Hei! fra Norge

Saying a long goodbye to our various hosts, we boarded a mini-bus for Flekkefjord, our next destination.  Our driver, Johann, must be close to 80, but he took the winding roads like a BMW ad.  I’d forgotten to take my quasi-dramamine, and got well nauseated very quickly.  Åsa, the president of Flekkefjord Rotary and my host, got Johann to stop the bus so I could get in front.  I also popped a pill *dry* and thankfully fell asleep.

Flekkefjord is a tiny city (village), of about 9,000 residents.  Åsa’s house lies on the banks of a tiny lake on Flekkefjord’s outskirts, about a 10-minute walk from town.  For some reason (which I lost because I was still so groggy from the motion-sickness meds), it’s in a Swiss chalet style, as are several other buildings in town.  Inside, she has heated floors and a gallery-full of wonderful art.

We had a typical Norwegian lunch at her house: open-faced sandwiches with an array of condiments to choose from.  Then I crashed for a couple of hours before our next Rotary meeting.

The meeting itself consisted mostly of our presentations, plus a little ceremony honoring one of its members, Christian Anderson (no Hans).  Then a traditional but not typical meal of some pork-rind-y loin, potatoes, some sort of sweetish root-mash, and a fabulous bean soup/stew that there couldn’t be enough of.

At the end of the meal, they presented us with pewter-handled cheese slicers.  The spade-like cheese slicers that most of us are familiar with were invented in Norway.  These examples had handles that were stamped with relief from a pre-viking gold coin that was found in the area — very special gifts.

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