Journazza

5000 kilometers in 13 days may not sound like a lot. But it equals ten trips between the two major Norwegian cities, Bergen and Oslo (one trip takes seven hours). That is how GOOD the Norwegian roads are.

Our journey started off through the Western fjords, passing the beautiful Sognefjell’s Road and Galdhøpiggen, Norway’s highest mountain, and dramatic scenery with fjords, mountains and lets not forget plenty of tunnels, towards the typical eastern-Norwegian scenery of trees, red farms, tractors, more farms and more trees……..In a bid to save time, we turned east after Trondheim towards the Swedish border.

Here we were surprised by the beauty of lakes and trees, the cities of Åre and Østersund turned out to be beautiful! Unfortunately we arrived the day after Midsummer’s day, a major festivity in Sweden, so nearly everything was shut. However, we managed to find some kebabs and yet another Swede who pretended he understood Norwegian.

The Swedish roads however were straight where the Norwegian roads are curvy, and the speed limit refreshingly higher. So we sped through Swedish Lapland towards the Arctic Circle. We were forced to stop when a reindeer decided to pee in the middle of the road, and wait for it to finish. That is not how I expected my first encounter with a wild reindeer would be!

Through Jokkmokk (such a fab name), and dull cities with snowmobiles in the gardens and plenty of mosquitoes, we finally got to the Swedish city with a Finnish name, Kiruna (with the previous Sami-name of Jukkasjärvi, you gotta love the names) where we stopped for a meal. What a grim city.

Traditionally a mining town, I can only imagine the employment rate to be drastically falling. Seven menus were posted in a restaurant, but only three were available. Something I’d expect in India, but not in Sweden.

As we approached the Norwegian border, the mountainous landscape reappeared – and no mistake, a minute after crossing the border – the landscape CHANGED! Suddenly huts appeared in the middle of nowhere and the curvy road and low speed limits returned.

After a night in Narvik, we arrived on a rainy, cloudy and somewhat chilly day in the fishing town of Svolvær.

Lofoten – at last!
Here we managed to miss a ferry to a tiny island due to technical problems and instead went on a boat trip to what is boasted as the narrowest fjord in Norway, the Trollfjord. It really wasn’t that fantastic compared to the fjords of Western Norway, so I must admit I was a little disappointed. I was not disappointed with the taste of the fish we caught, nor was I disappointed when a sea eagle suddenly came close to our boat. That was one of the highlights.

In the tiny Henningsvær, the oldest fishery in Norway, I found some lovely designed handicrafts. The town itself was just lovely. The fishing boats I remember from my childhood are still in use in Lofoten, and what a sight it is.

We then stayed with my friend’s relatives at the absolutely stunning location of Hov. Ocean, more ocean and lovely beaches. Her relatives were sweating and wearing t-shirts and dreading 22 degrees, whilst I was freezing!

It was also interesting to know that hardly any new houses are being built in the area which suffers from decline in the population, so their kitchen was refreshingly another nostalgic feature: a typical grandma-kitchen!

We managed to watch a surf-competition and watch the midnight sun (well, unfortunately the midnight sun doesn’t actually appear until July, so this sun actually sort of disappeared into the ocean instead of remaining and rising again) and enjoying the light summer night Then it was time to sample some whale steak. It’s my second attempt, and I’m still not a fan.

Another highlight came when I ventured off by ferry to Røst, one of the bird kingdoms in Europe. Just off the 12 meters tall island of Røst there are millions and millions of puffins and other birds. I spotted five to six sea eagles at the same time! Amazing.

The Italian Pietro Querini’s stranding in the area in 1450s marked the start of the prosperous stockfish-trade with Italy. Interestingly the tourist brochure from Røst was in English, Norwegian, and hang on – not German, but ITALIAN! Che bello! Italy also owns its own island in the stockfish-land, and Røst sends all of its pupils to Italy before they leave school!

Well, the Italians were rescued and wrote interesting notes about the lifestyle on the islands which were archived in the Vatican. Apparently the Italians found the Norwegians to be more liberal (the women weren’t locked inside their houses and were recorded to wear less than their Italian counterparts at some occasions) in some ways, and stricter in other parts (religion). By the sounds of my guide, I reckon that archive must be an interesting read!!

Separate households at Skomvær lighthouse

Built in the 1880s, the manager of the lighthouse lived on the island with his family. In a house just next to the manager, his two assistant lived in – their two separate houses. They all had separate households…..! Insane.
A housemaid and governess also worked at the tiny island, but the housemaid’s role was really to keep the housewife sane. When the weather was at it’s worst, it was impossible to leave the island..

The best story was when the inhabitants managed to leave the island, and took the four-hour trip to Røst, only to return to realize the inhabitants at Skomvær didn’t think they’d return that day due to bad weather. Without their help, it was impossible to get ashore. They simply only had one shot at trying to get ashore – lifting the boat with a crane. So, then they had to return to Røst…and hoping they would be spotted the following day..

On our way from the land of stockfish, we stopped at Saltstraumen, the strongest tidal current in the world.. Only to notice it was TINY!

At the museum for South Sámi-population I met a girl who grew up with reindeers. Without thinking I asked how many reindeers her family had, and she answered without thinking, 3-400. My friend who didn’t enter the museum, was surprised I got an answer. It is just like asking someone how much money they have in the bank, my friend said. She was correct of course, but really, it was interesting to know.

Moscus Ox

At Dovre, a beautiful mountain, there are nearly 250 moscus oxen that were brought from Greenland in the 1940s. My friend and I went to the area we had been told where they were located: in Hjerkinn shooting field.
Just passing a grenade field, we spotted the ox, and were on our way when a car stopped. Out came a safari guide, and so we were lucky to follow his German safari for a little while.
He told us that there could be grenades in the area and that the army would be closing the road the following day. There were no warnings, and tourists were camping in this area! The guide also told us the army shoots with their canons towards the area where Norway’s only wild reindeers are, and at the moscus ox. Ludicrous.

And with that we left through some pretty wild waterfalls towards the steep Trollstig Highway (Trollstigen) and some amazingly majestic mountains, and the touristy but UNESCO-listed Geiranger-fjord before returning in Bergen, where I’m now getting my knees back into shape!

I feel that it is time to add some news. Whilst googling and searching for information on healing fibroids I have been overwhelmed. The advice on what to eat and what not to eat is conflicting. I do believe the diet has an effect on our health, but I am trying to take one step at a time and listening to the body. The most important thing seems to forget about the “must dos” and concentrate on living every moment fully. I hope that reducing stress and increasing joy in my life will help healing and shrink the fibroid. I still have some way to go before I see it as a blessing, but in some way I’m already grateful to it.

I hope my experiences can help others. What is helping beyond any doubt, is homeopathy. I wasn’t sure whether it would work and was sceptical, but its effect is so immediate it’s nothing but amazing. And the fact that I can go longer between the treatments proves that. However, some of the side effects have returned since I quit acupuncture. So, I have decided to complement foot zone therapy with acupuncture. At least I feel more energetic now than I did in November. That doesn’t mean I’m as energetic as my friends. On a recent trip, I realized I need more sleep, more time to just chill and watch the ocean, and that I have less energy than my friend who came with me. I guess that just gives me reason to continue going to the gym, continuing my quest to find the right diet. More so, it is a quest to stop eating the foods I know I shouldn’t. Why that is so difficult, I do not know! But I’m determined to do make it. In the meantime, I hope yoga will help and spend some time in the outdoors, enjoying nature.

So far I have noticed reducing caffeine helps. I’m trying to cut back on yeast and sugar, as well as processed foods….. And I’m taking milk thistle, although I can’t say I’ve noticed something yet. Then some say apple vinegar cider helps. So I might give that a go as well. But more so, I came over a book by Gillian Bowles, which I have some faith in, because I am a fan of Louise Hays.