Vinterferie in Geilo with Noellen

This past week I've been in Geilo with my host family, and this weekend I'm going to Oslo for an exchange student get together. Noellen, an exchange student from Vermont who's living in Larvik, came to visit in Geilo, and now we're sitting on the train to Oslo.

Snack :)

We have internet (if a bit slow) and there's even a little cafe. Noellen was straightening my hair, drawing some odd looks from people walking by, until the straightener started buzzing. Then we had a feast of tortilla chips and salsa, and wobbled down the carriages to the cafe to find something to drink. (I just realized the way I wrote that made it sound like we're drunk - I should clarify that the drink was a pepsi, and we wobbled because the train was swerving :P)

On the train from Bergen to Oslo they announce each stop in Norwegian and English about five minutes before, but don't say much else. A couple minutes ago, however, they announced that Norway had just won another gold medal in the Nordic World Cup, which is happening in Oslo right now. Only in Norway!


Noellen took the train up on Monday, and we spent the past three days at my host family's cabin in Geilo. On Tuesday we skiied to a cabin I went to a couple weekends ago, then back down to Geilo.

Driving through the mountains to Geilo on Monday. The road is crazy windy, with switchbacks like you would find on a hiking trail. 



Noellen

My parents sent me a can of pumpkin for Christmas, and Noellen and I decided to use it on Tuesday night. We made pumpkin pie, which was amazing. I'll never take pumpkin pie for granted again!

On Wednesday my host parents told us we were going for a ski that was "sju", or 7 kilometres one way. We thought they said "tjue", which is 20. (The two sound, to me, almost identical). We were a bit skeptical, especially when they said it would take 3 hours, but went along with it, figuring if they could do it, so could we. It was a nice surprise to reach the trailhead and find out it was only 7 km to the cabin. 

I don't think we would have survived 20 km one way! Going there was entirely uphill, with the wind blowing against us so hard that there was snow drifted over the tracks. I was skating, and the other three were classicking, and I could barely keep moving. It was sunny and warm though, which was nice.

At the cabin we bought waffles, hot chocolate and chocolate, and definitely consumed more calories than we burned on the way up.
Some more pictures:

Noellen showing off her snowplow skills

Pic with a random guy at the cabin

I still find it so strange to ski above the treeline; it feels like being on a glacier. It seems like it should have taken a lot of work to get all the way up there, when it's actually just a short drive (or ski) above town.

A still picture on top of the world

And of course a jump shot

We came home just in time to watch Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw win gold in the team sprints at the XC ski world cup in Oslo. It's always so exciting to see Canada represented here, in a country where skiing is so big. I loved being able to understand the norwegian commentary in the last leg of  the race, saying that Harvey was a strong and dangerous contender for the norwegians.

 I went for a short ski around the lake on Thursday morning, before we got on the train, it was gorgeous, sunny, and felt like spring skiing.

During the four hour train ride to Oslo it turned grey and foggy, and we skipped back into winter again. It was great to see all the exchange students again after 6 months, as well as meet the "newbies" from Australia and Argentina. It feels like yesterday that we were the new ones at language camp, admiring the "oldies'" norwegian skills and wondering what life would be like in 6 months. 

Six and a half months in, and I envy the Aussies who are just beginning their adventure.

That was my week at Geilo; a post about the Holmenkollen weekend in Oslo will come soon!