Tipsy before noon…
Cider tasting, Fimreite
Saturday: Our last day together with our friends Eva, Bjørn, Elisabeth and Lune. They would be heading back to eastern Norway the next day.
They’ve had some good days with Sogndal as base. Haugabreen glacier on Wednesday, Bicycle trip in the Kaupanger forest on Thursday and zipline in Jostedalen on Friday. Today, we would go on a combined fjord cruise + cider tasting at Fimreite. Cider is not on top of my list, but I looked forward to the fjord cruise!
In the morning, Anne tried to execute her daily Yoga routine, but was brutally interrupted…
After breakfast, we sat course for Sogndalsfjøra, to the boat that would take us to Fimreite. Lune had to stay behind…
The weather forecast wasn’t all that good, but it’s just a matter of choosing the correct outfit and keeping a positive mind.
The boat left 10am.
I have not been to a cider tasting event before and wondered what it would be like to be under influence of alcohol, this early in the day…
Fortunately, the rain stopped and we could be on deck.
We had a skilled guide from Austria (!) who informed the tourists on board (the majority from the US) about life along Sognefjorden, back in the days, as well as the Battle of Fimreite (June 15, 1184). According to historical sources, 40 ships participated in the battle and more than 2000 men were killed. This was a enormous battle, even by “European standards” at the time.
I took some pictures from the boat, but it was not the best weather for nature photography. Or – my camera equipment wasn’t good enough. Or – the photographer wasn’t good enough. Probably the latter.
Then, the boat dropped us off at Fimreite…
The venue was the “Odelsgut” farm.
We were welcomed by Alexander and got an introduction to the modern artform of pomology. It was very interesting learning about growing apples today, vs. back when his ancestors invested in this, many years ago.
We were given a glass of cider (without alcohol) upon arrival. It tasted nice for sure!
The Haug Farm has been in the family for hundreds of years and is today run by Cecilie and Alexander – with cider production as the main product.
Then we moved over to the boat house, for the cider tasting. Alexander introduced each cider before we did the tasting.
Normally, a group is tasting 4 ciders, but today, 5 cider brands were served. None of us liked the first one. The rest tasted nice, but not enough for me to convert from beer to cider…
I think they had a good sale in the farm shop, after the tasting. Which is good. I really want people like them to succeed. They put in so much effort.
The boat picked us up at 1:30pm and we returned to Sogndal for lunch at Det Gule Huset.
Røvhaugane
Lune had been alone in Anne’s apartment while we were attending the cider tasting. I felt the dog deserved a good walk.
We started out by walking alongside the Sogndalselvi river. All the new smells were exciting, and all the new sounds were scary.
Then we walked up to Røvhaugane. The walk was going well so far.
At Røvhaugane, there were other dogs and Lune desperately wanted to say hello, to the point where it was difficult to control her. However, I didn’t want to risk anything, and she would have to get by with watching the dogs from a distance.
We returned via Fjordstien. There was a massive rain shower coming our way and I knew we would get wet. And we did.
The reward was the rainbow following the shower. It was quite nice!
As we passed the Nortura factory, Lune got really scared . I don’t know what scared her. It could be the smell, sounds I didn’t catch. It could even have been the seagulls, not happy about our presence.
As we approached the main road, she was so scared that I was afraid she would pull herself out of the collar. So, I decided to carry her across the road. Once across, she calmed down. A very strange and awkward situation.
Back at Anne’s place, a Sushi workshop was in progress. I could look forward to yet another delicious meal.
Trip statistics (Røvhaugane): 6,5km, 300 vertical meters (incl. biking from boat), 1h:33m
