Skiing in Hemsedal

We spent a superb weekend in Hemsedal, Norway with our friend Hans Olav at his family's cabin along with several of his friends in mid-January. We spent the first day skiing in area with Ingrid and Bjørnar until our legs about fell off from exhaustion, while the rest of the group went ice climbing. It was so great to have some turns after nearly one year away from skiing.

That night we celebrated Hans Olav's birthday with a incredible feast and birthday cake. The next day a group of us set off on a ski tour from the cabin and climbed the two peaks before a nice descent. It was pretty mellow terrain, which was a good thing considering all the "woomping" we heard and settling we felt as we were skinning up. It's one thing to read about propagation and quite another to experience it! We were glad for the 20 degree or less slopes. The snow, while light coverage, was really nice quality. Rachel had the pleasure of using Hans Olav's K2 reverse camber skis with superlight dynafit bindings. Super great! Looks like we'll be investing in some new skis (or preferrably get on the list for a custom pair from Andreas)!

Thanks to Hans Olav for inviting us along to celebrate his birthday, enjoy some great skiing, and fun times with friends. Here are some photos from the weekend...

The Ice Climbing Birthday Cake

Hans Olav's Cabin

A glimpse of the surrounding mountains

Karl after the ski down

Overnight Ski Tour in the Marka

When we purchased our DNT (Norwegian Touring Association) membership last week, we vowed to pack a year's worth into 6 months. So, after ringing in the new year, we made plans for our first ski tour to a DNT hytte (hut/cabin) in Nordmarka (The North Forest, well north of Oslo anyway) for the 2-3 January. Our fearless compatriots were John and Fran.

This was a ski tour unlike others we've done. First (here's where our car-bound friends drool), we walked a few minutes to the train and zipped 20 minutes outside of the city to Movann. From there we put on our skis and kicked-and-glided 6 km up a gentle incline to Tømtehytte Lille. Here's a map:


View Where we are in Norway in a larger map

I've pilfered the photos from the DNT website to give you a sense of the hytte since our camera is still in the process of begin repaired.

 

Yes, it really is that cute. We had to chop wood and carry water (after breaking the ice and lowering the bucket into the well). After a short while the little wood burning stove had it toasty warm inside the cabin.  It was a very fun stay with great food, people, and fun times (including yahtzee and writing haiku). After a leisurely morning we had a fast ski out and caught the train within moments of arriving at Movann. A lovely little "tur i Marka."

Happy New Year!

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...