17. Mai, Hipp Hipp... Hurra Hurra Hurra!

A few days ago Norway celebrated it's "National Day" as we call it in Norway. Tradition is to dress up in different types of "bunad", which is the Norwegian national suite, and march around your hometown. You could call it a sort of parade, not that exciting compared to Rio I guess, but the kids seem to enjoy it ;)

Mom and I aren’t that big on tradition so we decided to pack our back packs, put on our walking shoes and celebrate in our own way. We enjoyed a long walk starting from Hellvik, walked a little over half way to Egersund and back again. The view was gorgeous as usual and the weather was close to perfect apart from a few rain showers :)

    



The Sunshine State

Two weeks in Florida. Sun, sun and more sun:)

Enjoying the last Sunset!

Escaping The Fog In The Land Of The Trolls

This is one of my favorite places to go hiking and one of the largest heather highlands in Northern Europe. The landscape reminds me of where I imagine trolls would live. Marsh lands with rolling hills and deep lakes left from the last glacier. Sheep on the hillside, the great views you get from the different tops and of course the bonus is a good workout since you are either going up or down, for the most anyway.

Mom and I did a part of this hike just a couple weeks ago, but we wanted to do the whole round this time when the weather was so nice and the ground had gotten a chance to dry out a bit. Parts of the trail go through wet spots so chances are you’ll get really muddy if it has been raining a lot. We got an early morning start and were out hiking for about 2 hours. The whole round is about 8 km (5 miles). We stopped at the last top to relax in the sun, get a much needed drink of water and eat som fruit we brought with us. The view was gorgeous as always, but extra special today because the fog hanging over the ocean was making a shiny silver strip in the horizon. Since we live right by the ocean it was very nice to get up in the high country where the sun was shining. 

I really wish everyone had a chance to experience this special place!

Enjoy the pictures J  

Para-Para-Paradise, Para-Para-Paradise

Today was absolutely beautiful! Once the sun managed to chase the fog away it started to warm up and there was no wind, which is very unusual for this part of Norway. It really felt like spring today. I walked from Brusand to Ogna and back again along the coast. The rout is one of my favorites because in includes walking on the beach, in the sand dunes, climbing mountains and not to mention the never ending gorgeous view. Doggy’s were with me as usual and although they got a little hot in the sun their energy was up and they really enjoyed their walk. They went crazy on the beach and had lots of fun running through the shallow water in one of the creaks. It's like the cold water gives them a kick! Very entertaining :)

I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves... Enjoy :)



Hiking in the High Country

Don't you love the feeling when spring is on its way, the air is warming up, birds are singing, flowers start blooming and the sun actually warms you again? Ahhh :)

Mom and I went hiking in the high county yesterday. The sun actually showed its face after being absent for longer than acceptable, nice to feel it has regained some power though. It felt good and warm to have the sun shining on us again and the weather and scenery couldn’t have been much better J The trail was not crowded at all, met an older couple on our way up, that’s it! Very peaceful except for mom chattering behind me, doing her best to keep up and keep talking at the same time J 

On our way we heard birds singing their song of spring. The singing birds combined with the sound of running water here and there and the wind made for perfect, relaxing background music. Other than that (and mom’s occasional babbling) there was complete silence. Not a whisper of a sound :) Ahhh...        

The beauty

Reaching our distination

Taking in the great scenery, breathing in the fresh air

Blanca knows to enjoy the scenery too

Mountains to the East and a fabulous view of the ocean to the West