20 Sept – Water Up and Water Down

From Norway

After a deep 11 hour sleep, I awoke in the cozy cabin refreshed and peaceful. I took the laptop on the front deck of the cabin, surveyed the view and overcast clouds, and wrote up the prior day’s activities. After breakfast, I packed up the car and walked down to the canoes. It had started to sprinkle ever so slightly, but it was not going to dissuade me from paddling.

The paddling was great. There was nothing on the water except some ducks, a resting flock of geese, and me. First I went down fjord. Then I got distracted by a meandering path, hoping it would go through to make a loop. After 45 minutes out, the path started challenging my skills as it mellowed into a narrow, shallow stream. Once the canoe started scrubbing the bottom and the sprinkle matured into a steady rain, I retreated back to base. It was noon by the time I got back to the cabin (which was check-out time). I got on the road and headed back to Kongsberg.

A local Norwegian recommended a hiking area south of Kongsberg, so that was my plan for the afternoon. A half hour on the road and I came upon a lonely, roadside red hut situated on a lake. It’s had a full parking lot every time I’ve driven by... so perhaps not that lonely afterall. I was still damp from the paddling, and wasn’t jazzed to get back out there quite yet, so I pulled over. Walking in the door was like walking into great grandma’s house. It had a table & pantry full of antiques in the foyer. To the right was the clinking & clanking dining area. There was a “Antikker” sign pointing down the stairs. Intrigued, downstairs claimed my interest. The basement was full of old containers (pewter), china espresso/tea sets, lamps, ceiling lights, chairs, tables, and all sorts of knick-knacks. Quite a lovely collection and fun to peruse. There were some super-duper old farm tools (I think) used as wall décor and old rusty strap-on ice skates. I had to return to the car to grab the camera. Once done mentally cataloguing what I might want to return for, I visited the dining room for a hot chocolate and vaffel. The vaffels are fresh vanilla waffles (thinner than Belgian) that are served with jam. In this case the vaffel was folded in half with jam and sour cream in the middle. Yum! I was toasty and dry when I left the red hut.

Back on the road, the rain was letting up a bit. The trailhead road was difficult for me to find on the country road. All the driveways looked like dirt driveways. I had to ask twice before finding the right driveway to get to the trailhead. Once at the parking area, I parked and walked further down the dirt road. Eventually the dirt road turned into cabin driveways and then into trails. The trails then intersected other dirt roads. It was all very confusing and I never did find the right trailhead nor trail, but still had a pleasant walk in the woods. The thing to do here on Sundays (since all stores are closed, even grocery stores) is to go picnicking in the woods with your family. Although it seemed I was in the boonies with no one around… walkers, bikers, cars, or fire-roasted-weiner eaters were amongst the pines in the most random spots. I came upon a group of bikers that were sitting under a public lean-to. They had their wieners grilling over open flames, with a black kettle suspended above. You’ll see them in the pictures.

By the end of the walk I had a shadow and it was beautiful. However, I was ready for a respectable meal so checked into the hotel, took a shower, and headed out to Montal Bano. It’s a great little Italian restaurant across the street. If ther eis plentiful anything in Kongsberg, it's Italian restaurants. The bruscetta here is really great, though I'm saving a food write-up for later in the trip.
Salud!