Archive for August, 2012
Today’s scenery got even more spectacular as we headed up into the mountains and then back down a curvy road into fjord country. You should never come to Norway without visiting the fjords. I was spellbound by the scenery along the way. It went from woods dotted with red houses to barren mountain terrain filled with arctic mosses and chunks of compressed snow carved away where the road sliced through. Tendrils of turquoise streams snaked through the snow and ice.
Today’s route snaked further north taking us past more gorgeous countryside alongside a turquoise river. Lom is a small village filled with wood cabins at the foot of a mountain. A traditional wooden stave church anchors the town, and across from the church is Lom Bakery, giving off a heavenly scent of raisins, cinnamon and fresh baked bread. While waiting out the rain, I had a hot chocolate and a coconut-flake topped pastry with vanilla filling that had a slight hint of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Tubed meats and seafood are very popular in Norway. Here’s a selection of peppered bacon goodness, along with salmon, shrimp & prawns and caviar! Great for picnics, right?
Drove north from Oslo this morning, passing through an extensive labyrinth of underground car tunnels below the city that seemed to fork off endlessly in all directions. Back above ground, the cars grew fewer and fewer and the road saddled up alongside a lake. Here the countryside was dotted with houses the color of red barns, sparsely populating fields of green. Many of these fields were speckled with jumbo hay barrels wrapped in white plastic—from a distance they looked like giant marshmallows!
Finding a stylish hotel in Oslo that won’t drain your funds can be difficult, but the Scandic Vulkan is one of those rare exceptions to the rule. Located on the outskirts of the trendy Grünerløkka area right behind the Dansens Hus theater, the Vulkan is a hop, skip, and jump away from cute restaurants and boutiques.
