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
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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.
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!
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!
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| One Organizing Session |
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| Sophia' Stowage Space Diagram |
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| 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!
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| Yuckiness under the rotten wood |
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| Cleaned up and ready for painting |
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| Newly painted and rebuilt cabinets. |
Berry Foraging
On occasion you will see people picking blackberries along the Burke Gilman trail in Seattle. But I've always thought of this as a rarity in the city. For one, Seattlites are primarily limited to the non-native and inaccurately named Himalayan Blackberry. I can't help but wonder if this is just another attempt, albeit more passive, to beat back the throngs of vines and thorns. Or perhaps it is a way to find some positive aspect to this invasive plant. In either case, the sweet berries are surely a treat!
I have other friends who are avid foragers, and not just for berries, but for mushrooms, or herbs to make tinctures and salves. This is even a more elite group as they have the skill and knowledge to identify and use their pickings. I aspire to such skill, not simply for the products but for the simple and pure joy of foraging. My experience has been that as a novice forager it is somewhat difficult to see what you are looking for. Then, and quite suddenly, your eyes adjust and easily focus upon the particular type of mushroom or berry or flower that you seek. It becomes a real treasure hunt!
Yet, in Norway foraging is not for the knowledgeable few or the quirky urbanites plucking the low hanging fruit. Indeed, it seems a regular family summer or fall outing to walk into the forest or fields to forage. In mid-summer they pick wild strawberries, then come the wild blueberries and raspberries, and with the first turn of autumn come the mushrooms.
Ever inspired to experience Norway in the Norwegian fashion, Karl and I headed into the hills (known as Nordmarka) around Oslo to walk and pick berries. We set out rather modestly with one container and at first it seemed too ambitious as the pickings were slim (we were certainly not the first to forage here, you see). But then, as we explored further and our eyes adjusted to see blueberries and raspberries, we found we could easily fill our container.
I have other friends who are avid foragers, and not just for berries, but for mushrooms, or herbs to make tinctures and salves. This is even a more elite group as they have the skill and knowledge to identify and use their pickings. I aspire to such skill, not simply for the products but for the simple and pure joy of foraging. My experience has been that as a novice forager it is somewhat difficult to see what you are looking for. Then, and quite suddenly, your eyes adjust and easily focus upon the particular type of mushroom or berry or flower that you seek. It becomes a real treasure hunt!
Yet, in Norway foraging is not for the knowledgeable few or the quirky urbanites plucking the low hanging fruit. Indeed, it seems a regular family summer or fall outing to walk into the forest or fields to forage. In mid-summer they pick wild strawberries, then come the wild blueberries and raspberries, and with the first turn of autumn come the mushrooms.
Ever inspired to experience Norway in the Norwegian fashion, Karl and I headed into the hills (known as Nordmarka) around Oslo to walk and pick berries. We set out rather modestly with one container and at first it seemed too ambitious as the pickings were slim (we were certainly not the first to forage here, you see). But then, as we explored further and our eyes adjusted to see blueberries and raspberries, we found we could easily fill our container.
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| Karl foraging for raspberries |
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| Our initial slim pickings...soon it was near full! |
After a while our fingers and mouths were berries stained (after all, all of the berries did not make it into our container!), and we were content with our pickings. We made plans for berries with cream and honey.
As we walked toward Frognerseteren, where we could catch the bus back into the city, we came upon a lovely view over Oslo and upper Oslofjord and an old cottage.
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| View of Oslo from near Frognerseteren |
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| Hytte (cottage) in Frognersetern |
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