Norwegian Sunshine

Yes, I think I may be the only person in the world who has holidayed in Norway and returned with a tan!  But, yes, it appears that all the lovely sunshine Norway delivered means I have returned bronzed.  Lots of my pre-trip preparations involved checking the weather forecast every 12 hours in fear that there would be a sudden drop of temperature and snow (not that improbable, Wendy, my friend + host said that one year they had snow on their National day, on 17 May). 

Luckily for me, all that was falling were rays of sunshine.  As such, I was fortunate enough to experience 'park life'.  Not a concept particularly unique to Norway, but perhaps more important to Norwegians than many others around the world.  After months and months of cold, snow and dark nights, at the first sign of sunshine Norwegians flock to the park to absorb every ounce.  Only 18 degrees you say?  That's definitely warm enough for a Norwegian guy to go shirtless and a Norwegian girl to sunbathe in a bikini!

Wendy, my friend and former manager, has been living in Norway for four years and was kind enough to be my host for the duration of my stay.  I arrived on the Thursday before Good Friday.  Wendy and I spent the day exploring a very pretty, but small, Oslo.  The streets seemed to be deserted as Norwegians had fled the city for their cabins.  I cycled around the city - though I just about died on any hill with an incline of more than five degrees! – admiring how wonderful it was to cycle around streets that were deserted of cars, something that would never happen in London!

The following day we set off for a road trip with Wendy's work colleague, Espen.  We drove along the Norwegian coast and came to our first stop, Arundel, where Espen's parents live.  Espen's parents, who lived in this gorgeous house that backed on to the water, were kind enough to host us for the night.  The easiest way to get around Arundel is by boat, so Espen's parents, like all the residents of the town, had a boat – which served as our form of transport to and from town in the evening.

In the afternoon, Espen took Wendy and I for a tour of Arundel (by boat) and around the islands.  The incredible thing about Norwegians is their ability to build a cabin anywhere, even on the smallest of islands. I have decided the motto of Norwegian's is 'have rock, will build cabin'.  Arundel is so beautiful and it was so lovely to be by the water again.

On the boat trip around Stavagner

Wendy at lighthouse at the Southern most point of Norway

Ah, hot dog, the staple diet of Norway.

The next day we set off for Stavagner, the oil capital of Norway.  Stavagner was very cool and filled with a diverse mix of people who work for the oil companies.  We went out in the evening and saw a lot of money being thrown around by those in the oil industry.  Unbeknown to most people, Norway is actually the second richest country in the world (and judging by the state of my bank account, possibly the most expensive).

On the third day, we went to Pulpit Rock, or Preikestolen, in Norwegian.  Pulpit Rock, a massive rock towering 604 metres high, sits over the Lysefjorden.  Pulpit Rock, which has amazing views across the fjord, is so called because it juts out before dropping away. 

 

It takes normal people two hours to climb to the top.  However, I wasn't traveling with normal people, I was traveling with Scandinavians.  Our climbing group consisted of myself, Wendy, her Norwegian workmate Espen, her Swedish workmate Michael and his Norwegian girlfriend.  When I walked along the Cinque Terre with my parents last year, we noted how forceful the German's were on the walking tracks. This is nothing compared to Scandinavian's. I’m convinced they would knock small children out of their way in order to proceed up the path.  Trying to keep up with super-human Scandanavian's, who had legs up to my chest, just about killed me.  What should have been a fairly scenic walk involved me mainly watching the rocky path, as I feared if I took a moment to look up I would fall, break my ankle, and be permanently abandoned the Scandinavians, as not to slow them.

In the end, when we finally reached the top, in a record time of one and a half hours, I was allowed a chance to sit down and take photos.  It was well worth it – though, I may never go on a mountain hike with Scandanavian's again!

We returned to Oslo that night, traveling through the interior of Norway.  The interior was quite different: still completely covered in snow, which in some parts reached well over a metre high and the lakes were completely frozen.  I felt very privileged to be seeing this side of Norway - I felt like I experienced all of Norway's seasons in one visit.

Oslo is a beautiful seaside city.  I had two whole days to wonder around by myself sightseeing.  I caught a ferry over to Bygone bay, where there was a museum with three Viking vessels, two of which had been impeccably preserved in clay along with jewellery and relics.  The history geek in me was in absolute paradise. It was amazing to see things from 800AD that had been preserved for more than 1,200 years. 

On the way home I bought boiled shrimps from a little boat on the harbour.  I only bought enough shrimps for two people, but the Norwegian quantity for two people is about three times as much as what most other people, including myself, could have consumed.  To this day I haven't yet been able to eat shrimps again.  Wendy also spoiled me with the other Norwegian specialties, salmon and  fish soup, which was a particular highlight, yum!

All in all, it was such a great trip and Wendy was such a lovely host.  I can't wait to see her again when she comes to London in July.  I would happily go back to Norway again (though never in the winter).  I would love to do a cruise around northern Norway - though I will have to save for a very long time to be able to ever afford to return!

P.S. Have popped a few pics from my holiday in Cornwall in March below as well.