we drove for 3 days from Northern Norway & saw plenty of interesting things. we stopped by the Arctic circle center & aired out the dog. we found a smashing bakery in a small town with a stavkyrke.

we experienced tiny roads and beautiful sites over Sognefjellet & even managed to take a ferries that operate as part of the highway. meeting some really cool people along the way.

we arrived in Bergen close to midnight & missed the beauitful drive in. this weekend we went exploring up the mountain behind our apartment & got to see some fabulous views.

i feel spoiled by american highways after the drive we just took, what we drove on was narrow & scary especially when we encountered on coming trucks. we met a cow on the way down the mountain that wanted to say hello & set off all the parking & accident censors in the car.

we slept in some really crowded hotels on the way down but got see some great small towns & meet fascinating people. i feel lucky & Grateful that we didn’t have any accidents just a cow that pissed off Flekk but had us laughing for a good while afterwards.

now it’s on to new things & experiences in the city.

we are on the move again. this time to a place i have never been. makes me nervous as i have settled into a routine above the Arctic circle. the Winter was long & summer lasted a week. the sun didn’t set for a while but it was so grey out that it didn’t matter. so onward & upward.

we leave in a week by car & will drive cross country with the four legged creature in the back. clothes for a week & some food. i am excited & nervous as i have never been in the city we are moving to. i am looking forward to seeing the other parts of the country. i am looking forward to driving thru some places & others not. Wild bison comes to mind.

but it should be interesting & i am looking forward to seeing the coffee culture there. it will be weird without the mountains or the snow. i am looking forward to the new places to check out & explore. it won’t get as cold either which will be nice. here comes the RAIN.

so this week we did some cleaning up of my grandmother’s house, it was stepping back in time. her old flowers were dry & the kitchen filled me with memories. all the Summer’s we would sit around the table eating salmon & egg every morning. it wasn’t just some regular old salmon, it was from the fish hall & she would make an omellet to go with it.

the living room was filled with old pictures of all her grand children scattered all over the room. it still smelled like her, her perfumes sitting by the front door. her favorite lotions still in her bathroom cabinet. i remember Summer’s where the house would be filled with the whole family. cakes where in every corner.

we would run around the neighborhood, playing & running around the city where she lives. sitting by the fountain eating ice cream & people watching. she is still alive kicking at nearly 100.

she celebrated her birthday recently & it was fun to be there helping her celebrate a milestone. her room was filled with flowers for weeks afterward. i am grateful for the sweaters she knitted for me over the years & her kindness. it’s awesome to be related to such an old fierce woman that i have always admired.