Highland Sampler to Sirdal

We joined two families to Sirdal to get a sampling of highland vistas and the Norwegian holiday cabin life.

"The Norwegian people are living today the good life, with a nice house, good jobs, cars, boats, cabin by the lake, cabin in the mountains and money in abundance ...."

We were chuffed to be able to taste a couple of nights at the cabin in the mountains though our dosh in the bank isn't anywhere near as abundant as some of the well heeled natives; our landlord made NOK 6million last year as a humble farmer. 

We drove through some very nice sceneries, some of which fit perfectly with the images you've seen yourselves on posters of Norway and much of Scandinavia. Sheer cliffs, very narrow lakeside roads (very good roads if I may add), cute sheep in the fields and one or two Norwegian in knapsack and waterproof clothing walking the countryside. And there were farmlands and just bare rock in some places. All over the journey we saw cabins dotting almost the entire hillside once you reach the higher altitudes.

In Holland, you'd likely see throngs of cyclists and walkers, such places being beautiful but flat. Here in Sirdal, it's obviously ski country as far as I can tell.

The vista at Brokke, the view from the top of that rock must be awesome.

 

Norwegians enjoy the "cradle to grave" social benefits, these are the few fortunate souls at their final resting place at Vale. Judging from the view, they are not worst off even in the afterlife.

Ice melts formed lakes and rivers which are well stocked with trout, fishing is another popular attraction in the highlands.

Homes and cabins dotted around Fidjeland not far from our cabin on the opposite side of the hill.

View from our cabin once the sun decided to pop out for a few seconds.

Inside the cabin, it was a wet and cold weekend, so we lazed about in the morning.

The space isn't large but cozy enough for a party of six complete with a sitting room, dining table, electric cooker, fridge and all modern kitchen appliances, heated bathroom and beds for eight adults.

The view from what was a melted glacier, huge rocks piled up along it's path after the melt.

Tiny waterfalls crept downhill from melting ice and copious amount of rain.

Sheer cliffs showing evidence of glacial scrape being engulfed by mist after the rain.

Malaysians in waterproofed gear for mountain walkabout.

One fella found his long-lost great great great grandmother from his father's side (obviously) at Hovden.

The drive to the cabins was most enjoyable with many beautiful stops to be savored : mountains, gurgling streams and huge rock all over the place. With only 2-3 hours away from Stavanger (in off-peak season) we could be spending more time in the hills.

Rediscovering Sand

Off we went to Klepp again for the second time in a week. The first time we went looking for Revtangen, a little beach full of rocks and a bit of sand. Then the weather was very cloudy and the temperature was slightly chilly. By the afternoon after our pack lunch we explored further down the road and ended up at Orre Strand.

The beach was lined with sand dunes and grassy knolls. The kids had a blast rumbling down 10 footer dunes into the soft dry sand below. The temperature wa still quite chilly but in their rambunctious play, they seemed to forget all about it. We promised to come back amidst mild protests.

The boulders near Revtangen, there's supposed to be a brid ringing station here under the purview of Stavanger Museum.

The understandably deserted Orre Strand on our first visit, chilly howling winds, the kids don't seem to mind it at all.

The vast sands at Orre Strand.

The sand dunes is approximate 15-20 feet all around.

  

Ripples in the sand below generated by the day's strong winds.

Running in the sun this time on Borre Strand 10 minutes north of Orren Strand.

By the time we arrived at about 10:30am the beach was already packed with schoolchildren and people from a nearby trailer park.

It may be only sand to you and I, but an endless playground for these two kids, chasing each other up and down the dunes.

Back on Orre Strand on the same day but later in the afternoon just after lunch at Revtangen.

While the children had their un supervised play (perhaps rolling down 20 foot dunes), I was relaxing the fields nearby listening to gulls, Meadow Pipit and Northern Wheater and admiring little blooms here and theres.

By 1530hrs it was time for us to pack up and head home again. No amount of unsupervised play is sufficient for any child, but you have to call it a day some time.

We went back to the area on Thursday and stopped by Borre Strand. A nice long stretch of sands near a trailer park. The kids had their run around in slightly warmer weather before heading south to Orre Strand again.

After an hour frolicking in the sand, we explored further south to of Orrevatnet, Egravatnet and Horpestadvatnet hoping to find a good spot to spy on the birds; a very bucolic setting. Unfortunately there weren't many suitable parking spots. All we had was a quick glances of all the documented sweet spots, perhaps another visit is called for later in the autumn during the fall migration season.

Weekend Again and Wet

We did our usual today being Saturday ... the only difference was the fact that the weather was gloomy and it rained now and again but not the kind of downpour we are used to. Here it's wet and cold at the same time, and it's on and off depending on which clouds passed through. Throughout the day we all got wet at least twice.

We started off the day at the Norvinna oriental store to pick up sambal oelek ... the kids have been complaining how our staple the past few weeks have been rather bland and consisted of way too much salmon. Even Daddy's curry now lacked the kick. We packed up two bottles of spicy sambal oelek and later acquired another large bottle from another oriental store up in Sandness.

For lunch we had a picnic near Sandness while feeding fries to the pigeons and admiring the mountains on the otherside of the fjord. We saved main dish at the halal burgers for eating at home.

Norinna located across from St Pitr's Kirke.

At the pier near sentrum, a local sucking up fresh air mixed with cigar smoke on his classic ride.

A very nice looking yacht which just sailed in from Germany. As the summer kicks up, there'll be more than enough cruise ship anchored around here to completely fill up the harbour. 

Stavanger's nouveau-riche play things, the start up cost has to be massive, wonder how damaging is the running and maintenance cost.

The well known church at the city center, behind it a small lake Breivanet, I've forgotten what the church is called.

The ambience of a pizza and kebab restaurant, for now our only relieve for that craving for red meat. 

A pesky Rock Pigeon sharing our fries near Sandness, barely visible in the backgroun is the towering mountain tops.

A yacht for sale, only NOK550,000 ... a steal and almost the same size as our current abode.

Shopping at the oriental store is an interesting experience in itself. As expected, there are not many non-nationals in them, shoppers are mostly new Norwegians and temporary Norwegians. They all kinds of halal stuff purportedly including Instant Pork Noodles from Thailand.  Quite a plentiful supply of authentic curry powders from India, cried fruits, tired looking vegetables and instant noodles. There's all kinds of soy sauce permutations from all over the world ... even budu from Vietnam.

All cities in the world has their oriental grocer, I can now add Sandness to the list which included the following: Los Angeles (Azusa and downtown), Nwe York City (Chinatown, Manhattan, Midtown, Bronx), Detroit, San Francisco, Sudbury (amazingly enough for me that is), Glasgow, Den Hague and now Stavanger. The smell is usually the same, the clientele with some degree of variation, it's most international here in Norway.

That Saturday the weather cleared up finally towards the later part of the day thankfully but the sun was still nowhere to be seen. The forecast predicted a gloomy, wet week at least all the way through Wednesday. We can consider Sunday a go-nowhere day. 

Family weekends for now

This is how it goes currently on the weekends with our family: Saturday morning is big hoo-haa of cleaning up the mess in the house from the previous week. The hoo-haa is because nobody claims their mess, it's always somebody else's mess.

After the initial chaos which normally ensues after breakfast all the way to lunch, things normally calm down a bit and the house all the more tidier. An hour or so after the shops opening, we will be heading to town for whatever relegated chores for the week : getting bus cards, getting library cards, shopping for the house, hunting for yet another jacket and the likes. If we have time, we'll go feed the ducks and gulls at whichever location closest to us then.

Normally by 4pm all tasks ticked off and wildlife at the lakes fed, we'd be discussing dinner options. Since it's Saturday our choices are fairly limited. Defaults are : if in town, proceed to a Kebab joint; if in Kvadrat, proceed to a Dolly Dimples; if close to home, it'd be either pizza at Skeiehagen or pasta at home.

Sunday however is more fun since we are free of all household obligations or any urges to shop since all shops are closed. We normally explore a new lake or go walking to enjoy the beautiful Norwegian sunny day if it happens to be a great weather day. With summer at the brink, it's all great Sundays so far.

We were al Lundsvagen previously, exploring Stokkavanet the other week and last week we walked the island of Bru.

At the library in town.

Sandneset in the morning.

Walking on Bru island.

Sheep in the sky on Bru island.

Soaking the sun on a rock near Sokn bridge.

Family portrait near Sokn.

Cloudy day at Tungenes.

Walking near Lundsvagen.

With the summer starting, weekends are going to be more hectic as the weather gets warmer. Gardening has now cropped up as an obligation now that we have a patch of grass in the yard and a little knoll around the house.

Both children has taken to this new tasks with gusto volunteering for grassmowing as well as weed extraction duties eagerly. This was especially so after they got a taste of the tractor grassmowing machine brought over by the landlord  ... everybody wants to be a farmer now!

Ventures further afield

We felt adventurous today, we decided to drive in the direction of Bergen after dropping Mommy off to find our very first light house. No addresses, no streetnames ... only that it's in the general direction of Bergen, turn left at Randaberg along E39.

Of course one thing thing led to another, small talk and a few jokes later we ended up in a tunnel we did not intend to be in. It was a fast spiral down under the sea to only pop up, thankfully across two islands over Sokn. Strictly we weren't lost, we knew exactly where we were, just that we didn't exactly want to be there.

We came out of the feeling breathless and much relieved. For one reason, we were finally out of what seemed like a very long and deep tunnel, another the view of this unintended destination didn't look half as bad. So we explored.

Where we were and where we should have been ...

We plonked  ourselves down on  a big rock by the shore and enjoyed the sun and birds nearby. We might have not gotten to our original destination, but Sokn was a very nice stumbled upon place in any case. The Tungenes Lighthouse have to wait for another day.

Short jaunts around the house

The good thing about a new place is there's plenty to do just around the house. All are new, different and interesting. I've always been a sucker for such things : recalled the days of one new book a week from Amazon and one new lens practically everymonth when it was particularly boring in Miri. Then thankfully with MNS, we have activities every week, one thing or another almost every weekend.

Now in Norway, we are slowly settling in our tiny new home north of the city, we are starting to discover our neighbourhood without yet much commitment from other things. With the children off school until the start of new term in August and my currently unemployed status, there's quite a bit of time to fill.

Kids are slowly readjusting to the grind : breakfast, online schooling, lunch, and a choice trips to the supermarts, walks in the countryside, feeding ducks at the neighbourhood lakes or exploring the rocky shores. So far they are pretty chuffed about their new environment despite the cool summer weather.

Aisya excited about meeting new feathered friends at Mosvannet. Both kids can now tell the difference between Mallard, Tufted Duck and Coot.

The eager sister and reluctant brother on a walking jaunt to Sandneset near our house.

Aisya photo taken by Ali. Both of the kids have their own cams to record their days' activities but most of the time the cameras are either left on the sofa at home, in the car or are out of battery.

Bucolic view by the rocky shores, can't wait for winter to drag out the black and white films and obsolete cameras.

A rest every fifteen minutes, the reluctant walker and his sister.

I''m visualizing this in black and white in the midst of winter ... barren and cold. with a lone figure walking on the water's edge.

Sunny but cold and very windy.

Rocky shores with seagulls riding the strong cold wind.

On the rocks 8pm.

I've also bought a 471 page of "A Birdwather's Guide to Norway - Where, When and How to find the Birds or Norway including Svalbard" for use the next few years. It turned out that 86 pages concentrated on places around our new home complete with maps, directions and birds to be discovered.

Work and inclement weather will sure start impinging into the freedom to execute all the above seemingly mundane family activities soon enough, as the days pass it becomes more and more frantic to get most things done as soon as possible while we are still free to do so.