resurrection fern

røros part two

this is my very last post about my travels in norway

i thought i would share a little more from røros

because you will see it holds more attraction than just a visit to the blanket factory

and looking at all the wonderful wooden doors

it was a grey, rainy day but the town was colourful enough for us not to really notice

i loved the art in a small cafe and shop we wandered into

i also enjoyed watching the girls eat Fløtegrøt

we tried to avoid some really nasty weather on our drive back towards oslo and although it was probably one of the least beautiful of all our campsites , at least we were dry

my lovely travel companions dropped me off at the airport

and drove to arendal to return the rental car

we travelled about 2000 km

and took at least as many photographs along the way

i find myself dreaming about my next trip to norway

we want to see the far north and especially the lofoten islands

i also really loved how greenland looked from the air

and may put that country on my ever growing list of places i want  to visit

:)

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xx

the doors of røros

røros is a unesco world heritage site

it was a copper mining town from the 17th century

up until 1977

the beautiful older town is completely made of wood

there are wonderful views of the town

from top of the huge slag heap

i will show a few of those in the next post

this one is devoted to the doors

i want to buy wool in all of these colours

and knit a fairisle sweater or vest

xx

m

 

have a wonderful weekend

the røros tweed blanket factory

dear røros tweed

some of us travelled from across the atlantic to visit you

and others travelled almost 2000 km by car

and off the quickest way back to oslo just to visit you

looking forward to buying some lovely woolen blankets

and seeing up close and personal where they were made

these enthusiastic young women even went to see the factory

where the wool from the lovely norwegian sheep is spun

for your blankets

one such lovely lady called your factory weeks in advance to enquire about a tour

and whereas you did say you would be able to accomodate us only if you weren't terribly busy

when we arrived at shop opening at 8am and clearly were the only customers there for most of our

visit your not so friendly front staff member told us no tour would be possible as "everyone" was too

busy

you have no idea how you disappointed my daughter and her lovely friend

and as you can see we took our own tour around your factory looking in the windows

and the only things that were busy were the machines

the workers were sitting around , drinking coffee, smiling at us through the windows

we all purchased and love our blankets but perhaps next time when you see eager, adoring customers from half way around the world you will instruct your staff to show them more kindness and warmth

margie, rebekah and nancy

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on the way to røros

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we passed some beautiful mountains

stopped at a grassy meadow with mounds

a viking burial ground

we found quite by accident a wonderful house or should i say houses of curiosity

everything was for sale

most items "make me an offer"

or rediculously inexpensive if it was still in boxes or in the second house

if my suitcase wasn't already going to be overweight with stones from iceland

i could definitely have spent more kroners in this place

we found a lovely spot to camp minutes away from town

close to a river

the august supermoon was rising over the forest

in the early morning the mist was so lovely

and i met the largest beaver i have ever seen

taking a morning dip

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:)

kristiansund

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i left a bit of my heart in this town

i loved the colours of the houses

reminiscent of some of my favourite towns in nova scotia

i loved its rebuilt tower on a hill top giving a 360 view of the area

i loved its very modern church Kirkelandet by architect odd østbye

how could i not love a church that offers you to choose from a basket of

smooth stones as you enter

and that tapestry in the foyer was really inspiring

i loved the 130 year old shipyard with its rusted and weathered pieces of nautical history

i loved that it was open and free on another sleepy sunday morning in norway

i loved the little cafe that was like a museum

the girls loved the waffles and pancakes too

as i enjoyed a lovely coffee

a perfect morning before another beautiful long drive

heading west towards Røros

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troll day

or should i say troll afternoon

since this is the remainder of the day from the last post

but before we get there we stopped for lunch

at the site of a hydroelectric dam

with really old structures and stone tables

i met a young pup there named jack

he reminded me of turbo (geninne's dog)

sorry this travelogue is taking so long

i hope to be done before the end of the month

and then move on to my life presently

so as the title says this was the day of trolls

trollstigveien , trollstigen, trollkyrkja

amazing roads with hairpin turns

waterfalls

steep cliffs and rock formations

in contrast for the last part of the day we headed to the ocean coast

tranquil fishing villages

and found a most wonderful campsite

just north of bud

:)

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the deep blue geirangerfjord

another misty morning in norway

i love how the mist hangs over the mountains and hills like a cozy blanket

i love the fireweed seen by the roadside just about everywhere

so much so that i was really surprised to read that heather is the national flower

the roads were fantastic

affording spectacular views almost everwhere one looked

the unesco protected geirangerfjord is not just another pretty fjord

it was gorgeous

i loved the narrowness of it

the colour of the water

the peaks seen from a distance

and of course it helps to have such lovely company along the way

defnitely an area of norway i would love to explore more one day

perhaps take time to kayak or canoe in the fjord and hike some of the trails

we headed towards valldal

rebekah and nancy shared a strawberry cake  at jordbærstova

and we bought some cloudberry jam in the town

so much to see and it was only mid day

back on the road again heading north towards the ocean road

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xx

 

ottadalen

when i left off last we were camping in a forest near the otta river

the region is called ottadalen

wikipedia may not have much to say about this area

but i had the most beautiful early morning time exploring the top of the ridge

the softness of the deer moss (lichen) and the contrast of colours

with the extra magical morning sparkle was so very beautiful

i loved it

 

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and other news

Lachlan George turned one on sunday

he is such a very happy boy

xx

oma

 

day 6 of the norwegian road trip

day 6 was quite amazing

looking back on the photographs and map i can't reallly believe just how much

we covered in one day

flám

urnesstave church

nærøfjord

lærdal

an interesting boat museum with mended pink sails

i wondered if they were dyed with madder

undredal with its loveable goat population (population 100 humans, 500 goats)

and a beautiful stave church with a tasty little cafe next door

sogn

swims in the green glacial waters

borgund stave church

sognefjell

otta river

oh and i almost forgot rainbows over the glacier

so many photographs to share but i think you will understand why

incredible beauty

xx

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did you make a wish ?

we used some of this snow in our cooler since our ice had melted

:)

 

 

 

on to bergen

we travelled along the hardangerfjord

with its gorgeous views

yummy apple cake

shared 3 ways

we took a little detour to find goldfish lake

:)

it was a dark and gloomy day

especially when it started to pour as we neared bergen

we ate our lunch inside the parking garage that afforded us

a wonderful view of the gorgeous terracotta rooftops 

of the area bryggen

we explored that area , as well as the fish market,

a wonderful shop where you can purchase all the materials, ribbons, wool, buttons and trinkets

to make the traditional norwegian costumes that everyone wears on norway's national day

we ended the day walking up the hill for a view of the old town

and then warming our bellies with some pizza

the unofficial national food of norway

and according to rebekah and nancy

norwegians truly love their pizza especially on fridays

the rain continued on our drive out of town heading north west and we ended up finally finding a place to pitch our tent near the town of dale

famous for the sweaters of the same name

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