Back to normal

It's nice to be back to normal after a couple of weeks off work. I've got my energy back too, whehey! Ages since I last wrote anything here now. Not because there hasn't been anything to write about, just because I'm lazy.

The things that has happened is Lederløft, a scout weekend with leaders from all over Norway. Had a good time there meeting up with old friends as well as meeting new people. I have also been asked to be in charge of external press for the National scout camp in the summer. It took me some time to think about that, but I ended up saying yes. Gonna need someone to do a great job besides me though, as I'll have the little one to look after from January. (see pics)

I've also had a weekend in Åndalsnes meeting up with the committee that's organising the scout camp (www.landsleir.no and www.visitutopia.no) It was a busy weekend with a lot of meetings.

The weekend just gone I've been to Denmark with MO and two of her friends from Fredrikstad. We took the boat to Copenhagen, and spent one night there. Had a great relaxing weekend and really enjoyed it. As well as being social on the boat we did some shopping in Copenhagen, visited Tivoli and also Christiania. That was really interesting. Felt like we walked into a film set... No pics from there though as we weren't allowed to take any.

I'll attempt to update my blog a bit more often from now on :)

Not much fun....

... being back at work the week just gone. Would have been nice to have another week or two with holiday, but guess that wasn't gonna happen!

It's Sunday and we've spent the day being lazy at home. T went out last night, so he's been asleep most of it, and I've spent it in front of the TV and computer really.

Yesterday we went to Østmarka to pick blueberries. Found about two kilos, so now we're making some jam. Yummy :) Had pancackes with blueberry jam yesterday.

The week has gone fairly quickly, although it was boring being back at work. Just have to make the most out of today now, before another week starts. Anniken is coming for dinner tomorrow night though, so got something to look forward to :)

Mountain walking

Just got home after six days in the mountains and a couple of days relaxing at my parent's house in Lillehammer. I must admit it's nice to be sat on the sofa in front of the computer again, although we had a fantastic trip doing a lot of walking.

We set off to Lillehammer last Saturday after dinner at Torkjel's parents on the Friday. When we tried to book train tickets to Hjerkinn for Sunday or Monday the website said it was fully booked. Luckily Magne was going the same direction on Sunday and had offered us a lift, so we took him up on the offer.

Sunday: Day 1
Arrived at Hjerkinn at six ish in the evening, and walked in the rain down to Hageseter. About 3 kilometers to walk. Got to the cabin/campsite, and the rooms were fully booked. We put our tent up and slept there.

Monday: Day 2 Hageseter to Grimsdalshytta 15 kilometers
We set off after a burger with egg on bread breakfast about half ten in the morning. It was raining, so had to pack a wet tent before we set off. Leaving without waterproofs was not an option as the weather looked pretty wet. The trip started uphill for a few kilometers. I think we met two people the whole way that day. It was still really nice to walk, despite the constant rain. We used 6 hours on the trip, and didn't stop for lunch. It stopped raining for about 15 minutes all day. The best part of the trip was when we got down to a small stream to cross it, we saw something move. When we got closer we realised it was an Ermine (Røyskatt). We're not sure of it's behaviour, but it was constantly running around us, up and down the rocks. Looking at us, then running again. We watched it for about five minutes before we carried on walking. Torkjel was afraid it would have a heart attack because it kept running. When we got to Grimsdalshytta the rooms were fully booked, so we slept in the self service cabin with about ten other people. We got a bed and duvets though, which was nice :) It was lovely to sit inside that evening, as it had been a wet day. We had a three course dinner, before relaxing and going to bed early.

Tuesday: Day 3 Grimsdalshytta to Haverdalssæter 10 kilometers
We got up in the morning and had breakfast before getting our stuff from the drying room. The weather looked a lot better, so we set off without waterproof trousers. We started off walking down to a river, before crossing it and setting off uphill. We had a slow uphill walk for the first few kilometers. About half way we sat down and had a lovely rest boiling water for "rett i koppen" and eating our sandwiches. The rest of the walk was very easy and we took it slow. We didn't meet a lot of people, just saw three people walking whilst we had our rest, and an elderly couple having a rest by the path as we walked past about two kilometers from Haverdalssæter. It was a lovely entrypoint to Haverdalssæter. We looked down on a house with a few older buildings surrounding it. It was furthest in in the valley of Haverdal. We got down and was met by a Thai woman who showed us to a bedroom and told us when dinner was to be served. We relaxed until then, and went down to eat sharing a table with the elderly couple we had seen earlier and another couple. It was nice food, including cream from local produce. The "farm" is known for a certain type of cheese they produce too. The rest of the evening we sat in the "peisestue" and talked to the other couples.

Wednesday: Day 4 Haverdalssæter to Dørålseter 11 kilometers
We discussed what to do that day, and initially planned a two day hike to Høvringen. Torkjel was more keen to walk to Dørålseter, so I tagged along. That turned out to be the most knackering but also the best day on the trip. To get to Dørålseter we had to walk over Dørålglupen which is a fantastic gorge (juv) that stretches several kilometers through the mountain. The highest point was about 1300 meters. The day started off very easy with flat terrain for the first six kilometers. Then we started walking uphill towards the gorge. It looked pretty impressive from the bottom, but that was nothing compared to what we could expect when we got up there. It was really steep on both sides, and very rocky with masses of big boulders we had to walk on. It was hard to find the path sometimes. Fortunately there were red T's to follow. After spending four hours passing the gorge, we got down to Dørålseter and got a room. We spent the evening there eating dinner with four other woman and relaxing in the peisestue.

Thursday: Day 5 Dørålseter to Rondvassbu 10 kilometers (18 for Torkjel)
The walk from Dørålseter was nice and easy. It was uphill the first seven kilometers, but not very noticeable. My last three kilometers was downhill, but one kilometer before my walking ended with a boat trip across Lake Rondevatnet, Torkjel and I went separate ways. He wanted to walk across the mountain, whilst I wanted to be lazy. I got the boat over to Rondvassbu (20 minutes ride) and Torkjel set off walking. When I got to the cabin we got the last twin room which was great :) T got there about three and a half hours later, soaking wet. He hadn't just walked across the mountain, but decided to go up one of the 2000 meter peaks too - Veslesmeden 2015 meters high. Crazy boy. He was really happy though. It has to be said he did carry his 13 kilo rucksack on his back most of that way too. The rest of the evening was spent eating dinner, sitting in the peisestue and going to bed early.

Friday: Day 6 Rondvassbu to Mysuseter 10 kilometers
Friday was our last day of the trip. We had two options to get to Lillehammer. There was a bus at 10.45 or 16.20. We decided to get on the first one. At eight we had finished packing and were ready to enter the world of mountain breakfast with another 50 hungry tourists. In 17 minutes we had breakfast, paid for the cabin, made our lunch and set off walking. We walked 10 kilometers (mainly dowhill on a road it has to be said) in about two hours! We got the bus, and then the train to Lillehammer where my mum picked us up. We were back in the sivilized world, and had a fantastic trip across the mountains. You can see some of the pics on here, and I think T will put the rest up on Facebook.

Lazy Sunday

It's Sunday again, and it has been pooring it down with rain outside all day. Due to this, we have had a lazy day in front of a computer each. At least I've been a little bit productive, making 16 pages of the Greece picture book we're making from our holiday.

Yesterday was a bit busier. We had a relaxing morning, before going to the Opera to see T's sister and her boyfriend perform. She was singing soprano and he was playing the grand piano. There were about 200 people I reckon, and there were no free chairs and people standing. It was really good. They're looked upon as some of Norways biggest young music talents. Afterwards we went for lunch with them in the restaurant outside the opera house.

In the afternoon we went to the cinema and saw the new Narnia film, Prince Caspian. I really liked it. It was worth watching.

The week gone has mainly been spent working and watching the development of the new water pipes in the kitchen. It is all done now, and I think they've only got left to do some paint work tomorrow. Due to this we have been eating out all week, which in theory is great :) Means I don't have to cook. On thursday Lene came to Oslo with me after work and we went to eat sushi and did some shopping. Had a really good time.

Another week starts tomorrow. It looks like the rain is disappearing and we're getting summer again! Yay!

Busy July

Wow, it's 16th July already! Time flies! So far July has been a pretty busy month, enjoying the nice weather and seeing friends. Think I can count on one hand the amount of nights we've just had at home in front of the computer.

The last week has been the busiest. We were pretty active climbing and doing outdoor stuff. Last Tuesday we went indoor climbing, which we have consistently done on Tuesdays now.

Thursday was time for our first outdoor climbing session of the year. Russ, Torkjel, MO and I set off from Storo to Grefsenåsen to find the crag. It was easier said than done. You can read the full story on Russ' blog www.eatmymonkeydust.com. Well worth the read! We had a BBQ on a lovely viewpoint before we finally found the crag and did three routes before the sun set.

Friday I went to the cinema to see Sex and the City with Irene, which was a good laugh. We spent most of the film laughing at the people around us though. They were really engaging their lives in the film.

On Saturday me and Torkjel set off to Sværsvann to go walking in Østmarka. We had a great sunny walk on Saturday afternoon, passing Sandbakken and saying hello to the tame sheep at Vangen before finding a nice deserted "odde" by a lake in the middle of the forrest. We enjoyed a quiet evening watching the animal life and even getting to see a Beaver swimming in the water! We spent the night in our little tunnel tent, before setting off again on Sunday morning. Unfortunately it started to rain, but that didn't stop us. We walked from the lake to Mønevann and Losby, before ending the trip in Finstadlia having to run to catch the bus! We made it though. When we got home, we were knackered, but had a great trip!

Another week has now started, and it's still as busy as it has been. Monday I met Katrin and MO for a meal at Lompa (Olympen). That was the first time the three of us have done anything together since 2002! Can't believe it's been that long!

Yesterday was climbing time again, and today I'm working late. We've been thrown out of our kitchen this week, as all the water pipes in there are being changed. Means eating out every day, but I'm not complaining about that :) It's interesting being able to look all the way down to the basement through a hole in the floor though... Specially since the basement is 5 floors down...

Summer?

Nah, more like autumn really... When you need a waterproof jacket, umbrella and sunglasses in your bag when leaving for work, something is a bit odd... That would be the weather...

Been back for more than a week now. The weekend we spent fairly relaxed. Friday we went for sushi after work, and Saturday we slept in. Went for a meal at T's parents house in the evening, celebrating his upcoming 30th Birthday. Sunday we decided to go for a walk. Took T-banen up to Frognerseteren, and as soon as we stepped outside the door, the rain started. Typical! Despite that, we walked to Skjennungstua and back, and found one geocache on the way too.

Another week has started, and it's a pretty busy one. Went climbing last night, and today we had my side of the family over for coffee and cake. It was nice to see them. The rest of the week will be spent making cakes and celebrating Torkjel. Someone doesn't want to admit it, but he will be 30! :p

Back to normal

Well, it's five days since we got back from holiday, and life has settled back into its normal routine again.

The holiday was great! After spending a few days on Rhodes, we went to the two small islands Tilos and Nissyros for five and four nights. People were really friendly there, and we did a fair bit of walking and sunbathing. We also visited the massive vulcano craters of Nissyros. They were really impressive! See pics.

Wonder where the sun went though? Since we got back home it's pretty much been either overcast or raining. As long as it rains while I'm at work I don't mind though.

Another weekend is coming up, and apart from dinner at T's parents on Saturday, we have not got any plans yet.