Day 09 – Kongsberg
January 9, 2011
December 31st, 2010
Another late start – especially when there’s so much TV I could catch up on… well, I did want and need to relax a bit!
We went for a drive to the local ski centre via a town called Notodden. It was where David first started out when he moved to Norway, so we went on a bit of a sightseeing / reminice around the town. We stopped off at the cycling shop where David helped out. It was run by another Australian blke, but he wasn’t there. We guessed he was off skiing somewhere. It seemed like they were on a good thing with having David help out around the place. He’d organised and systemised the stock room to some extent (it was pretty messy – a result of NOT having David around for a week or so) and I think they were paying him in parts and equipment for his bike! I guess David appreciated the chance to get more stuff, but I feel they were getting a good deal.
From there we drove through the hills to the ski centre near Kongsberg. It was a series of downhill runs and cross-country tracks criss-crossing a mountain above the town. I hired a set of cross-country skis to try that out for the first time. Needless to say, it was not very easy at all. The idea was to step forward and slide at the same time. The flats were OK – along with any slight inclines or declines, but I found it easy to lose grip on the snow so climbing was especially difficult. The idea being to step upward and use the edge of the ski to dig into the snow as you pushed upward. I found that when I did that the ski slid out from under me, causing a faceplant – or near faceplant – to ensue. That was the curse of being the height and weight I am…
We went a fair way along the easiest track, but I was getting tired, so we turned around and headed back to the ski lodges at the base of the ski area. I was able to change the skis over to alpine ones without much hassle and scored a couple of free lift tickets into the bargain. I think they were taking pity on me since it was obvious I was out of my depth… sometimes it’s good to be the obviously foreign guy…
The lift up to the top was a nice ride as the sun was setting and the few clouds there were, were a peachy pink against the cold clear blue sky. At the top I was unceremoniously dumped onto the waiting snow and made my way towards the green run back down to the bottom. I’m glad that it was the ‘easiest’ run as anything else would have been positively suicidal. There were quite a few declines that were too hard for me to negiotiate. Even other skiers stopped to work out the best way to go down them. So I spent more time on my backside (and front and side) than sliding majesterially down them. I ended up with some nice deep bruising on my right hip and thigh as a result of my misadventures down that hill.
After we got back to David’s apartment and had hot showers to thaw out and soothe injuries, David made some pasta for dinner and we settled in to watch some DVDs. Not a partying new years by any stretch, but that was OK.
Outside, Kongsberg was in the process of setting the sky alight with firewworks to welcome in the New Year. Even at 7pm people were setting off bursts in the dark sky. By 11:30 it was a steady stream of plumes coming from multiple sites around the town. By midnight the whole cityscape was alive with bursting rockets. It was a unique way to see in the new year for me, that was for sure. By 12:30am, the celebrations had died down, but still there was the occasional setting off by some overly celebrative party.
