Leikanger

We awoke to greet what is supposed to be the final day of rain for our stay in Sogndal. I applaud what has been an admirable effort by our travel troupe to remain undaunted by the showers, but it’s an impossible task to remain entirely unfazed by multiple days of depressing weather on a for-leisure vacation, no matter how many pairs of rose-colored spectacles one owns. (I sometimes fear I have rambled on at excruciating length about the specifics of the weather in my writing, but I really can’t overstate how fully the conditions outdoors control the mood of each passing day.)

We elected first to check in on the progress in the frukthage–orchard–to inquire if our services would be helpful, but no luck: with the growth rate of the fruit so inconsistent on account of the recent weather, only a scant number of the remaining apples were ripe enough to be plucked from the trees, and the determination of their readiness required more discerning eyes than we were prepared to offer. We are eager to help with the process when possible, and of course very grateful for the family’s willingness to let us participate, but we are also sensitive to the need for the harvest to happen correctly, as there are financial implications at play. So we defer to the veterans in cases where a well trained hand is required.

To our great delectation, but perhaps our wallets’ chagrin, the antidote to a cloudy day appears, at least in our clan, to be a choice between shopping and eating. So, naturally, we did both. My mother triumphed at last in her quest for shoes more suited for the soppy conditions, although I fear she may only find need of their services upon her return to the U.S. on account of the coming week’s tantalizing forecast.

We later meandered down by the waterfront to Dampskipskaien, anxious to complete yet another quest. Prior to our arrival in Sogndal, I had tracked down Sognefjord Kaffibrenneri, a local coffee roastery, and have been keen to sample some of their work during our stay here. My hopes had encountered a setback earlier in the trip when we located the roastery building, but discovered that it did not house a café or a storefront (essentially, we had come to a Pepsi factory looking to buy a can of soda). Fortunately, Dampskipskaien–a funky pub that is part brewpub, part coffee bar, part lunch café–serves the roastery’s bean lineup for their filter coffees. I look forward to sharing the Kaffibrenneri’s interpretation of a washed Burundian crop with my coworkers when I return. (I am aware of only one reader who will understand what I just wrote, but that’s fine.)

After taking advantage of Dampskipskaien’s chill vibe and cozy seats to scout a few possible pit stops for our visit to Bergen next week, it was time to join Erik for a visit to his cousin, Torvald, a short distance away in Leikanger. We have been through Leikanger many times now on this trip–there are not a plethora of roads leading out of Sogndal–but we hadn’t yet stopped anywhere that offered a view of the city like Torvald’s place, located atop a lofty hill. Having Erik along for the ride always transforms houses from mere assemblages of brick and mortar into breathing stories and living histories as he recounts a typical day with inhabitants past. He claims to have lost a step, but I am frequently shocked by the level of detail he quickly recalls about each roadside landmark and household nook.

Torvald normally resides in Oslo, but maintains his late mother’s former home in Leikanger as an occasional landing pad for visits with family and other necessities. Today’s conversation waded deeply into both Norwegian and American politics, an indication of the engagement level in the general subject among all five of the players present. It has impressed me to see the active participation in local politics that seems commonplace here, at least among the family members I have met; Torvald no longer votes in the local elections in this area, opting to cast his ballot in Oslo instead, but he clearly still maintains an informed awareness of candidates and issues in both locations.

Provided predictions hold–and we are optimistic that they will–we have plans to drive to Flåm tomorrow to board one of Norway’s fully electric boats for a tour of the fjords, and possibly to take a scenic route over one of the mountaintops on our return journey, so I am hopeful that the recent drought of photos will come to an emphatic end. Looking forward to documenting that adventure. Until then!