We returned from our nearly 4 week trip to Norway earlier this week and are just now going through all the pictures. There are some gorgeous pictures mixed in among the 1592 photos we took, and I am hoping to finish going through everything this week. I know if I don't do it quickly it may never get done. We had an amazing trip, and it is fun to remember the cool stuff we got to do.
Traveling was difficult with all the gear we were packing for a nearly month-long vacation - 3 car seats, 3 checked suitcases, a stroller, a backpack for each of the kids, a backpack for me, my purse, the camera, and an old dog who sits in the stroller instead of walking. All in all, it was literally too much stuff for us to physically carry at once, especially with a 2 year old that often doesn't cooperate. It all barely fit in the rental car that we used to get to the airport. Here we are at JFK airport in New York, ready to find our airplane that left at 1am in the morning. Luckily the kids were exhausted and slept the whole flight. We were all initially jet lagged in Norway though and slept too much that first morning when we got there.
My mom's twin sister, tante Anne, and Uncle Bjorn were nice enough to pick us up at the airport and drive us to their house a couple hours away to spend the weekend with them. They live in Hvaler, which means 'whales' because the islands are supposed to look like whales. It is a very popular summer vacation destination in Norway and they are one of the few that live there year round. We had a great time there and recovered from our jet lag along the way.
Uncle Bjorn took us out in their boat and it was a blast. Karina grinned from ear to ear the whole time. We did cross over to Swedish waters at some point, so I suppose we went to Sweden too during our vacation.
Here is Derek picking some very underripe apples with tante Anne. Their apples are delicious when they ripen.
Derek showing off his underripe apple:
Snoopy absolutely adored their yard, as did the girls. Karina and Lydia still discuss which yard they think is better: tante Anne's or Mormor's. Both properties have their charms, and I like all the sections at tante Anne and Uncle Bjorn's house.
When we were in the basement looking for life vests for the boat ride, Derek was there too. All of a sudden, he grabbed tante Anne's hand, and dragged her over to a shelf in the storage room and pointed at a vintage toy dump truck. Nobody else had even noticed the dump truck, so I have no idea how his eyes found it, but it became his beloved toy that weekend.
Derek carried the dump truck with him everywhere and enjoyed filling it with little rocks and dumping them out.
Lydia and Derek enjoyed watering plants. Tante Anne has a beautiful garden that I wish I had taken pictures of.
Eating dinner on sankthansaften (St Johns Eve celebrated on the longest day of the year).
We also walked to the nearby beach and played in the sand and rocks a little while.
Because of the traditionally harsh weather, the trees closest to the beach grow horizontally instead of vertically.
We then walked to a 1000 year old church. Lydia and Uncle Bjorn holding hands:
On their front porch:
On the way to the train station in Oslo, we stopped in Fredrikstad, one of Northern Europe's best preserved walled cities.
We had a wonderful time in Hvaler and wished the weather at my parents' house in Bodø (in Northern Norway, north of the Arctic Circle) were warm like Hvaler. We took an overnight train to Bodø and arrived the next morning. I don't know if I would want to do such a long train ride again though. Hvaler was great start to our vacation and Uncle Bjorn and tante Anne were wonderful hosts our first few days in Norway.
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