Americans Invade Norwegian Summerhouses

Lyngor, Norway, which looks a lot like the coast of Maine.
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A short flight from Edinburgh to Oslo Torp on "everyone's favorite airline" (NOT!), Ryan Air. Quite possibly the most stressful experience of the trip, as we dumped things from our luggage and almost had our bottle of champagne (it was a gift for Tone and Lars) taken from us because of the weight restrictions! A bit different than the lap of luxury airline lifestyle we've been leading in Asia. Those airlines know what they're doing. For a 45 minute flight, you get a full meal and two cocktails - and the staff are so friendly. Well, I guess we had to get back to reality at some point, with growling stomachs and cramped seats. We were greeted by Tone's youngest son, Andy, where we swept us away on our journey to the Norwegian coastal town of Lyngor.

The lighthouse from the porch of Lars' summerhouse.
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Lars and Tone picked us up by boat and we couldn't help noticing, as every little (and not so little) summerhouse we passed had a Norwegian flag flapping in the wind outside, that Norwegians happen to really like their country. Well, we found out that everyone puts up their flag on Sundays, and as it was indeed Sunday, we were seeing the Norwegian pride at its fullest. But, really, we weren't too far off on our immediate observation: Norwegians love Norway. Any why wouldn't they? The place is absolutely beautiful filled with absolutely beautiful people!

The scene is straight out of the children's book, One Morning In Maine.

Grillin' with Lars. Kevin was fiending for that meat after 6 long months in Asia and Africa.
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Our time at Lars' summerhouse was magical, to say the least. It was filled with great eats (including tons of meat for Kevin), drinks, boating, sun tanning and quality time with old friends and family. Lars' home is situated on this massive rock peninsula and his home overlooks a beautiful lighthouse. The scene is straight out of the children's book, One Morning In Maine. I never knew how similar Norway is to my original home! Although the sun doesn't set here in the summer until around 11:30 PM, and even then it doesn't really get entirely dark. All I have to say is, I'm glad we were here during the summertime because it would be a shame to waste a place as beautiful as this on darkness most of the time!