They arrived on September 23rd in the evening, just on time to have dinner together. We were going to spend the weekend together. For Monday and Tuesday however, we had a surprise for my father:
a short trip (the so called famous "Norway in a Nutshell" tour) through the fjords.
This trip is a present of my brother, his girlfriend Anna, my mum and her husband Engelbert, and of Marco and me for my father's 60th birthday in November. Yes, that's only in a couple of months, but well, he was in Norway NOW, end of September. A part from visiting me here in Oslo a few times, my father and Andrea hadn't really seen anything yet of those stunning places around Norway. This year's visit and the upcoming big birthday of my father were a perfect occasion to let them both have a glimpse of the beauty of this country.
However, before they left for their two-days tour, we had the weekend to spend some time together. Spontaneously, we had decided to visit Fredrikstad on Saturday.
The town lies an hour drive southwards of Oslo at the Eastern side of the Oslofjord, towards the Swedish border. With its Old Town Fredrikstad belongs to one of the best-preserved fortress towns in Scandinavia, consisting of a fortification with walls and moats from the 17th century and buildings from the 18th century hosting a variety of cafés, restaurants, galleries and small shops.
As the train tickets (go and return) for four people were excessively expensive, we had chosen to rent a cheap(er) car to drive there. We had parked the car downtown, then walked along the river Glomma before taking a little ferry bringing us to the Old Town lying across the river.
On Sunday we took it all very slowly: sleeping in, late and long breakfast and later on a stroll through town. In the evening Marco cooked dinner for us before we spend the evening playing all our favourite board game "Settler's of Catan" together.
Monday morning started early: My dad and Andrea had to get to the airport for an early flight bringing them to Bergen. I benefited from being up that early and went to the gym before the office.
By the time I reached the office, the two had taken off to Bergen to start their two days trip. They had the whole day to discover Bergen with many of its sights and went up to enjoy the wonderful view from Mount Fløien...until - of course - the rain came over Bergen in the late afternoon. (Note for those who don't know: Bergen is the wettest town in Norway, with some over 200 rainy days a year - so no surprise the two hit the rain as well!) With the rain it was time for a beer at the hanseatic quarter of Bryggen.
Later on they could benefit of the dinner offered by the hotel I had booked for them (Clarion Collection Hotel Havnekontoret).
Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. they started their trip through the fjords back to Oslo. The local train took them to Voss where they changed on a bus through the Stalheim valley and down the steep Stalheimskleiva road with its many hairpin like curves. Arrived in Gudvangen they boarded a boat for a two hours cruise on one of the most famous fjords in Norway, the UNESCO World Heritage listed Nærøyfjord, to Flåm. In that little town at the border of the fjord I suggested them to taste the locally produced Ægir beer in the cozy brewery. Unfortunately in was closed until 14:00 during weekdays in that period of the year :-( Anyway. Next on the program was a ride with the famous panoramic train Flåmsbana that takes you down from the valley up to Myrdal in the mountains where they changed back on the "normal" railway. Passing the high mountain plateau of the Hardangervidda, the small cities of Gol and Geilo, the train brings you back to Oslo in the evening.
That Tuesday, 27th of September, it was my birthday. Of course a pity I couldn't spend the day with my dad. The two were only arriving back in Oslo around 10:30 p.m. But those 2 days were the only option we had to send them on that tour. And anyway, I had to work that day. Instead I had taken the next morning off so we could still enjoy the rest of the evening to have a toast and celebrate.
And until my dad and Andrea were returning from their tour, Marco had organized a surprise for me: two friends of ours (Ginta & Hadrien) popped by for dinner and cake :-) That was really really nice! Grazie mille amore for this initiative and thanks/merci to Ginta & Hadrien for coming and celebrating with me some hours! It was really a pleasure - and a great surprise!
All in all some wonderful days spent together, a nice birthday and a sunny excursion to Fredrikstad. And for my father (from what they reported upon return) a memorable birthday present. Not really with a lot of good weather - rather the contrary! - but nevertheless a great experience for them. Happy about that :-)
Thanks, amore, for your nice photographs taken especially in Fredrikstad!
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