Norwegian Prelude

We’ve been in Norway now for just under two weeks. The frantic end of semester, the intense and accelerated ‘good-bye’ socializing, graduation, and the arduous work of packing everything we own, has been eclipsed by trip planning, runs, hikes, and swims in the 90 degree heat of the waxing Norwegian summer.

The house in Oslo feels cavernous because the family has relocated to California and taken the contents of the house with them. We were, however, graced by the three day presence of Mommy who took us to Frognerparken (outdoor statue park), Holmenkollen (ski jump and museum), and ran with us for nearly two hours around Sandungen in Marka!

After Mommy’s departure we went with friends to Kjørkelvik where we stayed in for 3 days. We swam, played soccer, cooked, read, fished, and otherwise enjoyed the leisure of the SE Norwegian coast. When the others departed we continued SW to Tonstad, where her father is from and her Grandmother (96 yrs. old in two weeks) still lives. We strolled around the sprawling urban metropolis of Tonstad (pop. 900) for an hour witnessing the ways this small rural hamlet has been transformed into a responsibly administered (I love Norwegian socialism!) and extremely wealthy (hydro-) power producing region. We ate Grandma’s homemade jams until I got sick, look at old pictures, and listened to Grandma’s stories.

The next day we were on the road again to Oslo via Kjerag and Dalen. Kjerag is a devastatingly beautiful mountain cliff overlooking the equally impressive Lysefjorden. We did the five hour round trip hike in just under 2hrs. The magnitude of the natural beauty defies description. The features of this landscape register on a planetary scale. Stunning.

Back in Oslo we’ve been piecing together the Siberian, Mongolian, and China/Southeast Asian leg of the journey. This has been frustrating not least in part because when we get to the end of online ticket ordering forms the “submit” button on the browser appears in Cyrillic and/or Mandarin characters. In addition to this the credit cards like to turn themselves off after non-North American/Western European activity has been registered. This has foiled our plans a number of times. On a more positive note I’ve received my passport back from the Vietnamese Embassy in Stockholm and Silivren has received her Mongolian Visa.

We leave for St. Petersburg on Friday the 15th.