Juvet and Gieranger (aka two mistakes but ultimately wins!) - Day 4

On Sept 20, we had dinner plans in a nearby town. It was our only agenda item for the day. 

The night before, I had a short, interrupted and jet laggy night's sleep. This did allow me to take a time lapse video of the sunrise (as described in a previous post).

We had breakfast, took a couple of pictures from around the Juvet grounds and then I took a nap for two hours.

 

After the nap, we decided to check out of our room at Juvet before heading to Geiranger Norway for dinner, since we had to leave at 4am the following morning.

Mistake #1: I checked out, swiped my credit card for like a hundred thousand Kroner or something and then checked the total cost on xe.com. "Hey," I said to Krista, "it is a lot more than I was expecting." We looked at the website and hadn't realized that the price for the room was per person.

There was a funny feeling like, "I wish I'd known, because I would have appreciated it more." But that's a silly thought. I appreciated the HELL out of this place. The room was awesome, the view was unbeatable, hike was amazing, food delicious, etc etc etc. In the end, we realized we would not have booked it, if we'd read the website correctly, but we're thrilled we got to stay here and CAN afford it, with some doing. Happy accident #1.

Ok, off to dinner.

The GPS told us that Geiranger (a UNESCO World Heritage site) was about an hour away. Ok, a little longer than we expected a "nearby" town to be, but it'll be worth it. I mean, everything we see is flipping gorgeous. There must be a kaboobillion trees in Norway. So green and lush. So beautiful! An hour is fine! So, we drive for 30 minutes and it says to exit left down a road...

Mistake #2: A ferry! Oh, crap. The ferry is here, people are lined up to board. Does this cost money? We don't have any Kroner. Is this the right ferry? Do we want to find another route to the town? Oh, they're leaving. We missed it. "Let's blow off dinner and drive around." I do a quick lap around the parking area and we find that there is no other route to Geiranger. We decide to be brave and take the ferry when it comes back...in 30 minutes!

We boarded the ferry first, paid with card (something like $14 each way) and didn't think twice about it.

First in line

The drive to Geiranger was STUNNING, windy (like curvy), and fun.

Little rainbow

Grass roofs (that word doesn't seem right to me). It's making a comeback!

Geiranger is a cute waterside (fjord-side) town. Most shops were closed because we arrived after 4 (shutting your shop at 4 or 5pm is a thing in Norway!). We walked to a local waterfall, had a yummy dinner and head back to the ferry....after spending something like $60 on chocolate. We shopped while hungry (semi-mistake, but worth it!). Flavors were: Blue Cheese chocolate, brown cheese, beer, whisky, etc. I mean, how could you pass it up?!

Geiranger fjord

Side note about a town nearby. In January 1905, a huge chunk of the mountain broke off dropping 870,000 tons of scree (rock, gravel and dirt) into the fjord. It caused a tsunami with a 40 meter wave (120 feet). It swept away ALL the houses in that town. A tourist boat was washed 350m inland (about 1,150 feed). A bunch of people, cows, horses and pigs were killed. The mountain is still unstable to this day and they predict another incident like this happening in Geirginger the future, completely wiping out the town.

Back to Juvet to pack our bags and sleep.

Traffic on our way back up the switchback road

Trolls are be here! I think I mentioned that, right?

I am the goat whisperer!

Olav's Trail, Nap and Dinner - Day 3

It's been three days since day three and I'm starting to forget things. Last night I slept about 14 hours, so I think I might have enough energy to help catch up. (I read this out loud to Krista and she heartily laughed. "I'm LOOKING at you." She said. I am exhausted. Every day is busier than the last and I looooooove it, but yeah, no amount of sleep can help me catch up.)

Let me expand on Olav's trail a little (though I won't add more pictures as I posted them in the last entry). 

I will start by saying, in Norway, there are VERY few signs warning you not to do a thing. When we stepped off the plane in Alesund, there were no cones or signs on the tarmac pointing the way. No employee making sure you go where you're supposed to. Norway's culture is a culture of trust. Trust that you're going to be a grown up about life. Get off the plane, GO INTO THE AIRPORT. 

Everything is automated too. At the Oslo airport, we checked ourselves in, we scanned our bag tag and dropped them off, we went through security (the only place where we had contact with a human (who confiscated our jam) - they were not screaming to take off your shoes or not bring liquids through...you're supposed to be a GROWN UP and handle it - we scanned our boarding passes and went through the gate to board the plane...no one takes your ticket and scans it for you because that's a waste of time and money.

Anyway, when we hiked Olav's trail, there were no signs telling you where not to go. There was one sign telling you, "Hey this is Olav's Trail," we can only assume and then there were markers letting you know you were on the right path. At two points, we felt like MAYBE there weren't enough signs, like "Hey, I know we just dumped you on this ROAD in the middle of the hike, you're supposed to cross and go by this person's house to stay on the path," or maybe, "don't go in the raging white water," but then again...grown ups.

It was a lovely trail. There were sheep at the beginning, horses towards the end, rocks and roots to climb over or around. There was mud, but not too much. There were beautiful views all around (see pictures from yesterday's post). I was perky and peppy the whole time. Loved every second of that walk. I especially loved the manmade ladder leaning on a HUGE bolder. I climbed 3/4 up, before I chickened out. But I could see that atop the bolder someone had fashioned a fort with a tarp. I imagine the local teenagers using it to escape their house and get high or snuggle with their date.

After the two hour hike, we napped hard. Later that evening, we had a three course dinner in the main house at Juvet. We met some really nice people, who all seemed successful in their lives. Nick and Lou (probably short of Louise) were from London. Nick worked for a news organization that focused on sports and had a strong ethic not to post gossip, but only to focus on stats and positive stories. Lou had been a travel editor. Barry, who sat next to Krista, was a travel writer and author in his own right. He was an Aussie from a suburb of Sydney, so we had a few things to talk about (Sydney and writing). There was a young man a ways down the table to was talking about touring. He was a DJ/Musician, who had written three songs on Lady Gaga's album (not sure which album). We looked him up and one of his songs had 68 million listens on Spotify. Madeon. Pretty interesting group of people.

The food was delicious. 

• Cod fish marinated in sugar, salt and a little gin (which is why I loved it and Krista didn't), basil cream and a pickled red onion
• Small cup of potato puree, chili and dill oil - you were to sip it from the cup like soup. It had a HECK of a kick, but was delicious!
• Tenderloin of reindeer, onion and carrot puree in ginger and orange juice, celery root, coriander, turnips, all with a blue berry sauce
• Dessert was a lemon creme brulee with a biscuit base and blueberry sorbet on the side.

All items were locally sourced. I'd never had reindeer before and, I can honestly say, I think it is my favorite ever meat. It is like beef with a slight gaminess (only slight) but easy to chew and so flavorful!

Potato and chili soup thing. Yum!

Reindeer of deliciousness

They can't all be great pictures (she's still cute though)

Rewind - Day 3 Juvet Landscape Hotel and Olav's trail

Our first night at Juvet, we arrived after dark. We checked in while guests were finding seats around a long family-style table for dinner. There were no parking spots available so I was told to park next to a black car with a big "AVIS" decal on the door. The very tall Norwegian who checked us in, walked us through the main room of, what I'm going to call the big house, and out the back door, down a set of stairs. He said, "these are your keys. This is a torch," meaning flashlight, "and that is your room." He pointed the torch down a gravel path, shining the light on three birch trees. "Your room is behind those three trees. You can pull your car up to this spot and empty your luggage, but you will have to walk it the rest of the way."

When we got to the three trees on our narrow path to the front door, we saw that one of the trees was right in the middle of the path and the only way to the door was the climb over the roots and around the trees. 

I reparked, settled into the room and went to blog in the big house. Krista joined me on an adjacent couch to read a book. It was darkly lit with a red fabric chandelier (I'm sure there's a better description for that, but I have no design training/knowledge/skill).  There was a fire going and a few tall candles around the room. The room felt like a mix between a farm house, bordello and intimate restaurant. 

Krista went back to the room for some sleep after a long day and I stayed to finish the blog until dinner was done and everyone retreated to their rooms. It was 10:30pm local time. I was looking forward to an amazing night's sleep and an incredible morning where the Juvet grounds would be revealed by the sun. 

At 3:30am Krista and I woke up. There was no falling back to sleep with this kind of jet lag. After an hour or so, we decided to grab our comforters and sit in the Eames chairs positioned in front of a floor to ceiling window. 

Sunrise wasn't until 7:06am.

The thing about the Juvet Landscape Hotel, from my understanding, is that the buildings/rooms were built to have minimal impact on the land. No one dug into the Earth to create a foundation. The rooms are built on super strong steal pipes/beams, leaving a very small footprint. The walls are dark wood, two walls are entirely windows (floor to ceiling, as I mentioned). The lighting is intentional (and lousy for actually seeing anything). The goal is to draw your attention to nature. 

Our room

Interesting side note, the bathroom, which was pained canary yellow, was one room. That doesn't explain it. Let's say you pull open the frosted glass door, "Whoa! Yellow" you say. Then you see a sink on your right, toilet in front of you, tall narrow window in the far left corner. "Wait, where is the shower?" When you turn to leave the bathroom you see next to the door a shower head. I did not take a picture of it, which I regret, but I'll see if I can find something later to show you. It is at this moment, you realize there is no wall or curtain to separate the shower from the sink or the toilet, the yellow walls are waterproof, the towels, toilet paper and hairdryer are all on the far left of the bathroom on a shelf under the sink...out of reach of the water from the shower head. Very clever. Very interesting.

Right, back to jet lag.

At 3:30, when we first woke up, it was pitch black. We could hear a river running outside through the vents on either side of the bed. Vents to let in fresh air and the sounds of nature.

For about an hour, we tried to go back to sleep. We got hungry and each had a banana. Krista tried watching a show on her tablet. Around 5 or 5:30, we could see light out of the window 5 feet from the foot of the bed. This is when we wrapped ourselves in the comforters and got comfy in front of the other window, deciding to watch the day wake up. 

As light began to illuminate our view, trees first took shape out of the blackness. Once fully defined, they became black themselves while light shone through their leaves and around their trunks. Krista said, "I wonder how much light it will take to see color. For the trees to turn from black to green." 

We sat as still as the trees. There was no wind. No leaves moved. No birds. No branches swayed. It looked like a two dimensional pencil drawing.

A river appeared. White and apparently still though we could hear it rushing. After a time, we could stare above the river itself and see it's movement. If you looked right at it, you couldn't.

At 6:30am we saw first movement. One bird passing by.
At 6:37am the trees changed from black to green.
Shortly after, the autumn colors showed themselves. Orange and red in the distance. The river started looking a little blue. We could see moss and make out ferns.
The sun wasn't due to rise for another 30 minutes.
At 6:46am the sun warmed the trees a little and leaves started to fall.
At 6:54am the colors deepened.
At 6:58am the first bird song of the day.

Because we were in a valley, there was no grand reveal of sun at sunrise. We stirred and woke like the nature around us.

After breakfast, we were told of a hike in the area that should take an hour. It started at the end of the driveway and went in a loop. Olav's trail. 

-- Reality here -- I am in the Oslo airport waiting to board a flight to Reykjavik and am running out of time and wi-fi to dive into Olav's trail. I will quickly summarize. 

• STUNNING
• At times tricky to navigate
• It took 2 hours
• No camera on Earth can capture how beautiful, unique and amazing it was
• Standouts: vegetation and fungus, hills/mountains, fog/clouds, mud, rocks, fresh air...just everything.

Juvet Landscape Hotel and Olav's Path - Day 3

This morning, jet lag hit us hard and we both woke up at 3:30am. I'm going to give the super ultra condenced version of today due to extreme exhaustion and a filling dinner.

• For at least two hours, we watched the sun light up the nature outside our floor to ceiling windows while sitting in Eames chairs while wrapped in big fluffy comforters. 
• Went for a quick walk around the Juvet Landscape hotel grounds
• Ate breakfast and packed lunch for later
• Went for a 2 hour hike at Olav's trail
• Napped for 3 hours
• Played a game in the hotel room while we woke up
• Enjoyed a three course meal at Juvet in a family style setting. Talked to two travel writers and a sports writer/editor/something fancy

It was a long, amazing day. The scnery was unlike anything I've seen and it cound not be captured by camera. 

Tomorrow morning, if I get a good night's sleep, I will blog this in much greater detail.