weeks! Not to mention all the other trips I have failed to blog about while trying to finish this summer extravaganza! So, let's get into it without any further ado...
After J and I spent time on the summer slopes of Strynfjellet, we headed off to find a nice little camping spot along the banks of a fjord somewhere. This trip began with an incredible drive down to Geiranger fjord.
Yep, that would be an iceberg floating by along the way...
And these I thought looked like troll houses!
After travelling down one of the most winding, narrow and hair pin bend filled roads I have ever seen in my life, we arrived at Geiranger. Here we loaded the car onto the ferry and enjoyed the ride down the fjord. PS, that is NOT us in the canoes! :)
There were various lovely waterfalls along the way, but this was one of the most beautiful. On one side of the fjord was a fall called the 7 sisters because it had seven streams to it. This one on the other side of the fjord was apparently a man, who upon having been spurned by the 7 sisters, had turned to the bottle. Sad story but really beautiful waterfall!
Once we left the ferry, we began our search for the next camping spot. After having such wonderful camping locations already, we had some very high standards that places had to live up to. We spent almost all day driving in the direction of home and checking out potential camps along the way, all of which had one problem or another - too busy, too far from the water, too ugly, full etc. Finally though, all our searching and all our driving paid off. We saw a sign for camping off onto a tiny little winding road and followed it for about 10kms, thinking we were just getting increasing lost as things became more and more remote. Finally we arrived at Botn campground though and it was perfect! We found a spot right on the fjord where we could feel alone and shield ourselves from all prying eyes...not that there were many around!
Here is the view from the bed...Sognefjord
And here is looking back at the camp...and yes, that is Mojo drinking the rest of the milk out of the carton!
J and I decided the best way to spend the afternoon was to head down to the fjord to try our hand at a spot of fishing...
J had some luck, but only when he swapped from lures to the questionably legal piece of ham. We didn't keep this little fellow but he scared us when he floated for a very long time after we threw him back! Luckily he sprang to life with a little gentle prodding with the fishing rod!
While the sunset was spectacular...
The moon rise was even more beautiful!
So there it is, the most fantastic summer holiday ever! A great time spent with family travelling around some of the most beautiful cities and locations in Europe, being able to show my Dad and Sis my new home, and then an equally wonderful road trip in Norway with J and the hounds. My summer holiday really could not have been any better! So now it just remains to be seen how the Christmas holiday measures up...stay tuned! xxx

Norwegian Road Trip - Snow

After J and I had satisfied our sun, sand and surf craving, we headed off in the direction of Strynfjellet - the mountains of the Stryn valley. Here the aim was to find some summer glacier snowboarding. The scenery along the road looked very promising...

When we arrived in the general area we decided to spend the first night in a little cabin, to get a good shower and prepare ourselves to take on the glacier. We found this great place with the traditionally grassy roof. Very cute, very cool.
The view from the front was really lovely green mountains with the sound of cascading waterfalls echoing around the valley.
After a great night's sleep, J and I were ready to take on the winding drive up the mountain to Strynfjellet summer ski resort. Our neighbours hitched with all their gear and got a ride no problem.
The sun was shining. The snow was slushy. The crowds were minimal. The view was spectacular.

It was so warm and lovely that J and I stripped to boardies and bikinis. Seriously. So warm and lovely. Well okay, it was mostly for the camera :) but we were in T-shirts all day.

I must admit, I struggled with the T bar for quite a while, including a ride on my back half way up the mountain! Fun. not. Painful, physically and emotionally... :) But with some help from some local competents, I finally got it together and J and I had an absolutely superb day. It felt like a completely random way to spend a summer holiday. After playing in the snow for a few hours, we drove the winding road back down to the local campground, Folven.

What a wonderful landscape. Such a fabulously fun day. Great place to camp. 2 Good dogs. Good times, I tell you. Good times. xxx

Norwegian Road Trip

After holidaying with Lies this summer, J and I spent a week in Cedric on the road in Norway. We went in search of both surf and summer snowboarding. Our first stop was a penninsula out in the North Sea called Stadlandet, in a little camping ground right on the beach in tiny Hoddevik. Stunning.

When we arrived the weather was not really promising a wonderful summer camping holiday. It was rather cool and rather wet. This made our first descent into Hoddevik like a descent into some kind of strange mist drenched mystery.

As the clouds lifted a little, the view from the beach and the campground was just spectacular though. A white sand beach about a km long, nestled between two enormous green mountains. A handful of committed surfers and adventurers camped along the edge. Lots of time and space to roam with the dogs free range.

Then the sun came out. The surf picked up. And both J and I spent a couple of days playing in the water. J was out surfing what he calls 'perfect glassy right-handers' at 11pm as the sun was just starting to set in the northern summer sky. Can I say it again? Stunning.





On a hot Sunday with wonderful waves, the beach and the campground filled with people and we got to experience Norwegian beach culture. Not quite like Australian, but not that different either. The big thing here though is grilling sausages on the beach on what they call 'one-time grills'. You can buy them almost anywhere and they are basically a small aluminimum tray with a bunch of heat beads and a wire grilled top. Lots of rubbish generated to eat minced pigs ears if you ask me :) The locals are getting a little bummed that they are starting to have to share their waves now surfing is growing in popularity, but they are also benefiting from the business. There is one shop in Hoddevik that rents rooms, showers, boards, wetsuits and of course offers lessons. I am really not sure what people would do to survive in this isolated little outpost if surfing was not on offer. But then they have done something for years since before I was born I am sure!
Funnily enough for us, we happened to camp beside a guy named Seamus - Seamus from Wollongong if you can believe that! And his wonderful Norwegian woman Maren. Seamus is the newly established Norwegian distributor for Aussie company Ocean and Earth. They were great companions to have while camping and of course, they ended up knowing people we know. It may be a cliche but it really is a small world. We have since caught up with them again at a suring competition in the Lofoten islands, but that is another post. To end this post, I just want to say that J and I had a delightful time at Hoddevik and we only left because the waves went flat and we had a mission to find some snowboarding as well. Leaving Hoddevik the weather was a little different, and the summer road trip holiday really felt like it was kicking in and looking up.
xxx.

Rosendal

When Liesl and I returned from our most splendid european adventure, we were blessed with the presence of my Dad for a few days. It was truly wonderful to have both my father and my sister visiting me in Bergen - it really made it feel like home. Strangely it didn't feel strange at all. Just as if they always popped in for a weekend here and there! Of course now it doesn't feel like that anymore and I sorely wish I could see all my family more often. Especially my brother, his lovely wife and their three gorgeous girls. And super especially Matilda, my new little god daughter, who because of my overseas absence I could not even be at the christening of. Anyway, such is my life at the moment and it is a life I chose so I am not allowed to complain too much, I just wanted to let everyone know that I miss them very much!

While Liesl and Dad were in Bergen, we took one day and did a boat trip out to the village of Rosendal. Here are some pics from that event...

My loved ones along the way...
Do you get the impression that is was cold? It was! It was a fjord trip in Norway afterall...

My loved ones and me and some kind of alright scenery..
Approaching Rosendal
Approaching the harbour
In Rosendal on the way to visit the Barony (sounds far more impressive than it actually is but this waterfall is far more impressive than it seems in this photo)
The Barony...not really but not far off!
In the rose garden of the Barony, very pretty, Lies and the garden!



xxx.

Croatian Coastline

Here are some of the fabulous places we visited during our week sailing the Croatian coastline...

On the very first day, within a couple of hours of being on the boat, we disembarked to take a bus ride up through the mountains to go white water rafting on the Cetina river. Unfortunately I did not take my camera on this trip - threat of getting drenched etc - but here are a couple of pics that one of the crew took for us.
The river may look calm...
But it got a little more intense...
The trip was really a lot of fun but the most amazing thing was seeing this beautiful river. I have never seen sooooo many dragonflies and of so many amazing and diverse colours. It was truly spectacular! Seeing a swimming snake and swimming ourselves was also a huge buzz. A really really beautiful river and rafting was a really really fun thing to do. What was not so fun was the bus ride - feeling a little scared for our lives on that rattling rust bucket called a bus - the door didn't close, the roof had holes in it and the brakes squealed like a pig. All part of the experience though I suppose!

The next day we stopped off at Mljet national park. Liesl and I went for a little walk and these are some of the sights we came across.
Incredibly blue blue lake water...
Amazing butterflies...
And a lovely little old monastery

The following day, we stopped in Dubrovnik - a truly spectacularly beautiful city...a beautiful city that nearly killed us with its heat! While walking that famous wall around the city, Liesl and I were amazed that at almost 7pm at night, above the city, and surrounded by the ocean there was still not a whiff of breeze! No sea breeze felt like a crime after such a long hot day! The view was far from criminal though!
The only breeze came from the wings of the hundreds of swallows spinning through the air!

The next stop on the journey was Korcula. What I remember from Korcula was a truly wonderful cocktail hour(s!) watching this view...
And waiting an unbelievable long time to get the cheque at the restaurant, such a long time that I took to drawing attention to our needs by the most obvious way possible...
Or maybe Liesl did it in the most obvious way possible...
From Korcula, we travelled to the island of Hvar, where Liesl and I partied until dawn and learnt more about Croatian history and culture with some of the locals :)
This is where the cocktails started!
From Hvar we moved on to my favourite island of the entire trip - Brac. This place was totally beautiful, with a really laid back vibe, but it also had lots happening in terms of windsurfing, diving, rollerblading etc. Definitely somewhere I would happily go back to and spend some real time...hopefully one day!

This is where we had cocktails on Brac...are you getting the sense we drank a lot of cocktails? We did, and it was great!
From Brac we sailed on back to Split, and the trip was over :( The last night in Split we all kind of got takeaways and hung out on the white stone pavements of the wharf before going further into the city for, you guessed it more cocktails.

I lost Liesl for a few hours that night as she got her own personal guided tour of the city by Scooter, but overall I must say this was a great end to an awesome journey.
xxx