Kevin & I were unable to celebrate our anniversary this past August so we planned to take a weekend once we were back in England. Ryan Air is an airline in England with unbelievable rates to some excellent places. We were able to fly round trip to Norway for £20 (approximately $40). Now that is where the 'cheap' prices ended because it can be very expensive to eat in Norway, there were very few restaurants, car rental & petrol prices (gas) were ridiculous, but does price really matter when it was for our anniversary :-)On Thursday we arrived in Haugalandet, Norway. We decided to drive around for a little while, pick up a few groceries, and then look for our cabin. Our landlord for the weekend had started a fire in the wood burning stove, so the cabin was perfect for a snuggle :-)
this is the living room with small wood burner in the bottom corner. The tv was full of American television shows ~ who'd of thought that...
They actually had a '7 Eleven' I was so excited I had to take a picture of it. I don't think you can see but the price of petrol was 11.85 per liter and diesel was 10.89.
Here are some of the first views of the fjords we would be exploring over the weekend
...and the waterfalls...
Friday morning we decided to sleep in, fix a big breakfast, and then head off to see waterfalls & go hiking. It was a fairly clear day with temperatures in the mid 70's.
Friday morning we decided to sleep in, fix a big breakfast, and then head off to see waterfalls & go hiking. It was a fairly clear day with temperatures in the mid 70's.
This was the first waterfall we saw that we could walk around. This picture is near the bottom of it, but we were soon to learn that this was nothing compared to the size, volume, & number of waterfalls Norway has to offer.
We were unable to get a complete picture of the Svandalsfossen Waterfall. The mist coming off of the waterfall caused the picture to be blurry & after hiking around it for an hour we were both sopping wet (we looked like we had just stepped out of a shower). The pictures do not due justice to the force associated with this waterfall.
Langfoss Waterfall is a world famous site that is popular with Norway Fjord Cruises. There are no words that can sufficiently express how magnificent this site is.
Saturday we were up early because we had to catch 2 ferry rides. As we travelled through the day we realized nothing much was open, but there were still beautiful & breath taking scenes ahead...
The water was smooth as glass on the ferry rides & the views were awesome.
'Island of Calm' ~ this is a perfect house for me in the middle of a fjord... I would like to know when I can move in?
The 'Old Church' in Ardal is from the 17th Century. We learned it is a typical example of the decorations seen in Renaissance churches. The alter piece scene is a depiction of Golgatha.
One of the last stops for Saturday was in Jorpeland. We hiked parallel to a beautiful waterfall that Kevin felt the need of climbing to the middle of...
Sunday - after cleaning up, travel back towards airport, everything closed, Viking village, return flight
On our way to the airport we were quickly reminded that not much was open in Norway, but we found a true gem hidden in the ruff...a Viking Village. We had about an hour to tour the little village replica before heading off to the airport.
Look out for the Viking coming out of her bedroom. Oh my she looks grumping in the morning...
Look out for the Viking coming out of her bedroom. Oh my she looks grumping in the morning...
Once we were home it was time to start the laundry, cook the dinner, play a quick game of Ticket to Ride with the girls, & off to bed to start the normal routine of daily life.
My best memory of the weekend is the realization that Kevin & I were able to renew our love & commitment to each other! What an amazing blessing that is...
