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Published: July 28th 2013
why are there two red men?
we have asked about 5 residents. either they didn't notice or they don't know. We were heading towards our last leg of the trip leaving the Bergen area and on our way to Oslo - with a stop at Fagernes county. We are looking at a 5 hour trip and couldn't decide which road would be more scenic (e16 or the rv 7) and yet, not take a 1000 hours. As we entered the round about and as Jeff circled it twice our indecision was halted as the confusion of all of my voiced thoughts had Jeff turning off and leading us into the Lærdal Tunnel. That means two things - first- we are driving E16 and secondly we will be driving thru a tunnel for 24 kilometers! Yes' it's cool that we are driving into the longest tunnel in the world. Luckily this tunnel has two lanes (what a surprise) It cost $113.1M USD and 5 years to build but I was very concerned how we were going to come out after driving in tunnel conditions for more than 25 minutes. YIKES> so here are some interesting points i found on wikipedia fyi.
The design of the tunnel is divided into four sections, separated by three wide mountain caves. The main tunnel has white lights, the caves have blue lighting with yellow lights at the fringes to give an impression of sunrise. The caves are meant to break the routine, providing a refreshing view and allowing drivers to take a short rest. The caverns are also used as turn around points and for break areas to help lift claustrophobia during a 20-minute drive through the tunnel. The air quality in the tunnel is achieved in two ways: ventilation and purification. Large fans draw air in from both entrances, and polluted air is expelled through the ventilation tunnel. The Lærdal Tunnel is the first in the world to be equipped with an air treatment plant. The plant removes both dust and nitrogen dioxide from the tunnel air.
We made it.. it's an intense drive but those wide bright caves that opened up in the tunnel every 7
kilometers really helped and it actually felt like you could breath..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LaerdalstunnelenNorway.jpg So off to our next stop, back onto our "two way one lane highway" that I have come to love. We drove up to the highest point once again where no trees can live and little cabins scatter the mountains around the crystal clear lakes. The streams have become smaller but the air is clean and crisp. I stick out my head to breath the aroma of the fresh wild lilac flowers that are growing everywhere. with every breath I realize that together with those wild flowers I am also breathing smell of COW but I am addicted to the flowers and decide to take the good with the bad.
We continued driving stopping whenever we saw something outstanding or just having a picnic on the side of the road.
The
public toilets are a site. They are the cleanest bathrooms I have ever seen- some of them even have heaters if you get caught in a winter storm and don't want to freeze your bum.
We were also enjoying seeing the warning signs along the way, driving at no more than 80 km we
Nythun hotel
cross skiing in this area. warned to watch out for deer, sheep, cows,bikers, flash floods and moose. Actually the only thing we saw were sheep who would wonder the roads freely and from what we understood during the month of september the owners go looking for them before the winter sets in. I was wondering if you could put an application on your Iphone called "find your sheep" and that would help you locate your lost cattle with minimum effort. If you ever see an app like that know the Idea came from this blog!
Well after 8 days of driving, and hiking we finally reached Oslo. A very quant town - with beautiful buildings. We stayed at a hotel the Saga which is not in the center of town but located in a neighborhood. We were just two blocks away from the shopping. Beware everything is so expensive and with a 25% vat tax it is just insane. So we enjoyed window shopping😊
Shabbat we went to the synagogue and it was just beautiful. we met some friends who live 10 minutes away and who we never see in Israel and that was a great laugh. During the afternoon between short rain
storms we went to see the park of statues- the park was filled with people soaking up the sun, enjoying the statues which basically showed life cycles in the nude. I was particularly concerned seeing how the women's body changed especially since i was starting to slowly recognize some signs..
So here we are in the airport. waiting to head home to 30 degree heat, but feeling relaxed and very blessed. The wonders of how this world was created with all of it's blessing is mind bogling. Feeling blessed to have traveled with a man that I can be in his company 24/7 and still laugh (dont forget on a regular day we see each other probably no more than two hours)
so wish me a safe trip.. in about 10 minutes I am popping that wonderful pill before we take off to the Holy Land.
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rebecca
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Hi Welcome back to reality!But the memories will always be with you. Re the 24/7 with one person- we have had that 2-3 times, and I said the only time we weren't togerther was when he/I went to the bathroom, or he was davening! For some of our friends, this was the most impressive part of our trip- that after all this 24/7 time together, we were still together!! catch you soon= and b'shaa tova etc etc