Tunnels of Green: September 2019

Blue skies, rugged mountains, waterfalls, a gazillion trees and the most incredibly clear glacial water
on a summer’s day in Møre and Romsdal county

Greetings, all.

This post is written at lightning speed, at the tail-end of my first week back at work after two weeks off, and being knee-deep in my application for Indefinite Leave To Remain in the UK.

I have submitted my online application, passed the Life In the UK Test, coughed up approximately £3,300 in fees so far, and my interview is booked for 16 September. Now I am just gathering the last of my SEVEN BILLION bits of paper to prove my relationship with Kevin, my nationality, my residency here over the past five years, my employment status, salary... and so on.

Well, back to the main topic - we've recently returned from eight days in Norway. Please imagine you're a six-year-old, who values the pictures rather than the words. This will be fairly brief.

Marion and Erik live in a beautiful part of Norway - all around are mountains, fjords,
green hills and gorgeous timber houses

This was our first summer trip to Norway for six years - we usually visit at Christmas time these days.

For much of the time the weather was pleasingly mild - alternating sunshine with showers, temperatures in the high teens to early twenties.

Regular readers of this blog know what the above words signify; read on! Details of the dreaded you-know-what will be forthcoming...

Kevin about to commence his first day of riding - the Tour de Dovre, starting and finishing in Hjerkinn, traversing the Dovre National Park, via Dombås

Perhaps a tad unwisely, I agreed to Kevin bringing one of his bikes on this trip, as he has long wanted to cycle some of Norway's most famous and scenic roads.

So after two nights at my cousin Marion's house in Gyl (about 50km from the nearest large-ish town - by Norwegian standards - of Kristiansund), we packed up the car with four adults, a bike, luggage and enough groceries to see us through the apocalypse... and started heading towards Marion and Erik's cabin in Oppdal, a couple of hours' drive away.

Along the way we deposited Kevin to start his 125km cycle, and met up with him again some six hours later in the same spot, the three non-cyclists having spent the day touring the wider area.

Nobel Prize winning author Knut Hamsun was born in this tiny hut in the village of Lom
in central Norway, in between what are now the national parks of Jostedalsbreen and Jotunheimen

En route to pick up Kevin at the end of his first day of riding, Marion and I persuaded Erik
to take a detour up a mountain to a teensy-weensy antiques store that also served coffee and waffles

Marion managed to grab a bargain at this adorable antiques store, perched high on a mountain.
She bought some Hadeland vintage crystal wine glasses that were discontinued in the 1970s

This incredible timber church in Vågåmo has somehow avoided burning down since 1150.
It's just a few minutes' drive from Knut Hamsun's birthplace

The incredibly ornate, painted interior of Vågå Stave Church, which dates from the 12th century

Ancient timber headstones, carved and hand painted in the Norwegian 'rosemåling' style

These dear little painted cherubs have grace these pews for many hundreds of years

Side view of Vågå church, which has been standing for more than 900 years

The River Folla in Grimsdalen - part of Kevin's Tour de Dovre
[photo by Kevin Joy]

Glorious, fragrant lichen (reindeer food) for as far as the eye can see
[photo by Kevin Joy]

We spent three nights in the cabin, taking it easy the day after Kevin's first big ride. Entertainment was in the form of strolls around the area to ooh and aah over the gorgeous cabins and larger holiday homes, the mountain views, and visits from the local population of sheep. The approach of these cuties - lots of mums with adolescent twins in tow - could be heard from long off, as the mothers are always adorned with a bell so that the farmer can locate them, if need be, and it also reminds people to take care driving in the area.

I had a spirited discussion with Erik about the cruelty of spending your entire life with that noise in your ears. These sheep quite literally cannot make a move without the bell sounding. As a sufferer of tinnitus for some years, I can empathise. A romantic noise, yes - all very Sound of Music... but probably not for the poor sheep.

Erik feeding the sheep on the verandah of the cabin

One morning we took a long walk along one side of the local lake, Gjevilvatnet. This was a jaunt that took some hours longer than anticipated because of our frequent stops to gorge on, and pick, numerous kilos of wild blueberries. Foraging is one of the pleasures of a summer or autumn trip to Norway - back at the house we also collected redcurrants and blackberries, whilst a few days after we left Norway I got a message from Marion to say the chanterelle mushrooms were finally out, and she had been stocking up.

My blueberry-stained hand, after picking at least half a kilo of the little beauties.
Stupidly, I forgot to take a picture of our haul...

Kevin's next ride took him along the world famous Aursjøvegen - a spectacular, 55km winding mountain road from Sunndalsøra to Eresfjord, complete with hairpin bends and tunnels through mountains.

It was a warm day but any discomfort was more than counterbalanced by the blue skies and clear views, as you will see from the photos below.

View from Aurstaupet (a very famous viewpoint), with the tiny hamlets of Eikesdal and Finnset below
[selfie by Kevin Joy]

Langvatnet ('the long water'), on the way up to Aurstapet
[photo by Kevin Joy]

View from the top of the Aursjøvegen
[photo by Kevin Joy]

Holbuvatnet
[photo by Kevin Joy]

Would you stand out on the edge of that platform rock?!
No, neither would we.
Aurstaupet, on the Aursjøvegen
[photo by Kevin Joy]

Kevin was well satisfied with his couple of days of riding, and if you'd like to see the routes he took, together with some more photos, follow these links:

For the Tour de Dovre

For the Aursjøvegen

The trip home in the car took us along a familiar route, through small hamlets like Kongsvoll in the Dovre National Park, and then along both sides of the Tingvollfjord back to Marion and Erik's house in Gyl.

The wild Driva River (also known as Svåne River) near Kongsvoll

Tingvollfjord, early evening

The quaint Kongsvoll railway station (opened 1921), right on the River Driva, in Trøndelag

Evening drawing in, on the Tingvollfjord

And so we returned to the house for our last couple of nights, and with us arrived the heatwave.

Yes, folks, I know you'd be disappointed to read one of these posts that didn't include reference to the phenomenon that is TMC*, and who am I to let you down?
* The Maree Curse

Marion & Erik's little stabbur in Gyl.
A stabbur is a traditional building on stilts, used for storing food

Puss'n - Marion & Erik have been adopted by a local feral cat.
She visits numerous times a day for slices of cheese, fresh wild salmon and other tidbits

Late Summer / early Autumn bounty - just a few of the literally THOUSANDS of plums in Marion and Erik's garden

Whilst the high 20s temperatures weren't particularly to my liking, everybody else seemed to enjoy them and there's nothing like a spot of unseasonably warm late summer weather to bring out the Scandinavian penchant for leisurely meals.

The photo below is very poor quality, taken as it was from a fair distance. We had strolled up past this barn on our second last evening, and I my attention was caught by several elements.

Firstly, the red carpet leading the way into the building. 'Hmmm... I've walked past this barn many times' (it's just up the hill from Marion and Erik's property), 'but I've never seen a red carpet before.'

Secondly, the sound of tinkling glasses, smooth jazz in the background, and people laughing and talking.

Lastly - as we passed the ramp - a vision of such cool elegance that it fairly took my breath away.

'Those damned stylish Scandinavians!' I muttered to Kevin when we were safely out of sight (and hearing) of the revellers. Inside the barn I had spied a long table adorned with candelabra, dishes groaning with food, and bottles of wine and akavit... around which table sat beautiful people, dressed in gorgeous linen clothes in varying neutral tones of white, ivory and flax.

Remember, this is not some hip capital city. Gyl is a tiny village an hour's drive from the nearest sizeable town. It has a couple of farms, a community sauna, and perhaps thirty houses. There isn't even a shop.

What a glorious sight to have stumbled across.

Style Central.
What I like to refer to now as 'the secret party barn' - complete with red carpet marking the entry for guests

On our last full day in Norway we took a trip to the Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road), which is only about 45 minutes' drive from the house. This is a renowned road that was opened in the late 80s - approximately 8km of magnificent, first class highway that includes causeways, viaducts and bridges.

The route connects numerous islands and skerries, and - this being Norway - every tourist facilities area along the way has wheelchair access, including long sections of accessible ramp leading down to fishing points. Just because you're disabled doesn't mean you can't participate in one of Norway's most popular pastimes.

The delightful swoop and curve of one of the bridges on the Atlanterhavsveien

Screen-shot from my phone

Another view of one of the bridges

The photos above are OK, but if you want to get a proper sense of the drama of this road, just Google 'Atlantic Highway Norway' and take a look at some of the aerial shots. This link will give you a taste.

Our final evening really did test my weather tolerance levels. It's certainly unusual for it still to be 29ºC at 8pm in late August. Luckily we had already determined to dine out that evening, in nearby Tingvoll, at the only commercial eating establishment for some miles around. In typical rural Norwegian fashion, there was no menu - each day there is a cold buffet or you can choose to have one of two hot dishes. There's no drinks menu - a blackboard offers drinks with the generic descriptions of red or white wine, Prosecco, beer and cider.

Thankfully they don't do things on the cheap in Norway and my mystery glass of red was in fact a very good malbec, which was more than satisfactory.

We and half of the town (it seemed) took advantage of the long sunny evening. Every single person in attendance was known to Marion and Erik, and we even ran into Erik's niece, whom Kevin and I have met several times before. She's a bright, bubbly young teacher with whom we've had many stimulating conversations, at Christmas family gatherings.

Somebody hand me the damned Oscar for Lead Performance in a Dramatic Role!
I look cool, calm and collected - I'm actually melting in 29ºC heat
- drinks and dinner on the terrace at the Tingvoll Fjordhotell

Boatshed on the shore at Tingvoll

Sunset over Tingvoll Fjord

It was a relief to get away from all the Brexit madness for a week or so. In Norway, as everywhere else, there is incredulity at the incompetence of so many people over such a long period of time.

We of course returned to an ever-worsening situation, with the Tories losing their majority, ministers resigning and swapping sides left, right and centre, and general chaos ensuing.

*my word* WHERE WILL IT ALL END?!

The southern end of Tingvollfjord, near Øksendal

Cabins and wildflowers in Oppdal

Until next time,
- Maree xo

Tunnels of Green

Thursday, 12 September 2019

A whole year back at Frensham Heights

Friday, 6 September 2019

Late Summer Days in Norway

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