A weekend in Norway along the Fjords

So what is a weekend by the Fjords like in Norway? I spent one such weekend with a very welcoming family which not just hosted us, fed us great food, but also took us around in the fjord in the boat and hiking to a medieval village up on the mountains. It was a weekend for which I was extremely excited when it started, but had no clue that this would become the best weekend that I spent in Norway.

Here is a brief tale of a Weekend in Norway.

The magnificent Norwegian Fjord

While TI and family left in advance in the car along with all the supplies, Paulina, Sonakshi and I took the boat from Stavanger to reach Garvik village. The tiny village is located next to a mammoth fjord and makes for a perfect seating for a weekend getaway. In fact many families in Norway have cabins in the mountains, and this particular house was built by TI's father himself.

Paulina had already shown us quite a bit of Stavanger by taking us on a tour of the Street Art of Stavanger and we were already good friends. Originally from Guatemala, she had been around for a while in Norway for a few years now and understood all systems quite well. So basically we were in safe hands :)

The villages we saw from the boat...

And the magical waterfalls...

The view of the fjord from top...

As the boat moved at high speed through the fjords, we passed many beautiful villages on the shore and some huge waterfalls as well. As usual I was tempted by all the falling water and got to even jump in it later on. The boat stopped at a few places and people kept getting on and off, but we were going all the way to the last stop. TI received us at the jetty and we all drove together in his car to their village home. The car was full of food as we had promised to cook Indian as well as Guatemalan meals over the weekend for our kind hosts.

The weekend was perfect in all possible ways. TI's parents were also there and we all got along really well. I especially remember the excellent carrot cake his mom made, and I miss it's taste even now. Never got something that good ever again and I think I would visit Norway once again just for that :)

Here are some of the memorable weekend stories...

Living in a country house

Norwegians love to live with the nature and their love for staying as close to nature as possible is clearly seen. Many of them are also builder and often make their own houses, or at least do all fittings (including windows, doors, flush, light connections and so on). So when you get invited by a house which was literally hand-made, the feeling is overwhelming.

While we lived with our kid hosts, we also learnt quite a bit about Norway and Norwegian way of living. Many surprising facts came up, especially about how Noway was a village based economy till oil was discovered and changed the face of the country. Many from the past generation remember the times when life was so vastly different.

Over the long weekend we also saw many changes in watcher, with lots of rains and lots of sunshine. With each change in climate, the house also changed.

A selfie on the window :)

The deck in bright sunlight 

The deck in the rains!

Cooking Exotic Meals 

So there were a few very interesting things that we did. First we cooked Indian and Guatemalan meals. Paulina made breakfast while Sonakshi and I cooked the dinner. Plantains was the main ingredient and for a very long time I thought she was cooking bananas and felt odd about it. But by the time she got the food ready and served us, it not only looked beautiful, but also tasted great.

Our Guatemalan breakfast spread :)

So now there was intense pressure on Sonakshi and I to make decent Indian meal as well and we did quite well. The menu for the main course was Chole and ghee rice and they both came out good and were roundly appreciated. The disaster was trying to make kheer using spaghetti - even after hours of slow cooking the spaghetti strands didn't absorb milk and we were left with disaster in a huge cooking vessel!

Exploring a Medieval village 

However, the best past of the weekend was the hike on the mountains to reach the medieval village across the fjords. We used the family boat to cross the fjords, tied it on the rock and decided to hike. This was especially difficult for Sonakshi who hates to walk, but she was super sporting that day and joined us all with full energy.

Hiking up - Sonakshi leading the way!

And some more hiking...

The trail was only marked by these red dots

We reached on top and were the only ones at the village. I was super hungry and the caretaker at there offered us coffee - an opportunity which we all grabbed immediately. Despite the sea we generated due to the hike, it was quite cool up there. We sat together, sipped coffee and enjoyed the phenomenal views of the fjord in front of us. This was a perfect weekend for the three of us for sure, and we were completely cooking it all in. I knew I would be back in India in a few days, and there would be no fjords (it's very easy to fall in love with them), so was even more engrossed in the scenery.

A view of the medieval village 

Another view of the restored village

Li naustet

Back to the boat!

The sheep that chased me :)

I also saw these lovely sheep spread over the mountains with their bells, and chased a couple of them to click. They were initially alright with the chase, but at some point of time decided to chase me back to my group. We all hiked down got back home for breakfast.

Long talks, late night coffee and Guitar

Evenings are one the best times around the Fjords. The temperature drops, and you can be in your winter wear, and just sit and look at the lights. We also had Paulina who played guitar and sang songs, and that made our late night sit-outs even more interesting. Music has no barriers, and though none of us understood her words, we all loved the atmosphere she created.

It was late by the time we slept, but I immediately into my dream world and relived the day. Such weekends are rare and I cherish them always...

Paulina with her guitar :)

My bed :)