The last time I traveled extensively, I had a backpack, a Lonely Plant Guide and a vague sense of a plan. I ended up in hostels most of the time, met fantastic people, figured out new places and saw great things. My journal was in a beautiful notebook which I still have and treasure. But times have changed… now I record the passing of our days on computer and Airbnb has become our family version of a hostel. It is often cheaper for our family of 4 to rent space in an Airbnb than it is to all stay in a hostel; it is WAY cheaper than a hotel and it provides experiences that I have come to treasure much more than I expected. It also has allowed us to find places to stay off the beaten path and to get to know people from the area. The last two places we stayed are good examples.
In Odda, I chose a place because it was close to the hiking we wanted to do. It had a good price and the owner got rave reviews; it looked like she cared about the small details. It was run by an Australian women who was married to a Norwegian man (who was always smiling or laughing every time we met him and was beyond delightful). They had a beautiful patio (where we had almost every meal), a park outside the door, locally grown tomatoes and a local swimming hole which we took advantage of again and again. After three nights there, the kids wanted to live there permanently. They wanted to come back in a year or two and be her nanny as she is expecting in October. We lingered at the end of our stay, not wanting to let this charming town, this apartment or our hosts go.
The following place we stayed in resulted from a change in plans. We had planned to go to Flam, a more popular area of Norway, but after seeing the crowds, we found an Airbnb on a raspberry farm in a different valley. It was a good decision. The old house was built by the grandparents of the current owner. The upstairs apartment greeted us with bowl of fresh raspberries and over the next two days we probably picked and consumed 1-2 gallons of berries. After a lovely conversation with our hosts on their patio about kids, education, foreign language, schooling and much more, they gave us nice walking directions to the city center past an old Stave church (built around 1100 AD) and back. We saw only a few other people the entire day and loved exploring the country side and a great museum about climate change.
Staying at Airbnbs in the States has seemed far more impersonal than these lovely visits which have been a real highlight of our trip so far.
One more bowl of raspberries!
After an incredible thunderstorm that started a small fire near us, the sun came back and our whole family (now listening to the Alchymist as we drive) said the rainbow must be an good omen. You can see their "old" raspberry farm in the field.
The old Stave church, one of 26 still standing, was constructed with no metal (including nails).
Enjoying breakfast on the shared patio with our lovely family in Odda.
Getting the most out of the local swimming hole.
The many moods of Norway and the many moods of these two.
Finding small treasures along the way.
Glacial science experiments, hydroelectric modeling and climate change were the focus of this great kids museum on the way to central Europe's largest glacier.
Exploring a model ice cave, including frozen bodies.
A haunting exhibit on the effects of global warming. It made me miss my grandfather Al's wisdom and say a prayer for the next generations.