Little Kid, Big World!

Big, Red Farmhouse

theycallmekenz — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 20:38:00 GMT

I am probably the flakiest travel "blogger" ever. I don't know if this sporadic account should even be called blogging...anyhow.

Since Saturday we have been working for our room and board at a sheep farm outside of Førde, Norway. It's about three hours north of the nearest city, Bergen.

I am staying my dream house, set in my dream landscape. We are in a big red farmhouse. The kitchen (always important to me) is big, bright and colourful. The shelves and cupboards are painted different colours of teals, blues and purples. The counters and table are made of thick slabs of wood. The whole house is full of furniture that we would pay crazy money for at home...or more likely, for a replica at pottery barn. I love it! It's the real deal.

Outside, is practically too beautiful for words. When we were driving into the farm, I couldn't talk. I was so awestruck. I have lost track of the number waterfalls here. Some just a trickle, from the snow melting on the mountain tops, others thunderous (I am determined to swim in one before we leave...). The landscape is full of rolling green hills leading up to the rocky mountains. This summer has been unseasonable wet and chilly, so the mountaintops are still snow covered.

In essence, this place is a combination of my favourite things: mountains, trees, grass, rivers and waterfalls!

We are staying with a young man, Martin. He owns a logging company and hosts wwoofers, like myself, to help run his sheep farm. His sister Vilde is living here for the summer as well. Working with Margaret and I is an American wwoofer, Micah. She's our age, and I am confident we could not have gotten a better work partner.

We have been busy: feeding orphaned lambs, weeding, taking down a fence (that runs up a mountain...), now installing a new fence (back up that same mountain!), painting etc. Still, we have ample free time. Martin and Vilde have been so welcoming, that it feels as if we have all been friends for a very long time!

Today, we are making potato balls, a Norwegian speciality, and going to paint a basement apartment for one of Martin's friends, Håvard.

I love, love, love Norway!

There and Back Again

theycallmekenz — Tue, 9 Jun 2015 09:15:00 GMT

Well, my loyal readers (smiling), I'm not sure that any of you are still checking! I've been so busy lately, that I haven't been able to post for a while. So I'll go back.

My last full day in Bergen: Thursday.

After waking up in my guest room, I went for a packed my stuff and went for a nice bowl of soup at the cafe I mentioned earlier. It was a yummy carrot ginger with a side of real, thick bread and a hearty slathering of butter. Then, I buckled up my three bags of belongings and started to walk to the hostel where I would eventually meet my friend, Margaret.

Google maps told me it was a 3.5 km walk to the hostel. What it didn't tell me was that it was a 3.5 km climb UP a mountain. And with the wrong turns and detour it was longer. I loved it :).

About 2.5 km in, I had trouble finding a road. A young man came running down the street to give me directions (people are super friendly here). When I said where I was going, he suggested that I take the bus...because I had to go "up, up, up and then up some more etc". he was right about the up part. But The view I got of the city was unbeatable! I felt like Cheryl Strayed and Bilbo Baggins wrapped into one (And gained huge appreciation for snails, carrying their homes in their backs).

Later that evening, marg arrived, a little later than expected, due to leaving her bag on the bus (...). We Walked into town to tour and have dinner

Friday:

We have breakfast at the hostel. There was a lot of herring...which I didn't try, but I will when we go back. I really liked the Norwegian brown cheese...it's very sweet, and reminds me a little of browned butter. Next, we went into town to work fix some issues I was having with med school paperwork. Unfortunately, no one could help me, so we made the emergency decision to fly to Oslo immediately, in order to make it to the Canadian embassy before closing. Fun fact: we didn't make it in time. Another fun fact: we found out over dinner that deadline was extended. Ahh!

I think it is safe to say that Margaret and I didn't love Oslo. Maybe we got there at a bad time, or didn't get to the right areas (we also had some pretty strange, passive/aggressive hostel mates), but it didn't tickle our fancy. We walked around a little, ending up having dinner at a busy Asian/European fusion restaurant. I hope we to have a real, authentic Norwegian meal before we move on (although, I have been told that where I bought my reindeer sausage is kind of famous).

Tomorrow, I will cAr h up on my postings...stay tuned :). The farm is incredible!! In the meantime, I am going to sleep! There are lambs to be fed tomorrow :)

I apologize if this is hard to read...I'm falling asleep and too tired to make it flow better...

Vikings and reindeer.

theycallmekenz — Thu, 4 Jun 2015 22:23:00 GMT

Yesterday was my first full day in Bergen. I walked and walked though its cobble stone streets. I have found a little cafe where they make everything from scratch...really good soups. It's been my go-to :)

I developed a good feel for the city during my wanderings. I found the University, a beautiful park, a great lookout point and Bryggen-which is the original old Viking village (I think, I'll read more closely when I go back with Margaret). It is a world heritage site though, so it's important for some reason...

Dinner was a reindeer meat sausage with cranberry sauce, mustard and crispy onions. It was so tender, almost creamy. Poor Rudolph...but seriously, yummy. Today I am walking to my new hostel (my guesthouse was booked for tonight) where I will meet my friend Margaret.

First Impressions

theycallmekenz — Wed, 3 Jun 2015 18:40:00 GMT

So far, I love Bergen, what I have seen anyway. I arrived in Bergen Norway around 4 this afternoon. My trip here was an adventure I was rerouted, delayed etc three times, so that when I got here, nothing of the original itinerary remained! That said, it was relatively uneventful. I got a lot of reading done.

Bergen is completely charming! The houses seem to be a combination of St. John's, Nfl meets Europe and huge hills. The city itself is spread over several islands, of which I had a great view from the plane. It is quite hilly, with red, gold and white houses cut into the hill sides.

It is also freezing! I only packed a pair of runners and two pairs of sandals. Whoops!

I had dinner at a sweet little cafe where everything was homemade. Now, for an early bedtime. The sun doesn't set until 10:50 tonight, so it feels a little strange.

Ps. I only have my phone to write on, so I have decided not to worry much about grammar etc. hope that doesn't make reading a challenge.

Photos: Norway

theycallmekenz — Tue, 2 Jun 2015 01:15:00 GMT