Welcome to Narnia and a beer commercial…
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Welcome to Narnia! I hope I find you all in good health. I have pretty much fully recovered, and Aimee is on her way. Today was another beautiful day in Norway. A nice negative temperature outside with a fresh dusting of snow. It is New Years Eve and we are going to be spending time on “The Farm” tonight. Aimee lived on the farm for 3 months when she was on her missions trip in 99′. But first I decided to take a little walk, thats what people do here in Norway, they walk. So I get dressed and head on out. It feels good outside. I stand at the end of the driveway and look at all the houses, and this little dog is about 50 feet from me. I take a couple of pictures and look down and this little dog is at my feet. I give it a pet and start wallking up the street. This little dog kept following me. I get to the end of the street and the road ends, but a trail begins. Alas, Narnia! It looks like I have just walked through the wardrobe and entered the world of Narnia. I continue walking with my little dog friend following me. There is no one around. I have walked for maybe 15 minutes and you feel completely removed from civilization. I half expect to find a talking wolf. Anyhow, this little dog has followed me the whole time and I am beginning to wonder what to do about it. I can see the headlines already, “American Tourist Kidnaps local pet.” Anyway, I get on my way and eventually the dog turns around and goes home. Absolutely beautiful! So I get a good hour walk and a make it back to the house.
Aimee’s friend Ann Ki is going to be picking us up tonight and taking us to the farm for our New Years Eve party. Ann Ki and her husband Terje (pronounced Tadia) pick us up and we head over to the farm. Now I don’t know about you but when I think farm I think Old McDonald, tractors, cows, hay, etc. Our drive to the farm is only about 15 minutes. We pull off the main road and on to a one lane dirt road that is covered in snow. We pass a couple of beautiful snow covered homes. And then we start going up a hill. There a small logs on the side of the road that are burning, lighting the way to the farm. As we pull up the final drive there are beautiful Norwegian people outside laughing and sleding. Little kids are running around and playing in the snow. The farm does not look like a farm but a comfy bed and breakfast. The only way that I could describe the way it looks and feels is that of a beer commercial. The farm was built around 1650, you know 100 years before we were a country. We were directed to our room. The feeling walking through a building that is as old as it is is amazing. And we get to sleep here tonight! I went outside to join the fun. They were serving a drink called “Glog”. It is a warm drink with raisins and almonds. It was pretty good. This was a formal affair, so the ladies were in dresses and the men were in suits. The meal itself was setup like a buffet with different kinds of meats, breads, and cheeses. We eat for a couple of hours and get to know a few people. At midnight we go outside for the firework show. In Norway just about every firework is legal. So my collection of snakes and snap n caps were not that impressive. It was like a war zone out there. For about 45 minutes the entire sky, no matter which direction you looked, was completely covered with explosions. It was incredible. And snowy. And cold. We stayed up until about 2:30 and went to bed. We are going to head to Kristiansand tomorrow at 9:00. Till then. |
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January 3rd, 2006 at 7:44 pm
So good to hear that you are both back in good health again.
Love & Kisses,
Mom
PS…Are these pictures for real???
January 4th, 2006 at 12:00 am
James & Aimee,
This is so beautiful! Happy New Year! I am so glad you guys are having an amazing time. Thank you so much for sharing with us!
It makes me want to be there! Have fun on the rest of your trip! We miss you!!
Sarah