Our ‘breakfast’ this morning was a bagged sandwich, a store-bought lefsa, and an orange juice. Not quite what we had in mind, so we set off in search of something more satisfying. We stumbled upon a charming little bakery and indulged in a sweet roll and a steaming cup of coffee, a perfect start to our day.

Then, it was a long drive, starting with rolling hills, farms, and large green fields—nothing like what we had seen in Norway up to now. There was more traffic than we had seen, so the drive was slow, but once we started to head into the mountains again, we were on our own.

We then headed to Egersund, a place Jason had discovered was deeply connected to his Hafso family history. We came across a soccer field proudly bearing the Hafso name. We also found a Hafso neighbourhood and Hafso Street. Unfortunately, there were no street signs to capture as a memento.

Arriving at the Lutheran Church in Egersund, we were surprised to find many Hafso gravestones among the hundreds in the beautifully kept cemetery next to a lovely white church. We wandered there for over an hour in the warm sunshine and peacefulness. Several names were familiar to him as he has been working on his Hafso family heritage, so he took many pictures to do more research once he was home. 

Then, we had more road time before arriving in Kristiansand and our next hotel. This one was exceptional. It was called Dyreparken Safarihotell and was beside the zoo/amusement park. We considered going to the zoo the next day but concluded it would be best to head to Denmark instead.

Once settled in our hotel, we decided to head to the downtown core to see what was happening there. The central downtown is where most of the attractions are along the ocean. A short walk from our car brought us to a lovely overlook where we watched three sailboats do fancy maneuvers. At times, they almost ran into each other, their sails flapping loudly as they made high-speed, sharp turns. I could have sat there for hours watching them, and it brought me back to my days in Nanaimo, sitting and looking out over the ocean. We soon realized they were expert sailors, perhaps racing and practicing manoeuvres. I loved it!  

As we strolled further down the harbour, we were drawn by distant music. To our delight, we found a dock and a small port teeming with hundreds of people, all enjoying a band and group of singers regaling the crowd with Norwegian songs and stories. Though we couldn’t understand a word, the music and laughter were wonderful, adding unexpected fun to the evening.

We checked out further down the harbour and came to the Music Centre, where a performance was happening. Lots of art installations dotted the walkway. People were coming out at halftime, so Jason took the opportunity to blend in with the crowd and take pictures inside. I stayed outside and talked to some ladies who spoke some English and were delighted to chat.

Hunger took over, so we checked out several restaurants before choosing one called Patrick’s, and we shared a plate of nachos (among the best we’ve had), beer, and a glass of wine. At the same time, many people wandered the streets outside and partied on a Thursday night. We got home late, but Jason went to look around our hotel and discovered all it offered.  Our hotel was just one of numerous places to stay at the theme park. There were large permanent tents for camping, floating cabins, a pirate town, a castle and more, all of which were rooms disguised. The twins would LOVE it here.

This is our last night in Norway, and tomorrow, we will board the ferry to Denmark. Norway was everything we thought it could be, and all the planning and dreaming was worth every moment. We had wonderful hosts in Ottar and Tutti, were treated well by everyone we came in contact with, saw sites that we would never see anywhere else, stayed in some unusual places, put a LOT of miles on our car, and had only good thoughts about Norway. Jason may have to bring his family here again. Thanks, Norway, for all you offered us.