travellingduck

[travellingduck]

This place is called The Knight's Leap, where a long time ago, a knight on his horse escaped with a lady. It's very beautiful and I wanted to stay all day!

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We stopped at one of the oldest Stavkirkes in Norway. That's a wooden church! The oldest graves have lichen on them and look to be from the 1700s. It's from the transitional time between the old ways and Christianity. My best friend likes the art from the old times a lot!

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A little ways up the road, and we stopped again to have a look! That's not mist, but clouds!

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Wow! Look what's down there! A crevasse! I'm very glad my best friend did not drop her phone. I was a little worried.

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That water was very, very cold! On a hot summer's day, it would be perfect. I am a duck, so it looks perfect for me, no matter what.

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We are taking a different route on the way back. We are not in such a rush, this time. So, we can afford to stop and look at things a little bit!

[travellingduck]

Hareid is a very beautiful place. I am outside the family home. The treehouse used to be in better shape, but I think it has charm. The view from the driveway is wonderful. Beside the house flows the stream, owned by grandmother's family. It has been with her family for many generations. You can walk alongside it for miles. After the service, my best friend took some time to walk out along the trail for a while. We are not here long, sadly. I wanted to stay! But now, grandmother is home, where she belongs. That's what is most important!

[travellingduck]

This picture was taken shortly after we arrived, at about 10:30PM in May, in Hareid.

And this picture was taken the same night... at 1 AM! It is so far up north that during summer months, the sun doesn't properly set. It's called the land of the midnight sun for a reason!

[travellingduck]

We are waiting for the ferry to take us across to Hareid. I am still not in these pictures, but there is what I think is called a sandpiper, if you look closely. A rainbow appeared across the fjord right when the ferry arrived!

[travellingduck]

I am not in these pictures, but grandmother is. Taking her ashes home is why this journey is happening, so she is everywhere you look! This place is a mountain range called Trollheim, the home of trolls. These mountains are so big, you can get dizzy just by looking at them. The moss on the sides of the rocks isn't moss at all, but full sized trees.

[travellingduck]

Okay... time to drive! Norway is a place that is very big and open, even as it is closed in by mountains, all at the same time. We set off from Oslo on the journey to Hareid. It was a perfect day for it! Grandmother would have been excited.

[travellingduck]

My best friend's uncle's house is very nice. We got in very late. There is a very long drive starting tomorrow!

[travellingduck]

A little time has passed, and I am on my way to Norway again. We are going on a road trip from Oslo to Hareid, to bring my best friend's grandmother's ashes back to where she was born. It will be a very long drive... around 10 hours or so! Road trips were very important to my best friend's grandmother. So, it is important that we bring her home like this, and not on something quicker like a plane. My best friend is very good at travelling; she has everything she needs for a whole week in just one duffel bag!

I ride on top of it, but under the straps. Like this! It's pretty comfortable.

[travellingduck]

My best friend and I went for dinner in Oslo. We found a place right by the pier and the weather was perfect for looking at all the ships and boats. Ships and boats are very different, and if you mistake one for the other, someone who works on either ships or boats will be cross with you! I had some shrimp salad. Because I am a duck, I liked the green stuff best. The waitress said I was excellent. It is always nice to make new friends!

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This is the open air section of the Norske Folkemuseet in Oslo. It is a museum all about the culture of Norway through different ages. My favourite part was up a hill in Gamlebyen, the old village, where I found a house I would like to live in. I think it is a grain storage building and not actually a house, but I am a duck, so that seems perfect for me. I also met some barnyard friends! My best friend likes the little house with the tree best. She says that sometimes there are people in the village who are dressed up like in old times, and if you are very lucky, they will serve you soup made with vegetables grown here, and made right in the old houses' kitchens!

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Jeg elsker å ta en liten tur i skogen. I love taking a little walk in the woods! These woods are in the south of Norway.

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Look at these flowers! Aren't they great? They are very special. My best friend and I are here because she has to say goodbye to both of her grandparents. Her grandmother loved to tend flowers, and these are the very last ones left on the balcony. They are still doing well, even though grandmother has not been home for a long time. It is very sad to lose people we love, but my best friend says it is important to remember that it is all a natural part of life, and to keep on doing things that they would enjoy seeing you do!