God Jul! In Norwegian, that means Merry Christmas! Anddd that's about all the Norwegian I've picked up on so far.
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| Sledding on a traditional Norwegian sled |
Christmas Eve was spent cooking (I made an apple cake and stuffing for the turkey) and cross country skiing. And, of course, celebrating! In Norway, the tradition is to open Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. So Christmas Eve, after a delicious and relaxing candlelight dinner in the cabin, we opened presents. Oliver, Thea's 13 year old brother, handed out gifts from under the tree. I has brought with me a small package that my mother kindly sent to me in Spain from the USA with small stocking stuffers, but Thea's parents surprised me with a wool sweater, Bergan's ski hat, neck warmer, and socks! More importantly, though, it was so relaxing to spend time with Thea, and I feel so blessed that her family welcomed me in for the holidays.
Christmas Day, we slept in, came over to the main cabin, made breakfast, and lounged on the couches next to the fireplace, watching National Geographic and reading and knitting. Quiteeeee relaxing. Today, I woke up early, came over to the cabin, cooked scrambled eggs and made coffee...then proceeded to spend the day knitting, reading, and watching reruns of American movies on tv. After, of course, a long walk outside with the dogs soaking in the Norwegian countryside.
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| Relaxing next to the fireplace |
The landscape here is beautiful. Bare and white, it stretches out in rolling hills until it meets the steep rocky mountains. Christmas Eve, we skied from the driveway down to a trail that looped through the neighborhoods. With the blowing wind and rain, the snow has been pretty icy, making it hard to ski. Also, I'm not the greatest cross country skier, so compared to kids who were raised on skies, I didn't think I was too terrible. Christmas day and today, we were literally trapped inside from the bad weather. Last night we lost power the wind was so bad, and all day today there has been rain. This makes it pretty easy to stay inside curled up next to the fireplace and sleep in every morning....
What a great vacation this has been! In two days, Thea and I will head back to Oslo and catch flights back "home;" she goes to Denver, and I'm off to Madrid to meet up with my sister and Dad!
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| Dusk (around 4pm) over the mountainside |
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| A traditional Norwegian house, built by Thea's father |
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