Saturday, July 24, 2010

Fjord-O in Sogndal, July 13-18


Prolog:

We left home a day early in order to spend the night with MaryAnn and Nils Nøbben and have a proper visit. It was really great. MaryAnn's garden is amazing, the stone work and the flowers! It's different every year. Can't wait to see it when she gets the waterfall going. There is now a young man who wants to farm their land and even make use of the barn for his cows. Nils has been cultivating a field that had been lying fallow for years and years in order to use the manure in the manure cellar and sow grass to extend the hay field down by the lake.

Day 1:

Sogndal with campground



We drove the same route that Tor Idar biked less than a week ago so that I could see it. The Sognefjell is a fantastic area! Wild and untamed mountain, an eerie landscape that seems like another planet. Down in the valley, many hairpin curves later, the town of Sogndal nestles in a corner of the Sognefjord. We checked into the campground at 1 pm, where we had the good luck to get the one cabin that they have for rent. It lay at the top of a bank. 3 orienteering families from Haugesund camped below us in a little field. The rest of the campground was in an apple orchard with picknick tables, tents and campers parked under the apple trees.

Tor Idar and Lucy at our cabin


Days 1 and 2 were near the Sogndal airport. The assembly area was at the site of the reality show "Farmen" called Haukåsen, with a spectacular view over the fjord. The weather was bright and sunny, but of course we had forgotten to bring the camera.


"the farm" Haukåsen

We found a spot in the shade and out of the way for Lucy. Parking was at the airport, the assembly area a 30 minute walk from there, then another 30 minutes back along the other side of the airport to start. The course was basically in the woods and marshes on both sides of the airport, so that you could see the Widerø planes flying in low for landing right over your head while you were running.

Lucy



I started 20 - 30 minutes before Tor Idar on all days. Both of us running in the 17C class. The event got off to a good start with Tor Idar winning his class by over 3 minutes. I spent an hour on the 2,9 km course. Besides the camera we had forgotten to bring money. Luckily we had sandwiches so it wasn't so bad.

Day 2

View from Haukåsen


Day 2 was cloudy and a little rainy, but we had remembered both the camera and money for the barbeque plate after the race. There was a whole mobile sportsstore at the assembly area as wel and I bought myself a new pair of neoprene socks and a sweatband before the race. Tor Idar missed winning by 3 seconds. His main competition seems to be a 21-year-old russian kid.


Assembly area at Haukåsen


I should have worn a baseball cap to keep the rain off my glasses. It's hard to read the map with drops of rain on it, even if it's in plastic. Rain on the glasses makes things worse. I kept putting my glasses up on my head, just taking them down to read the map and half-way through the course got a twig caught in them which knocked out one of the lenses (luckily you can buy new lenses for O-glasses). There was a bit of a mix-up with the codes to the controls as well, since one of the controlls had been cancelled on the map, but was still printed on the loose controll slips. I got that all figured out only to find I had been disqualified for stamping the very first control wrong! I cannot believe it!


Day 3


Glacier Museum


This was a rest day. We went first to the glacier museum at the foot of the Jostedals glacier. It was an interesting museum with lots of interactive glacier related exhibits and an 18 minute film by Io Caprino where he had hung 5 video cameras under a helicopter creating a panorama. The theatre had 5 screens so that it was like flying in the panorama of the Jostedals glacier.


Solvorn seen from Urnes


Afterwards we decided to visit the Urnes Stave church. To get there you first leave the main road and follow a smaller winding road through farmland until you enter the village of Solvorn, with its boat houses on one side of the ferry dock and the sandy beach on the other. This sleepy little village has almost a mediterranean atmosphere. We had discovered it and it's fantastic cafe yesterday. Today, we parked in the square by the ferryboat dock and took the ferry over to the even smaller hamlet of Urnes on the other side of the fjord arm.


Ships dog


The ferry is tiny. It takes only a few cars. Most people just park in the square and walk on. Lucy does not like ferries. She finds them scary and on a car ferry prefers to stay in the safety of the car. I took her up to the top deck where she made the aquaintance of the ships dog, a border collie who came out fromt the steerhouse to investigate.

Urnes Stave Church


Urnes is basically a large farm and a few more houses. The road winds up from the ferry dock past strawberry and rasberry fields, until you get to the little stave church. The oldest in Norway, built 1150 on the site of 2 previous churches, Urnes Stave church is a Unesco heritage site. The girl who gave us the tour seemed very knowledgable about art history. Before going back down to the ferry, I bought a postcard. We were half-way back when my cell phone rings. It was the gift shop calling to let me know that I had left my wallet behind. With only 20 minutes until the ferry was due to leave I ran back up the hill to get the wallet and then all the way back down, arriving just as it was docking. On the way back it turned out that there was a ships cat as well. One of the crew was carrying a big tom around on his arm.


Hot chocolate and Turidmisu


Back in Solvorn we revisited the cafe for their delicious Turidmisu (tiramisu in Turid's version - Turid works there), snickers cake and hot chocolate, made with hot milk and melted chocolate. There we sat on the terrace. Other people were sitting nursing their coffees while reading a novel, the newspaper or surfing the net. Very laid back atmosphere!



Day 4

The River at Hodlekve


The last 2 days were at a different location, a ski center north of Sogndal. It was another sunny day, and again we forgot to bring the camera. We found a spot near the rushing river for Lucy. All runners had to cross the bridge to get to the finish on the first day, and both to start and finish on the second. It was a tough course going steeply up, up, up for the first 5 controls, through open land, brush and marsh and across several streams. The highest controll was in an area of summer cabins, where a whole family were basking in the sun watching us struggle up the steep hill. From there the course followed the river down, down, down. It was wonderful to get wet feet running through marsh in the hot sun. On both days I kept seeing these beautiful wild orchids. They are called Heath Spotted Orchid (Flekkmarihånd). 



Tor Idars knee had been bothering him since the last race. The russian started 3 minutes after him but caught up with him at the 3rd or 4th control after which they clung together for the rest of the race, Tor Idar trying unsuccessfully to shake him off. This put him in second place again.


Day 5

Assembly area in the rain



Tor Idar woke with a sore throat and feverish, not sure if he was even going to start. Not only that but it started pouring rain. He ended up running the course anyway, coming in 4th. It was my best race. I ran the 2,4 km course in 38 minutes. It wasn't actually pouring during the race, more like dripping so I didn't really have the problem with water on my glasses. I find it easier to run in the rain, since I don't get so hot and parched. 

There were prizes for total points from the best 3 races and Tor Idar won a second prize. All in all a great achievement to run 4 orienteering races within a week of the Tour de Jotunheimen bike race. No wonder his body was saying "stop!"

Tor Idar is tired. No more smiling.


We drove straight home after the race - a five hour drive but good to get back. Once again the girls had everything in great shape, and it was a pleasure to come home!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Valdres, July 5-11


Bitihorn from Skaletstølen

July 5th - Arrival
We left home in the late morning to make the 3 hour drive up into the mountains where we are planning to spend a week. During this week we plan to hike up Norways highest mountain peak and Tor Idar is planning to participate in a bike race circling the Jotunheimen mountains. We are only taking Lucy with us, Topsy is staying home with the girls who are taking care of everything at home.

Stopped as usual to stretch our legs about half way at the river stone carvings from the stone age. There was a lot of water in the river and Lucy found its rushing scary.

Just past Fagernes we unloaded Tor Idar and his bike. He was planning to bike up to Skarstølen, the cabin at Vinstervatn as training before the race; also the race will be going along this stretch. Meanwhile I stopped by for a quick chat with MaryAnn and Nils, and to get the cabin key and some drinking water. Got a little carried away talking and so Tor Idar arrived before me. A sharp wind was blowing and there is little shelter, the cabin being above the tree line. He took refuge in a wood shed, with the wind whistling through the cracks. Needless to say he was less than pleased at my late arrival. However, once inside the cabin, he changed to warm and dry clothes, fired up the stove, and cooked some coffee and peace was restored.


July 6th – Galdhøpiggen



Galdhøpiggen is Norway's highest peak – 2469 m above sea level. In fact you won't find a higher peak in Europe north of the Alps. There is a summer ski senter at about 1800 meters, and from the ski lodge you can climb the last 600 meters in 7,5 km. Because you have to cross a bit of glacier you have to go with a guide. Everyone gathered outside the lodge at 10am. The guides handed out harnesses, the harnesses for children had to be specially fitted, dogs were recommended to be harnessed as well.


Lucy all harnessed up and ready to go.

Then off we went at our own pace until we reached the edge of the glacier. When everyone was gathered we were attached to ropes, about 2 m apart in 3 long lines (there were 91 hikers today). Children were always placed between 2 adults and each line was headed by an experienced glacier guide.


So we stomped along over the snow. Not very exciting, though we saw a couple of deep holes, there were no cracks or anything. The last km up to the cabin on the summit we went at our own pace, climbing over boulders and up a snowy bank until we reached the cabin on the summit shrouded in mist.



Apparently it was built by stonemasons from Nepal. It had a bit of an eastern look about it. Up here you could buy hot dogs and coffee, bottled water and t-shirts. We sat inside and drank hot chocolate. Lucy, tied in the entry didn't like when people wanted to pet her: “watch out! I'll bite!” she kept saying.


Pulling hard over the snow.

At the appointed time (2 pm) we all met at the glacier again, where the ropes lay as we had left them when we unhooked ourselves. The snow was much mushier now, in the middle of the day and this time we did have to jump over cracks. I got my foot caught in a crevice under the snow and held up the whole line until I was able to get loose.


Issoleie (glacier buttercup)

All in all the hike took 6 hours. Back at the lodge we had a plate of spaggetti bolognese with salad before heading back to the Skarstølen. We had gotten quite sweaty on the hike and Tor Idar jumped strait into the lake to wash . Brrrrr. As for me, I heated water before washing in the cabin.


July 7th + 8th – Resting up

We've spent the last 2 days resting up. We've been getting lots of sleep: going to bed at 9pm and getting up at 6am, then a morning nap from 10 to noon. The rest of the day is spent walking along the road or the shores of the lake with Lucy, reading, playing cards, preparing meals and once a day heating water to wash dishes. One afternoon we drove down to MaryAnn and Nils so that Tor Idar could check on the weather report for the pending bike race.



Skarstølen is a great place for dogs. It is on a toungue of land reaching out into the lake, Vinstervatn. So on 2 sides it is surrounded by water and the third is fenced to keep grazing animals out as the grass is cut for hay. Thus Lucy has a large area on which she can run freely, and we don't have to worry about what she is up to. At the very tip there is a large stone that I like to sit on to look out over the lake and the surrounding landscape and listen to the waves lapping on the shore. It is the most relaxing thing.


July 9th + 10th – Tour de Jotunheimen bike race



Friday dawned warm and sunny, with a north wind. After lunch we drove the 2,5 hours to Lærdalsøyri where the race starts. After the short cut from Østre Slidre to Vestre Slidre, we continued up the Vestre Slidre valley into Vang and then over the Filefjell mountain pass and through several tunnels until suddenly we were in West Norway (the land of Fjords). On the way we passed 3 stave churches and several bits of the old king highway though the mountains which has been preserved. Parts of could only be traveled with pack animals. Lærdalsøyri at the end of the Lærdals fjord, contains a lovely old-town, and the Wild Salmon Center. We were hungry when we arrived and Tor Idar needed to fill up on decent food – I was thinking burger so after unloading him and his gear I went in search of something to eat. Pretty soon I came upon a fast food joint run by a polish couple where I got a hamburger and a serving of chicken nuggets and fries, plus drinks. In the registration area people were napping at the side of their bikes in preparation for biking through the night. The race starts at 9pm for most classes and ends the next afternoon. The slowest class starts at 6pm. I wanted to leave before the slowest class started at 6 pm so at 5:45 I wished Tor Idar good luck and set off back to Skarstølen.



The race started in Lærdal from the Wild Salmon Center

I decided to take the scenic route and bypass the tunnels. It was narrow, with cliffs overhanging the road on one side and a rushing river on the other, and passing right by the Borgund Stave Church, Norway's best preserved, impressive with it's dragons sticking out from all corners. Back at Skarstølen, no sooner had I let her out of the car than Lucy went racing across the grass, glad to stretch her limbs after 5 hours in the back of the car. As I was unpacking I saw what I first took to be a little rabbit hopping around near the wood shed. Then I realized that it must be a baby hare. It was so cute, all fuzzy brown, but disappeared under the shed before I could get a picture. That explained why Lucy was always sniffing around the wood shed.


It was after 8pm when I got back and 10:30 before I was ready to sleep. I slept fitfully, wondering how Tor Idar was doing, and how long it would take him to get to the various rest stations. I had expected he would be in Fagernes by 3am and at Beitostølen by 5am, so that I would meet him up at the main road between 5 and 6. We were expecting that he would take 18 to 20 hours to do the whole trip over 3 mountain passes, through 3 valleys, and along the fjord, however at 2am I was awakened by an sms saying that he was in Fagernes. In under 5 hours! I couldn't believe how fast he had gone. Couldn't sleep after that. Realized I had to rethink the whole time schedule. I lit some candles, boiled water for the coffee I was bringing Tor Idar, and sat and read until he called from Beitostølen at 3:30. I drove up to the end of the road with a backpack full of drinks, bars and gels by 4 am. The weather had changed: there were dark clouds overhead, and rain in the air, and the wind had turned to the south. I watched several bicyclists creeping slowly up the hill, their lights coming every closer until they passed me. They all looked disgustingly cheerfull after 200 km on the seat of a bike! About 4:15 Tor Idar came. He filled his bottles, drank the coffee and jumped back on his bike as a larger group came up behind, thinking to continue in their company. I went back to bed at the cabin and slept for another 3 hours – awakening when the sun broke through the clouds and shone in the window onto my face.


4:15 am, the guy in the yellow jacket is Tor Idar coming up Valdresflya,
the second mountain pass of the race.

I figured I had about 3 hours before I had to leave for Sogndal to see Tor Idar finish, because I figured that with the time he had made during the night he would probably finish in 16 hours, ie about 1pm. My departure was delayed however. Coming back from walking Lucy I discovered cows from a neighboring summer farm on our peninsula. Lucy had met them on a previous walk and was afraid of them, in fact once when we had let her off leash she saw them in the distance and ran toward them, ignoring our call to come. We ran down the hill and started up the road toward where the cows were whistling all the while. Suddenly Lucy comes from behind us. My guess is that the cows shook there horns at her and that she then lost her nerve and came back the way she had gone, up the hill and then followed our trail. Anyway, I figured she'd be no help at all chasing them so I locked her into the cabin and then set about chasing the cows back out. They were all excited about their naughtiness, kicking up their heels like little calfs with their udders swinging, and completely ignored the gate that I opened for them. They ran up to the fence near the road. There's a gate there as well which I opened. At this point 4 or 5 of the heifers headed back down to the lake shore (heels kicking), but the older cows decided that the game was up and began going out through the gate. The bell cow stood undecided for a bit, but then also went through the gate. When the heifers saw that they came wandering up as well. I didn't have to run down to the lake to get them.



The cows are back outside the fence. 

Anyway, by this time 10 am had come and gone. I started packing a lunch for the trip to Sogndal. Just as I was leaving at 11 am, Tor Idar phoned from the Sogn mountain hut, the top of the third and highest mountain pass he had to pass. From there he had only about 85 more km. I figured it would take him a couple of hours, but he thought it would take longer. I left then, driving the same way back to Lærdal (to avvoid the bicyclists) and then on to the Ferry over to Sogndal.


Ferry across Sognefjord between Lærdal and Sogndal

Tor Idar had arrived about 15 minutes before. His total time was 17:42. He told me about the trip on the way home. The group he was with when he had passed Filefjell, the first mountain pass had started a chain and that is why they got to Fagerness so fast. Chain biking is extremely efficient over long distances, which are not too steep. He lost the chain in Fagernes though. From Beitostølen, just before he met me, it rained and they had a headwind which lasted for the entire second half of the race. Actually the last 140 km they had wonderful sunshine, but because of the headwind, coming down from the Sogn mountain hut took not the 2 hours it normally would have, but a full 3:50. In fact it is said that because of this wind, this years Tour de Jotunheimen was the toughest ever.


The finish line in the town center of Sogndal



July 11th – Departure


Tor Idar in Sogndal after the race, sore but still smiling

When we got back to Skarstølen we pretty much went straight to bed. Tor Idar could hardly walk. He had had legg cramps during much of the drive. Getting into the horizontal position was pure bliss. I hadn't had that much sleep either last night so I packed it in pretty early too.
This morning after breakfast we cleaned the cabin. Lucy was very quiet and when we looked out to see what she was up to we found her lying in the grass with a lemming that she had caught. It was damaged, and she didn't know what to do with it, so Tor Idar put it out of it's misery and threw it in the outhouse.

We got home about 2 pm. Tor Idar spoke to his mother on the way home and she couldn't get over how wonderful the girls were, so polite, and grown up, and affectionate. My motherly heart swelled! The girls had done a great job. The house was clean and tidy. All the animals were doing fine. Topsy was happy to see us and a little fat. The plants needed watering, but I expected them too. It is good to be home again. In a couple days we are going back to Sogndal for an orienteering event.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Girls trip to Denmark - June 28 to July 1

In May I bought ferry tickets to Denmark. This was when Ingvild was still planning to go to college in Copenhagen. Anyway, the ticket was non-refundable so even though Ingvild has changed her mind about college in Denmark, the girls and I took the opportunity to take a trip together and visit my dear friend Ninna at her summer cottage.



Day 1:
I love my new car! It is compact, comfortable and economic, and it has cruise controll! I let Ingvild practice drive through all the road work and detours on the E6 as well as through Oslo – a couple of hours of varied driving – so she got some good practice toward her next driving test on July 16th. Then I drove for a couple of hours, and Irene drove the last bit in Sweden to the Ferry in Gøteborg, and after the ferry about halfway to Hvalpsund. I had google map'ed the whole route, but missed having a proper road map. In Gøteborg we missed our turn, almost got lost, worried that we were late, but it all worked out.



The 3 hour ferry ride was just the perfect length. Just time to have a coffee (after standing endlessly in line), surf the internet – had a nice chat with Tor Idar – and a nap in the sun on the deck. We were starving when we got to Denmark and stopped at a cafeteria for a truckers burger: huge hamburger, mountain of fries + salad bar – we weren't able to eat half of it.

Arrived at the summerhouse around 10 pm to be greeted by Ninna and Lillefix, her super cute danish-swedish farmdog. After a glass of wine the girls went to bed. Ninna and I walked the dog in sunset along the beach. Lillefix ate shells and seaweed. Then we sat and talked about the death of my father and Ninnas mother, about our ex's and our struggles as mothers... talked until 1 am.



Day 2:
I am sleeping on the matress in the living room. Lillefix wanted to sleep on my feet – I kicked her off, nor was she allowed to sleep on my bed when I'm not in it either. Insulted she curled up on the sofa.

Today was warm, calm, the sun shining, birds singing. I woke up at 7 as usual. Tormod called shortly after. How nice to hear from him! This morning Ninna and I walked Lillefix to a riding camp with a pasture full of horses which came to the fence to eat clover out of my hand. We had a breakfast of smoothie, cherries, melon and hot rolls in the garden. Ninna and I sat and read while the girls worked out on the grass. When they were all showered and ready we went shopping in the nearby town. I spent a long time looking for a present to bring back to Tor Idar. Hovered for a long time over a cute toothpick dispenser, but decided against it – it was very expensive and we don't have the right kind of toothpicks at home. After lunch the girls went to the beach to work on their tan. Ninna and I took naps, and read in the garden before walking the dog along the beach to find the girls and invite them home for dinner.




Ninna is the master of quick and delicious dinners: oven baked filet of trout in individual foil packages, oven baked cherrytomatoes with pesto, new potatoes, warm salad, raw zucchini, brokkoli... I love her diet: rich in fruit and vegetables, with mostly organic foods.
I was getting a sore throat and headache (again!) and just sat around this evening watching «the office» before going to bed early – at 10pm.

Walked on the beach with Lillefix this evening, listening to the waves lapping on the shore, the sea birds calling and the wind sighing in the branches while walking back through the oak woods.




Day 3:
Cloudy this morning with a tendency to rain, when I walked the dog. Ninna took us north along the coast after breakfast. Here it was mostly sunny but windy, the waves were white-capped. We went first to Løgster where we visited the maritime museum, with art, ships, tanks showing how the ecosystems have changed in the limfjord over the years, and a tank of petting fish: flounders, starfish, crabs, eels and a lobster in a corner to which the other fish gave a wide berth.



We had lunch at a brazilian restaurant, that served the most delicious smoothies and filled pancakes. I had their seafood special: bread, a salad and a shell filled with a shrimp and mussel stew! Several painters have their galleries and ateliers here along the seawall, and we looked at the art before heading back.





On the way we stopped at Vitskøl Abbey, a cistercian monastary from the middle ages. The same that is mentioned in the Arn books by Jan Guilleau as the place where Arn was brought up. The monastary is more or less intact, but the church is ruined and there is a lovely abbey herb garden with all sorts of flowers and herbs...




Day 4:
Return to Norway. After an outdoor breakfast and last walk on the beach while the girls did the dishes - today again, the sun is blazing from a cloudless sky - we got on our way. We decided to splitt up the driving as follows: Irene drove in Denmark, I in Sweden, and Ingvild in Norway. We got to the Ferry in plenty of time, and I went and sat on the edge of the dock watching the jellyfish and after a while the ferry as it arrived.

The ferry trip was spent for my part lunching on grilled fish, sweetpotato and salad, napping on the sun deck, shopping for chocolate for Tor Idar and chatting with him on the free internet.




The drive home took longer than anticipated. There was an accident on the E6 in Sweden and we got detoured for an hour through the Swedish forest and farmland, among others along a road that was not even really wide enouph for 2 cars. On this the big trucks had to pass each other, with millimeters to spare and one wheel off the shoulder - thank god it hadn't rained in a while so the shoulder was dry and firm, still the traffic snailed along at 20 km/hr. We had our picknic on the swedish side of the border.





Ingvild drove very well through the Oslo traffic. This side of Oslo the road work started with a detour through Eidsvoll and over Minnesund. We got off the E6 at Strandlykkja, which turned out to be unnessesarily early as the other entries, which were closed on Monday, had been reopened. Ah well. We arrived home at 10 pm.



Reflections:
It was great to see my friend Ninna - it's been a long time since we had time to catch up on stuff.
It was also fun travelling with the girls: they are so affectionate, positive, and playfull. Yet sometimes I feel old in their company, a stranger in their culture.
"The feeling that I'm
Losing her forever
And without really
Entering her world
I'm glad whenever I
Can share her laughter..."
(ABBA in "Slipping Through my Fingers")