Trout sleeping in small stream

Last week was fall break for the local schools. So we were invited to a cabin in the mountains east of Gol, a small hour's walk from the nearest road. Our hosts bought the property about a year ago - two small lakes for trout fishing, a small stream connecting the two, and a primitive cabin between. Charming, candle lights could easily be the main source of light - definitely off-grid.

Before turning in the first night I went out to brush my teeth in the stream. Since it was dark I wore a headlamp, and lo and behold - a small trout was sleeping (do they sleep?). If not, then it thought it was safe since it had managed to hide its head!

Earlier, before it got dark, we had witnessed fish swimming back and forth, possibly because we scared them. Alternatively, it was part of the mating. Actually, the Norwegian Wikipedia's entry on ørret says that the name indicates that they swim quickly back and forth over the bed of streams in the mating season.

I produced my mobile and took the picture on the right. The tail of the fish starts near the middle of the picture, with the head under the stone on the top right. Back in the cabin I showed it to the others, and my hosts had never seen this before. So out they went to see for them selves. They even saw that trout have eyes that light up when illuminated by LED-light. It wouldn't be fair to pick them in their sleep. So instead my wife managed to catch two the next day - 470 and 360 grams. Enough for a taste for all of us. We had brought a small smoker as a gift to our hosts, and nothing tastes like smoked trout out in the great outdoors!

Eldhuset

Ascensio  tend to come on a Thursday(!), and that makes it easy to take the Friday off for an extended weekend. So the excuse for a boys on tour was there for the taking. This time we aimed for the Håøya island in the Oslo fjord.     


Håøya is interesting in many respects:

• largest island in the Oslo fjord
• unique plant life
• White-tailed eagles nested there this year, for the first time in a very long time
• part of the Oscarsborg Fortress until modern times

So we hired a cabin from the local recreational council and took the boat from Oslo harbor in beautiful weather.

I was there on a school camp when I was a kid, and coming back brought back memories. As with other parts of the Norwegian countryside Håøya is also suffering from the absence of cows, goats and sheep. They used to keep the landscapes open, but now every nice view is disappearing in shrubbery and forest.

But at Håøya they are trying to do something about it. A goat farmer brought his herd to the island to manage the vegetation, and produce goat cheese. We were too early to enjoy the cheese, but maybe next year!

Haukenestårnet in Rømskog

Haukenestårnet is an old fire lookout tower in the forest east of Oslo. After having been taken out of use it has been reborn as a cabin in the Norwegian Trekking Association's system of cabins. So three dads and five boys went on tour during Pentecost, from Saturday to Sunday.

Visiting such cabins during Pentecost has almost become a tradition. The boys' spare time is heavily influenced by digital media, and these trips are small attempts to show them the joys of nature.
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While previous trips (check the DNT label) may have been strenuous, this was much lighter since we could almost drive to the door. There is a forest road leaving just 5-10 minutes walk to get to the cabin. But we needed an expedition, so we walked through the woods to the nearby hotel. There we rented canoes that we used on lake Vortungen. We tried fishing as well, but without success. Instead we treated ourselves to ice cream back at the hotel before we returned to the tower for a wonderful summer evening and a very good sleep.

The picture shows the group (minus me) as we are about to get back to the cars. We didn't go directly home afterwards, but instead visited a small farm belonging to the ones with orange covers on their sleeping bags. There fishing was more successful!

Camping at Kobberhaughytta

At Kobberhaughytta in the forrests surrounding Oslo there are two Leantos that can be rented. This place is part of the Norwegian Trekking Association's chain of cabins that allow people to enjoy the great out-doors.

During Pentecost we were four dads and 5 boys renting the leantos for two nights. The weather was warm and the water temperature was so high that even adults enjoyed swimming.

At the same time we were there so early in the spring that the mosquitos were not active. Combined with the bog volleyball field, the superb dinner served by the cabin's personel on Sunday, and the wonderful view from the nearby Kobberhaugen the trip was almost perfect. Something to make the plank floors in the leantos softer to sleep on would have been nice, though!

Even smaller

Did you read about the juvenile lizard? Well, during this year's autumn break we found an even smaller one, see picture.

We were four dads and six boys in the mountains west of Eggedal. We rented a nice cabin with all modern facilities, including a sauna. During the days we went walking in the mountains and the nearby Trillemarka nature reserve. On one of our tripe we found the small lizard in the photo. I have not seen such a small specimen before. Although we had nice weather, it was cold. I would have thought such a creature should have entered hibernation much earlier. But no, some of the boys used their young eyes and discovered it. How lucky we were!

Bøvelstad

Den norske turistforening opened a new cabin not far from where I live last Sunday. So three dads and six boys went on tour from Thursday to Friday.

The terrain turned out to be tougher than we expected. But we should have known, because that part of the forest is known for its hills and unevenness.

But we made it to Bøvelstad where we had a wonderful evening and a very good sleep, before we headed back home.

This picture shows the group (minus me) as we are about to get back to the cars. We were worn out, but everybody agreed it had been a nice excursion.

If this is a man

Over the years I have had a fascination for books about Germany's atrocities during the second world war, expressed by authors like Primo Levi and Victor Klemperer, and most recently the book "Who Will Write Our History?" by Samuel Kassow.

But a trip to Vilnius last week allowed me to see the darkest cruelty of man from another perspective.

I visited the so called KGB museum in that city, where they document how any totalitarian ideology is capable of industrializing the killing of people with the wrong sentiments. No wonder Lithuania has sought to the west after being freed from Russian reigns. Names of some of the victims are carved into the foundation of the building, hopefully so that generations after us can stay clear of similar regimes.

If you ever go to Vilnius, then please visit the museum. For this is not something that should be forgotten, whether it happened in the past by Germans or Russians, or it takes place today in totalitarian regimes supplying our lifestyle with oil, the last dictatorship in Europe, or any other regime that does not admit its population basic human rights.

And the most scaring part of it all - regular people like myself (and maybe you) can become like the devils in the dungeons under the wrong circumstances. History tells us so...

The rain in Croatia stays mainly in Dalmatia

Have you ever seen? After a week of sailing in Croatia we had a night in the city of Trogir late in September. A heavy rainstorm happened to be visiting at the same time. From what I heard from the locals they weren't used to such intense rain.

I got thoroughly soaked in the narrow streets. The city was from long before cars etc. so the streets could just about let two people pass each other. When the water came flooding off the roofs, the streets turned into rivers, and there I was.

It all ended with a case of Bronchitis after comming home.

Nordens ark

Nordens Ark near Gothenburg in Sweden is worth a visit. It is a non-profit organization aiming at improving the situation for endagerede animals through breeding and reintroduction programmes.

I went there with kids and wife and we had a fantastic day. Imagine the satisfaction of being rewarded for patience with the view of animals like this snow leopard.

Lets hope the next time is in the wild, and that it doesn't see me!