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Larvik
Days 1 - 4
We left O’Hare Wednesday afternoon, had a short layover in Helsinki, Finland, and arrived in Oslo, Norway Thursday morning. We picked up our little blue rental car and began the two hour drive south to Larvik. After the excitement of Oslo wore off, Linsey's sleep deprivation kicked in and she slept most of the drive. We arrived at our Norwegian friends’ home to a warm welcome, after many years of talking online, it was exciting to finally meet Mats and Madli in person. On our first night in Norway, we were treated to a home cooked meal and shown around the Larvik area. Unfortunately Linsey could barely stay awake!
Berg old church is a church built around the year 1100 in Brunlanes outside Larvik. The church is Anglo-Saxon, with an oval nave and a smaller four-sided choir, in Roman style. The original church was torn down in 1882, and rebuilt in 1970.
Berg Stone Church
Berg stenkirke
Larvik
The Old Norse word “mol” means a man made mound or pile of stones. Such “mols” or cairns as they are more commonly known, were often used by ancient people to mark a burial site. Mølen, Norway’s largest stone beach, takes its name from the 230 “mols” or cairns built on it over the ages. The rock piles, which have changed little over the 2000 years they were built, form a sort of ancient cemetery on this beautiful Norwegian beach.
Mølen
Larvik
On our second day, we went to a Norweignan shopping center, where we ate lunch at McDonalds. It’s one of Derek’s goals to try McDonalds in as many countries as possible, we definitely don’t have the Big Tasty or Chicken Salsa in America. After lunch, we walked some trails in the beech forest, climbed Oseberget, a small peak overlooking the harbor, visited a local beach, and went hiking near Farris Lake.
Bøkeskogen is one of Norway’s biggest beech forests, and it is one of the most northerly in the world. Because of the large, dense tree tops, little light reaches the ground.
Beech Forest
Bøkeskogen
Larvik
Mats showed us a local hidden treasure near his family's home. We never would have found this spot if it wasn’t for him, as the path was unmarked and quite steep. Once we reached the top of this small mountain, we had a great view of the harbor and people windsurfing.
Oseberget
Larvik
Next, Mats showed us to another local treasure, the "Japanese Park." This small park was located on the water and featured polished larvikite formations.
Larvikite is prized for its high polish and the labradorescence of its feldspar crystals. It is known informally as Blue Pearl Granite. The name originates from the town of Larvik in Norway, where this type of igneous rock is found. Many quarries exploit larvikite in the vicinity.
Sukkersletta
Larvik
Larvik’s drinking water comes from Farris, a 20 km long fresh water moraine-dammed lake.The lake would have been a salt water fjord had it not been dammed by an end moraine left by the latest ice age.
Ono was a small farm near Farris with picturesque white-trimmed red buildings and kittens playing. We stopped and spoke with the Lady of Ono and her friends who were having tea outside, they gave us directions to the “panorama,” a lookout point with a view of the entire lake.
Farris
Larvik
We hiked towards the panorama for some time, but eventually turned around since we weren't sure we were heading in the correct direction. On the way back to the car, Derek had a mishap while crossing a creek. Don't worry though. After a day, all cameras dried and still functioned!
Saturday, we went to Sweden. Our friends go shopping in Sweden every few months to take advantage of the lower taxes. We have always been fascinated with the idea of popping over to another country just to go shopping, so we joined them for a trip. On the way there, enjoyed the scenic route, taking a small ferry and crossing the border at the “most beautiful border crossing in the world” via the Old Svinesund Bridge. While driving across the bridge, we both gasped at the view. On the way back we took a 2-hour ferry from Strömstad, Sweden to Sandefjord, Norway.
The Old Svinesund Bridge was opened with great ceremony on 15 June 1946, by the Norwegian king and the Swedish crown prince. The traffic has increased over the years, and at the end of last century it was decided to build a new highway and bridge between Norway and Sweden. In 2005 the new bridge opened between the two countries.
Svinesund Bridges
Svinesund
Sunday morning we were treated to homemade waffles and strawberry jam. That afternoon we visited Mats’s father who lived just outside of Larvik and was an avid collector of World War II memorabilia and other historical Norwegian items. He had a mountain in his backyard, which we of course climbed. On the final night with our friends, we enjoyed a traditional meal of pork belly, brussel sprouts, and potatoes. We really can’t thank Madli enough for all of the cooking she did while we visited!
Made with love 💻 Linsey 📷 Derek.