Norway! The home of boxed wine?

after a long but pleasant flight with Singapore air , during witch i started my 25th birthday. we arrived in Copenhagen and ran across the air port and then on to Oslo via plane. caught the train from the airport to Oslo central station then off down the line on the 6 hour train to sira . the train ride was good we traveled through some amazing country , unfortunately we where quite tired and slept a lot of the way.

from sira we caught a bus to flekijord where we were picked up by arnhill , Hans mother. a quick shopping trip a 10 minute drive to the family boat house , loaded onto a arnhills boat then across the bay to the island where the wedding was held.

once there we had brief intro with everyone already there and where shown our accommodation , a converted boat shed above the water , was a great place ,very happy . aimed for early beds but because it doesn’t get dark until 12 pm and even then its still not true darkness , only a nz twilight. we didn’t get to bed till 1 am.

next day was all prep for the wedding and more quest arriving . i helped with flower arrangements under the clever guidance of a qualified florist. i also got the chance to help noel , hans father pull in the fishing nets in the fjords , was new and exciting , some mackerel and a very poisonous little fish that was handled with extreme care. evening came around and we ate and drink and made new friends. tomorrow was going to be a big day. didn’t stop a 2 am bedtime though.

DSCF1712 — a bit of kiwi knot tying and ingenuity , all i can lay claim to is one tarp and the pole and ropes holding it up. there are 6 other tarps that make up the “court yard”

THE BIG DAY.

final prep under way. with ceremony at 3 and dinner at 5. it was a beautiful ceremony ( a work of art imagined ) and performed by two of Jess and Han’s closest friends. a few tears leaked from the crowd and bride alike, the weather played ball beautifully.

a simple and delicious meal of traditional Norwegian fish stew and bread followed with drink and lots of laughs . Martin Jess’s father opened the speeches with a side splitting recount of jess’s childhood including photos and stories. the delicious boxed wine flowed freely and so did the laughs

so the night continued with more wine and food , a bone fire was lite to celebrate the Norwegian midsummer , the party carried on into the night with music and dancing and singalongs to some great kiwi anthems. 3 am bed for us.

the next two days was all about recovery and pack down. we managed an expedition to the neighboring island for a hike to some lakes the feed all the fresh water for the region. then before we new it it was time to leave , all packed up , back across the fjord on the bus and off to the ferry. we really enjoyed Norway and will be back . Thank you very much Arnhil and noel , and Jess and Hans for having us .

On to Denmark , we left Norway from the ferry in kristiansand and arrived in Hirtshals . traveled to Torby by taxi and stayed in a nice little guest house. next day we traveled to Aalborg. cool university city , stayed in a camp ground on the outskirts of town , had the whole place to ourselves. we explored the city a little and found some awesome street art , on the way home we were treated to an epic sunset.

leaving Aalborg by train we headed to Aahus staying two nights . anther beautiful European city with awesome architecture and little to no traffic congestion. hired a bike on the second day and toured the city , bikes are every where here. everything opens really take but is open long into the evening , 11- 8 . traveled the water front and wandered through the local cathedral . great stay in Aarhus, off to Oslo.

one of many bike parking zones in the cbd

also wandered through Den gamble by , a amazing walk through time in Denmark , a historic town with actors roaming around . a active fair ground , stores , 1874 merchants house and kitchen , 1970 shopping street and much more , well worth a visit.

https://www.dengamleby.dk/en/den-gamle-by/