The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze.--Richard Bode



Thursday, May 28, 2015

Snowy, snowy Norway

Jessica and I have been loving our rental car, especially since it seems to rain here along the coast almost constantly. We passed a group of soaked and miserable looking motorcycle riders in the rain today,  and we both decided that we are very happy to have a car, even if only for a little while.


It snowed 7 feet of snow Friday in the mountain pass we needed to go over. Fortunately, they got the pass open yesterday.  The snow is piled up over 15 feet high in some places along the road, and the road is very narrow because of all the snow. I wouldn't want to meet another driver going the other way in a narrow place on that road. Fortunately, there was no other traffic on it, so it was easy for us to stop and take pictures.


It snowed on us up there, great drops of the white stuff. And the temperature got very cold. It was two degrees above zero on the car's thermometer (about 36 degrees Fahrenheit). Here I am -- enjoying a brief break from driving the narrow roads.


People we meet tell us that this is the rainiest, coldest, wettest Spring they can remember. Last year at this time everything was green and the snow was all gone.

I guess it must have been up there last year like it is down close to the sea right now, green and misty rain and quite cool, temperature wise.


Jessica, who does all the research for us and acts as our trip navigator, is upset that all the hikes she had planned for us are still covered deep in snow. I am disappointed too. I would like to be able to hike out to some of the beautiful sites you see in travel magazines. Still, we are seeing a lot.

Notice the raindrops that got on my camera lens while I was taking this picture of Jessica. The swords in the rock are just a fun reminder of Viking days of long ago.


Look at this Norse graffiti. I guess even way back in the Bronze Age people liked to draw things in public places. Can you see the drawings those Vikings made of ships? Jessica is trying to point them out to you.



I think that the best things you get to see when traveling are those that you just run onto by accident. We just happened to stumble onto an old Norse village. It was built in the Bronze Age about 500 years before Christ. This was the blacksmith shop for the village back then. Notice the roof. It was covered with moss and ferns. It worked pretty well I think, because it was mostly dry in there.


The place is still closed for the season, but a man who was working on some projects there let Jessica and me go into the buildings and look around.  Here is what it looks like inside the blacksmith shop.


The workman's grandfather happened to be there, and he gave us a tour. He spoke only a tiny bit of English, but fortunately Jessica was able to talk with him in German. He was a lot of fun.


Here is a loom for making the clothing they wore back then. Can you see the rocks that hold the cords down tight? I happen to know that they did their looms just like this in Israel back in the days of Jesus.


The grandfather was working on restoring the garden. He only had a few garden beds worked up, but it is really too early to grow much there anyway.


This was a "house" where about 20 people slept. The people slept on mats along the right hand wall. Their animals stayed in the cages built along the left hand wall.


 Animal lover Jessica enjoyed the goats there. Personally, that old Billy Goat and I never warmed up to each other.



I did think the little baby goats were kind of cute.


It was cold and rainy again today, so tour guide Jessica found us a very nice Bed and Breakfast for the night. We are the only ones here, so we have the place to ourselves. Our host, the owner, likes to wander over from his house across the street and chat with us.  A nice guy, he gave each of us our own room for no extra money. To celebrate, Jessica and I went to the grocery store and came back to the B & B and made ourselves a delightful meal of spaghetti and a much needed salad. Yum. Best food I've had in days. Cheapest, too. This country is very expensive, not just for rooms in which to stay, but also for food. For example, yesterday we each got a cup of coffee and I got a bottle of juice. How much do you think that would cost? It was $13.00.

But enough griping about prices. We are having too much fun enjoying the scenery here in Norway, even if it is rainy, to fixate on money.



Ron