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| From Norway |
The weekend was another one filled with failed attempts of achieving the original goals. All catastrophes were avoided, surprise adventures were had, and met some Norwegians in Norwegian fashion along the way.
This adventure began on Friday afternoon driving North to Jotunheimen National Park; It’s the location of the highest peak in Norway (for a Saturday summit) and a classic “Norge” hike, Besseggen Ridge (Sunday activity). One of the rules of these weekend getaways is to find a bed by sunset (around 7:30pm) these days. This night was different though. At 7:30 I was driving through a town that has a 3-star Norwegian restaurant (according to Frommer’s travel guide). In addition to having deliciuos variations of Norwegian fare (reindeer, salmon, trout, etc.), the book mentions its bearded owner, Svein, whom enjoys hosting guests and can always be found with a bottle of wine in hand. Since lunch, I had not had a lick of food, saving up for the Fossheim restaurant.
It was a lovely dining experience. They offered a choice of the buffet, and one of two multi-course meals (one an entrée of reindeer and another of veal). In asking if there is a fish dish available, the waitress checked with the chef whom was fine with the modification. Upon getting up to visit the toilet (no “restrooms” here), the bearded wine pourer crossed my path in the dining room. I asked if he is “Svein” to which he confirmed my suspicion. I explained that the Frommer’s write-up and he was pleased, but not surprised. Back at the table, locally baked olive bread (yum!) held me over until the creamy mushroom soup arrived by Svein personally. It was creamy and delicate, yet had personality with its almost crispy-finished mushrooms. Lentils joined in the swim too. Lentils in a cream-based soup. Who’d guess?! The salmon plate was fantastic too. I think the salmon was brushed with butter, lightly baked, then broiled to get every edge blackened & crisped. There were some celery root whipped potatoes and lightly cooked veggies found underneath the salmon & it’s cooking juices. Excellent. That filled me up and energized me to finish the 45 minute drive (time estimate confirmed by the waitress). Unfortunately, past my tongue the food did not agree with me (too creamy and rich for my little system?) and an incorrect turn morphed my arrival time by 90 minutes. Doh!
Alas, I arrived at Spiterstulen at 23:15. The receptionist gave me a key to a private dormitory room (think hostel) and showed me how to get to the upstairs room. I went outside, found the door and entered into a foyer of resting, dirty shoes. I went up the stairs to find a cluttered hallway and no numbers on the closed doors. One door was open with a TV blaring. The couch potato started talking while I was ignoring her and looking around. Her voice began to crescendo and when I finally realized she was yelling at me, I asked “Snacka du inglsk?” She said, “Wait” and proceeded to angrily mutter in Norwegian while calling someone on the phone. Figuring that I was in the wrong building and not wanting to hear this crotchety lady yell at me any longer, I started to walk away. She retorted to my action with “STAY RIGHT THERE”. I heard a marching up the steps behind me and another haggered old lady (but younger than the first), appeared and said, “Follow me”. I was apologizing (to the wall) and she yelled “CHRISTIAN” from the bottom of the steps. A door was heard opening, and footsteps came running. It was the same receptionist. He swung his hips wide to avoid the huge metal counters of the hotel-sized kitchen then arrived at a doorway. Some Norwegian words were exchanged and he took me out the door and to the next building to find my room. I now understand what it’s like to be yelled at in Norwegian. Not fun, but now funny.
The highest peak in Norway was an 8-hr hike away from my dormitory room. The forecast was clouds, possible rain/snow, and high winds. Upon check-in Christian was concerned for my safety at a lonely summit attempt in bad weather, and informed me of a glacier hike he was guiding on Saturday. Apparently for $10 you get a guided 6-hour glacier hike, rental gear (crampons, harness & rope) all included. It is possibly the cheapest glacier tour ever. Sign me up! So, I was able to sleep in Saturday morning, ditching the peak-bagging plans.
The glacier tour was me and 23 Norwegians. Because of the one English speaker, the tour was in English. There’s always gotta be one! It took roughly 2 hours to get up to the glacier, ½ hour lunch break while the guide prepared the rope, 2 hours on the glacier, then a quick hike down. It was certainly good fun and experience. It was not as technically challenging nor edgy as I would’ve expected. We were a group of 24, all tied to the same rope (3 meters apart each), and the only one w/ an ice axe (to brake a fall) was Christian. It seemed dangerous to me, however in hindsight the worst that could’ve happened was someone fall 20 feet down, and pull 20 feet (with crampons) on top of him/her. Not a bad way to go I suppose.
It was good to meet the other glacier hikers. There were a few kids, moms, and a group of marine agriculture scientists that were my age. Not one older guy/father. It’s a good time to note that from all the times I’ve been hiking, the male:female hiker ratio is probably 3:4 or 3:5. When bringing this up w/ one of the Moms, she agreed. She offered that the guys only do the record hikes (highest mtn, toughest climb, etc.) or they go hunting. The ladies tend to do ladies trips and enjoy hiking a variety of trails.
After the glacier tour I boogied to the bottom and started the drive to the next hut, near the Bessenggen ridge. The first hut was full due to a festive wedding that was occurring. The guests were wearing funny costumes … which I learned is customary. Each valley or sometimes village of Norway has a certain costume/pattern. Upon confirmation (one of the rare times Norwegians go to church), the young person receives the costume as a gift. The costume is to be worn at weddings (if the bride/groom request), on their national day, and sometimes on Christmas Eve. They only have one costume for their life (it’s easily adjustable as one gets larger or smaller). Oh, and did I mention that the costume is handmade and costs $7,000?
Fortunately the next hut, Gjendesheim had room for me. I was in room #1 and was assigned bed #6 (of 18 total in the room). Only half the beds looked occupied. I took a shower in a couple buildings over ($1 for 4 minutes) and headed to dinner. All the guests of the hut go to dinner at the same time and sit at long tables. There is no “being seated” and they only have enough seats for guests. So, you sit next to fellow outdoors enthusiasts and devour one jolly meal together. I found a seat next to 3 girls my age. We chatted about all sorts of topics: culture differences, Norwegian history and our experiences. One had been in Orlando for 6 months. I shook my head and said, “do you mean Epcot?” She nodded. Oh boy, did some of our fellow Americans make fools of us. They asked her some awful questions…. “so does everyone there get pregnant when they’re 14 ‘cause there’s nothing to do?... you’re not really from Norway, are you?... are there polar bears in the streets?... after being here in FL, you’ll never want to go back to Norway” She said she only bought bread from the Norwegian bakery in Epcot. We all laughed in agreement over American “bread”.
After dessert, refilling of wine glasses, and sharing chocolate cake (2nd dessert), the clean-up staff had to ask us to leave the dining room. It was great to have such lively, interesting company. By the time we parted ways, I was plenty tired to hit my sleep-bag in my bed cubby. It was a great evening and from what I understand, the typical Norwegian hut experience.
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