Sunday 27 April 2014

Sun days, fun days

I think it is safe to say now, that spring is in the air! A sudden spurt of vibrant green all over the countryside is a very welcome change from the months of absence of colour :). Luckily, since my last post, the weather has been more often nice than not.


That included the extended weekend over Easter, which was a good thing, as I had a friend visiting! For four whole days, the weather stayed on absolutely best behaviour, which, at this time of the year, translates to pretty stunning!


We travelled around a fair bit, including quite a few places I'd thus far neglected in my year long residence here. Verdens Ende, for instance. While it isn't exactly the end of the world as the name would suggest, situated as it is at the mouth of the Oslofjord, it sure does look the part!


We made the obligatory Oslo visit, including places like the fantastically shaped Oslo Opera House and beautifully located Akershus Fortress among others. And since no trip to Norway can be considered complete without a good look at the lakes, fjords and twisting narrow roads alongside them, I clocked a few hundred kilometres of mostly aimlessly driving around said twisting narrow roads. It was a blast!



It was also a really fun way of breaking in my brand new summer wheels that had been waiting unused for the last six months :). Not to be outdone, the bike is now properly out of hibernation. With the good weather, I did make some nice long trips, but the best one so far was the over six hour long trip along Drammenfjord and Oslofjord yesterday!


Of course, that included a picnic of sorts and lying on a grassy bank out in the sun for what must have been well over an hour :). Admittedly, having cycled for over two hours the previous evening over some pretty steep bits hadn't left us in the best shape. And getting lost never helps, but a hundred and thirty odd kilometres in a weekend is a pretty decent tally to start off the summer.


Question is, how sunny will the next few weekends be?

Feeling: optimistic!
Listening to: Mr. Probz - Waves

Monday 7 April 2014

Weather tantrums


It gets better, then worse. Unbelievably, after a week of spectacular sunshine, it actually snowed this weekend!! I mean come on! Seriously? Winter, go away already! To add insult to injury India go and lose the first cricket match I find being broadcast live on Norwegian TV :(. The commentators' attempts at explaining the rules of cricket on live television did provide some light moments though :P.


Before that however, I made something of the sunshine and went exploring bits around the fjord I'd never visited, a couple of islands halfway between here and Oslo. Turned into a fantastic ride :).


Unbelievably enough, it's already a week into April! And that makes it a full year of my move here. Guess what? It's scary how fast it's gone. Not entirely surprising, I suppose. Next thing to do would be to switch over to that brand new set of summer tyres.


Assuming this stupidity with the weird unwelcome snow stops.

Currently: sleepy
Listening to: Hardwell ft. Matthew Koma - Dare you