Heading South to Stavanger
After a wonderful stay in Bergen, we are headed South to explore Stavanger and the surrounding region. We loved Bergen and cannot wait to go back some day.
Page 71 of 77
Heading South to Stavanger
After a wonderful stay in Bergen, we are headed South to explore Stavanger and the surrounding region. We loved Bergen and cannot wait to go back some day.
Last Night in Bergen
We had a brilliant lunch post Bergen aquarium near Bryggen with our family before J&B headed to catch the bus for Stavanger. Tomorrow they’ll be on the hike of their life making their way up to Pulpit Rock. Our waiter was incredible and bought us a round when the fryer broke and our food took longer than normal. This was a great gift as beer and cider are extremely expensive in Norway even by South Florida standards. The food was worth the wait and I enjoyed my fish an chips along with my cider.
Post lunch we hit the shops to find some useful souvenirs. The Mayor found a nice knife he can use for fishing while Goalielocks selected a viking horn that sounds a bit like a kazoo. The kazoo piece wasn’t intentional, so we’ll be looking for another viking horn for the house. Jake got a nice Norwegian flag he can hang in his room.
After two ciders at lunch, my favorite local coffee shop Dromedor was calling my name. Not too far geographically from the tourist hub, but miles away in terms of its customer base. This is a great local spot with quality coffee and pastries. I have quite enjoyed their lattes these past couple of days in Bergen.
For dinner our kids wanted frozen pizzas, which was a complete godsend. Food is extremely expensive in Norway and this was a perfectly economical way to feed the kids. Post Pizza we headed to the wold famous fish market to meet J&M (my older bro and family), my grandma and my parents.
They were finishing up their dinner and afterwards we headed for dessert and shuffleboard. We ended up at the same restaurant where we ate and drank yesterday as it had several shuffleboard tables where the kids could play and not interrupt all of the diners’ dinners.
After two rousing shuffleboard tournaments, Priya and Zak and I emerged as champions. Somehow I managed to figure out how to score a couple of points, which was enough for me to be successful. The kids had a blast and enjoyed their desserts throughout the tournament.
After shuffleboard, we said adieu to our favorite spot, Bergenhus Bryggeri, and headed out to walk the city. For the first time, we headed up Kong Oscars Gate where X&P found an awesome and cheap hot dog stand. The group continued to make friends with dog owners and their dogs. Norwegians love their dogs and take them everywhere. Their dogs are meticulously groomed and extremely well behaved.
As the sun started to descend in the sky, we headed back to our AirBnB to pack for our trip to Stavanger. We have absolutely loved our time in Bergen and will be returning to this wonderful city hopefully soon.
A Little Treat
After a busy day of hiking and sightseeing, it was time for a little treat overlooking the harbor. While the kids wanted ice cream, pastries and maybe some hot chocolate, the adults were happy to sit down and have a brew. Better than a lollipop or any other treat, a nice, cold pear cider over ice was exactly what the doctor had ordered.
My hubby, Jacob and my brothers enjoyed a nice cold brew. It’s a bit crazy for all of us that Jacob is now able to legally drink with us while in Norway. It makes us feel a bit old, but the shared experience of a beer overlooking Bergen Harbor and Bryggen is something he will never forget.
Bergen Bound
We are Bergen bound! This afternoon we said goodbye to the Aurlandsfjord and Flam area as we headed west to Bergen. The westward journey was only 2 1/2 hours, which compared to our travels to Trondheim and the Fjords was a relatively quick trip.
I have to say I was worried that driving in Norway would be disastrous for us, but it has worked out pretty well. The road are quite narrower than what we are accustom to, h however, but there is also significantly less traffic. More importantly, our fellow drivers in here are far more congenial than they are in South Florida. I can’t imagine South Florida drivers trying to navigate the mountain route up to Stegastein (nobody would survive.)
The vista were once again spellbinding, which makes for an entertaining drive. Tvindefossen is a waterfall visible from E16 just outside of Voss and is pictured above. I don’t think any of us enjoy all the tunnels, especially my husband who has done most of the driving. Thankfully, he gets a break from driving duty as Bergen is our home base for the next several days. Bergen is a walking city that we are excited to explore.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.