Leaving Sweden

With all the lightening and thunder we had late last night, I was surprised to wake up to blue skies and sunshine this morning.  A perfect day for a long drive.

Before we left, I had to make a few important stops.  I saw something I just had to buy for a friend back in the US, and the store didn’t open until 10, so we had to stick around for that.  While we waited, we found a drug store open that had just the right kind of brace to hold Kory’s wrist in place, so now it’s a sure bet he’ll be doing the driving on Wednesday back home to Aalesund.  Whew.

I just got some information from a friend of ours with Swedish roots, and it just so happened her family came from near we were staying, and it also just so happened the library was right across the street from our hotel.  I knew if I went in there, I’d find out valuable information for her in her search for dead ancestors, so I couldn’t resist a little effort in that arena before we left too, so we stuck around for the library to open as well.  I could have stayed all day.  I got her back a few more generations on that branch of her tree, so it was time well spent.  I was getting a parking ticket as I left, but I talked my way out of it, so that was lucky for me.  We left town soon thereafter. (Bell tower from a church, above.)

Kaleb has had the sniffles all day and is still reeling from the fact he has no Nook for reading, and now his laptop isn’t charging either.  He was fairly sour today in spite of the wonderful weather we enjoyed on the drive west back into Norway.

Kory actually wanted to stop at a few thrift stores to look for the lamp cover we need for our bedroom lamp that got broken.  No luck finding one, but there sure were a lot of treasures I could have bought.  Sadly, I used up all my Swedish money and didn’t want to take more out of the bank.  It hurt, as some of the things were good bargains, but I did get a few things this morning before we left town, so my need for old stuff got satisfied there anyway (you’d think Kory could satisfy that one for good!)

We took eight hours to get to Trondheim, and without stopping I could have made it in six.  We ate lunch in the car and then dinner in the hotel once we arrived at seven o’clock.  We were just too tired to go out so we snacked on stuff we already had. (Photo below is of a neighborhood ski slope in Sweden.)

Kory’s been good about buying salads in grocery stores and I made the best salad dressing to take with us, so he’s not gone hungry.   For anyone that wants a good fat-free dressing, this is the bomb:  3-2-1 dressing – 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (we buy the 18 year old aged stuff that’s pricey, but so so good.) 2 tablespoons of mustard (the Norwegian Bergen’s mustard is the best) and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.  Blend that up and it makes anything taste good. (Photo below was an area that looked just like the drive over to Leavenworth.)

I also brought freeze-dried soups with us from America that are fat-free and vegan, so they supplement meals perfectly when we don’t go out.  (I had one whole suitcase full of food for Kory that I brought over here.)  Overall, I realized I stressed out way too much about what he would eat on this trip.  We’ve ordered veggie pizza with no cheese, and not worried if there was oil in the crust or sauce.  He ordered stir-fry veggies and rice in Chinese restaurants and asked them to fry the veggies in water, not oil.  He eats a lot of fresh bread and jam, snacks on fruit and baked garbanzos I made before we left.  I brought instant oatmeal from America (not available here), and that’s worked for breakfast.  I also brought my little Magic Bullet blender so if he’s hungry in the evening I made him a smoothie with protein powder and fruit and that gets him through to morning.  We just take one day at a time with this diet of his, but being a bit prepared and planning ahead have sure made the difference.  It’s no fun to have a hungry guy and no options available, as he gets pretty crabby when he’s hungry.

The best thing that happened today was that I saw a mama moose and two babies!  I’ve only seen moose warning signs in Norway and Sweden, but never a real moose.  Today, however, I saw the real thing right next to the road.  I was even able to turn around and go back and get close enough to take photos.  It was so exciting for me as I’ve always wanted to see one!  Thank you, God.

When we crossed over the border back into Norway, I had to laugh.   They always have a “Goods to Declare” and “Nothing to Declare” lane – so if you bought too much alcohol and need to pay a duty tax on it, you are supposed to go to the little toll booth and pay up.  Well, apparently they only collect taxes from 9 to 5 because we passed by the border about 5:30 and they were closed!  Too funny – that’s so Norwegian – not wanting to make people work too late in the day.

It was good to be back in Norway again.  Norwegian farms are just so cute and well maintained and always provide roadside entertainment.  In Sweden, all the roads are cut through areas no one lives so it’s only trees on both sides of the road (see photo way above) with very little visible landscape anywhere.  Kinda boring to drive it, even though the roads are nice and wide and the speed limit much higher than in Norway.  I guess I like the pace of travel in Norway – as it’s possible to enjoy the journey and not just rush to the destination. 

So here we are in Trondheim.  We arrived just before sunset so we watched the sky turn shades of soft pink and gold over the railroad tracks near our hotel, as the sun sank into the ocean.  Only one more day of adventures before we head home on Wednesday, where we’ll stay put for the last six weeks of our time here in Norway.  It feels good to be back in familiar territory.