Dalsnuten

It's been a busy weekend again.

Friday started with dinner at a Russian restaurant. I had fish and potatoes. It was really Norwegian food. The beer was Russian at least, and the waitress was Latvian.

Saturday I got up early and walked downtown to check out the tourist information center. The normal market had been moved into a different plaza because they were have a concert in the main plaza by the harbor. The tourist shop told me that there were no ferries to the UK this time of year, which I kind of suspected. I did get plenty of pamphlets and a ferry and bus schedule for trips to Bergen.

Then I walked up to the watchtower/museum but it didn't open until noon, so I will have to try again sometime. At that point I needed to get back because we were making another trip to the grocer. I did get a chance to listen to some Norwegian rock music on the way back. It wasn't bad, even though I couldn't understand the words.

After the grocery store, Spencer and I set out to hike up a nearby mountain called Dalsnuten. It's not far from Stavanger. It's just across Gandsfjord right across from our office.

At first we went to a town called Dale where there was suppose to be an access point to a hiking trail, but we couldn't find it. So we went back to a small parking area we saw on the side of the road. The initial part of the hike was steep and wet. We speculated that this was not the normal route as it was not well traveled. However, the trail was well marked and we found our way.

We continued hiking through the mountains and fields towards Dalsnuten. It was a very Lord of the Rings-like experience. The trail was mostly just red marks on rocks and trees. Otherwise it felt like the landscape hadn't changed in thousands of years. We finally made it to the top and placed our rocks on the pile, as is Norwegian tradition. We then hiked back taking a slightly easier and more scenic route.

Fortunately there were only a few minor falls through the entire hike. However, we were both muddy and tired. Also, there was minimal rain, otherwise it would have been a very different experience.

Today we went to Stokka lake and went for a run around it. Tomorrow my brother is coming to visit. It's suppose to rain all week, of course. I hope the forecast changes some and it clears up for him.