Leben im Rudel: Speed dating, Norwegian style ;-)

Last weekend, we went to hike on a nearby island, Osterøy, Europe's biggest inland island - just so that you know it, too. ;) It as a very warm and sunny day, and I didn't want to do a too demanding hike. So we went to mount Rispingen, where a very nice trail leads to: not too steep, with great views (well, like always). Along the way, there were many ponds, and the boys were basically hopping from pond to pond, drinking water and refreshing themselves. :)

After the hike, on my way home, I stopped at a parking area to take a picture of the view. There was a guy sitting on his car and talking on the phone. He came to talk to me, asking all kinds of questions - where I'd come from, what I'd do here... He told me that he would live on a farm nearby, and that he has a factory in the village below. And then he said "Ah, come on, I show you around. I'm a good guy - you can trust me!" And if Jan (so his name) says he's trustworthy, I do believe him, of course! :-D So I followed him to his farm, and he told me all kinds of stories about his family, which has been living in this area for many, many years. There was a book about Osterøy's history, and his grandfather's pic was in it - because he was born on that island, lived and died there, too. Jan kept on pointing to mountain tops and fields, saying that he owns this and that... In the house, he showed me things he had build himself out of wood (very talented and artistic man!), and he sang me songs with his accordion and a ukulele! :-D It was a little bizarre - but also very funny. The boys had been quite tired after the hike and slept on his rug in the meantime.

We then went to see his "factory", which was on my way back home. He doesn't really produce anything there, it just used to be an old factory, where they made woollen blankets. The building looked like a museum. Jan has collected quite a lot of things... and he kept on pointing out the possibilities one or I (!) could do with the beautiful building. There was also an old wooden sleigh, and he said jokingly that, if we were to get married, we could take our wedding photo in this sleigh. :-D That was my keyword, and I bid farewell. ;-)
Jan gave me his number and said that I should call, and that we could go kayaking (he had 2 kayaks!) and hiking and snowboarding (he jobs as a snowboard instructor in winters - how very handy!)... Indeed, I would like to do all of these things. Also with Jan, because he was a really sympathetic and funny guy. But now the disappointment, dear reader ;-) Jan is a little too old. Having become a grandfather a few days earlier kinda old. :-D And given all the jokes he had made about me living on the farm with him, I can't really picture meeting him on friendly terms only.

Too bad, too bad. We could have had so much fun together. :-D

When I told my colleagues about my encounter, they laughed. And one said that people from Osterøy are actually known for being extremely open and friendly by nature. So whenever I should feel lonely here, I will just visit this island again! ;-)

Even though I used sun screen this time, I got yet another bad sunburn. This time on my back - the one place I had forgotten to protect from the sun...