Road trip--day 2

After a slow morning of sleeping off the jet-lag and eating a hearty Norwegian breakfast (which consisted of smørbrød (open-faced sandwich) and every single sandwich topping known to man), we finally were off on our excursion around Kristiansand.

Here we are hopping into one of the family vehicles--which they so generously let me borrow even though I have an expired MN license...

Deciding what to do/see for the day was difficult; how does one pick?! I decided I would show them one of the boy's barnehage (pre-school) and the piece of fjord that we walked across in the middle of winter (refer to "A walk on the frozen fjord" blog!).

Next up, Ravnedalen. Funny enough, I had never even been to Ravnedalen in my 6+ months of living in Kristiansand. However, I will surely go back.

Now, before coming, my parents had taken a few Norwegian classes to prepare themselves and to help out in reading signs, etc. while in Norway. Today, was the first of many Norwegian lessons for them.

Another glimpse of Ravnedalen

And Mom, the nature expert...holding one of the many nasty slugs we came across in Norway (and a good part of our animal sightings! So sad...).

Next, we drove past the zoo, the university and the big shopping center. I gave some lessons in driving in roundabouts (for our upcoming road trip in which others would be driving) and tried our hand at rock climbing.

We then checked out Baneheia, Kristiansand's gågate (walking street) and my favorite, the fish market area. This is where my family got their first taste of Norwegian ice cream, and where my dad realized how much he loves pære is (pear ice cream).

We then continue on a coastal walk...where my dad tried out his Norwegian in ordering coffee (he did a great job!), checked out the fortress, beaches, and played on some interesting (and fun!) Norwegian playgrounds.

We continued on a walk through posebyen, the old part of Kristiansand that was not burned down (this is where Diane fell in love with the idea of brightly colored doors...and subsequently led to a "Doors of Bergen" poster and much talk about painting her front door in Yuma, AZ) and then onto a mansion-- where Alex and I tried to recreate some of Norway's famous plays....and 7 Brides for 7 Brothers (only the greatest musical of all time). Okay, well I was doing most of the acting, Alex was just my prop!

This was a piece from "A Doll's House" -- Nora (played by me) was just telling Tolvald (played by Alex) off and was leaving. Who knew an impromptu, disjointed play in the park could be so entertaining!

That concludes day 2! Day 3-15 on the way!