June 11, 1996
Hi Guys,
It's party time. Heidi and Fred invited us to an island party on Saturday. Remember all those old favorites, tug of war, limbo, four-man ski races and volleyball? Well, we did them all. (My muscles will thank me in the morning).The party was held just over the Swedish border in Norway - we just cruised through customs, literally, no one was there. Fred told us to look for a sign and when we got to the water to honk, someone would come and pick us up. Well, we honked and we waited, and we honked and we waited, and we ate lunch and we honked. We though very seriously about investing in a louder horn, the island was a long way off. But finally we were spotted and taken by small motor boat to the party. The lake we went across was beautiful; ink black and since it had been raining out (correction - pouring) the whole area looked like a watercolor painting.
The party was great. We got to practice the two words of Swedish we know and everyone else got to practice their English. (They sure are shy about it). I think the only time English confused them was when we were yelling "left...right..left...right" during the ski race. (Four people line up and put their left feet in loops on one ski and their right feet in the right ski - you get the idea). At the end we had to switch team members and I got the lead with John behind me. I was laughing too hard to tell him that he was yanking on my waste band a wee bit too hard. We lost the race (we were a disaster) but we could have come in first place in a wedgy competition.
Anyway, after a BBQ, guitar music and meeting some great people we got whisked back across the ink pond and we began our Norwegian adventure. We're going to hit Oslo tomorrow and then head North to somewhere, we haven't consulted the map yet.
Say hi to everyone back home. Talk to you later
Janet
PS: We can E-mail with no problem from Norway. We just pull up to a phone booth and run the leads. The phone we are linking to here is so remote, there is just wild flowers and grasses growing up to its door. Hey - maybe that would make a good picture - figured I'd say it before Big Al did. I think I'll go wade through the weeds to check it out.
June 12
Yo!
Lillehammer is an adorable town, ya know...it would be a great place to hold the Olympics - they already have all the equipment. We camped last night on a beautiful hill above the city that was like a page of the book Heidi; green, lush and the views were incredible.
The houses in this area are really unique with grass roofs and intricate carved wooden balconies. Reminds us a bit of Swiss homes. We passed two stave churches today built in the 1100's - stayed tuned, pictures pending.
We're on our way to Bergen now, fjordland. The views from where we are in Leardalsoyr are nothing short of amazing. The ride began with a one lane windy road leading up to 1400 meters, definitely second-gear material. We spent the night amidst pelting rain and a view of snow fields and a waterfall spilling into an icy lake. The ride down was as treacherous as the ride up, but the view of the Ardalsfjorden rivaled Milford Sound with waterfalls everywhere.
The Fjords are enormous; even the 'Splendor of the Seas' Cruise Ship looked small anchored in the water. Everything is green and lush at sea level; a stark comparison to the higher elevations where it looked like winter never gave up its icy grip. Ice and snow, and we aren't even in the arctic yet.
Traveling in the van has been great. We're getting used to constant day vision although today we did have to blink a few times when we emerged from all the tunnels the highway took us through today. The Gudyangen Tunnel, 11.4 kilometers of bored rock, gave new meaning to the term 'Tunnel Vision'. The sign entering the tunnel said '157 km to Bergen', the sign exited said '146 km to Bergen'. It was the longest of the countless tunnels we've been through so far. Now we are just minutes from Bergen. We stopped in the outskirts to eat and end our day. Tomorrow we head into town. Maybe we can find an internet connection at one of the libraries there so we can check out the page.
Ok, time to send this and go cook up some dinner. I've been doing some miraculous things on this stove here. Stir fries, omelettes, fajitas..hey Janet says that "if the man likes to cook who am I to stand in the way"...of course she does stand in my way - there's no where else to go in this van but in the way.
later
John (and of course the little guy Fargo)