Laundry

Today was a bit of a long day as well. Up early and on the road by 11 - we had some breakfast and then drove to Haugesund, where I caught the bus to Odda. I got to Odda around 4:30 and was able to check email and get the Norwegian language course from the library before coming to Tyssedal. I'll be spending some time with it over the next few weeks to get more of a handle on the sound and basic vocabulary.
I'm still reading the Psalms and Proverbs in English and NyNorsk, thanks to the bible that Knut gave me. Håkon's dad also gave me a dual English-Norwegian NT that I'll probably dip into. Since the grammar is so similar to English, it's relatively easy to figure out what the words mean - some even sound like English words. There's still a tension between Bukmal and NyNorsk that I'm trying to figure out. I'll probably end up learning both.
Well, back at home now and trying to do laundry. There's no washing machine in my flat, so I'm using one in the flat next door. Had to send an extension cord through the window to my flat, since the apartment the washing machine is in doesn't have the electricity turned on yet. It seems to be taking a very long time, though, so maybe that machine is broken. I hope not, but if so we'll figure out what to do. Dinner of trout and rice - officially the first meal in the flat. Quite tasty if I do say so myself...

Siggjo

Today was an eventful day. A trip to Bømlo, where we visited the local mini-mall, tasted Norwegian ice cream and chocolate, bought some decent shoes that were on sale, and passed by the highschool - where Håkon greeted some old teachers and raced me around the track. 800 meters in 3 minutes, not too bad.
Later we checked email and chilled out, enjoying the beautiful day from the deck, had a light meal of lasagna, salad and bread. Did I mention they eat a lot of bread here? And it's really good. Last night we finished writing a song in Norwegian that I'd begun writing in Tyssedal, so we played that for his parents, got some good feedback.
Around 6:30 or so we decided to go ahead and climb Siggjo - the large peak in the distance, the natural landmark that early Christian missionaries headed for from England. It was a nice hike - a good hour or so and his dad came with us. Håkon's dad had open heart surgery this past Christmastime, and this was the first big hike he'd been on since then. He did pretty well to climb the 1500 feet or so in an hour. Some more beautiful views - hard not to have nice views in Norway, I'm learning. My camera quit once we got to the top though - I think it has trouble with the cold or something.
We got home around 9 and then Håkon took me to the old stone church which was the first church in Norway - built here on the island of Moster, about 15 minutes from his house. His grandparents who were missionaries in the Congo are buried there, and right now they're doing restoration on the building. But we got to see it, and also the open air amphitheater where they have plays and particularly the re-creation of the story of Christianity coming to Norway. Good stuff. Then we came back and had some fresh shrimp. Good day alltogether, but full. Tomorrow we head out - Håkon back to London and his wife, and I back to Odda. Glorious. =)

Sunset in Moster

Today I took a bus ride to visit my friend Håkon, who grew up in Moster on the west coast of Norway. He leads worship for a church in London, but was visiting his parents this week and invited me to come and visit. I took the bus from Odda to Haugesund, skirting Folgefonne - the giant glacier to the west - and then traveling north from Haugesund through the Bømlo tunnel to Føyno, an island where the road makes a giant fork. Håkon picked me up there and we went over the long bridge to the island of Moster.
This place is beautiful! We took a ride in his family's outboard speedboat around the islands that surround Moster. The water was so calm you wouldn't know we were on the ocean except for all the seagulls and the smell of the ocean and the taste of salt water on the wind. My camera froze up after a bit, so I didn't get as many shots as I'd like, but it unfroze long enough for me to get a shot of the sunset at 10pm.
The island of Moster, and particularly the landmark of Siggjo was the first place where Christian missionaries came to Norway. Siggjo is a peak on the island just north of where Håkon lives, and we might climb it tomorrow. Håkon says Moster can be bitter during the winter, but they hardly get any snow - just a lot of wind and waves. I'll be here until thursday, so hopefully the camera will unfreeze and I can get more shots.