wilderness lessons on leadership & life
About Gregg
Hello, I'm Gregg Burch. I've just finished writing God's Faint Path, a book that we are publishing over the blog. I hope you'll join us for the journey. More about me, contact me...
Norway in May
Genie and I landed in Norway in time for the May 17 Constitution Day celebration. We stayed with our friends Morten Langoy and Marit Berling. They said it was the coldest May 17 in 70 years. It rained all day too. Then, the next morning the sky cleared and we had a wonderful week with our friends.
Over the weekend, we also went up to their mountain cabin at Aadnaram, in Sirdal. The weather was beautiful up there. Norwegians say, "If the snow can still hold a man's weight by the second week of June, it's going to be a late spring." After skiing two days up there, we came back down to the coast.
Enjoy the photos and video.
Marit in her National Dress
These dresses are quite an investment. Most women get one when they are confirmed. Marit can still fit in hers. I'm impressed. Getting ready for the Parade on May 17, Constitution Day.
Leading the Parade
First we went to the local neighborhood parade with all the children from the surrounding schools.
Don't Rain on my Parade
People said it was the coldest May 17 in 70 years. It was raining too. Good thing most had a wool cape to wear.
Proud to be Norwegian
This is a day of great national pride and celebration.
Marit & Morten at home
Heading out to the parade
Stavanger Parade
After lunch, we went downtown for the big citywide parade.
Flags of all stripes
Celebrating all the local organizations from Scouts to Soccer Teams, even an American Football team.
Beautiful dresses
The elegantly embroidered dresses were the highlight
Windy and Cold
Saw several umbrellas try to blow away in the wind. Hearty souls were just ignoring the rain. The national motto: We didn't suffer.
Marching bands
We saw a number of marching bands in the parade
Traditional National Day cake
Morten worked for hours preparing the red, white and blue cake for the after parade celebration
Friends gathered around
In the traditional party after the parade, we had dinner with a group of Morten and Marit's friends.
Morten & Marit's home
which is adjacent to an open space full of wildlife and trails.
Modern Architecture
Mixing the old and new, they salvaged an old slate roof off a barn, and incorporated it into an otherwise modern design
Wildlife sightings
Roe deer are frequent visitors to their back yard, along with Magpies, Pheasants, and we even saw a Hedgehog, our first such sighting in the wild.
Blue Sky!
The day after the parade, we awoke to blue skies, and the weather was beautiful for the rest of our week there.
Walking the Open Space trails
We walked for an hour or so in the open space next to their house. Stopping for a rest and a view.
Marit, Genie & Morten
Walking with our friends. Marit and Morten came to Atlanta for advanced degrees. Morten took a PhD at Georgia Tech, and Marit took an Executive MBA to improve her English. She was in my class and team for two years at Georgia State.
Mountains in the distance
Stavanger itself is fairly flat, having been gouged by glaciers. The rest of Norway is pretty mountainous.
City by the sea
Stavanger is the home of the oil business in Norway, and is hence the most affluent of Norwegian cities.
Fjord view
Fingers of the sea jut deeply into Norway, allowing access to the mountainous interior
Headed to sea
We went for a cruise out to a tropical island near Stavanger
Land ho
arriving at the tropical island
Flor & Fjaere
was the name given to the tropical paradise off Stavanger's shore
Incredible gardens
Some 40 years ago, the tip of this island was purchased as a retreat by a man who spent his career creating gardens. He came here to get away from his flowers.
Creating a paradise
Apparently he could not help beginning a garden despite his desire to get away from his work.
Creating something beautiful
When he arrived, this was a fairly barren landscape, with no trees and little growing.
Rock gardens
After planting trees to protect the land from the fierce northern winds, he began planting annuals, and building ponds, streams and waterfalls.
Even growing oranges
Although these plants are taken into a greenhouse for the winter.
Grass roofs abound
Something beautiful about a growing roof.
Reflecting ponds
Each of the water features is man made. The water is pumped back up and recycled over and over again.
Time for Dinner
After our tour of the garden, we came in for a sumptuous meal prepared by a Dutch chef
Back to the Ferry
for our ride back to Stavanger
Sunset comes late at this latitude
It did not get fully dark until nearly midnight, and by four AM, it was light and the birds are singing
Hytte in the mountains
Their term for mountain cabin is Hytte.
Marit & Morten's Hytte
the cabins are nestled closely together so they can share a sewer system and preserve the pristine nature of the area.
Opening the road
This stretch of road heading to Oslo was just opened the day before. You can still see a mountain of snow
Off to Ski
We got to ski for two days at the hytte. Following Marit off trail
Skiing companions
Marit and Morten came out to Colorado one winter and we skied together in Rocky Mountain National Park. Here we ski near their cabin.
Trolls be here
People stack rocks at the very top of the hill
Mountain Lodge
Overlooking the valley and Fjord
Winding Road
We sat atop the hill overlooking this valley. We saw a car go past with a camera attached to the hood. Soon after, we saw three guys on mountain boards screaming down this hill, spinning out on the curves. Now, this is skateboarding on steroids. The car with the camera was following them down the hill taking video.
Fjord view
You can catch a ferry from the edge of this fjord and go all the way back to Stavanger, which is two hours by car.
Springtime
Marit looked at this picture, and suggested the title
Frog on snow
This is an incongruous shot. We saw this frog hopping along the surface of the snow.
Beautiful stream
Much of it was frozen over. but Marit led us to a picnic spot where it had melted out.
Morten pulls out his fly rod
testing the waters for trout
How big are those fish?
Only about this big
Ski in fly fishing
Morten packed in his fishing gear. Here you see our skis planted in the snow, as he goes off to fish
Incredible beauty
Morten dips a line into the still waters
One of the most beautiful spots I've seen
The sky cleared, the sun on the clear water made for some incredible photo opportunities
Aadnaram (Sirdal) Norway
Picnic lunch spot with our friends Marit and Morten when we visited them in Norway
Fixin' Lunch
Morten brought a backpacking stove and a tupperware of frozen vegetable beef soup, in case we didn't catch any trout. Here we cook the soup, since the trout weren't biting
Enjoy the snow in May
It's 90+ degrees in Atlanta
Stone walled pastures
The soil is so rocky that these walls surround each pasture, and represent a tremendous amount of work clearing the rock from the soil
Casting for naught
No luck fishing, but what a beautiful spot to try. This is on the outskirts of Stavanger, on the way to the beaches
Three generations of farmers
Morten pointed out the three houses that had been built on the farm to house succeeding generations
Clouding up
It would be perfectly clear as the sun comes up at 4 AM, but clouds roll in from the sea as the day goes on
Picnic spot
we had lunch among the boulders on the shore
Hitler's teeth
Norway was occupied by Germany during World War II. They poured concrete along the coast to prevent an allied invasion that never came
