Olympic National Park: July 2021

The genesis for this trip began in May when we started talking about where we could spend our summer vacation. It was uncharacteristically late for us but the pandemic turned everything topsy-turvy and after three canceled trips in 2020, I was not feeling the planning love. That said, for my sanity and to regain some life balance from work, we knew we were going to do something even if it was a similar staycation to our 2020 summer trip. And so it was that one night, I got caught up reading about Olympic National Park and remembered that we had talked about visiting during my last sabbatical but didn't because of....reasons, I guess. I started poking around on the National Park website and happily discovered that Lake Quinalt Lodge actually had July availability in their fireplace and lakeside buildings! I have always wanted to stay in a National Park lodge and now we have the chance. We googled some more to make sure there was other lodging available around the peninsula on either side of the lodge dates and finally booked two nights. The rest of the trip would take shape around those dates. We knew that ONP is a "hiker's park" and I can say for certain that to really do the place justice, you need to spend at least 5-7 days there and that's without backpacking (those backpacking days are behind me now).

Day 1

We left Portland early, stopping at Blue Star on N. Mississippi for donuts and coffee on our way out of town. We had considered taking the kayaks for Lake Crescent but decided not to at the last minute, a decision that we did not regret for reasons that will become evident in a few days. We sped north on I-5, a drive that will become very familiar now that the Boy has committed to UW, to our first stop at Staircase Rapids. At the entrance station, we had to make a u-turn to park on the side of the entry road, since the parking at both trailheads was full but despite the large number of cars, there were remarkably few people on the trail we chose. We hiked the loop upstream, past the big cedar, to the suspension bridge and back down to the ranger station. It was a great leg stretcher to ease into vacation.

Next stop was the Hama Hama Oyster Saloon & Farm Store. Though we adore raw oysters, the news that vibriosis cases were up 10X after the recent heat wave killed our enthusiasm for them. We thought to get some grillers for the night's AirBnB dinner instead. Unfortunately the farm store was sold out of the large grillers so we got some manila clams and purple savory clams along with some smoked oyster and clam dips to munch on. The clams were excellent in a grilled clam boil that evening. Our final stop before checking into our AirBnB in Sequim was Alpenfire Cider for a tasting on the lawn.

Day 2

Today was the first of a couple of early hiking days. We wanted to get through Heart O' the Hills entrance station before the crowds. Our target this morning was Klahane Ridge via the Switchback Trail. We sailed through the entrance station around 8AM and got one of the last two parking spaces. We geared up, extended our poles, and set off....or I should say, set UP. When they built this trail, they did not mess around but slow and steady does it. We paused at the junction with the visitor center trail to shed some layers and carried on. We saw a couple of deer grazing at the next switchback so we stopped to watch them (and catch our breath) for a bit. In the middle of switchbacks 3 or 4 from the junction, I stopped to drink some water and take a picture of some wildflowers when my husband suddenly nudged me and whispered, "Stay calm but slowly look up." I looked and there was a young bear on the trail, about 20 yards away!

And this stream of conscious followed, "OMG. It's a bear. I've never seen a bear in the wild before. It looks young. I hope it's not a cub. But it looks young. Really hoping mama bear isn't close by. It's ignoring us. Please continue ignoring us and go on your merry way...." The bear ignored us, snuffled across the trail, and then bounded down the hill. And then we continued on, banging our sticks and making lots of noise for the next 1/4 mile just in case he had friends in the vicinity. We arrived at the saddle shortly and what a view! All that vertical work was worth it.

After a brief rest, we continued on down the ridge for another 1/2-3/4 mile, enjoying the wildflowers and views from all different directions. It was fascinating seeing so many different ecosystems in close proximity. I imagine sun exposure, snow levels, other factors contribute to the slightly different landscapes we saw around each new corner. And surprisingly, we saw fewer than twenty people on the entire hike. Out of all the hikes we did, this was easily our favorite!

Once we finished hiking, we had a quick lunch and headed to the visitor center to use the facilities. What a contrast! The parking lot was mobbed. Since we had already enjoyed the ridgetop views and have had the opportunity to explore Hurricane Hill in the past, albeit in winter, we didn't stay long and headed back down the hill. We stopped at a lavender farm before going back to our AirBnB to clean up for dinner which was at Finnriver Ciders.

Day 3

Today was supposed to be a rest-ish, lower mileage day. We packed up and left Sequim by 9. The final destination was Forks via Lake Crescent and Sol Duc Falls. We were still thinking of maybe renting kayaks at Lake Crescent for a bit of water time but the wind kicked up much earlier today and we were seeing whitecaps on the lake. We were now glad we didn't bring our own boats. Our flatwater paddlers needed an extra 2-3 feet in length to comfortably navigate the lake in these conditions so we were glad that we weren't schlepping them all across the peninsula. Instead we hiked to Marymere Falls and did the Moments in Time trail off Storm King Ranger Station before heading to Sol Duc Falls.

We headed to Forks after Sol Duc Falls and despite a 20 minute wait for roadwork and a long slow caravan down US-101, we realized we were a couple of hours early for our AirBnB check-in. We had originally pushed all the beaches to a single day to maximize the tides but decided to head to Rialto Beach and hike to Hole In the Wall today even though we were only 30 minutes after high tide. It was a lovely walk down the cobbled beach. We saw lots of pelicans and even a small pod of whales swimming in the distant surf. We kept looking for the creek that needed crossing but never found it before we got to Hole In the Wall. I guess it's seasonal and dried up with the recent weather? A decent marine layer was starting to build up as we headed back so we opted to take our chances and push sunset to the next day in hopes of clearer skies.

Day 4

Rainforest day! Today's destination was Five Mile Island via the Hoh River Trail. We got up early to beat the crowds and sailed into the park at 8AM finding plenty of parking at the visitor center. It was kind of refreshing to be hiking on what was pretty much a flat trail for miles and miles for once. We admired the mossy old growth and ran into lots of backpackers hiking back from Olympus Guard Station, Five Mile Island, or Tom's Meadow. We stopped for lunch at a bend in the river on Five Mile Island before heading back into the second wave of people visiting the park. 

We left the park around 2:30 and the line of cars waiting to get in was beyond the 2 hour sign! We cleaned up and had dinner in our AirBnB and headed back to Rialto Beach for sunset. We're glad we pushed it a day. The skies were clear and the beach was full of photographers taking advantage of golden hour.

Day 5

To the beach! Second Beach reopened a couple of weeks ago and we are grateful we got the chance to see it. It is stunning. We arrived about an hour before low tide and wandered the beach, looking in tide pools, and just enjoying the scenery. We saw lots of anemone and sea stars but were saddened at the carnage left by the June heat wave. We had read that billions of sea creatures perished on those few days because low tide was during the hottest part of the day. Many animals essentially cooked where they lay. It was sobering seeing all the open mussel shells clinging to the rocks.

After a few hours at Second Beach, it was south again on US-101 to the Kalaloch Unit. We stopped at Ruby Beach, Beach 4, and the Tree of Life marveling at how sandy the beaches were getting as we moved further south.

Our coastal explorations complete, it was time to head to Lake Quinalt to wind down our trip at the Lake Quinalt Lodge.

Day 6

This was a perfect place to wind down our week because you can do everything, nothing, and all things in between. It had a definite "Kellerman Dirty Dancing" vibe with croquet on the lawn, boat rentals, and lots of other activities. We reserved a room in the Fireplace wing and got a second floor room with a lovely view of the lawn and lake. We opted to drive the lake perimeter on arrival day to see both the south and north shores and decided to have take-out from the Salmon House on our balcony the first evening.

After breakfast in the Roosevelt Dining Room and completing a self guided tour of the historic property on the sixth day, we hiked a section of the Quinalt Loop Trail to Cascade Falls and Gratton Creek Falls and then saw the world's largest Sitka Spruce. Our last afternoon was spent reading on the lawn and enjoying the last of our vacation week.

Adventures In OSD

14 days, 1570 miles, 181024 steps, 12 KM of paddling, 1075 pictures, 1 unfortunate video, ferries, planes, and trains. Those are just some of the statistics from our last car buying adventure and I've documented it all here.

It's Happening!!!

The Six Stages of Itinerary Planning

So You Want To Do European Delivery: On Model Year Conversions & Provisional Pricing

A Different Bird
The Volvo Experience
Natural Norway
On Art, Culture, and History

TL;DR - Just show me more pictures already: Scandinavia 2016 Album

On Art, Culture, and History

Morning dawned in Geiranger and we said goodbye to Norway's western fjords and turistveger. Our holiday now transitions to the cities where art, architecture, culture, and history reign supreme. But first we need to get there.

We depart Geirangerfjord via RV63 to E15 on the way to Lillehammer. We had driven so many miles up to this point that a couple of easy days were welcome. Once we got east of Lom, it dawned on me that we had just entered that part of Norway that could be the Columbia Gorge's doppelganger. In fact, if it weren't for the Norwegian road signs, we could just as well have been driving east on SR-14 towards Hood River in Washington. We only had one planned stop en route, the FLOKK Skulptorstopp in Sor-Fron. I had seen pictures of the herd of bronze statues and wanted to see them for myself. I can only imagine how an explorer way into the future would interpret these figures that seem to sprout from the ground. After a nice "stretch-our-legs" walk to FLOKK, we piled back into the car and continued on to Lillehammer. 

We checked into the Stasjonen Hostel, uniquely located in the train station, for the night and then headed out to Olympiaparken because I wanted to see the ski jump hills at Lysgardsbakkene where we climbed 936 steps to the top of the 120 m hill. You know what? Ski jumpers are CRAZY. The chute is high and long, the landing hill is steep - even the "shorter" 90 m hill is insane. It really makes you appreciate the heart and drive of Eddie the Eagle. After climbing down, we headed back into town in search of dinner. Our first choice, Lillehammer Bryggeri, where mysterious yet intriguing elgsnadder was on the menu, was closed so we went to Heim Gastrobar instead and had a lovely meal. We never did find out what elgsnadder was and according to Google Translate, elgsnadder is....elgsnadder in English.


The next day was our last morning with the car since our next destinations were Oslo followed by Copenhagen and a car would be more of a hindrance. It was an easy drive from Lillehammer to Oslo Gardermoen where we dropped the car at Hertz and took the train to Oslo Central Station where we purchased 24-hour Oslo Passes before getting on the 31 Bus to Frogner where we intended to drop our bags at the reception of Frogner House Apartments since we were early for check-in. It was a nice surprise to find that our apartment was ready. Once our bags were dropped off, we took the 12 tram to Aker Brygge so we could tour Akershus Castle before it closed. Alas, the grounds were open but the castle itself was closed for an official event. We walked around the grounds looking at the rather, um, interesting works in the summer sculpture garden before boarding a ferry to Bygdoy to visit some museums. Our first stop was the Viking Ship Museum where we admired the incredibly preserved ships and artifacts and pondered how Viking royalty found servants and lords/ladies-in-waiting in the afterlife. I mean someone still has to farm and prepare the items buried with them, right? Our next stop was the Kon-Tiki Museum which surpassed what I expected. I have not read the book but I knew that Thor Heyerdahl was "the guy with the raft". The museum exhibits gave some nice and interesting context around the Kon-Tiki expedition and Heyerdahl's further adventures without straying to much into the cheesy. Once we finished with both museums, most of the other attractions were closed so we took the ferry back to Aker Brygge and returned to the apartment to relax a little before our reservations at Solsiden. We had read so many good reviews about the seafood at Solsiden that we made reservations for the one evening we had in Oslo. The food was fantastic but what happened when we got the check was bizarre and off-putting. Our server went out of his way to "explain" to us that service wasn't included and that we should add it in to the total even going so far as saying that service was only included in the US and Canada and it was customary in Europe to add it to the total of the check. What? This was opposite to all our previous experience in Europe and Scandinavia so naturally we questioned it but he insisted and hovered while we paid the bill. Needless to say, this server got the lowest "extra" out of every other place we ate in Norway where we usually rounded up 5-10%.

Our final day in Norway started with pastries and coffee picked up from the bakery close to our apartment. Today's theme was "Art". We left our bags at reception and walked through Frogner, past the Royal Palace and grounds to the National Gallery. Our objective, of course, was Munch's Scream and his other works. The gallery was very nicely laid out and was just big enough to see without getting what I call "museum paralysis", that feeling you get when there is just too much. They even had some of my favorite Impressionist works on display. The Nobel Peace Center was next. It was small and had very interesting displays, especially the current exhibit focusing on the controversy around awarding the prize to Carl von Ossietzky in 1935. Finally it was time. Time for what? To see the one thing in Oslo that EVERYONE *cough*BeccaMomDadBrian*cough* says to see: Vigelund's sculptures on the "Human Condition" at Frogner Park. And it was as impressive as expected. 

After exploring Vigelund's life work, we had just enough time to fetch our bags and see the Opera House before we had to board the overnight DFDS ferry to Copenhagen. We had an incredible nine days in Norway and really lucked out with the weather. The mist started rolling in as our ferry left port. Onward to Copenhagen!

Our ferry docked in Copenhagen around 10 AM the next morning. We had opted to pay extra for the shuttle to Tivoli instead of getting off at the Norreport Station so we could purchase our 48-hour Copenhagen Cards before boarding the S-trains or Metro. Cards in hand, we took the metro to Fredriksberg to our Air BNB by the Copenhagen Business School. With bags deposited, we took the metro back into town to Kongsberg Nytorv and walked to Christiansborg Palace where we toured the reception rooms, the ruins, and the palace kitchens. All that copper cookware...be still my heart. By the time we had finished at Christiansborg, it was getting warm. We had arrived in Denmark just in time for a heat wave where they were expecting temperatures in excess of 85 degrees. No better time than now to take a canal tour. We boarded the boat at Gamle Strand after purchasing some lovely beverages on the dock and settled in for a one hour tour, a one hour tour. The weather...oh wait. Sorry, I forgot myself a bit there. The grand tour took us past all the highlights including Nyhavn, the underwhelming Little Mermaid, Castle Island, Christiania, and Christianshavn where an obliging fellow launched a cannonball into the canal splashing the entire right side of the boat. Some fellow passengers were upset but as the temperatures were inching towards "face of the sun" levels, it felt pretty good to me. At the end of the tour, we had just enough time to tour Rosenborg castle and see the Crown Jewels before they closed. 

With touring done for the day, we returned to the apartment to change for dinner at 108. Why 108? Because we couldn't get into noma? We did try to get reservations to noma but as most people know, they are near impossible to get. As tables opened up closer to August, we had the option of booking the community table but decided that we wanted something a little less challenging and intellectual (from a food standpoint) whilst on vacation. Then noma announced the opening of 108, a more casual sister restaurant headed by alumni. We hemmed and hawed and finally booked. And oh boy, was it worth it!

So what did we have? From left to right: 1. Braised oxtail w/ pine, lamb tartare w/ pickles, cured mackerel w/ gooseberries; 2. Les Petites Fleurs Gamay, house baked sourdough w/ salted whipped cream; 3. Toasted barley ice cream w/ hazelnuts in a sourdough cone, caramelized milk skin w/ pork belly and greens, the grilled onion and foraged green salad served with the family style lamb, roast lamb w/ miso glaze, smoked butter, and elderflower capers; 4. Spiced blueberries w/ toasted seaweed & ale cream, raspberries w/ fudge and a rose granita. With happy bellies and mouths, we strolled back through Nyhavn to take the metro home.


Our final day in Copenhagen and Mother Nature was promising 30 degree temperatures (in Celsius). Oof! The only set plan was to take the train to Helsingor to tour Kronborg Castle. I had read that Kronborg, being the inspiration for Hamlet's Elsinore, has a program called Hamlet Live where actors randomly erupt into scenes from the Bard's masterpiece as you tour the castle and grounds. Being a Shakespeare geek, that was totally in my wheelhouse. We got to the castle in time to see Hamlet's soliloquy being performed in the ballroom. Let's watch....and listen...

Are you still with me? OK then. What WAS that? There *is* something rotten in the state of Denmark! If you were able to get through the whole soliloquy, bless you. If you need a cleanse, click here. Go on. I'll wait...

Now that we're all violently agreeing that while Shakespeare is better performed, all performed Shakespeare isn't necessarily better. Not wanting to see more carnage, we carried on with our tour. While Kronborg is spectacular from the outside with great views of the ocean from the tower, the inside was very underwhelming. It was missing the opulence and richness we've become used to seeing in European castles. The casements and dungeons were kind of cool but all in all, it was a resounding meh.

Back on the train to Copenhagen with a whole afternoon of wandering ahead of us and the pastries we had for breakfast a mere memory, we decided to have lunch at War Pigs. Yep, we were eating BBQ in Denmark and it was delicious. We must be ready to come home. The craft brew, a collaboration between Mikkeller and 3-Floyd's was great as well. After lunch, we wandered over to Torvehallerne Market to check out the food stalls and then down to Christianshavn to work off our lunch by climbing the 400 steps to the spire of the Church of our Saviour. Truly a dizzying climb but the panoramic view at the top was phenomenal.


Once we returned to earth, we walked to Papiroen and enjoyed some ice cream along the canal then to the regular Mikkeller Bar to cap off our fantastic fourteen days with a nice beer. 

Fin

Return To: Adventures in OSD

Natural Norway

Norway: the country which is a national park, where the journey is more than the destination, and in Chad's words, "Norway is the Columbia Gorge turned up to 11 with roads that are gorgeous, frightening, and fun all at the same time." In other words, the perfect country for a road trip. Coming from Oregon, which is beautiful in its own right, Norway is at another level. The waterfalls, the fjords, the glaciers and mountain passes. Dramatic scenery at every turn and you can tell Norway has invested in their infrastructure with beautiful, albeit sometimes narrow barely single-lane roads (it's really kind of hard to find potholes anywhere) and rest stops that are architectural masterpieces of metal, wood, and glass. I had posted our preliminary itinerary previously but things tend to change. We generally stuck to it as we had accommodation already booked but the map below shows what we actually did.

Our first full day in Norway was the day I was most nervous about. We had a long 6-9 hour drive ahead of us between Kongsberg and Bergen at a max speed limit of 80 KPH on most of the roads we were planning to take. And really, we were going slower much of the time as we got used to the roads, the car, and stopping to take in the scenery. After an early breakfast at the hostel, we headed west on E134 with a very quick stop in Heddal to see the outside and grounds of the stave church as it was not yet open. As we wound through Telemark, the scenery got very dramatic, very quickly: mountain passes, lakes, patches of snow, and tunnels. Lots and lots of tunnels. I had started counting tunnels the day before when we went through the tunnel below Oslofjord (3 km at 7% grade!) but quickly lost count (and interest) today since there were just so many of them!

We turned north on RV13 at the base of Hardanger Turistvegen and stopped for lunch at Latefossen. Let's talk about Norway's Turistveger, or National Tourist Routes, for a bit. About midway through Hardanger, after the umpteenth close call with a truck, we joked that turistvegen is Norwegian for "it's fun to reduce tourists to quivering piles of driving jelly". Narrow roads, cliff drops, rock walls, blind curves, construction, sheep (!), and large buses and trucks driving as if they were on 4-lane highways. This is why you should toss any notion of "making good time" out the window. For us, Hardanger was the most nerve-racking. Likely because it was also a route used for commercial traffic as well. It got much better as we worked our way north where the larger E highways were. We continued on through Hardangerfjord after lunch, with a quick stop at Steinsdalsfossen to walk to the top of the falls, and reached Bergen around 6 PM, long after the last cruise ship left port. 

We checked into the Scandic Neptun for the night and went in search of dinner. We enjoyed traditional Norwegian food at Pingvinen - fish pie; meatballs; Chad even tried the whale! So what does whale taste like? Sea cow is an apt description. It was served with a dill tartar sauce and if you tasted it without the sauce, you would think it's a piece of lean beef; however, with the sauce, the meat took on some fish undertones. It was wild! After dinner, we walked down to the harbor and explored the night fish market and the alleys of Bryggen, Bergen's old wharf. 

As is common in maritime areas, the fog rolled in overnight. We took the Floibanen Funicular to the top of Mt. Floyen despite warnings from the ticket booth that visibility was near zero. And yes, it was foggy, damp, chilly but that didn't seem to stop a group of Norwegian children on a school outing from stripping down to their swimsuits for a float on the lake. We walked back down to Bergen Center and headed out of town to Sognefjord.

What happened next can be blamed on Donald Trump. Wait, what? Yep, let me explain. Our route today took us on the E16 to Laerdal then on RV5/55 to Hafslo where our Air BNB base for the next three nights was located. We stopped in Dale to get gas before swinging by the Dale of Norway factory for a little shopping. At the gas station, Chad got a huge kick out of the pump display.

Nothing like political messages at the foreign gas station, eh? Anyway, we went on to the factory and I headed in immediately, you know to maximize my yarn and sweater time. A few minutes later, Chad and Nathan walked in and asked if I had Chad's wallet. Uh, no....Crap! he had set his wallet on the top of the car while he snapped the photo and promptly forgot about it. Best case is that it fell off at the station. Even worse is that it's on the E16 somewhere. And the worst case? It's in the 2 KM tunnel we passed through right before the Dale of Norway turnoff. He left us at the shop and hustled back to the gas station and creepily started looking under random people's cars. Luckily he found his wallet but it was missing the credit card he used to pay for the gas. Uh oh...back up five sentences. He slowly walked the road from the pump and the E16 and thankfully found his missing card right at the intersection. Whew! Crisis averted. Meanwhile, I was indulging in retail therapy and definitely came home with knitwear. Next stop was Voss to stock up at a local supermarket, always an adventure but we muddled through it OK buying bread, eggs, fresh trout, fish cakes, potatoes, and other things we think we'd need for the next three days. Luckily, we didn't end up buying anything that surprised us later.

The mundane stuff taken care of, we soon entered Sognefjord, the largest and best-known fjord in Norway and the second longest in the world and it was stunning: waterfalls everywhere, high green cliffs on either side, narrow chasms. It was very different from the peaceful and bucolic Hardangerfjord. As we explored more of fjord country, it was very evident that every fjord, and sometimes different arms off the same fjord, has its own personality. Once we reached Aurland, we left the E16 right before the Laerdal Tunnel, the longest in the world at 24.5 KM, and opted instead to take our second turistvegen, Aurlandsfjellet, or Snow Road. The first 8 KM of the road up to the Stegastein Viewpoint was pretty hairy - steep switchbacks on a single lane road with lots of car and tour bus traffic. The viewpoint itself was stunning: a platform jutting out from the side of a cliff walled by plexiglass - truly vertigo inducing. They even had windows cut out of the WC - really one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the privilege of going to the bathroom in. Once we passed the viewpoint, traffic cleared considerably and it was clear sailing save for an incident with a crazy tour bus involving reversing on a narrow mountain road. It wouldn't have been a big deal except for a feature that Volvo has implemented in the side mirrors, automatic tilt. A nice feature when parallel parking, not so much when you're trying to drive backwards down a mountain with a tour bus barreling down on you. We nearly crashed into the cliff face. Needless to say, we disabled that feature for the rest of the trip. The rest of the drive was uneventful yet stunning with glacial lakes, waterfalls, and free range sheep. We checked into our Air BNB in Hafslo, cooked a simple trout dinner to enjoy on our porch with a view.

The next day brought the adventure I'd been looking forward to the most, a kayak and glacier hike on Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in continental Europe, with Ice Troll. We met our guides at Breheimsenter and caravanned to Styggevatnet, a lake on the Austdalsbreen arm. We geared up with spray skirts and life jackets before hiking over the dam to the waters edge where we broke into pairs, got a quick course in kayaking safety and techniques from our guides, and set off. The 6 KM paddle across the cold (~2 C), torquoise, mineral-saturated lake to the glacier took about two hours. The glacier created its own microclimate generating a headwind and dropping the air temperature significantly. Once we got to the glacier, we bundled up into down jackets, hats, and gloves before breaking for lunch. After lunch, we geared up with crampons and ice axes, got another safety course, and roped up into two groups for the glacier walk. We spent about 2.5 hours on the glacier exploring crevasses and learning about glacial poop which are rocks that disintegrate into mud due to the extreme pressures of a moving glacier before making our way back to the shoreline and paddling back to the dam, aided by a nice tailwind. This was an amazing trip and truly one of the highlights of our time in Norway.

Our original plan for the next day was to rent bikes and explore Lustrafjord but we were all sore from the glacier excursion that we decided to drive instead. We took the ferry from Solvorn to Urnes to visit our next UNESCO World Heritage site, the Urnes Stave Church. After touring the church, we made our way north along the fjord picking up farmstand raspberries along the way when we came to the realization that waterfall fatigue is a thing. There are so many of them and they're everywhere. We had reached a point where we only stopped for the most spectacular ones. Along Lustrafjord, that would be Feigumfossen. We had originally planned to hike to the base of the falls but we got a little rain overnight that made the trail muddy and slick. We stupidly forgot to put our hiking boots on so we ended up turning back lest we slip and become muddy messes or worse, hurt ourselves. After a picnic lunch under yet another waterfall, we headed off to the mountains on another turistvegen. We drove Tindevegen south from Turtagro and met up with the E16 where we made our final stop of the day at the Borgund Stave Church.

We said goodbye to Hafslo and Sognefjord the next day when we made our way northwards towards yet another UNESCO World Heritage site, Geirangerfjord. We were originally going to drive west around Jostedalsbreen but decided on the fly to include two more turistveger into our itinerary. This was the best decision because the first, Sognefjellet through Jotunheimen was easily my favorite road of the entire trip. Rock sculptures, glacial lakes, snow fields, and dramatic mountain views in spades! We picked up the E15 for a short stretch in Lom then peeled off again to follow Gamle Strynefjellsvegen, an old ancient road that took us to the backside of Jostedalsbreen on the way to Hellesylt. We sailed on the ferry to Geiranger past the Seven Sisters Falls and the Suitor just as the last cruise ship left Geiranger. Score! We were really lucky in our planning in that we were never in a place where we'd have to fight thousands of cruise ship passengers to see the sites. We checked into our fjord-view room at the Grande Fjord hotel and had an early dinner at Westeraas Gard, a local goat farm. After Chad made it a point to tell the goats that their mom's fermented milk and their brother (!) was delicious (yeah, I know), we retired to our room for some reading and tea on the balcony.

Our final day on our Norwegian nature segment is what I like to call "Hairpin Day" and it was my day to drive. Our first set of curves was driving Ornevegen, or Eagle's Road, up out of the fjord. We looped up to Andalsnes seeing Moldefjord and Romsdalen along the way before returning to Geiranger via our last and what may be the most famous turistvegen: Trollstigen, or Troll's Ladder. As turistvegen go, this was a breeze to drive aided by fewer crowds due to no cruise ships in port. Or maybe I was just used to driving in Norway. Since it was only midafternoon by the time we returned, we decided to drive up to Flysdaljuvet and the Dalsnibba plateau to get a birdseye view of Geirangerfjord. You need to pay a toll to reach Dalsnibba but the view at the top was worth it! One PSA: the shop and more importantly the WC on Dalsnibba both close at 16:30, even in the heart of the summer tourist season. The area of the building where the WC is could conceivably remain open all the time but it was not. So if you find yourself at the top of Dalsnibba after 16:30, please practice good backcountry habits.

After we got our fill of scenic views, we returned to Geiranger village and visited the chocolate factory where we sampled brunost (brown cheese; tasted like salted caramel) and cloudberry truffles before having dinner at Brasserie Posten where we enjoyed the smoked whale and reindeer on special - a perfect cap to the nature segment of our trip. Now on to art, culture, and history!

Next Post: On Art, Culture, and History

The Volvo Experience

After months of planning, "Travel Day" is finally here! We packed every conceivable layer to get us through most weather combinations, from light early autumn snow to dog day summer, into three Osprey carry-ons, dropped the cats off at Aunt Denise's house, took our customary #PDXCarpet shoe-fie, and embarked on our next European adventure. Next Stop: Scandinavia!

Our itinerary took us to Gothenberg via San Francisco and Copenhagen on United/SAS. Our flights were uneventful and we arrived 18 hours later to bright blue skies and fluffy clouds. We headed to the Hertz counter to pick up our rental car where we were upgraded to a Volvo V70 Diesel wagon which was a bit disappointing since we were looking forward to driving a version of the car we actually ordered. There was a V60 parked next to our assigned car so Chad decided to head back to the counter to ask if we could be downgraded to that car and was denied. Absolutely the epitome of a #firstworldproblem. Oh well! At least the dashboards and systems of the two vehicles were the same so we can at least get used to using this newfangled technology. We punched the address of the Clarion Hotel Post into Madame GPS and were off on the highway towards central Gothenberg. 

Once we got to city center, we were reminded of why we generally don't like driving whilst in Europe. Cobblestone pedestrian walkways mixed in with cobblestone driveable streets, streetcar tracks criss-crossing the landscape, and the added confusion and fatigue from a long travel day made things a bit hairy. How hairy? How does ending up ON the streetcar track-side of the street stuck between two streetcars in the front and rear with Madame GPS telling you to turn right into a mall (not an outdoor pedestrian mall - an actual building mall) sound? Yep, that happened. I knew there was a reason Hertz Sweden put huge stickers on the windows screaming, "I am a rental car!" You know, to warn others of the stupid tourists inside. 

After extricating ourselves from the streetcar tracks, we finally got to the hotel and checked in just in time to find surprise situation #2 - our first assigned room was in shambles. Bed unmade, wet towels on the floor, eyeglasses and books on the nightstand. It looked like someone was already staying in the room and had to make a quick getaway. I did poke around a little when Chad went back to reception to sort things out; however, I didn't find a body. Even more bizarre was the fact that Volvo's welcome gift (addressed to us!?!) of snacks, water, and a Swedish memento plus the rollaway we requested for Nathan was setup nicely in the room. 

The hotel sorted things out quickly and got us set up in another room where we freshened up a bit and had a chance to take a little walk through Gothenberg before our dinner reservations. 

The OSD package included dinner at Norda, the collaboration between Clarion and Marcus Samuelsson. Yes, that Marcus..we're just touring his restaurants this year mmmm'kay. It was here that we met the "Halv Special". What is a halv special, you ask? A hot dog topped with shrimp salad and caramelized onions. And you thought only the Japanese held the market on strange hot dogs. Chad said the sandwich was delicious but it's got to be drunk food for Marcus.

Next morning dawned and we started off with a nice breakfast at the hotel. Have I mentioned how much I love European breakfast buffets? They're huge with great selection, that both Chad and Nathan explored throughout our two weeks, but I have a set favorite: soft-boiled egg, slice of whole grain volkornbrot with salted butter, some smoked salmon and pickled herring, cucumbers, beet pickles where they had it, and coffee. That's it. I did have the odd Swedish pancake or Norwegian waffle at some places but hardly ever deviated from my standard. After breakfast, we had another chance to walk around and explore the Haga Nygata, or Old Town, and harbor areas before checking out of the hotel and making a quick trip to IKEA (where else can we find a cooler and picnic supplies on the cheap?). 

We were due for lunch at Volvo's Factory Delivery Center at 11:30 and made it there in plenty of time where we enjoyed a lunch of Swedish meatballs with potatoes and lingonberries and got a chance to meet some of our fellow OSDers, many of whom were from Oregon too. After lunch, we boarded a tram for the factory tour. Boy things have changed since the time I toured Ford, Honda and a few automotive sub-suppliers for a college manufacturing engineering class a long time ago (*cough*20years*cough*). The level of automation is amazing. From automated RFID order tracking to sophisticated specialized robots doing deliveries and assembly. It really highlighted how upskilling the workforce is critical to survival in today's economy. 

Once we were finished at FDC, we swung by a supermarket for snacks and lunch fixings then hopped on the E6 towards Oslo. We stopped for a sightseeing break in Tanumshede, a UNESCO World Heritage site of beautifully preserved Bronze Age rock carvings and to switch drivers. 

We crossed the border into Norway shortly after and bypassed Oslo to our first stop in Kongsberg, merely a waystation on our way to the western fjords. We checked into Kongsberg Vandrerhjem, had pizza and local craft brews at Jonas B. Gundersen, and turned in for the night.

Next Post: Natural Norway