I can’t believe our “luck” in the timing of this road trip. Most of the roads we traveled on today are either closed in winter or require chains (which we don’t have). But the last storm was more than a week ago and all the roads were in pretty good shape so we were able to drive for nine hours without any problems. I’m so thankful for that and I don’t believe for a minute it was luck. God is good - all the time.
We all had an incredibly good night’s sleep and after a top notch breakfast (all hotels in Norway provide a free buffet breakfast in the morning), we set out just after daylight to head home. We were able to cut about an hour off our time because Kory stopped and asked about the condition of a certain short-cut road we were afraid to take on the way down because it was dark and we didn’t know if chains were required. The road was solid ice, but it had been sanded so we didn’t have any trouble with our winter tires, and it provided some beautiful scenery along the way . Of course, there wasn’t a single bad spot for scenery today (except in the tunnels) and I’m sure I took a few hundred photos (see above of Kory standing on the edge of an incredibly still fjord). The sun is so low this time of year, even when it was “up” it only touched the very tops of all the mountains around us and never once reached down in any of the valleys. It made for some incredible “lighting” shots. We even stopped and got a close up view of the Borgund Stave Church, built in 1180. It’s so hard to imagine a wood structure that could last over eight hundred years, but a few years ago we found how that is possible. A year before any timber is cut down to build anything, the bark is completely stripped off the tree. The tree, in an effort to save itself, emits a type of pitch that acts as the perfect wood preservative and neither insect nor rot can harm it. I’m not sure if it’s just a type of tree found only here in Norway or if all trees would do that, but it’s pretty incredible nonetheless. And, over the years, a type of tar is added to the wood to help keep it preserved, but it’s pretty mind boggling to stand in a structure that is so incredibly old – and beautiful (see photo). I’ve also heard that wood structures near the coast of Norway only last about a hundred years because of the harshness of the weather – but buildings more in the center of Norway, even though the winters are super cold, they don’t get the battering storms the coast gets so all the oldest buildings in Norway will be found there.
We went through dozens of tunnels today and took four ferries to get home (to the tune of $150 in tolls and fees). I used those “downtimes” to read “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” It’s a favorite book of ours and we usually read it Christmas Eve morning, but we forgot this year. (Our friend, Bev Mohr, turned us on to this tradition and it’s a keeper!) Kaleb protested when he realized it was another missed tradition, so I brought it along and read it in bits and pieces with flashlight in hand as a way to pass the time in the tunnels. We all laugh out loud every time we read it.
It’s still Christmas around here. Even in the SAS Hotel where we stayed they had up a schedule yesterday for “The Fourth Day of Christmas” – as the celebration goes right on for the full Twelve Days of Christmas. All the Christmas lights are still shining brightly and the festivities linger. Most businesses are closed or only working half days and all the churches were closed yesterday because even the staff deserves time to visit their loved ones this time of year. I love that – spreading out the season so long – then there is no “next day” depression that it’s all over for another year. By the time they are done celebrating Christmas around here – it’s already a few days into the New Year and minds are set on what is to come.
We were happy to get home tonight before 7pm since both Kory and Kaleb have to get up early tomorrow morning to go skiing with Tobias and Kory’s second cousin, Bjørn (who is Tobias’ mom’s “samboer” – that’s the word they use to describe a committed couple that is living together but haven’t gotten legally married.) Tobias’ mom (Inger) and Bjørn have 5 year old twin boys together and the boys got their first pair of alpine skis for Christmas. Inger doesn’t ski, so Bjørn thought Kory could go along and help teach one of the twins how to ski, he could teach the other one, and Kaleb and Tobias could ski together for the day. It should be an interesting time for all of them and I’ll just be glad to be home alone for a change. As much fun as it is to go on road trips, it’s always best to come home. I just wish our house would have been a little warmer when we got here as Kory forgot and left the wall vents open (they are like little windows) so it was 46 degrees in the house and 37 degrees outside. I’ve had enough cold to last me a while so a hot bath is in my foreseeable future. Brrrr.
We all had an incredibly good night’s sleep and after a top notch breakfast (all hotels in Norway provide a free buffet breakfast in the morning), we set out just after daylight to head home. We were able to cut about an hour off our time because Kory stopped and asked about the condition of a certain short-cut road we were afraid to take on the way down because it was dark and we didn’t know if chains were required. The road was solid ice, but it had been sanded so we didn’t have any trouble with our winter tires, and it provided some beautiful scenery along the way . Of course, there wasn’t a single bad spot for scenery today (except in the tunnels) and I’m sure I took a few hundred photos (see above of Kory standing on the edge of an incredibly still fjord). The sun is so low this time of year, even when it was “up” it only touched the very tops of all the mountains around us and never once reached down in any of the valleys. It made for some incredible “lighting” shots. We even stopped and got a close up view of the Borgund Stave Church, built in 1180. It’s so hard to imagine a wood structure that could last over eight hundred years, but a few years ago we found how that is possible. A year before any timber is cut down to build anything, the bark is completely stripped off the tree. The tree, in an effort to save itself, emits a type of pitch that acts as the perfect wood preservative and neither insect nor rot can harm it. I’m not sure if it’s just a type of tree found only here in Norway or if all trees would do that, but it’s pretty incredible nonetheless. And, over the years, a type of tar is added to the wood to help keep it preserved, but it’s pretty mind boggling to stand in a structure that is so incredibly old – and beautiful (see photo). I’ve also heard that wood structures near the coast of Norway only last about a hundred years because of the harshness of the weather – but buildings more in the center of Norway, even though the winters are super cold, they don’t get the battering storms the coast gets so all the oldest buildings in Norway will be found there.
We went through dozens of tunnels today and took four ferries to get home (to the tune of $150 in tolls and fees). I used those “downtimes” to read “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” It’s a favorite book of ours and we usually read it Christmas Eve morning, but we forgot this year. (Our friend, Bev Mohr, turned us on to this tradition and it’s a keeper!) Kaleb protested when he realized it was another missed tradition, so I brought it along and read it in bits and pieces with flashlight in hand as a way to pass the time in the tunnels. We all laugh out loud every time we read it.
It’s still Christmas around here. Even in the SAS Hotel where we stayed they had up a schedule yesterday for “The Fourth Day of Christmas” – as the celebration goes right on for the full Twelve Days of Christmas. All the Christmas lights are still shining brightly and the festivities linger. Most businesses are closed or only working half days and all the churches were closed yesterday because even the staff deserves time to visit their loved ones this time of year. I love that – spreading out the season so long – then there is no “next day” depression that it’s all over for another year. By the time they are done celebrating Christmas around here – it’s already a few days into the New Year and minds are set on what is to come.
We were happy to get home tonight before 7pm since both Kory and Kaleb have to get up early tomorrow morning to go skiing with Tobias and Kory’s second cousin, Bjørn (who is Tobias’ mom’s “samboer” – that’s the word they use to describe a committed couple that is living together but haven’t gotten legally married.) Tobias’ mom (Inger) and Bjørn have 5 year old twin boys together and the boys got their first pair of alpine skis for Christmas. Inger doesn’t ski, so Bjørn thought Kory could go along and help teach one of the twins how to ski, he could teach the other one, and Kaleb and Tobias could ski together for the day. It should be an interesting time for all of them and I’ll just be glad to be home alone for a change. As much fun as it is to go on road trips, it’s always best to come home. I just wish our house would have been a little warmer when we got here as Kory forgot and left the wall vents open (they are like little windows) so it was 46 degrees in the house and 37 degrees outside. I’ve had enough cold to last me a while so a hot bath is in my foreseeable future. Brrrr.
