Norging it... again...

 It's been way too long since I've blogged about my travels, but in all honesty I haven't been travelling much... well, not true as I've been a few places here and there, but just haven't reported anything...  That is until today!  

As you can see above, I'm on a train, sitting comfortably, heading back to Oslo after a super short and quick visit to Bergen.  We are on our last days in Norway, after being here over three (3) weeks in Bodø, Arctic Norway.  

Stay tuned, more to follow... soon... hopefully! ;-)

Back to Norway!

Hilsen, as they say in Norway!  Imagine my surprise when I got packed up and heading back to Arctic Norway!  This time around it was for a short visit, but I did manage to visit or re-visit some of the good spots we had found three years ago!

We made our way back to that area with the nice lake, not too far from Bodø.  This time I managed to find a tree my size!

Stinkypaw completed this Inukshuk, just perfect for me!  A nice way to end our little excursion around Bodø.

Of course, Stinkypaw went postal, again!  Think about it, the lady at the library where she bought most of her cards, remembered her from three years ago!  Same thing for the girl at the bakery!  You know you've been often when...

This time, she almost managed to wrangle herself a mini meet-up with a Postcrossing member in Bodø!  That member actually sent Stinkypaw an official card last year, and when she found out she was going back, she contacted that member and asked if they could meet.  And they did.  We ended up for a bite to eat at "Mon Ami" a French restaurant, wrote a few cards, and talked lots.  That member was a timid but nice gal.  We'll see if they keep in touch...

Everyday we were in Bodø Stinkypaw shopped for cards, she wrote cards daily and even tried that new feature on Postcrossing called "Travel Mode" which gives you an ID code from the country you're visiting.  She was all happy to be in a "rare" country, and she actually sent forty official cards in the two weeks we were there. 

Enjoying a moka from the bakery, in the same little apartment we had three years before!  She actually left a few days prior to her husband to go to Oslo and attend a meet-up there.  She was really looking forward to it, and it was fun!  I got to see that lady we had met our last visit in Oslo, she's holding me next to the pile of cards signed that day, a few hundreds.  They were 10 women attending, a nice group of ladies.

After all those cards, we took a walk in the port and went for some isk, we walked a bunch, but it was good... so I'm told!

On the way back, since Stinkypaw was alone, she decided to take some shots along the way... as we walk by the City Hall - a weird square shaped building, with an important role in the history of Oslo/Norway...

In the park along the main street, heading towards our hotel...  One of the nice fountains...

It was actually VERY hot in Oslo at the time.  The morning we left Bodø it was 9 degrees, after a plane ride of 1.5 hours we arrived in Oslo to 30 degrees.  We went from winter to summer!  She even had to buy herself a pair of shorts, it was so hot!

This statue was also along the way to our hotel, on the street (as it was three years ago too), one of many pieces of art we can find walking in Oslo, it's actually pretty nice to see all those big pieces just there on the streets for everyone to enjoy as they walk by!

One of the souvenir that was brought back, was this Norwegian duckie... my new pal!

On our last day, we enjoyed a cold drink on a terrasse and a bite to eat.  The eat was a bit much, but the water was cold and the company was good, so a good way to close this visit back to Norway.

Eight Trip: Bodø

Our last Sunday in Bodø... Today I was introduced to fikka at the Bodø Bakeri.

After a bite to eat, which was deeeelicious, we walked to the Nordland Museum, on the way to the Post office,  The museum is actually one of the only house that survived the German raid during WWII, the rest of the town had burned down.

It wasn't a great museum, but one of the movie they showed of the history of Bodø was actually very interesting.  To think that the Germans took the town over riding on bicycles is so strange, and yet., history is proof... A nice way to close the loop on this Bodø adventure.

Seventh Trip: To a Glacier

We headed South (yep, the glacier is SOUTH of where we've been for the past thirteen weeks! crazy!). Part of the way we had been to, like Saltstraumen but then continued on in a direction we hadn't been towards yet.

Not long after Saltsraumen, we made a little stop, Stinkypaw wanted to feel the blue waters... it was way too cold for a dip or anything of the sort, just a little finger dip was enough...

Åselistraumen

The scenery along the way was breathtaking, to say the least... and the winding roads...

The scenery was beautiful, following the coast: fjords, the sea, forest and farms. We also saw many cyclists, a little buggy being pulled by a pony and a reindeer on our way back.

in Ørnes

Arctic Norway is beautiful, when it is sunny, that is!

Fifth Trip: Drive South to the Arctic Circle

We headed South to the Arctic Circle. Yes, South. Bodø is located at 67 degrees 16 minutes and 48 seconds latitude North and the Arctic Circle is at 66 degrees 33 minutes 45.7 seconds. Did you know that its position varies? It moves by something like 49 feet per year.

Within about thirty minutes outside the city we were following the fljord. The blue of the water, the sky and the puffy clouds here and there were making this gorgeous scenery that we had to stop and capture.

It was windy but managed to stand for this shot.

Giving that the road was nice, barely any traffic, but quite winding and on the edge of the water, there wasn't many places we could stop to take pictures. The further South we were going, the higher we were climbing, and there the more snow we were seeing.

Look at those blues, beautiful!

It actually got to a point that only the road was clear of snow, everything else around us was white.  It was beautiful, and somewhat bizarre. The further South we went, the whiter it got. It looked like there was a lot of snow, not only what we were seeing on the surface. It looked deep.

After being in the car for 2.5 hours, we did get to the Arctic Circle.  There wasn't many people around, but they sure were replaced by snow!

He isn't a short man, 6' 2"

That wall of snow was on the way from the parking lot to the Center, which is in fact a big souvenir shop, they had cut through the snow to clear the path.  It wasn't pushed snow... it was very impressive!

The monument is behind where He stands, and I'm on top of the snow wall.  In the Summer months, supposedly you can walk up to it, on grass.  There were a few monuments marking the spot.

At the center, they sold postcards AND had a special cancellation stamp, which Stinkypaw had read about and wanted. They even offered to mail the cards for Christmas. They had a special box for that, for cards to be sent out for Christmas. There was also a little cafeteria. Their special of the day was Reindeer, potatoes and coffee. While our food was being prepared Stinkypaw wrote myself a special souvenir card, because after all how often can one say that they've crossed the Arctic Circle and that they had to drive South to do so! ah!

The Center as shown in the postcard

Cancellation from the Arctic Circle

On the way back we actually saw a reindeer along the road, so it was the perfect way to close that visit to the Arctic Circle!

Happy National Day Norway!

Today is Norway's National Day!  Flags everywhere, people walking around in their traditional costumes, which are beautiful by the way, everything is showing how proud the people are of being Norwegian.  It is nice to see.  The TV only shows footage of Norwegians around the world celebrating their day, from the Royal Palace in Oslo where the crowd is parading in front of the Palace where the Royal Family stands and waves to everyone.

For the occasion, I've raised my little Norway flag!

Third Trip: Back North again

Today they drove back towards the mountains, because when the sky clears up the scenery looks so different.

Proof that things are getting warmer, slowly...

Look at this beautiful scenery, too bad it does not convey how friggin' windy it was that day!  She had put me down to take a landscape shot and I almost flew away, so she opted to take a selfie with me, since He was not getting out of the car...

Up in the mountains, they spotted one of the many, many water falls there was around there.  Granted everything was melting, but still, there were all sizes and types of water falls to be found.

By a little creek, with strong current which was also drinkable water, as many lakes, and rivers in that area...

He got out of the car on the way back, and after a walk in very damp woods managed to find these lovely flat rocks which made a nice water fall.  The sound of the rushing water was something else.

During the day

I was asked what I did during the day, how did I keep myself busy and all.  Since he works and has some limits as to how far he can go from the office, our exploration is somewhat limited, and since the stores are not open on Sunday, that is the day they chose to explore, since everything is closed anyway.  The rhythm or pace of the place is slower that what they are used to, let's say.

A few days ago, Stinkypaw came home with this cute friend for me, from Finland.  I will say this it is lovely!

During the day, I keep Stinkypaw company and also do the Postcrossing thing with her...

I also watch some TV, granted sometimes I have to read the subtitles because it is a Norwegian show, but they do catch some channels in English...

Doing my impression of the man

Just like him, too, I've taken a liking to local beer...

Viking Size Beer Can

And at times, I catch up with some friends online...

That is pretty much how I spend my days... I also read some and listen while Stinkypaw tries to learn the language, which doesn't sound too easy.  I'm keeping busy, no worries, I'm a beaver after all!

Second Trip: Heading North-East

This week, it was cloudy but no rain, for our little drive exploration.  Since He likes to stop to look at maps when exploring (he likes to know where he is), Stinkypaw went out to try to take some pictures, and I photobombed her shot!

I'm sure it is nice when not cloudy... 

As we kept going, about 15 km from town there was still quite a bit of snow, unlike in town where everything has melted.  The lakes were still pretty frozen as you can see below.

Isn't that little cabin precious?

We kept going a bit further and the sun started to peak out some. Here I am trying to catch some rays...

Everything was still ice solid, and the wind was crisp, and oh so pretty! Don't you think?

First Trip: Around Bodø, Arctic Norway

Went for a drive around Bodø... it started out nice but the weather turned fast, still interesting sights...

As we're getting ready to leave...

Don't you just love how my tail reflects in the windshield?  Yeah, I thought so too!

We headed East towards the University of Nordland. It's not it town as such, but about twenty to thirty minutes out.

The campus looked nice and it was bigger than anticipated.  We continued out, towards Saltstraumen. We had to get through some long tunnels and thought the representation on the GPS in the rental car, was cool...

When we got out of one of the tunnels, it was raining, but the view was still gorgeous, despite the grey skies. Those snow covered mountain tops were really pretty...

As we got closer to Saltstraumen, the rocks along the shore were interesting looking and I had to pose...

Do you think it's my good side?  Not that I have a bad side, really.

We ended this first road trip at the little cafe below the apartment, for a cold one for him, cappuccino and soup for her.

At Cafe Kafka

A good beginning to this Norwegian Adventure.

How I came about...

Since I've been on a few adventures, I've decided to start telling my stories.

This is me, Likki, the Trimmed Beaver, on the day I was given to Stinkypaw (my caregiver, parent, owner, friend, companion...) - you can read about Stinkypaw's version here.

Montréal, March 18th, 2015

Why was I given to her you ask?  Well, that's an interesting story.  A little quirky and oh so funny. You see the woman, Z, holding me in the above picture, she decided to offer me as a departing gift to Stinkypaw, following a running gag between them.  I must tell you why I was chosen among all stuffed animals available, and why I was named Likki.

Stinkypaw worked with Z, and often Z would end up mailing the invoices Stinkypaw had prepared during her visit at the office.  Z comes from an East European country and at times doesn't get the subtleties of  English.  The stamps used for local mailing, at the time, were cute little beavers.  One day Stinkypaw asked Z if she could stamped and mailed a bunch of envelopes for her, to which Z answered: Of course!  I love to lick beavers!  When she said that, Stinkypaw and a coworker looked at each others and cracked up.  They knew she didn't know the expression and decided to let it go.   One evening, when Z asked if there was any beaver for her to lick, Stinkypaw told her that she should not be saying that, to which Z said, but I like to lick the beavers!  When asked if she knew what she was saying, Z simply answered that she liked to put the stamps on the envelopes. Stinkypaw explained the innuendo, Z was shocked and quickly said: Oh God, no I don't like to lick beavers!

That became a running gag.  So when Stinkypaw announced that she was leaving the country for three months in Arctic Norway, Z prepared her a nice cake and offered me to her as a reminder of their gag.  Right then and there, I was name Likki.  Stinkypaw wanted a name that sounded Scandinavian.  Later on ''The Trimmed Beaver'' was added to keep with the historic of my birth if you will.  Z asked that I traveled with them to Norway, and I did and since I've kept going.

Bodø, March 29th, 2015

Home for three months

This is me in Stinkypaw's little apartment in Bodø, Arctic Norway, at the beginning of our travels together.  At first she felt a little embarrassed to dig me out of her bag, but now, not so much, every chance she gets I`m there!  I even became her mascot lately for her Postcrossing thing...

I will do "journal entries" per little trips I've taken... so enjoy!