Journey to the Land of Lutefisk and Lefse: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

‘My proposal is: To set off walking this afternoon. To stop when we are tired. To get a lift when we can. To walk when we can't. To do it at once, and do it cheap.’ – Charles Dickens

I have official left Bø and seen more of Norway! This week I do not have any class until Friday, so I used this opportunity with a few other friends and went down to Krisitansand, the 5th largest city in Norway located right on the Baltic Sea. We left on Sunday morning and hitchhiked our way down to Krisitansand. Hithhiking is very popular and safe (don't worry Mom and Grandma) here in Norway. In fact in most guide books there is a whole section about how to best do it. It took us 4 cars and about 5 hours to get down to Krisitansand. We had to wait no longer than about 20 minutes on the road each time until we got picked up- which is not bad at all. Once we got to Krisitansand, we found a cheap camp site about a mile away from down town and set up a tent we'd borrowed from another international student. It cost us 150 NOK each night, or just under 30 US dollars. It was a beautiful site and had a beach to the Baltic Sea right on it. So the first night we sat on the beach eating our bread and watching the lighthouse in the distance. On Monday, we went into town and explored a fortress and cathedral from the 1670's, which was shortly after Krisitansand was founded. We walked around the old town too and looked at the beautiful houses. In the afternoon we went swimming in the Baltic which was quite freezing, but stunning at the same time. We went back into down for dinner at a nice little cafe where we could sit on the roof and see both the sea and downtown. On Tuesday, due to some really bad blisters one of the girls (Kimberly) spent the day at the campsite. So that left me and Katie. We spent the morning hiking around the camping area by the sea and found a mini-lighthouse and a dockyard to explore. In the afternoon we attempted to find a rose garden and a botanical garden, but ended up lost and in a large park and instead went and got some pizza to eat by the sea. On Wednesday, we spent the morning relaxing by the sea and then got a late lunch at a restaurant by the sea. Due to Kimberly's blisters, we decided to take the train back home to Bø instead of hitchhiking. Krisitansand was a really beautiful city and so here are some pictures to show you its loveliness.