Our time in this little cabin in Stryn was slow and peaceful and refreshing. The house was surrounded by a large field of brush which turned into bilberry bushes and lichens closer to the lake.
We spent time exploring the property, but also spent some rainy days destroying NYT crossword puzzles together. Super cozy!
Unlike many Airbnbs, this one was full of the host's stuff. There were many shelves of books, an extensive (and accordion-heavy) music collection, and stacks of photo albums. I spent some time snooping and enjoyed making up stories about this guy's life. It was interesting to see pictures of the construction of the cabin we were in, and snippets from a life that wouldn't be too out of place in rural Michigan where I grew up. I imagine an intentional bachelor with strong family and community ties, accordion player and hunter, hobby farmer...
There was not a ton of visible wildlife around, but the lake had a small group of loons who visited a couple times.
We made one big expedition to Runde island in search of puffins. We're getting out into the western edge of Norway now, where the land devolves into islands. Roads here are intense, and thinking about setting up a transportation system here hurts my brain a little. Tunnels are a constant, bridges are many, and there are long stretches of road (including some long bridges) that can't really accommodate two lanes, so you really have to be on your toes.
Getting to the puffins was a serious hike, starting with this doozy of an uphill trek.
We stopped here to pay the troll.
And finally made it to the top. There were different areas, colonies of gannets, great skuas, and puffins.
We were also lucky to see a few white tailed eagles, even saw two of them fighting in the air!
Lots of different spots to scare ourselves and try to get good views of the absolutely ridiculous puffins flapping their way in and out of their cliffside burrows.
I continued my work mastering the elements, calling a blustery gale to help the puffins return home.
Yesterday we transferred to our northern-most house on this trip in Bud at sixty three and a half degrees of latitude. Happy 4th of July to everyone!
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