It all began with Fish Soup on a Friday night

Norway has brought us many adventures over the last couple of years and this weekend was no different. Ever since we first experienced a home made Norwegian style fish soup a couple years ago aboard our friend's boat, I couldn't stop thinking about how delicious it tasted. And over the last year or so I have tried to get this friend to make it again (with me watching of course). Well, this never materialized because he is a busy man running his own business and home made fish soup takes a day or two to make proper fish soup. Or one could theorize that this was a thinly veiled excuse to guard his family's secret fish soup recipe. Oh well, adapt...overcome...and improvise.

Step 1 - Think, Ron....think.

Ah yes, get another Norwegian to help me out. Well, it just so happens that I have another Norwegian buddy who loves to cook.

Step 2 - Devise an ingenious plan to rope him into making the soup.

So we were out having lunch one day and I happened to mention that Chris and I had been invited to go sailing again and we were asked to bring along some guests. So after he accepted the invitation I let him know that I was responsible for the meal for the day. Let's think, what would be the perfect meal to serve on board. Why "Fish Soup" of course! Can you help a brother out? "Sure", he says. Great!!!! .....Oh, and by the way did I forget to tell you that you are going up against the Fish Soup Master Chef?

Pause...silence...."Do I have stupid written across my forehead?", he said. Long story, short...I convinced him to do the soup.

Sounds like a great idea for a reality show (oh yeah, just remembered, already been done....but I really do think my version would have been much more entertaining with beer, tequila and music).

Step 3 - The Preparatory Stage

It was decided that he would go out and get the ingredients to make the soup the day prior, then come over to our place where I would supply the kitchen, tools, music and liquid encouragement. Well, it was late into the night when we had finally finished the "prep phase". We managed to get the foundation of the soup completed (minus the fish that we were going to pick up the next morning, the day of the sail)

Step 4 - Execution phase (codename: FSX)

It was off to the fish store to see what looked good. We ended up deciding upon:

Monk fish (Norwegian - Breiflabb)

Salmon (Norwegian - Laks)

Mussels - (Norwegian - Blaskjell)

Shrimp - (Norwegian - Reker)

Here I am in the boat's galley peeling some shrimp...

And here are the two soups that we made (Sorry, couldn't get the photos to align properly)

Soup 1 - A coconut milk based, shrimp, red chili, snow peas and a few other herbs. (My favorite)

Soup 2 - A white wine based, monk fish, mussels, salmon, lemon grass, potatoes, carrots and a few other herbs.



We served the meal with some wonderful baked bread (suitable for dipping) and a couple of bottles of some nice red wine. The verdict......drum roll please.....Both soups were excellent and got rave reviews.

After lunch we stopped off for a nice short walk on Håøya (literally translated at Spiny Dogfish Island, although we have heard it called Shark Island). The island is owned partly by the Norwegian defense department and the Oslo township.



Here's what we ran into along the way...



And this cute little "hytte" (cabin)

While some of us walked across the island our boat cruised around to the other side to pick us up. Here's a short clip of it pulling in to pick us up.




And what is so neat and a general statement about my Norwegian friend's character is that he always hoists up an American flag when we come aboard. A nice touch!

And here are the happy campers, especially after what turned out to be a gorgeous, sunny day (And this was after a gloomy forecast during the preceding days of our planned sail date).



Chris took one for the team and was the designated driver. So, as she was saying let's stop by and pick up some of the beautiful "self pick" sunflowers, all I could manage was this quick snapshot out the window as we passed by and headed home after a another wonderful adventure for the memory books.

Saint Hans Aften - Sailing June 2008

How quickly the time has past since my last posting on Saint Hans Aften. We again were invited out for a 3 hour cruise on our friend's boat. Above is a picture of one of the numerous bonfires along the shoreline of the fjord. And to remind you about the significance of the day, here's an excerpt taken from last year's posting:

Courtesy of the world wide web:
St. Hans Aften is celebrated in Norway every June on the longest day of the year. On this day, BBQs are held featuring games and lotteries. Bonfires are also a main part of the observance. These fires date back to pagan days, and some superstitions surrounding them state that the bonfires will protect people from evil spirits and witches.

Underway on the Fjord...

A relaxing moment on board...

Everyone was having a good time. From the small boats...

To the medium size...

To the large cruise liners...(This particular cruise line "Costa", not one of our favorites, you will probably see in a future posting)

A quick dip in the Fjord for me prior to dinner...

Our sleeping accommodations (A metal container on top, otherwise known as the "Penthouse Suite").

In closing, it was a grand day out and one that will bring back fond memories of Norway.

Sailing along

We have been extremely fortunate to do some sailing during our stay in Norway (mega brownie points for me). A big thanks goes out to our Norwegian friend (remember the diver?) who just happens to own the beauty off to the left. It is an old German Patrol Cruiser (1956 I think) that was rehabed into a pleasure craft. Well, we have been fortunate enough to be invited to sail on her quite a few times over the last two years. Here we are docked near a place called Oscarsborg fortress.

Courtesy of Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscarsborg_Fortress)
Oscarsborg festning is a coastal fortress in the Oslofjord, close to the small city of Drøbak. The fortress is situated on two small islets in the fjord and was military territory until 2003 when it was made a publicly available resort island. The fortress became famous during World War II for the 9 April 1940 sinking of the German heavy cruiser Blucher.


Chris enjoying the wind in her hair. It is much shorter now, not sure we could get the same action shot this time around. She has thoroughly enjoyed the sailing experience and seems a natural at sea. Maybe she should have been a Sailor too.

Ron enjoying the day underway. You can see all the houses and "hyttes" (cabins) off in the background. These hyttes are wonderful little (sometimes big) places that Norwegians are famous for owning. I don't think I have met a Norwegian that doesn't have one in their family. They often vacation at these hideaways during summer and winter holidays. In my opinion, they have a totally different perspective on work and play time from your average American perspective (and I think they have got it right!). Chris and I have been honored by another Norwegian friend with an invitation to his summer party at his parent's hytte. I have also been out their a few time since for a couple of boy's only chill out nights. Let the good times roll!

As a parting shot of our sailing adventures, here is a shot of the sun setting on Saint John's Eve on 23 June 2006. This day is called Saint Hans Aften.

Courtesy of the world wide web:

St. Hans Aften is celebrated in Norway every June on the longest day of the year. On this day, barbeques are held featuring games and lotteries. Bonfires are also a main part of the observance. These fires date back to pagan days, and some superstitions surrounding them state that the bonfires will protect people from evil spirits and witches.