It’s official! Joe’s book is now available for pre-order exclusively on our website at www.alaskanarcticexpeditions.com.
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Tag Archives: Norway
A Different Kind of Skijoring
Skijoring with dogs in Alaska? Sure. Skijoring with reindeer in Alaska? Not so much. 
But it’s part of the festivities for Sami National Day in Tromso, Norway, 2009. We found this video at ReindeerBlog. We’ve never seen anything like it and wanted to share it with you.
Mementos From Norway
Joe and I wanted to share some photos of the mementos we brought home from our trip to Norway.
At the Hakadal Dog Sledding Seminar, we found a pair of amazing seal skin mitts at the Handler Import booth. Then, the nice gentleman at the booth gave us both very nice fleece jackets which are lined with sheep wool. In downtown Oslo, we found a great leather shop and Joe picked up a leather cap.
The seal skin mitts are lined with sheep wool, too. They’re going to be soooo warm! I can’t wait until it gets –50 F so I can try them out!
Of course, I couldn’t go to Norway and not buy a handmade Norwegian sweater!
And then Joe talked me into buying this very lovely, extremely thick icelandic hoodie! He really had to twist my arm, let me tell you!
At the Glas Magasinet (one of Oslo’s oldest stores) we found a beautiful dish, handmade in Norway.
And now it’s sitting in the window sill, full of Norwegian Krones.
Our friend, Jan Reinertson, gave us a few copies of Hundekjoring, the Norwegian version of Mushing magazine.
And best of all, we brought home fantastic memories that will never fade!
Around Oslo
We spend our last day in Oslo just walking the streets, shopping, and visiting the Akershus Fortress.
Oslo is a very clean city…no smog to speak of, no trash on the ground. It was also relatively quiet. We almost never heard anyone honk their horn and the people were quite soft spoken.
Here is a view down the main walking street, Karl Johans Gate. The large yellow structure at the end of the road is the castle of the Norwegian Royal Family.
We saw a viking! He took frequent smoke breaks.
This “statue” was quite popular. He was very still and convincing, but he did surprise a little girl when he bent down to shake her hand. The man in the black jacket stared him down for quite some time and seemed genuinely stumped as to whether this was metal or man.
The Grand Hotel was a good looking place.
There were some protestors in the city center wearing traditional Norwegian clothing. The yellow sign reads: “Stopp Monsterliner.” We have no idea what that means.
There were a lot of these little guys around.
There were all kinds of shops on the streets and every bar and restaurant had outside seating.
A lot of the shops had amazing seal skin clothing, like these boots. Seal can be hunted in the Svalbard, a Norwegian controlled archipelago north of the mainland.
We went down to the harbor and looked at the boats and statues.
Akershus Fortress overlooks the Oslo Fjord. It was built in the 13th century to protect Oslo. It has also been used as a prison. It is now home to a resistance museum which documents Norway’s WWII history.
Of all the photos we took on our vacation, this one is our favorite!
To wrap up our trip, we had a fantastic dinner at Cafe Cathedral. It was a great way to end our travel.
We had an excellent trip and look forward to returning to Norway in the near future!
A Few of the Museums in Oslo
After the Hakadal Sled Dog Symposium, our new friends, Katja and Kai drove us to Oslo where we were to spend the rest of our time in Norway. (Please note that we’re blogging with a roughly 5 day delay…the first part of our trip we didn’t have internet).
Katja and Kai took us to the world famous Holmenkollen Ski Jump, which is currently under renovations, for a cup of coffee and a breathtaking view of the Olso Fjord.
These pictures don’t do any justice to the beauty of the fjord or to the greatness of the ski jump, but we enjoyed both immensely! Thanks Katja and Kai!
We settled into our hotel in central Oslo and the following morning, Snorre Naess and Jan Reinertsen took us to some of the museums around Oslo.
First, we went to the Fram Museum. The Fram was a ship built by Colin Archer to endure extreme ice conditions. It was used by Fridtjof Nansen in his attempt to float across the north pole (1893-1896). Other key polar explorers included Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. Information about all these men can be found on the Fram Museum website.
Jan, Joe, and Snorre. Jan and Snorre were excellent museum guides for us. We learned a lot about the great Norwegian explorers from these two.
Skis used by the polar explorers.
An unbelievable seal skin parka and pants.
Then, we went to the Kon-Tiki Museum. The Kon-Tiki was a raft used by another famous Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, in the late 1940’s to sail across the Pacific to the Polynesian Islands from South America.
Jan and Snorre also took us to the Folk Museum. This place was incredible. There were old homes and barns, some as much as 800 years old (if not older). The woodwork on these places was amazing and many of the cottages had the original glass in the windows which has started to flow.
Hmmm, Snorre, I’m not sure you’re supposed to be feeding the goats.
An old lumber mill.
This is an old church. I believe Snorre said this is more than 1000 years old.
At the Folk Museum, there are also displays of historical Norwegian woodwork and clothing, among other things.
There was so much to see…all of it beautiful and fascinating. Thanks, Jan and Snorre, for the wonderful tour!