We woke this morning to a bit of grey drizzle, so we decided to start the day with a short ferry ride across the Lustrafjord to Urnes. We were joined by Dave and Linda Ness (Dave was Dad's four year roommate at Luther) for the day as well, so all nine of us packed into our van, and off we went. We arrived at the Urnes Stave Church just in time for a tour. The tour was fascinating - relayed all types of information regarding the meaning of the decorative carvings, the seating, the altar and much more.

We continued on our way to the Feigefossen waterfall. We heard it was just "a short walk" to the base of the falls - sounds like fun! Forty five minutes and 400 muddy vertical feet later, we were there! The views were definitely worth the journey, plus we learned what a "short walk" meant in Norway. That information came in handy later that afternoon when…

….We met up with Dave's cousin Stein Ness for a hike to Fuglesteg in the afternoon. From Stein, here's some background on the hike to Fuglesteg:

"I usually do the hike in about 45 minutes." (Stein is 63 years old)

"It can be tougher in the winter."

"In the 1920s, a young woman took this trail with her the four-year-old, two-year-old, and 7-week-old children to meet her father-in-law on the other side of the mountain."

Translation: this is a two-hour hike straight up the mountain with 1900 feet of elevation gain over the course of about two miles.

But we made it! And as always in Norway, the views were spectacular. The destination was a mountain farm in a small clearing, overlooking a river and lake, with the Lustrafjorden in the distance. The farm had been there since around 1650, but had recently burned out in a brush fire, leaving just the stone walls where the house and barn had been. It was rebuilt to be a very nice hut just a few years ago in an effort led by Stein and a Norwegian mountaineering group, with grass roofs, a kitchen, and room for 30 to sleep - plus a small flock of sheep wandering the side of the mountain (herded expertly by Arin, who wanted to pet them). We even got some pancakes, tea, and "lemonade" at the top! Dad wanted to spend the night there (translation: too tired to walk back down), but we made the trek back, stopped at Stein's to see his house, said goodbye to Dave and Linda, and then crashed back at the Walaker for the night by 11:00. What a day!

-Peter & Arin (Parin)