Chill time | Summer in Oslo

I awoke to yet another day with clouds covering the sky. I thought I'd share theses sunny pictures that I shot earlier this summer. One great thing to do on a sunny day is to head down to Vippetangen or Rådhuset and catch one of the local ferries in Oslo. You can get off at one or several of the the little islands in the Oslo fjord or go to Bygdøy. These islands are a terrific way of getting out of the city, go sunbathing and swimming or simply take a stroll around and explore some new territory.

Oslo City Hall

You get to see some of the attractions from a different viewpoint.

"Skjaergården" (Oslo archipelago)

Going on the ferry is a great option for locals and tourists on a budget, as well as a nice way of just zoning out from everyday stress.

Just watch and relax...

You do not even have to get off the ferry but you can just go on a round trip. This is what we did and it took about 30 minutes - sit down, feel the movements from the sea, breath in the salty air and feel the breeze ruffle up your hair. Delightful!

Road trip in Norway | Part 3

Next Stop: Geiranger

Day 5

Our next place to visit was the Geiranger fjord  - UNESCO World heritage listed sight in Western Norway.

The weather was not treating us well that day, and heavy rain clouds and fog were ruining are prospects of getting any nice photographies of the fjord as we entered the site coming from above.

We could see absolutely nothing as we drove now the winding road to the Geiranger fjord. The sight is still quite spectacular with its S shaped fjord, the steep mountain side and the waterfalls coming down, almost vertically from the top of the mountains, hitting the water far below.

This is a very popular tourist destination, and the locals here are probably used huge cruiseships sailing into Geiranger.

Every tourist site and souvenir shop usually display trolls and sell items with troll -and elk motives. This little gallery in the middle of one of Norway's most popular tourist destination seems to be fed up with all the trolls. I would suspect that this sign would attract its own crowd of tourists.

Road trip in Norway | Part 2

So the journey continues.

Day 4-5

First stop was Trollstigen:

We eventually reached the top of this winding road up the mountain. Great view!

The stop for the night was "Melchiorgarden", a charming little farm situated in Norddal, a village surrounded by fjords and mountaines. They have 3 guest rooms and they offer a simple, traditional Norwegian breakfast. They grow rasberries and make their own jam and squash (Cordial). We were met by hens and a rooster strolling around in the garden as we arrived. The rooms are decorated differently in a country/shabby chic style and there are some very nice details added as in the picture below.

We enjoyed a traditional 3 course meal dinner at a guesthouse nearby called "Petrines Gjestgiveri". The meal consisted of smoked salmon with a green garnish as the starter and roasted lamb with ovenbaked veg and potatoes as a main. We were so full after these two courses that there just was no room for their lovely apple cake or "karamell pudding" for desert. Petrines is also offers accommodation.

The next part of the journey includes Geiranger and some of the towns on the west coast of Norway.

Road trip in Norway | Part 1

My week of summer hols this year is short and sweet. We decided to do a road trip of 1619 kilometres in 9 days. 

Day 1-3:

Starting off at this cute little cabin in Sjusjøen, by Lillehammer.

The cabin is a great starting point for long walks, just absorbing the nice surroundings and perhaps head up some peaks.

There is also time for cosyness inside the cabin, playing games, drinking wine and having romantic dinners.

Summer Plans

Summer is finally here and that makes me very happy. I love summer in Norway! Correction: I love summer in Norway when it isn't raining like today. It never really gets dark - it feels like late afternoon until past midnight so I never want to go to bed. Nothing beats a nice summer evening on the terrace or in the garden with a glass of red wine and a soft. lovely blanket.

The summer is also the season when we take out most of our holiday.

I have some very eco-friendly plans for this summer's holiday. It isn't only eco-friendly but also wallet-friendly. It is actually free!

I have managed to reserve a week off at one of my company's cabins in the mountain. It is free and I dont have to fly anywhere, in other words reducing my personal CO2 emission.

There will be a whole week of enjoying nature, hiking, swimming, maybe canoeing and horse-back riding as well. I hope to bring people that I enjoy spending time with and of course lots of nice food and drinks.

From Rustad Hotel's website

My other plan for this summer is redecorating the living room and the entrance in our flat. We moved in here in February this year, but we still have not had the time to freshen it up. It is a relatively old building, however the bulding it self has been upgraded and refurbished and so has parts of our flat, but not everything. There are floors and walls that need to be painted. I have already started to look at "Project redecorating", and I am tying to find as eco-friendly products as possible. I do at least hope that I will find products that are labelled with the Nordic eco label.