Blogs from Bergen, Western Norway, Norway, Europe - page 21

I went with Stephi to work today. She is doing biology research specifically about how tourist fishing affects the fish supply. This means that several times a week she heads out to popular tourist fishing spots and weighs and measures the fish. She invited me to go with her today because it was the last time that she was going to one of the islands this summer and thought I might like the scenery. We took an hour and a half drive from Bergen across bridges and through tunnels to the island. In fact, we had to cross many other islands to finally get to the island she was working on. The area where the fisherman stayed was beautiful. There were about four houses right along the waters edge. We arrived around 11:40 so the fishermen ... read more

Den siste måneden har gått veldig fort! Bilen ble heldigvis solgt - det var den siste av de store hinder vi følte vi måtte over. De siste dagene har vi flyttet og vasket ut av leiligheten. Vi har flyttet opp på Skinstø, til foreldrene til Jane, som for tiden er på sommerferie på Kypros. Her har vi tilgang til bil, noe som har vært svært nyttig nå de siste tiden før vi reiser. Jane hadde sin siste arbeidsdag på tirsdag, Eirik har imorgen. Nå er det pakkingen av ryggsekkene som står for tur. Vi kan ikke forstå hvordan vi skal få alle sakene ned i to små 60 liters sekker. Blir nok en del ting vi må legge igjen hjemme (men hva?!). Har møtt mange gode venner den siste tiden, både over et måltid god mat ... read more

After saying goodbye to my parents at Brisbane Airport (tuesday 27th May), I hopped onboard for my first international flight in almost twenty-four years (thankfully with none of the tears that had accompanied my previous overseas flight - a return journey from New Zealand when I was just five-years-old!), which would take me firstly to Singapore and then onto London - a twenty-four hour journey in all. Thankfully, despite having very little leg room and being unable to sleep for longer than twenty or thirty minutes at a time, I had no ill effects other than a slight bout of tiredness by the time we arrived in London - which naturally was blanketed in clouds so thick that I could barely see beyond the confines of Heathrow Airport as we came in to land! After a ... read more

When trying new foods my family uses a rating scale to determine if we will prepare a meal again. It is as follows… Food Scale Excellent (Can’t wait to make it again) Good (Would enjoy eating it again) Fair (Would eat it again, but not often) Poor (Would prefer not to put it back in my mouth) GROSS! (Wouldn’t touch it with a 10 ft. pole) I’m going to use this scale to assess some of the things I have tried here in Norway. I have vowed to try everything at least once. Salmon- Prepared with lime juice, jalapeños, and spices. Good Wild sheep- No idea how it was prepared but it was Excellent! Trout- Prepared with spices and covered in cheesy sauce. Fair Bacon and Cheese “paste”- (comes in a toothpaste looking tube) Poor Marcel ... read more

On Saturday Kristine and I climbed Rundemannen, the second tallest peak in Bergen, and fjell nummer fire (mountain number four) for me. It was a “gradual incline” to the top of the peak, but a bit grueling, as it is a continual upward slope. It sprinkled a bit on the top, which was surprisingly the only rain we have had since Monday, extremely out of the ordinary for Bergen. Yesterday was the infamous seven peak hike. Every May, hundreds of people gather to hike all seven of Bergen’s mountains. Some do it as few as 4 hours! I didn’t feel I was in great enough shape to attempt it. Maybe on my next visit, but for now I should probably stick to taking the mountains 1-2 at a time. Instead of hiking, I visited the Bergen ... read more