Hei, Hei! That is how folks greet each other here in Odda, Norway!

Whats my greeting?

Hei Hei. og jeg snakker ikke norsk (Hi Hi! I don’t speak Norwegian).

Almost everyone here can speak some English, but Norwegian is the primary language, so I have to let others know I cannot hang. Ok though – so Norway!? What a treat! Of course, per usual there are ups and downs. I actually might do another blog post just about spending the holidays alone or the extreme amount of extroversion work-stays can require. However, in the mean time, I want to catch everyone up!

The Family

I am currently being hosted by Terje and Tove, the owners and builders of Vikinghaug. They live together with their foster son, two cats, dog, and a bird! In addition, they have four daughters who have moved out to study or work.

One of their daughters, Tonje is employed as a full-time carpenter for Vikinghaug, so I see her a lot! I met the others Friday at a big family dinner. They are all such kind and loving people. I really feel welcomed.

I’ll spare giving a total biography about everyone in the family, but a few fun facts…

• Terje is a musician with a love of country music. He is also on Spotify (Terje Gravidal). The music is catchy and fun to listen to while I clean.
• Tove is a ceramist, making bowls, mugs, plates, candle holders, etc. Her work is lovely!
• The kiddo (just leaving his name out for an abundance of caution) is so full of energy and life. He is also very smart. I think it is so neat how Norway prioritizes play and nature for kids. Many days he is packing a hiking backpack for school and going out on a big hike with his class!

The Work

It is labor work, somewhat mindless, which can be nice. I have tasks like cleaning the apartments, folding linen, organizing, etc. Still, even jobs that seem easy have a learning curve. Tonje and Tove gave me lots of corrections and redid most of my work for the first 2 days. However, with a little ability to laugh at myself and a desire to learn, I’ve now gotten the hang of the basics!

I also will say the work reflects how much these people care about their business. One day I was tasked with cleaning the windows (as in that was the whole day’s task). I was confused because growing up, I windexed and wiped the windows; it took minutes. Here, there is so much more to it, and window cleaning took a full 5 hours. It might be easy to be annoyed by the perfection of it all, but I am not in the slightest. I watch Tonje scrub at and fix every single problem she can see, and its easy to see how much they all value the standards of this business. I would 100% suggest Vikinghaug to anyone thinking about visiting Odda, Norway.

The Food

OK. Here is where everything is insane. The Food Is AMAZING. I have never eaten this well in my entire life. (Sorry mom. I do love and appreciate you, but this is next level.)

Breakfast: We make ourselves. My go too’s have been doctored-up porridge or eggs (a few that come from their own chickens), or cheese and meat on fancy bread . Also, there is coffee from a cool coffee machine that does that thing where your americano has the little foam layer on it.

Lunch: Mix of things – deer stew, baked vegetables with cheese, pan seared chicken and big beautiful salads, or build your own adventure with arrays of meats and cheeses and spreads.

Dinner: Ahhhh The best. My first night we had lamb and potatoes and salad. My second night we had fish w/ vegetables in a tomato soup. A big family dinner was a delightful (and large) assortment of sushi and tapas. Tonight I had leftover fish soup and rice but also a nice slab of some cooked white fish alongside it. I am so so lucky. I almost feel like I need to eat a gas-station sand-which and monster to remind my body not to get to comfortable.

The Activity

I haven’t been here long, but I enjoy walking in nature, tasting everything from the grocery store’s candy bins, making pepperkakemenn (gingerbread cookies) with the kiddo, and also playing lots of guitar and piano.

Thursday: I found a local bouldering gym! It is really small and in an old train station, but it was $18 for the entire month, and I have 24/7 access. It was so fun to break out my climbing shoes. I met the owner who is simultaneously building a bigger gym next door where he plans to have a bar and live dj!

Friday: Fake Christmas!!! Basically this was a day where they could gather their whole family together, so we did a fun tapas dinner. Afterwards, a few of us went to a local bar for a jazz show. Tove and Terje bought me my ticket as well as some Norwegian cider, which is drank more like a fine wine than a pint of cider.

Saturday: I spent half the day cleaning, then I went on a five hour hike. I ultimately had to turn around because the path was too snowy and I didn’t have snow shoes, but the views were still great! That evening, I had some much needed alone time and then had a short meeting at a local hotel to hike Trolltunga.

Sunday: Trolltunga will get its own whole post. Also, there is so much else to say in general.

Talk Soon!

Ashley