In Norway for the Holidays

Jeffrey and I have really enjoyed learning about some the Norwegian holiday season.  Of the many traditions, the food has to be one of the most unique.  The grocery stores here are filled with Christmas or "jule" food and drink like:

• Pepperkaker - a gingerbread-type cookie in fun little shapes.  They are supposed to be easy to make at home, but the store-bought ones are so tasty.
• Julebrus - Christmas soda! The bottles are decorated with Santa and reindeer.  There are two kinds that I've seen - brown and red - but the ones in the glass bottles are the best. I also mistakenly bought sugar-free julebrus... it was a sad day in the Burro house...
• Juleøl - it seems like every brewery has a Christmas beer.
• Pinnekjøtt - re-hydrated, salty pieces of lamb rib.  Not my fave, but our Norwegian friends love it.  

And the list goes on.  One of our more memorable experiences was dinner coordinated by good friends at City Bistro in Stavanger.  This restaurant wasn't chosen just by chance.  It is actually one of the few and best places to eat Lutefisk and Smalahove, so of course we ordered one of each.  

Wondering what's on Jeff's plate?

I got a little worried when the waitress brought out four shots of Aquavit without even asking if we wanted any.  We learned that the shots were considered an appetizer before the Smalahove.  I kept wondering why Jeff would need this sort of liquid courage... and then his plate was served.

Smalahove is half a sheep's head.  Not just the meat from a sheep's head like I'd imagined (and was still a little repulsed by) but actually a sheep's head.  Teeth, tongues, eyeball, cheeks - everything (except the brain)! I'd never seen anything like it.  Needless to say, Jeffrey downed those shots pretty quick, and he actually enjoyed his meal.  He said the eye was the best.  I also ate my Lutefisk and am grateful for the experience, but I don't think I'll be adding steamed fish that's been soaked in lye to my recipe book. 

Since we enjoyed our traditional Norwegian meal, we felt it only appropriate to invite some friends over for Thanksgiving!  We should have taken more pictures... but cooking so much food makes for a hectic day.  On the menu was turkey (obviously), giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, corn, homemade rolls and two pies - pecan and pumpkin!

There was almost no room in our tiny dining area for the table, but we made it work.  Good thing we all like each other!

Thankful for friends!

Now, we are getting ready for Christmas.  It sure FEELS like Christmas with these sub-freezing temperatures and a few inches of snow.  Our neighborhood has put up some garland and the houses have decorations in the windows - it's very festive.  I was lamenting that our tree wasn't going to fit in our house and Leif Christian let us borrow their tree once he realized we would enjoy it longer (generally, my Norwegian friends won't decorate until the 23rd or so and everything comes down around the New Year).  I'm so happy to have a tree in our living room with our one little strand of lights plugged into a converter and ornaments from our travels.  It's actually our first Christmas tree to decorate together since we've been married :)

We've had much to be thankful for this year, but we are especially thankful for our friends here in Norway that have become our family-away-from-family.

Happy Holidays!

Pistol Boy

Every time we walk in the door and are greeted by our wiggly furball (aka Pistol), I'm reminded of just how lucky we are that he was able to make this move with us.  As soon as I realized moving to Norway was a real possibility (Jeffrey had applied and told me not to get my hopes up, but up they were!) I started looking into getting Pistol there.  I found a contact at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority that was extremely helpful and explained the rules.  Good news, though - the rules were due to change on January 1 and it would be even easier!  

Obviously, Pistol made it to Norway (though he still has nightmares about his 18 hour plane ride), and I'm pretty sure he loves it as much as we do.  Here are a few of his favorite pictures of his time in Norway thus far.

Checking out frozen Mosvatnet

Prancing through the snow at Sørmarka.

Searching for hot chocolate in Bergen

Listening to the streams near Dalsnuten

Keeping the streets safe and cat-free

Taking a break during our drive to the Hardangerfjord

Posing at Vigdel Beach

Getting tickled at the Rogaland Arboretum

Loving the soft green grass

Getting his hike on at Solbjerg

Being rescued from Jeff's pranks in Roldal

Resting in his favorite spot (and ruining my couch cushions!)

Climbing to the top of Preikestolen

Some Norwegian friends have also taken a liking to Pistol and ask to watch him any time we are out of town.  Their son even invited him over for the weekend when we were IN town - Pistol's first sleepover!

He's our dog, and he makes us pretty darn happy.

A Norwegian Autumn

Our first fall in Norway has brought lots of rain, chillier temperatures and impending darkness (we are now losing 5 minutes of sunlight in both the mornings and evening), but it has also brought beautiful fall foliage and a sense of coziness to our warm, small home.  The weather can be deceiving since it often rains while the sun is shining, but we took advantage of a break in the clouds and headed to the Rogaland Arboretum.

Rogaland Arboretum

It was on our walk that I finally felt Autumn - that excitement of this festive season with its crisp air, warm fires, and comfort foods.  Too bad I can't find any pumpkin spice candles to really bring on the season..  Our Norwegian friends have never heard of them and I had a bit of trouble trying to describe the smell since they had also never eaten a pumpkin pie... looks like I should learn to make one! And chocolate pecan pie.  Oh, and apple pie.

I'm still trying to figure out Halloween here.  Not that I would go trick-or-treating (or knep-eller-knask-ing in Norwegian) especially since I'm still confused and a little upset every time I put a piece of Norwegian candy in my mouth.  I just haven't acquired the taste for salt coated black licorice yet and it seems like EVERY candy is a variation of this combo - yikes!  This amuses my coworkers and they always bring me more candy to try like Dunder Salts or Turkish Peppers.  I put on my brave face and always try them, but I can barely last more than 30 seconds before I have to spit it out.  I've tried to explain the bliss of eating a Reese's Cup, but again find my description of their taste to be severely uninspiring judging by their skeptical faces.  Another thing to find and share (and surely they will like them more than I like Dunder Salt!).

I hope you are also enjoying these early days of fall!

A Come Back

Is the summer really over??  It sure is here in Norway.  Here are some reasons I'm excited for fall:

• The leaves are changing to their beautiful shades of yellow and orange
• Our house is really cozy when it's gray and dreary outside
• We like lighting fires in our fireplace 
• It's supposed to be cold in the fall/winter so it's not disappointing when it is
• Because we'll be here all winter, we might go shopping for real Norwegian outerwear - yippee!

We did do one last hike before the weather turned, and it was such a beautiful day.  

We hadn't been hiking in a while because of my knee.  I wasn't sure what happened on that hike in May when Jeff's sister was in town and my knee made a weird pop, but after a visit to a doctor and an MRI in August (this was an experience in and of itself) it turns out that I have a chondral lesion behind my patella (say what??).  Not exactly sure how it happened, but I was told that it could get better without surgery and to continue life as normal + pain killers. So, on with the hiking!

Next stop? Kjerag. Because a come back means going big or going home.

The hiking route to Kjerag

Though the drive out to Sirdal was sunny, our drive through the mountain pass to the base of Kjerag showed us we would be starting the hike in some fog.  Luckily, the first few hundred meters are practically straight up (did I say luckily?) so we rose above the clouds quickly and the sun burned them off.  

I would have kept on going, but Jeff wanted to take in the view (wimp).  

I also used this time to search for blueberries and actually found some!  They weren't the best I'd ever tasted but picking them myself did make them the most satisfying.  

Good thing my knee had some time to heal because this is definitely the hardest hike we've done.  It's 6 kilometers in length and a max incline of 380 meters so the 2.5 hours it takes to hike up and over to "the Bolt" is quite a workout.

At first I thought this would be similar to hiking Preikestolen, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It's opposite the same fjord yet the terrain is more mountainous because the hike starts at the same elevation that Preikestolen ends.  Hiking Kjerag also rewarded us with views of the fjord along the entire hike, rather than just at the peak.  And, though Preikestolen was a steadier incline throughout, Kjerag's intense climbs ended with wide valleys - very "the hills are alive" sort of surroundings.  Jeff loves it when I break out in song, so I just embraced the moment.

  

The major difference between Preikestolen and Kjerag?  The Bolt!

Few things can top the views from Preikestolen, but there's something about standing on a boulder wedged between two cliffs that makes you feel like you've really accomplished something.  We even found someone to take a picture of the two of us!  Jeff likes embracing the moment just as much as I do :)

Hytter

Commonplace in Norwegian life, second homes tucked away in a valley, overlooking a fjord, or amidst the mountains are called hytter (or, singularly, hytte).  I'm still impressed by the sheer number of families with personal acces to one, either by direct ownership or through family ties.  Hytte ownership is just part of the culture.  Of course there are plenty of websites to rent from too and most corporations rent a few to their employees.  We have taken advantage of a rental once before and recently stayed in our company's summer cabin with Jeffrey's parents.  I'm hooked!

Sometimes I chuckle at the thought of Norwegians needing to get "back to nature" since everything in Norway IS more natural than anywhere I've ever been.  There was a time, though, that a hytter with electricity or running water (let alone internet) was unheard of.  They still exist and can be sought out.. not necessarily by me due to my disdain for cold showers, or sponge baths as the case may be... but now most have the conveniences of home.  It's their remote locations and idyllic scenery that create the relaxed, simple atmosphere.  This may not be possible in every country/family, but it does inspire me to find more ways to simplify and enjoy the outdoors - a feeling I hope lasts longer than our stay here!  Below are just a few snapshots of hytter around Norway.


Via

 

Via

Via

Via

Via

Hardanger Fjord Road Trip

Jeffrey and I have been wanting to explore a different area of Norway for a while and recently took the opportunity to visit the area around the Hardanger Fjord.  Since early June is still not considered summer (a painful realization for me), especially in the mountains, it took a little research to figure out which roads would be open and what activities we would be able to do.  Bad news: we were a little early for guided glacier hiking and Trolltunga.  Good news: roads were open and the forecast called for sunny skies.  Remember Norway's National Tourist Roads?  Well, Roldal, the location of our cabin for the weekend, sits at the intersection of two National Tourist Roads - Hardanger and Ryfylke. I hope these pictures convey the beauty of this region - a truly spectacular weekend filled with...

Clear Blue Fjords

Snow Capped Mountains

Lush Valleys

A Stave Church 

And About A Zillion Waterfalls

That was all in one day, too!  One, glorious day.

Before heading back to Stavanger on Sunday, we drove to a farm in Buer that has a trail leading to an arm of the Folgefonna glacier.  Though it was too early to actually hike ON the glacier, we at least hiked TO it.

We were so glad we made this hike before heading home (especially with the snow slide on the way down - check out the video!).

PS I'm a visual person. Are you?  Well, here's a visual of the routes we took... just in case :)

From Oanes to Roldal - Ryfylke Route

Roundtrip from Roldal along the Hardanger Fjord - Hardanger Route