Lutefisk, a delicacy from the far north

Lutefisk served traditionally with bacon garnish

I think it is safe to say that the thought of eating gelled fish lacks appeal for most. Perhaps all the more so when one learns it achieves that gelatin-like state after soaking for months in a lye bath. Yet a life in Norway would not be complete without tasting the notorious Lutefisk. As our friend and co-initiant John aptly described, our experience was, "A surprisingly delicious introduction to one of Norway's more esoteric delicacies, courtesy of Leif and Hanne."

Lutefisk is primarily eaten by people living inland where fresh fish is not available in the winter. The cod is dried on racks where it is caught on the west coast, soaked in lye for a few months, and then rinsed before it is prepared by baking or boiling. The smell is slightly off-putting, but the taste is delicate and subtle and the fish quite literally melts in your mouth. Hanne and Leif served it with bacon garnish and mustard, accompanied by cooked peas, boiled potatoes, and lefse (potato flat bread) with  sufficient quantities of aquavit and beer. Delicious!

Lutefisk, peas, potatoes, and lefse dinner

Views from the Neighborhood

We live in the Skøyen neighborhood of west Oslo. For a bit of history: This area used to be farmland (part of the name means meadow or pasture), with two manors that marked the South and North Skøyen farms. The first division of the farmland occurred in 1617. It was later divided in the 1800s into four farms, portions of which were farmed by tenant farmers. It later became an industrial area, and more recently a modern part of the city with apartments (what we'd call condominiums) and commercial office buildings. Of course, the old homes are still present as are the beautiful manor parks. Here are some scenes from modern Skøyen:

Path from the marina to the grocery store and bakery.

Norwegian Electric Car

Commercial and Residential street (our post office is down on the left)

Sculpture in the midst of a roundabout

As the autumn came, many boats were pulled out of the water at our marina and stored on land for the winter. The boats that remain in the water are at docks that have bubblers that agitate the water to prevent ice from forming around the boats. Whether on land or in the water, covers are put over the boats to protect them from the snow. You can see the sea of land bound boats in the boatyard next to our marina.

Sophia is still in the water, now all covered up with a clear tarp (so we get some light), and ready for winter. Sadly our camera has since broken (and sent off to the U.S. for repair), so we don't have any photos yet of her all wrapped up. 

We get around using the great public transportation system here in Oslo. There are busses (buss), trolleys (trikk), light rail (t-bane), and trains (tog), all of which service our neighborhood. We rarely have to wait more than a few minutes, which is very nice as the temperatures drop (-12 C or 10 F daytime temps today. BRRRRR!). Here's what it is like to ride the bus:

Very clean and new busses. You use the  device on the right to swipe your bus pass. Interestingly, public transportation is done mostly on the honor system. You are supposed to have a valid ticket/pass, but it is not regularly checked. Rather, they have periodic and random checks and if you're caught without a ticket you have a pay a fine (about $150). 

They have bendy busses like we do in Seattle. Also, there's a screen that indicates the next several stops.

A bus and streetcar (trikk) passing in front of the U.S. Embassy (the only embassy in Norway with fortification). Recently it was outed that U.S. agents were spying from over this area from covert locations. Karl said he felt like he was being watched when he took this picture.

So, there you have it, some scenes from our neighborhood.

KNS Turseilercup 2010

We were featured on the the KNS (Royal Norwegian Yacht Club) Website for winning the KNS Turseilcup 2010.  We sailed on Leif Benestad's boat "Serenity" in the regatta series this autumn.  Here's a link to the website (in Norwegian): http://www.kns.no/nor/Turseiling/Resultater+og+premieutdeling+i+KNS+turseilercup+2010.b7C_wlfK0f.ips

The First Snow and Other News on November

We came out of the fjell (mountaineering) group meeting this evening to find a thin blanket of snow covering the ground. Glee filled our hearts! Until we remembered what we left sitting out in the cockpit when we left...But still we glided and skipped with joy at these first flakes of the season.

And here's a glance at Sophia's decks...the first snow she's seen in her 31 years!

So far so good on this whole November of Gloom situation. The days are getting noticeably shorter, which became especially apparent as we 'fell back' an hour on Oct. 31st. Currently the sun is officially rising at 8am and setting at 4pm, although we don't see the sun over the trees until around 10:30am. Its angle is so low in the sky that at the height of the day you could swear it was nearing sunset.

Back to the fjell group meeting...we listened to an incredible story of two young Norwegian men that were attempting the first navigation of the Svalbard archipelago, the Norwegian islands to the far north of the mainland above the Arctic circle. It was pretty humorous to see their heavily laden kayaks with food and supplies for the 3-month journey; there was barely enough freeboard to keep water off the decks in a calm sea. Not so humorous was their encounter with a polar bear when they were about half way around. A polar bear grabbed one of the men out of the tent by his head and shoulder. The bear dragged him 40 meters before his friend shot their bear while it stood upright on it's hind legs dangling the man by his head. They were able to get medical help via helicopter within a couple of hours. It was a pretty gruesome tale. Who knows, it may be the next real-life adventure movie...

Our first day

Well, we've made it through the first of November. It was a foggy morning that later gave way to warm sunshine. Karl worked on maintaining the winter water supply line with Janiver, which consists of a hose suspended under the water so it does not freeze. I worked on a paper review. We ended the day at the KNS yacht club meeting where we--the captain and crew of Serenity--received the first place trophy for the regatta series (really, Leif was awarded the trophy, we just stood there and shook the commodore's hand). So far, so good.

How bad can it be?

Ever since we arrived in Norway, people have warned us that November is the most awful month in Norway. "If you can get through November, then you'll survive in Norway!" they have claimed. We've wondered what happens in November? How awful will it be? Will we survive this litmus test of life in Norway? So, as we roll into the month of doom we will chronicle just what is so bad about November in Norway...

Morgen Tur - A Morning Trip

(Yes, I am surreptitiously trying to teach you Norwegian)

The other morning, as I was partaking of my usual routine of doing a little work while drinking my coffee, Karl was messing about on deck and running the engine (which is good practice to keep it in shape over the winter). I wasn't sure what he was up to, but didn't think too much of it as he's been doing lots of boat projects.  He then stuck he head below and asked, "Do you want to have a look?" I figured I come on deck to see some project underway, but low and behold we were in the middle of the bay! I was momentarily discombobulated. Then that wonderful sense of freedom welled up in me, like it can with a boat such as Sophia, and far off places filled my mind.

Alas, it was only a short trip (tur) out of the bay on this beautiful morning. We returned to our new slip, where we'll remain for the winter.

Scenes from our tour in the bay

Fall colors and lichen on the islets at the mouth of the bay

Hmm, this boat seems to be low in the water?!?
A clever "conversion" for a liveaboard

Gratulerer med dagen!

That's Norwegian for 'Happy Birthday.' It was a fine birthday, too. My heart was warmed by the many well wishes from friends (thanks to Facebook) and cards from family.

On Tuesday (the day before my birthday), Hanne treated Karl and I to an afternoon at the theater -- Next to Normal, the recent Broadway sensation, in Nynorsk (the older Norwegian language). We didn't understand much, but enjoyed it nonetheless. We then went to Hanne and Leif's house for an early dinner with some of their friends. It was delicious! Typical Norwegian fare of trout, potatoes, cucumber salad, and the most spectacular birthday cake you could imagine. Sadly we forgot our camera. So instead you'll have to imagine the white layered cake with wild berries, peaches, bits of chocolate with a whipped cream frosting.  Hanne and Leif also gave me a classic piece of Norwegian literature: Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Fortunately they picked up the English translation.

On my actual birthday, Karl surprised me with a new fluffy down comforter, which was perfect timing as it was -6 Celsius that night. He also made me a scrumptious dinner of leg of lamb with roasted root vegetables and flourless chocolate molten cake for dessert. Lucky me!!

It was a truly enjoyable birthday.

My Birthday Spread: Leg of Lamb and Roasted Root Vegetables

Making my wish
(notice I'm holding the candles which started to melt inside the chocolate molten cake)

I blew the candles out so I'm pretty sure my wish will come true.

Ice!

We awoke to a patina of ice on the water about one week ago. It was quite surprising since it had been relatively warm in the days prior (much like Seattle this time of year). Just one cold night (about -2 celcius) was enough to produce a thin layer of ice, although it quickly melted during the day.

But today marked the day the ice did not go away.  
Though the sun was quite hot, the ice melted naught.
It remains to be seen what will come of the sheen.
Will it come and go with the day, or has it decided to stay?
The answer, we reason, will tell of the season,
and whether the cold has taken it's hold.

A Weekend in Lillehammer

We got out of Olso the other weekend (Oct. 7-10) and headed north a couple of hours to the lovely town of Lillehammer.  We were visiting Hanne and Leif at their cottage during their Week 40 vacation (traditionally so all could help with the autumn harvest). They loaned us Leif's car to make the trip, our first experience driving in Norway (and our first time driving since June). We were able to see some lovely countryside, which begins immediately outside of Oslo. Large farmhouses with even larger barns on the hillsides surrounded by acres of fields with potatoes, hay, or grains. The barns were two- or three-stories, and had an earth ramp to the 2nd level (as you can kind of see in the photo from the road).

A typical barn in Norway
(note the earthen ramp to the 2nd level)

Many of you may recall that the 1994 Winter Olympics were held in Lillehammer. The town is nestled along the north end of Lake Mjøsa and surrounded by forested hills and farmland. Hanne and Leif's cottage is in Vingrom, along the shores of the lake a few miles south of Lillehammer.  Hanne grew up on a farm in Vingrom and much of her family lives in the area.  We took a walk from the cottage through the neighboring farmland, much of which belongs to Hanne's family and has for generations. As a brief caveat, in Norway, it is lawful to pass through (and even camp on) private property -- called allemannsretten, or all man's right of access -- with certain limitations, such as proximity to homes, and the responsibilities.

Leif, Hanne, and Karl approaching one of the family farmhouses.

Tree-lined path at the farm

Community log saw and splitter

At the end of our walk we stopped in to visit Hanne's niece and nephew and had a little glimpse of family life in Norway.  Hanne's nephew and family are, in many respects, the center of the family life (at least this appeared the case while we were visiting). We came over for an afternoon snack of pancakes, brown cheese, and strawberry jam, around the large farmhouse table. Hanne's nephew was outside working on remodeling a portion of the barn for a shop to restore old cars. There was a steady flow of relatives: brothers, cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends. It reminded me of being at my sister's house with all the activity of family life.

We also visited Hanne's brother's business. He sells (and repairs) snow cats for grooming ski areas, making ski tracks for cross-country skiing, and for arctic travel.  He was preparing to send several machines to the Norsk Polar Institute at the Arctic Research Station in Antarctica.

Hanne's niece, Lena, took us for a hike to the largest waterfall in Lillehammer. After the recent heavy rains, the trail was muddy and the river full requiring a careful crossing using a downed tree. The waterfall was exhilarating with pulses of heavy mist and wind created by the falling water.

    

Lena and Benz

Lena, Rachel, and Leif

We then walked to see the rock that a local man famously lived under one winter during the German occupation during World War II. At the time no one knew exactly where he lived, but they would leave food at a particular location for him to later pick up. We learned from Hanne that her father also lived for several weeks in the woods the last winter of the German occupation. He was involved in the Norwegian resistance, and after one member was caught he went into hiding. In order to protect his family, he didn't tell them that he was going into hiding, rather that he was going out for a ski. He didn't return for 6 weeks. A friend delivered food to him at a designated location and his family never knew where he was or if/when he would be back. It was a good thing too as the Germans came and interrogated Hanne's mother about his whereabouts.

The rock overhang where a local man spent the winter in hiding.

The sign marking the place where a local man lived in hiding during WWII.

 
As I mentioned above, Lillehammer was the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, so naturally our visit had to include some Olympic sites!  We went to the very impressive ski jump where the opening ceremonies were held. It's pretty incredible to stand at the top of the ski jump. Yowza! It's impossible to see the landing area from the top, which makes it all the more exhilarating to imagine sliding down the ramp...

Our trip was made all the better with our visit with Hanne's mother, Ingeborg. She is an incredible baker, to which we can personally attest. She was also concerned that we stay warm enough on the boat, so she made us felted wool slippers. What a splendid surprise! I can happily report that the slippers are doing their job quite well (even with the temperature dropping to 21 degrees F).

Rachel and Karl with their new felted wool slippers made by Ingeborg.

I will close with a couple photos in and around Hanne and Leif's cottage. A lovely and quaint retreat amongst the glittering autumn leaves.

The barn

The tree-house-like view from our bedroom window.

Thank you to Hanne and Leif and their family for welcoming us so warmly and sharing a piece of the ways of Norge.

Mountains and Glaciers of Joy!

We spent a long weekend in the mountains of central Norway near the town of Lom (pronounced "Loom") exploring a glacier, rock climbing, and hiking. The scenery was spectacular, the people were wonderful (we went with the University of Oslo mountaineering group), and it was exhilerating to exert our muscles and lungs in the alpine air! After a those months at sea, it felt like we were coming home to the mountains.

We'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story for now (see right sidebar).

Also, my friend Mari Flaatrud took some pictures of me (Rachel) on the glacier. You can see them here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/rachel.severson/Friluftstreffet2010MariSPics?feat=directlink

By the way, where exactly are you?

We have been asked by several people now where we are actually located in Oslo.  I think they must be experiencing SPOT withdrawals after being able to track our movements for the 5 months we were sailing to Norway. (Note that Dan, our friend who sailed with us and provided us with the SPOT is now riding his motorcycle through the back roads of Americana to his native land of Quebec, Canada.) So, below you will find a google map with Sophia's location indicated with a blue marker. If you zoom in enough you might be able to see us waving at the satellite as it passed over...

A Map of Sophia's Location in Oslo

So, there you go. Now you know.

Birthday!

Karl celebrated his birthday this past weekend. He continues to get better with age!

We started the celebration at midnight with our friends down the dock. Wine, champagne, coffee, strawberry daiquiris, wine, coffee...We were up until 5am ringing in Karl's 36th year.  After a couple of hours of sleep we had a nice breakfast, possibly still a little tipsy, and planned for a hike.

We took the train and bus about one hour outside of Oslo to Apeny (but the "A" should have a little circle over it making it sound like an "O"). The trees and grasses were laden with water drops from the fog and rain. It felt like we were entering a magical place of fairies and elves. Soft moss covered the ground and the trail followed a path of stones.

Perhaps the veil between the real and magical worlds was a little thinner that day, as I was able to capture an image of the lovely aura that surrounds Karl.

We followed the winding path up and over hillocks, through glades and meadows, seeing heather still in bloom while the ferns were already senescing from the frost. We were headed to a mountain hut at the highest point of these hills, looking forward to a warm up in the lodge with a hot cocoa. We had already happened upon a couple of such lodges in hikes on previous weekends, and were fond of having little indulgences in the midst of a hike. Granted these lodges do take away the feeling of remoteness, but they provide a welcome respite to Norwegians who are adamant to get outside no mind the weather or darkness.

By the time we reached the hut, our feet were soaked from brushing the wet grasses and not-so-elegantly navigating the mushy wet sections of trail. It was cloaked in heavy fog, and nary a traveler was visible. To our surprise, we found it vacant, and locked!

We could see the nice little tables, wood burning stove, and candles, but it seems this hut is only open in winter.  We still managed to have some fun, sitting on the porch enjoying our lunch and the peek-a-boo view through the fog of the farms in the valley below. We descended a steep hillside (that is a ski slope in winter) to the valley floor where we caught the bus and train back home.

On our way home, Karl received several calls from family wishing him a "happy birthday!" Even a robotic-skype rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung by our nephews and niece :-)

Hungry, wet, and tired. We opted for an easy and protein-rich dinner of hamburgers. Too tired to make a birthday dessert, Karl agreed to have a candle in his cake instead. We fell asleep easily, having had a nice day celebrating Karl.

  

Out with the Old, In with the New

Part of our getting settled into life in Norway has involved getting settled into living on a boat. As many of you know, we've been living on Sophia for five months already as we sailed to Norway from the west coast of Mexico. Living on a boat while cruising (and with 1 to 3 other people) is a very different type of living than when tied up to a dock and trying to have some semblance of a "normal" life.  Part of it has been to organize, clean, reorganize, and remove unneeded items.

One Organizing Session

  Sophia' Stowage Space Diagram

Andreas drew a diagram of Sophia's stowage areas (see photo). You would think that there is plenty of space, but somehow it fills up very quickly.  You can see us in the midst of one organization session!

Grandpa Bob Overseeing Our Efforts

Too, there were some projects that we set aside until we arrived in Norway.  All of that to say that Karl has been digging into Sophia's nether regions and finding, well, yuckiness.

A bit of a caveat is needed. Sophia is no spring chicken; she's over 30 years and, as many of you know, some things just degrade over time. Add to that some leaks and wear, not to mention 5 months of very heavy use, and who wouldn't be a little rough under the collar?

So, Karl began poking around the wood that lines the inside of the hull in areas that we know had been leaking. This wood is all superficial (in other words, not structural to the hull) covering the fiberglass hull, and included a layer of plywood under the teak strips. Alas, the plywood was mostly rotten in the areas around the chainplates (notoriously leaky), so out it came along with the teak strips. This occurred in the hanging locker and behind the dinette settee, and will soon in the pullman berth. Karl cleaned (there was a lot of mildew) and painted the fiberglass inside the hanging locker (no real good reason to install new teak inside a closet) and the storage area behind the dinette settee. Then, Karl rebuilt the shelf and storage cabinet behind the dinette settee. The series of the project is below. Quite an improvement!

Yuckiness under the rotten wood

Cleaned up and ready for painting

Newly painted and rebuilt cabinets.