We (finally) traveled to Norway to visit Joey & Conny in their hometown of Tromsø. We got our winter gear together, bid Gans & Griz farewell, and hit the road / skies!

Visiting Tromsø

As expected, we arrived to a true winter wonderland. These are views outside Joey’s & Conny’s home.

We took it easy our first night there and got a sushi making lesson.

Sightseeing

On Saturday we headed in to town to explore the local area.

We enjoyed walking around in the fresh air & sunshine & seeing the unique local scenery.

The building in the top left corner is where Joey first worked when he moved here. Michael was brave to sit on the snowy bench!

We went inside a few stores, including the obligatory tourist shops, capturing Michael’s affinity for viking culture. We were also shocked to learn that wine is only sold by the  “Vinmonopolet.” Translation: wine monopoly. The government controls & inflates the price of wine, and only beer or alcohol of 5% or less is sold in other stores in Norway.

Later we saw an impressive Fjord and enjoyed afternoon coffee & cake on a neighboring island (Kvaløya). That night, Conny & Annie decorated the Easter tree in preparation for the upcoming holiday. We got to see firsthand that the Easter holiday in Norway and other European countries is as big as Thanksgiving in the US.

Skiing in Tromsø

The next day we walked to a nearby skiing trail. It was interesting to see that skiing is an everyday activity like walking, running, or riding a bike in Norway. We saw quite a few people “skiing” their dogs, including this cute little one sporting a winter coat. If you look close you will notice she lost a few booties along the way!

After skiing, Conny introduced us to a welcomed traditional German after-skiing hot beverage & dessert.

Kicking Back

On Monday we went to the University to meet Conny for lunch and see the area where Joey & Conny work. After lunch we walked around a bit and saw a nearby ski jump, Kindergarten school, and reindeer. Everywhere we looked was a winter wonderland!

The next day we took some time indoors to relax & enjoy games & books. We only had to go outside to get in our shopping for the rest of the week before the Påske (Easter) craziness hit the stores. The stores close from early Wednesday through the following Monday for the major holiday weekend.

Dog Sledding

Wednesday was our big day for our dog sledding tour. We were all first-timers. Annie was particularly surprised by the size of the sled and to learn that we would be driving our own dog teams! It turned out to be quite fun. Michael said it was his favorite tourist experience ever. Everyone got a chance to drive the dog teams and only a few of us capsized our partner in the sled. It snowed the whole time.

That night we were treated to an authentic Norwegian seafood dinner with a beautiful view of the water & mountains while it snowed.

Cabin Time

It is Norwegian tradition to leave the city and head to a cabin over the long Easter holiday. Joey was lucky to win a cabin lottery through his job so we had a great place to stay for a few days over the long weekend. We saw some spectacular views as we headed out of town.

En route to our cabin, we stopped at the cabin of good friends Tom & Tracy. There was quite a hike involved in getting to the cabin, but it was worth it for the views and good company once we arrived.

We enjoyed an authentic Norwegian dinner and loved meeting Joey’s & Conny’s friends. The cabin has been there since the 1930s and was filled with charm & love.

On the way from Tom & Tracy’s cabin to our cabin, we saw a Moose! We weren’t able to get our cameras out fast enough, but it was pretty unique to see a Moose walking through the snow in the wild.

We arrived at our cabin after dark, and spent our first night playing games and listening to traditional Påskekrim on the radio. What is Påskekrim, you ask? Easter crime! It was really interesting and hilarious that this is a tradition. The book stores in particular were promoting mystery novels for people to take to their cabins, the milk cartons had a mystery crime cartoon drawn on them for families to solve over their Easter holiday in their cabins, and we were greeted at our cabin by some kind of crime story being read in Norwegian on the radio. Who would have thought Easter and crime go together?

Our cabin was very spacious and cozy at the same time. It was so thoughtful of the owners to leave some festive Easter decorations, candles, and bright yellow napkins to help us enjoy the holiday in style.

Our first day in the cabin we went out for a bit and enjoyed skiing around the local area. Michael got to try snowshoeing and decided that it was definitely more enjoyable than skiing, at least for a skiing newbie.

The next day we got out and enjoyed more skiing and snowshoeing and were introduced to yet another Norwegian Easter tradition: pølse (sausage, or hot dogs) made on a disposable grill in the snow. Who knew? Joey brought a shovel and was kind enough to dig us out a bench in the snow. Conny packed hot tea and we had a great time enjoying lunch in the Norwegian countryside.

Our last night in the cabin we had a yummy taco dinner.

Easter

We enjoyed a few Easter treats courtesy of Conny & Joey on our last night in Norway. We had a great time and great hosts! We are looking forward to our next visit!

Right by the airport (Joey’s house is less than 10 minutes from the airport) we stopped to see some kiters. Joey is an avid kiter and is participating in Vake this week, an extreme long distance kiting competition. Good luck Joey!

Oh and we saw the northern lights! I couldn’t get a picture, but it was very cool to get to see such an amazing natural phenomenon. We were surprised by how fast they seemed to change shape. We saw mostly light green swirls and didn’t get the full effect, but it still counts! Next time!

Joey asked what differences we noticed between Norway & the US, out of curiosity. Here’s the list we have come up with so far:

• the paper towel rolls are shorter (and so cute!)
• the toilets don’t flush in a swirl
• Easter is like their Thanksgiving
• Påskekrim!
• on the airplane they served milk instead of cream with coffee
• people “skiing” their dogs
• the amount of people skiing, walking, biking, or being outdoorsy in general in what we would typically consider to be extreme conditions (we being those of us who are used to living in the desert or tropical climates)
• driving on basically snow covering ice
• the different driving rules (yielding in opposite ways than we do here)
• people skiing to work

We took a few video clips during our trip and hope you enjoy catching a glimpse of our experience!