Sweden

The trip to Sweden for the weekend was quite eventful. Eirik and I met two of our friends in the city, where they picked us up, we from there we began our road trip to Sweden. We got lost on the way there, so it took us 8 hours instead of 4 to get to the campsite. But what a blessing!

We drove out of Norway, into Sweden, back to Norway, and then over to Sweden again. So first we took the freeway south for about two hours (the wrong way), and then we followed the route my phone suggested, through a forest for quite some time before getting back onto the correct freeway. The forest roads were amazing! So beautiful! Amazing lakes and streams, with beautiful little houses on the water's edge and little wooden jetties stretching out over the water, beautiful farmhouses and farmlands, with cows, horses, sheep and even a few lamas! In a later post I will show you pictures of the traditional pantries that Norwegian farm houses have. A separate building on legs to keep the animals out.

On top of the breathtaking scenery, we were happy to see a surprising amount of animals. For the first time for most of us, we saw a moose in the wild!! I had been looking forward to this since I first set foot in Norway two years ago. It was a small female. Her size, not as impressive as a large male's would be, but her awkward walk so beautiful and interesting to see. Lamas were a surprising sight, as well as a badger crossing the road! We also saw deer in the fields next to us, a cat, rabbits, and of course a variety of birds! Quite a surprising amount of animals, which were great in keeping the 8 hour drive interesting and eventful.

We got the the campsite at 2am, everyone already asleep, expect for the organizer who stayed up to show us to our rooms. The camp was great! I had such an amazing time. It was a great opportunity to meet new people and get to know them better. The campsite was near a town called Nora, on the edge of lake Uskavi. On the first day we were organized into teams and competed in several types of games. A great ice breaker. For the rest of the weekend there were many activities available to us: football, minigolf, kanoes, volleyball (Sunday's 4 hour tournament left me sore ALL OVER), golf, paintball, and so on. Great food was provided at every meal, and a late night snack of hotdogs (with an option of potato salad to pop on top) to keep us going. At night there was good music and entertainment. Throughout the weekend we had church services, mainly consisting of testimonies, which are always interesting and blessing to hear.

One element of several of the dishes served during the weekend is a gravy Norwegians call 'brun saus' (brown sauce). It's creamy, delicious, and can be used to top anything from steak or meat balls to reindeer or moose. It's amazing over potatoes. Over the weekend we had it with meatballs and meat cakes, as well as with iced with mushrooms over steak. Eirik's dad has served it with reindeer (I will ask him for the recipe), and one and a half years ago I had something similar in a reindeer and moose stew on the top of a mountain in the winter. Eiriks parents had taken us on a weekend trip to mountains to cross country ski. On of the days they served this stew in a tipi with a large fire. It was absolutely delicious, and such a magical weekend.

On the way home from the camp we stopped in Nora, to try what we had heard to be, the world's best ice cream. This ice cream was... Definitely the best I have ever tasted! The one that I tried included two flavors on a perfect cone, topped with chocolate lips with a coffee flavored filling. The top flavor seemed to be hazelnut, but I am not sure what the bottom flavor was, it could have been vanilla, but it did not have a strong vanilla taste. They were both delicious, and rotherham cone, was perfect.

The trip home was not as eventful as the way there.
We stopped at the border at one of those big shopping centres I spoke about in my earlier post. Our friends did some cheap shopping in bulk, and Eirik and I browsed a few clothing stores before heading to the candy store. This candy store was massive, and apparently, not the only one in the centre! Which was quite a shock to me. We bought nearly a kilo of mixed candy (haha!) a bag of some other candy, and rosemary and olive oil Pringles (that I'd never seen before). Personally, I'd never be able to get through all the candy on my own, luckily Eirik has trouble stopping if you put him in front of a movie with an open bag of candy, so we might have a chance of finishing the kilo before we leave on Sunday ;o)

It'll be sad to leave Norway. It's so peaceful here, and it's so nice to be on holiday. A lot of Uni work will be waiting for me when I get back.... He I wish I could stay here and avoid the reality of my dissertation.... And the rest of the year's Uni work. If only... Well, six months to go and I will have a Bachelor with Honours in Psychology :o) Finally! And will most probably be taking a year to get some work experience. It'll be a great break, and an advantage for getting into Masters. ... And a little more free time to cook!