The first few days

I have visited Ålesund several times, but as we came in to land at Vigra airport I was once again stunned by the beauty of the place. Stine has told me approx. 16 times that it has been voted by pilots to be the best landing in Norway (I have not had this verified, but I'll take her word for it). A surreal feeling to call it home, made more surreal by the fact that we had been desperately packing and preparing for the previous 5 days since returning from Kenya. Some might say that going to Africa just before you move country is unwise. They would be correct. What a massive ball-ache moving is.

Obligatory shot from the plane window

Once we arrived at our apartment, though, the swelling of the balls subsided, giving way to a buzz of excitement and exhaustion. We hit the jackpot with this place. To celebrate, we marked our arrival with a Grandiosa pizza, a staple of the nordmann diet. Imagine a Ristorante, then triple the price.

We have a ladder for some reason.

Friday was spent walking and bussing around, sorting out tax numbers and buying the necessary items for our new home, culminating in a much loved tradition in Norway on Fridays... Tacos. Every Friday, nordmenn settle in front of the telly with friends and family with a huge platter of taco tastiness. Not complaining about that.

Saturday, we were completely knackered so spent the day watching Skam (Nordic 'Skins') with Norwegian subtitles on to give me a slight chance of knowing what the fridge was going on. I reckon I got about 50% on my own, thanks to my work on Duolingo, and Stine helped fill in the rest. Love that show!

Sunday is a holy day in Norway. Shops are closed and alcohol isn't available to buy. These days are for family, long walks, log fires and skiing, otherwise known as 'kos'. We boarded the boat out to Lepsøya to visit mormor and morfar and within minutes another nordmann box was ticked: kjøttkaker (meatballs). In fact, 'balls' is a poor translation as it directly translates to 'cakes'. These things are huge juicy bad-boys in brunsaus, a sort of meaty gravy. Delicious. Nice one mormor :) After dinner, we chilled while watching Ålesund play on TV with morfar who was NOT happy at the performance. Due to their strong fisherman dialect, I don't understand much (if any) of what they say at the moment, but it was clear he wasn't satisfied. I did bang out a few phrases I've learned, such as "så du football i går?" and "tusen takk for mat, det var veldig bra" which always go down well. I just don't understand the reply. Lots of smiling and nodding. I'll get there.

Minging, isn't it?

Lepsøya looking all moody.

First of three portions.

House of mormor and morfar, plus mitten.

On the way back, we had a little detour through the new car park they've built under the mountain. It struck me as a Nordic bond villain's lair. I expected to turn a corner and see an evil fisherman revolving on a chair while stroking a salmon.

Come come Mr. Bond, you know you love carparks just as much as I do.

Today was Stine's first day at Housing First, a project that houses people with a history of substance abuse and a period of being homeless. I spent the day mooching about town trying to get myself a job - I got myself a trial shift at Molo Brew, a new swanky place that brews and sells beers alongside burgers. They also have a couple of shuffleboard tables which I can't wait to have a go at. Should probably do that when I'm not working though, as I'll be on there the whole night getting all competitive. Also got my nose in at a few cafes around town and will be back amongst it for the rest of the week. Hopefully get myself working soon, not into all this unemployed malarky.

Absolutely not from google images.

And that's about it for now - I'm going to cook some steak medallions for the lady to celebrate her first day.

Ha det bra!