Page 75 of 85

Posted on

Fishing on the Fjord at Night

Last night we enjoyed some burgers and hot dogs on the grill at Justin and Monisha’s cabin, which was a nice change of pace from eating in restaurants.   It was the perfect meal before they headed out fishing.  One food that sticks out in Norway is the hot dog.  Unlike their American counterparts, they’re not laden with nitrates or added chemicals.   I’m not a huge fan of hot dogs, but they are amazing.

night fishing_grilling

Post dinner, the boys went back on the boat to cruise and fish the Aurlandsfjord.  Their happy place is definitely on the water with a fishing pole in hand.   They cruised around the fjord seeing the goats that had previously been on a rocky beach climbing high up the rocky cliffs lining the fjord.   The boys found some luck near where the waterfalls ones pouring under E16, the bike path and into the fjord.  Colin caught two more trout although neither were big enough to catch.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This boat trip had much calmer seas and better weather.  There was barely a cloud in the sky and even when they came back after 22:00, the sun was still shining brightly.

IMG_9094

Posted on

Exploring Borgund, Husum and Laerdal

Today was all about exploring Borgund, Husom and Laerdal, which is where my dad’s family emigrated from in the 19th century. We started our day off with some scrambled eggs and bacon in the cabin, which were absolutely delicious. The cost of food in Norway is outrageously expensive, so we’re trying to eat in whenever possible. Food at the restaurant is taxed at 25% whereas food purchased in the grocery store is 12%, which makes for a big difference in cost.

After our protein filled breakfast, we set out to meet my parents and brothers’ families at the Borgund Stave Church. The drive, like most in Norway, was spectacular. The landscape here is absolutely amazing and awe inspiring. Our timing was spot on and shortly after we pulled into the museum parking lot in Borgund, my brothers’ cars followed.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

There is a small musuem at the site with artifacts related to the staves churches of Norway and also relics from the Viking Era that had been excavated at nearby sites. As a history nerd, I was in complete heaven. Once we made our way through the museum, we headed to the church.

What is nice about this site is that the staff monitors how many people are in the church and prevents the church from being overcrowded. This ensures you have ample time and space to view the church and explore the grounds without being overrun by other tourists. Their was a large group in the church when we arrived, so we started to hike the Sverrestigen, part of the Kongevegan (King’s Road.) My grandma, at 87 years old, killed the hike. I had Jacob escort her up the hill as the the terrain, comprised of grass, mud, rocks and tree roots, was a bit slipper and I didn’t want her to fall. If you are wondering what the benefits of walking 3-5 miles daily are, here it is. My Grandma T able to hike the Norwegian hillsides at 87 without so much as breaking a sweat.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The stave church was amazing. It is very dark inside and modestly decorated with much of the regalia of it’s Catholic era long gone. The details and intricacy of the woodwork and carvings are beyond compare. Interestingly, this church, like the stave church in Undredal, combines christian symbolism with pagan symbolism. This simply does not exist in churches outside of Norway. There were even Rune letters carved into the door perhaps by a parishioner who had become bored during the service.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After exploring the church, we explored the church and cemetery grounds it was surreal knowing that these were the very soil our ancestors had walked before emigrating to the Untied States. Jacob and I completed the entirety of the Vindhellavegen trail from Borgund to Husom.  Meanwhile Luke and the other two waited for us at a picnic table. The Vindhellavegen drops you right into Husum (Husom) where our family had its farm.  The Husom Store and hotel are found here as well.  We hiked back from Husum to Borgund on the Vidhellavegen taking a steeper, rockier short cut of a climb back to the church.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’m sure our legs will hurt tomorrow, but the view and experience were well worth the pain. Post hike we headed to the Husum farm and then on to Laerdal. I loved seeing my dad on this part of the trip. You could see that he really enjoyed seeing where his family originated. Another humbling, wonderful day in glorious Norway.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted on

Queen Mary 2 Leaving Flam

As we drove back into Flam, the Queen Mary 2 was getting ready to leave port.  The ship against the backdrop of the tiny town of Flam looked super imposing.  We got up to our room in the Flamsbrygga hotel as they started untethering the ropes.  The boys wanted a better view of the ship leaving port, so we quickly ran downstairs to watch it backout.  When the ship was getting ready to pull forward into the Aurlandsfjord, it played it’s horn, which then echoed off all the walls of the fjord.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted on

Catch of the Day

Our boys were thrilled they could fish as soon as we got to Laerdal.   Immediately, they were able to go fish on the fjord.  They started off their fishing adventure by walking through the cold water of the fjord on a narrow rock bar.  They had no luck in the shallow water.  We found a little inlet in the fjord where the water was calmer, deeper and closer to shore.  Here using only rooster tail lures both Goalielocks and the Mayor were able to catch their first sea trout.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Mayor’s was too small to keep, but Goalielocks’ fish was large enough to keep and also didn’t survive its re-entry to the water.  Since we had a nice fresh catch from the fjord, we cooked it up for dinner along with Norwegian meatballs with kjottkakesaus, jasmine rice, and corn.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My hats of to my hubby the chef as the meal was more than edible, it was delicious.  We bribed Goalielocks and the Mayor since they are picky eaters.  We bribed them with the promise of an after dinner fishing session.   Dinner went well and they were quickly back on the fjord fishing.   What’s cool here in Norway is that fishing on the fjord is free.  If we wanted to fish the rivers for salmon or trout, we would have to get a special license from the government and potentially from the owner of that particular section of river.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While the younger two and dad fished, Jake and I explored the town on foot.  We enjoyed a beautiful walk near the fjord and down the Laerdal River, where we’re hoping to run sometime tomorrow.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

Posted on

Flamsbana

Last night we took the Flamsbana (Flam Railway) up to Myrdal and back down.   Myrdal is only accessible by train either the Flamsbana or the Bergen Line.  The quaint mountain station is 867 meters above sea level.  The round trip from Flam to Myrdal takes a little over two hours.  The views from the railway are second to none.

IMG_0870IMG_0864IMG_0863

We loved the view of the mountains, waterfalls, the Flam River and the Flam Valley from the tracks.  The highlight of the train ride is the stop at the Kjosfossen Waterfall at almost 2,200 feet above sea level.   This waterfall is fed by Reinunga Lake and is truly spectacular waterfall with a total fall of over 738 feet.  The only part viewable from the train and the nearby platform is the upper falls.  The falls continue under the platform and rail bridge plunging into the gorge.  Additionally, there is also a power plant on the Kjosfossen waterfall that powers the Flam Railway.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As part of the trip on the Flamsbana, there is a 5 minute stop ascending the tracks to Myrdal and a 5 minute stop on the descent to Flam.  Importantly, there is significant spray on the platform, so it isn’t a bad idea to have your camera and phone in a protective bag.    Additionally, during this stop there are three actresses, who appears as Huldra.   In Scandinavian folklore, Huldra is a seductive forest creature that lures men and takes them into the mountain to marry her.   The dance is performed to traditional music and adds to the ambiance.

This train trip has multiple departures daily and costs about $58 per adult ticket and $29 for a kid’s ticket.  It is absolutely worth the price and is a must do if you ever travel to Flam.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

Posted on

The Fjord at Night

Before we prepared for bed this evening, I  took some pictures of the Aurlandsfjord with my new camera.  These photos of the fjord at night were all taken after midnight in natural light.  I will say that being in the land of the midnight sun throws off your internal clock.  You don’t want to sleep when it looks like it is 6:00 pm.  Worse than that, the kids don’t want to go to sleep when the sun is still up, but I digress.  I am happy with how they turned out and look forward to experimenting more with photography at night.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted on

Cousins Experiencing Norway Together

One of the best parts of this trip thus far is the time our boys are getting to spend with their cousins X, P and Kai. Since we live in Florida and X & P live in Minnesota and Kai in Seattle, the kids don’t get to see each other nearly as much as they would like to. This is a trip that they’ll savor because of the good times they shared with their cousins.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted on

Connecting With Our Roots in Romskog

Though my grandfather passed away when I was a young girl, I will never forget the pride he felt for his Norwegian heritage. His family had immigrated to the US in the late 19th century.  At first they settled in Northfield, Minnesota and later Erskine, Minnesota. Today we had the opportunity to see the community and the farm from which our family came.

IMG_0484IMG_0442

The weather was sunny, bright and warm, a welcome change after Trondheim, as we headed west to Romskog this morning to meet our family. GPS and Waze work fairly well here, however, they’re never 100% in these old cities. Nonetheless, we made our way through the Norwegian countryside, which was growing increasingly wild with our drive. The landscape reminds me a lot of Northeastern Minnesota, so it really isn’t a surprise many Scandinavian settlers chose to settle in that region.

IMG_0522IMG_0519

We met our extended Trandem family at beautiful small, lakeside church in Romskog. As we walked into the church grounds we were greeted by our Norwegian family and shown where our ancestors were buried. It was crazy to see graves going back to the 18th century. The weather has worn their gravestones, so they’re a bit hard to read which you’ll notice on the pictures. Our family gave us a history of the church and the items in it, which was fascinating.  

 

The kids finding all of this boring had made their way down to the lake and were climbing on the rocks and gallivanting about the beach. Our kids were in heaven and would have been happy to stay at the beach all day, but our relatives had tailored a tour of the town, so we embarked on exploring the Romskog area by car.

With each stop on the tour, my boys became more enthralled with the area. The beautiful lakes, forests and hills were definitely calling their name. I’m pretty sure they want us to buy a cabin on Lake Romsjoen as soon as possible. For the adults, seeing the Trandem farm and houses was amazing. We got to see the home where my Grandfather’s grandfather Andreas, whom I was named after, was born.  In fact, he lived there until he immigrated to the US. The farm, which had once covered much of Romskog County and extended to the Norwegian-Swedish border has since been sold off. Our family now lives in a house above the farm and others now live in Sweden.

Post tour, they hosted us at their home for lunch, which was incredible. Their hospitality, their food, their garden and their home were incredible. They were so welcoming of all 16 of us, including our six kids. Our kids, meanwhile, had the time of their life playing in their yard and running and playing together. It was truly a magical day.  Moreover, it was a wonderful opportunity for us to connect with our past and our extended Norwegian family.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted on

Exploring Oslo

After the long drive from Trondheim, we quickly settled into our AirBnB and headed out to meet our family.  We spent time along the waterfront and picked up some dinner at the food trucks on near the Nobel Center.  Jake, Goalielocks, Dad and I enjoyed a tasty fresh crepe while the Mayor had a spring roll.

We walked the waterfront heading up to Akershus Fortress to get a better viewpoint of the Oslofjord.  The vistas from the fortress are absolutely amazing. If you ever make your way to Oslo, you must make a stop as the Akershus Fortress.  The grounds of the fortress were equally impressive.

FullSizeRender 5

Most of the museum close by 18:00 and it was well after this, but the grounds of the fortress were still open or so we thought.  Never low on drama or shenanigans, we (along with some other tourists) did have a run in with the military police, who informed us the grounds were now closed.   The only problem was, of course, so too were all of the exits.

IMG_8444

Thank god my older brother speaks Norwegians and was able to speak to the guards, who were willing to let us out their guarded entrance.  The youngest kids made their way out of the turn-styles, which locked after each individual exited.  The MPs seeing this and understanding the struggle, opened the main gate so we could quickly exit the grounds.

IMG_8421

We ended our night at the magnificent Oslo Opera house where you can literally walk up and down the side and roof of the building.  The kids had a blast skipping rocks and running around on the building’s roof and near the water line.  We were crossing our fingers that they wouldn’t slip into Oslofjord, which at this point is shallow, but would have made for an incredibly chilly walk back to the hotel.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.