Afternoon at the beach

The kids had a wonderful time playing at the beach today. It was a bit windy but that can't stop cousins having fun together.

We also enjoyed seeing the fishing village of Bud. How quaint. I wish we could have seen it in action with all the boats coming in with their catch of cod.

We also toured an old German fort built during WWII. It's hard to imagine war occurring in this quaint little town. I can only imagine what it was like back then.

Must hit the sack now as we have to get up early for an eight hour drive south to Bergen tomorrow. We have to take 4 ferries along the route.

Sabbath in Molde

It was fun hearing Andre preach in Norwegian today. I taught the 5 kids all about the story of Samuel. We had fun gathering wood, lighting candles, dusting the furniture and eating crackers as if we were little Samuel. Marcel helped out during the church service and played the organ for 3 songs. He did a great job.

Haholmen Fishing Village and Viking Ship sailing

What a fun trip we had yesterday afternoon. Andre and Irma took us further up the West Coast of Norway to a boat launch. We boarded a viking ship and set out for a little fishing village on an island. You can check it out at http://www.haholmen.no/default.aspx?menu=274

We watched a movie of a great adventurer who sailed around the world. The old ship was in the museum and we sat in the ship to watch the movie. Wow! It was so fun.

There is a conference center on the island with little cabins and a restaurant. A high class place.

Alesund - a beautiful city

Cruising the fjords

Andre suggested we take a cruise up the fjord to Geiranger, Norway from Alesund. It was a fun trip, but the weather didn't quite cooperate. We had fog for a lot of the day and once the fog lifted we realized we had been seeing only half the height of the cliff walls. It was just an amazing view of cliffside farms, waterfalls, and steep rock walls. Irma said the farmers use to tie their children up to trees so they wouldn't fall off the cliffs while they were playing. Can you imagine?

Molde Adventures

Marcel left his shaver on the ship coming to Oslo and it just arrived in the mail yesterday. He had fun growing out his beard for a week and then trying different styles before it all came off. Boy, oh boy, is it ever nice to feel his soft face again.

The boys built a huge fort at the school next door to Irma's house. Wouldn't that be a great recess activity. It wobbled a bit when Marcus got in the top, but it didn't make him a bit nervous. They were so proud of their accomplishment.

Irma and Andre's home is so classy. They have it decorated so well. It's been great staying with them. Their neighbor was so kind to let us have her upstairs with three bedrooms and a bathroom. We had the house key and came and went as we pleased. Such kindness.

Trollstigen or Troll ladder

We also enjoyed a drive up the switchbacks of the Trollstigen or Troll ladder. Good thing we weren't afraid of heights. It was a spectacular view. We even could buy reindeer skins. Poor reindeers.