Another day up and out the door early, but not before some wonderful pastries and coffee for breakfast. Torstein was a very gracious host and as I would soon learn, this was how everyone is in Norway, including people that we had never met before and those who were not family. We thanked him again and headed to see my dad’s cousin, Helen, and her husband, Roar, in Kristiansand. The view from their condo overlooking the water and Otterdalsparken Park was beautiful! Most of today’s conversation was in Norwegian and if you read my earlier posts, you know how well I speak the language. Fortunately for me, their daughter offered to take the non-Norwegian-speaking guests around town while my dad and her parents caught up with each other. Kristiansand is another beautiful waterside city with plenty of things to see and do. Today shopping was on the top of my sister’s list.
In the afternoon, with another great lunch under our belt and my sister’s hands full of shopping bags, it was time to say goodbye and head to Avik where Oyvind, Torstein’s older brother, lives with his wife, Berit. As we pulled up to their home, we saw they were outside to greet us. Theirs was another well-manicured lawn and garden. As I looked around, I thought to myself that, with the long cold winters, everyone must like to be outside as much as possible in the summer. I didn’t blame them because everything was so pretty and colorful. After the normal hellos, they told us about their summer cabin on a small island just a few minutes away and asked if we wanted to visit. There was no hesitation in our unanimous answer of YES! We piled back into the van and headed to the pier where they kept their boat, climbed in, and headed out. After a short cruise and a walk up the hill from the pier, we were there. It was perfectly nestled in the side of the hill.
The view from the island over the North Sea was amazing. Just when I thought this country could not get any more beautiful, I was again proven wrong.
We sat outside admiring the view while discussing the things we had seen so far on vacation. Oyvind then asked Dean and me if we wanted to go fishing to help catch dinner and this was another unanimous YES!
Dinner was fresh mackerel, elk steaks, and assorted vegetables. I am glad Oyvind did not ask us to go elk hunting.
After everyone cleared their plates, Berit got up from the table. “I thought I was your favorite and you would have spent your birthday with us yesterday, but I baked you this anyway,” she said jokingly as she came out of the kitchen with cake and ice cream for dessert. It was a delicious end to the day.
