A Day in Odda (oh duh)

We went to Odda yesterday. The experience, unsurprisingly, was amazing.  We got to see some of the history of the area in a video and then saw an old hydro power plant. This factory was not the boxy, blocky, ugly factories that I come to think of when I think "factory." In fact, the video we watched said "Once people realized that factories didn't have to be ugly, everyone was much more willing to have it built in their town." The building is now a museum, and also used for concerts. The acoustics in the old factory are so good that they built a stage right on top of the power generators! 

The river that the factory used (and a different one 600 meters inside the mountain uses now) is under the glacier. It spits out something like 50,000 liters per second into these pipes on the side of the mountain. You can see the pipes in this picture. 

The tour guide said that they put the pipes up there one section at a time. There were men standing on the mountain, tied to each other and mountain, pulling each pipe piece up hand over hand. That is crazy! 

After we went to museum we go to see a dam, which was amazing. Then we went to a fish farm. This farm had rainbow trout and salmon. We got to see how they immunize the fish! Holy cow, it was cool! Apparently they raise the fish on land in tubs until they are 100 grams and then send them out to places in the ocean where they live for 1 and a half years before slaughter. 

When that was all said and done we were so hungry. It was 1 and we all normally eat at 11! We were taken to a barn house that was built in 1812 and ate the most delicious soup and bread. I wish I could go back and eat some more. It makes me want to make more soup. 

Our lunch table. This was a barn in Sundal that was built in 1812. The bread was hot and the food was delicious! The room was heated with a wood stove and everything was so quaint.

Bit Soup. It was made with ham, beef, sausage, carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onion, and celery. Yes, it tasted as good as it sounds. 

The world's only authentic antique power plant control panel. 

Someone made the comment that this looked like Star Trek.

This dam was built a long time ago and is beautiful! Even the factories in Norway are beautiful!

This tunnel is 11 kilometers and 126 meters. That is about 7 miles long. The acoustics were great! 

This is a waterfall just before one of the tunnels. Sometimes it is so full that they have to close down the road! 

A Weekend in Oslo

I had the opportunity to go to Oslo this weekend, and it was amazing! It was very tiring, going non-stop from museum to museum, but so worth it! Here are some pictures!

Hovedøya Monastery

The Cathedral in Oslo

Showin' a little Aggie pride in front of the Scotsman!

Oslo Parliament Building

The Palace in Oslo

City Hall in Oslo

Nobel Peace Center

Oslo Opera House, we went and saw a contemporary ballet here. 

The Monolith at Vigeland park

Courtyard of the castle. 

The German rifles in the shape of a swastika at the Norwegian Resistance Museum

The Stave Church at the Norwegian Folk Museum 

The Viking Ship Museum

The Munch Museum

Overall, the trip was amazing! I got to see so many things, and I wish I could have had more time to look at it all. But I was very happy for the time I had.

Student Teaching Adventures in Norway

This post is not about school, but rather about my experience in Norway.

So far... the only thing I can really complain about is the tight curves on the road and the speed at which Norwegian drivers take them. But, if it was perfect everyone would live here, right?
This country is so beautiful! Since coming here we have gone on several different hikes, all of which present new breathtaking views and memorable scenery.
Here are a few pictures from the hikes I have done since being here.

The waterfall near the Rosendal barony.

The coolest glacier! It looks like it could cascade down the mountain at any moment.

A view of Rosendal from the top of a mountain.

There were so many more amazing pictures! But looking at the pictures does poor justice to the real thing. Being here is so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined. I have fallen in love with the landscape and the people of Norway. It is hard to believe that I have only been here for a week!