Out of Norway and into Africa

For our last weekend in Norway we returned to the mountains to stay at the family hut in Fekjan, about a 2.5 hour drive from the farm. We left Thursday afternoon with Petter (Tom's cousin) heading northwest, partly following the route we took to Sogndal when we first got to Norway. The last 12km were on a gravel road, climbing steeply from the valley below. When we arrived at the hut, in a grassy meadow surrounded by trees, we started the hut-opening procedure, opening all the windows, getting water from the well and starting fires in the stoves despite the strong sun and warm temperatures.


Business complete, we went for a quick swim in the chilly waters of the main river through the area before dinner. Dinner was a fancy meal of hotdogs :)

Friday morning we went for the obligatory hike up Fekjafjell, the high peak behind the hut. At 4,000 ft high, it's well above treeline and offers great views of the surrounding plateau and in the distance, higher, still snowy peaks and glaciers.


The trail follows clear mountain creeks where we could drink without fear of stomach problems, goes through bogs where you must choose your step carefully to avoid being sucked in, and passes alpine lakes, choppy under the wind. To Tom's disappointment, Katie was a quick learner when it came to the art of carefully walking in bogs without falling in and "plumpa-ing" (the Norwegian word for the specific situation of falling in water when clothed).


By the time we were down, John and Kristina had arrived from their brief tour of western Norway, and after lunch we took off for an afternoon hike to another smaller peak. All hiked out for the day, some of us went for a chilly swim before we all (Katie, Tom, Petter, Magnus, Kristina, and John), enjoyed a great meal of pork chops and sauerkraut that Tom's grandma and aunt sent with us.



If anyone is wondering what we did the next day...we hiked! We were headed for a farther off peak named Hallingnatten, but later learned (thanks to Tom's GPS) that we didn't quite make it far enough.


The return route took us up Fekjafjell again. After another dip in the river, we relaxed a bit, listened to Norwegian radio mixes on the Party Boy 500,


and drank an international assortment of beers and spirits, including imported Sam Adams and Underberg. Just after midnight, in the early hours of July 4th, we started a celebratory bonfire with a dried out pile of cleared brush.

The rest of our time in Norway was spent making sure we were all set for Africa, spending time with family, and eating more really good meals. We even had moose, which was a first for Katie. We are now in Johannesburg airport waiting for our flight to Windhoek after a long flight from and long layover in London. We had a great time in Norway and can't wait to return. Skål!