April 30, 2017

Asiamat Brekstad

Whenever we travel, one thing that concerns me is food because I’m not adventurous in trying new foods and I love Filipino cuisines. Yes, love your own. I’m not sure yet if I can live outside the Philippines for so long because for sure, mamimiss ko ang pagkain.


Asian store is very important to Filipinos who work or live outside the Philippines because they have the chance to buy foods from their home country. When I was packing for our Norway trip, I was telling my mom that I will bring this and that. She said, no need to bring anything because we can buy in Norway naman and hindi naman daw niya kami gugutumin. 



I did not listen to her because I know how expensive the foods in Europe so I brought foods from the Philippines, hanggat kasya sa luggage namin. Hehehe! Tinatawanan na lang ko ng nanay ko sa dami ng dala namin na groceries from the Philippines.



Last Saturday, we dropped by at Asiamat Brekstad before going to Melissa. It was my first time there, before there is no Asian store in Ørland and my mom needed to go to Trondheim just to buy foods from Asia.

Asia + Mat (food)




The size of the store is like 7-11, I was happy to see different products from Asia, nakakamiss din makita yun pagkain natin. So we bought vegetables, tomato sauce, macapuno, nata de coco and many more. I saw Lucky Me Pancit Canton and it is NOK10 per piece, buti na lang nagdala ko nito kasi x5 ang price.

Update April 2019: I went back to Norway and I was surprised when I learned that this Asian Store is already closed. 

Lunch at Melissa

The cost of foods and drinks in other countries is way too expensive if we will compare it to the Philippines. You really need to allot a budget if you are traveling, especially if you will always eat in a restaurant.


For our summer vacation this year, we are lucky that we stay at my mom’s place so we don’t have a problem with our food and drinks. Eating out is not on our agenda because we can just buy and cook the food we like. 


Food tripping in Ørland Kommune is not a usual thing because they only have a few restaurants here. The majority of the people cook or bake their own food at home. But yesterday, we had our chance to try one of the restaurants in Brekstad. I was supposed to cook sinigang for our lunch but thanks to my aunt. She called my mom yesterday and she said, she will treat us to lunch. Yey! So off we went to Melissa.


Melissa is one of the restaurants in Brekstad Norway, they serve Italian food so we don’t have a problem in choosing foods. Browsing the menu is not a dilemma too because my mom can translate it. Lol 


We all know that food serving in other countries is huge so if we (2 adults + 1 kid) are traveling, as much as possible, we only buy two meals and share-share na lang. But here in Norway, I always order from the kid’s menu. Hehehe! Sa height kong ito, lagi ako napagkakamalan na kid sa train, boat and restaurant. I also ordered from the kid's menu when we ate at Peder Hiort Marthus.

Read: Peder Hiort Marthus Restaurant


Beef with Bernaise Sauce, Chips and Salad

My son and I ordered Minibiff at KR145 and a glass of soda at KR33, if I will compute it in Philippine peso, it is more than PHP1000 for one meal, buti na lang libre. Hehehe! I was surprised when I saw the salad, I was not expecting na may salad pati sa kid’s menu so as usual, naiwan lang siya sa plate namin. Alam niyo naman, di ko mahilig sa dahon, hehehe! My son and I enjoyed our order, Sharing with you the other foods, I was not able to take picture of the appetizer and pizza. 




Here in Norway, most of the time after eating meals, they will still drink coffee or tea so that’s what we did in Melissa. As far as I can remember, complimentary na yata yung coffee and tea, ikaw na lang magtimpla. I’m not fond of coffee pero sa lamig, napapakape ko just like in Sagada


One thing I notice here in Ørland Norway, konti lang ang staff. My aunt told me that the person who took and served our orders is the owner of the restaurant.

April 28, 2017

Fishing Adventure in Norway

Fishing in Norway is part of their lifestyle because most people live near the sea, fjord, lakes, or rivers. I am fortunate to experience fishing during my first visit so it is on my bucket list to have fishing adventures in Norway with my family.


I mentioned in one of my posts that my son wanted to experience fishing and we were lucky to experience that when we went to Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm. But fishing in Norway is a different experience because we are going to ride the yacht.


I thought that having sunny weather is already a good time to fish but I was wrong. There are a lot of things to consider when fishing, the weather should not be windy and the temperature should not be too cold. We will not enjoy fishing if we are freezing outside the boat and how can we catch a fish if we cannot stay long outside.

From day one, I was praying for good weather so my husband can experience fishing before he goes back to the Philippines. So on day 5, I was glad when my mom told me that our itinerary for that day is “fishing”. Yehey!

Watch the video here.

Even though it is already Spring season in Norway, the weather feels like winter so we need to wear thick clothes like the overall dress, 3 to 4 layers of clothing, a scarf, and gloves.

I was excited to ride my stepdad’s yacht because it would be my first time. During our first visit, they only have a small boat with no roof but this time, level up na. For safety, we need to wear lifevests or floaters.


We only have two fishing rods so we took turns, I was lucky again because I was the first one who caught a fish. Fish in Norway is big, hindi yan katulad nung bangus na nahuli namin sa Macampao. Hehehe! You can catch cod, trout, salmon, halibut, mackerel, and many more. If you catch small fish, you need to return it back to the sea.

Though there are so many fishes in the sea, pana-panahon din yan so after two hours, we’re fortunate to catch 3 codfish. Other people spent 3 hours but did not catch any fish. We stopped fishing because we were hungry already.


On the boat, you need to clean the fish and throw the gills and intestines back into the sea. While cleaning the fish, birds will go near the boat because they will eat the gills and intestines. It was nice to see the seagulls.



On our way home, my stepdad taught my husband to drive the boat, so he was in charge of going back to the port. But of course, he could not do the parking yet so my stepdad parked the boat. I had the same experience before but it was only a small boat, move right and left lang ang ginagawa ko. Hehehe!

After fishing, the task is not yet over because you have to clean the boat and fishing gears. When other countries are struggling with pollution, Norway is fortunate to have a clean and clear body of water. It is no doubt that locals like fishing here because there is joy in catching and eating your own fish.



At home, I cooked our freshly caught fish. I just put salt, pepper, and lemon juice and baked it in the oven. My mom prepared hollandaise sauce to pair with the fish. Cod is good but I still prefer salmon. In the second week, we fried the cod and as of this writing, we still have one codfish in the freezer.


If you are planning a visit to Norway, you should include a fishing adventure in your itinerary.

April 27, 2017

Trollskogen + Lerberen Folkehelsepark Norway

Trollskogen

On our fourth day, we went to Trollskogen or Troll Forest which is located near the Lerberen mountain. You can see the Futura Barnehage or Future Kindergarten on your way to Trollskogen. 


Preschool kids here in Norway enjoy school because they also believe in learning through play. Kids can stay almost whole day in school without getting bored because they have so many indoor and outdoor activities. Opening hour is 7:00 to 4:30PM 


When my sister was in preschool, she goes to Barnehage so my mom can work. So when we went to Norway, we did not take care of her because she goes to school and my mom will pick her up after her work. There is no reason for you to be a full-time mom for so long because you can arrange your schedule. 



Kids are lucky to have a big playground near the school. Trollskogen has a small pond, bonfire, small shelter, and Tarzan forest. There are climbing ropes and climbing frames where kids can play.


It was Holy Thursday so there is no school when we went here. The temperature is below zero degrees so you will notice that the pond turned into ice. My son enjoyed throwing stones so he can crack the ice. 

Watch the video here

Lerberen Folkehelsepark 

As I mentioned, Trollskogen is near Lerberen mountain so we also went here. Lerberen is considered a Public Health Park so they are still planning to expand the area for the benefit of the public. The place is free so it is a popular hiking area for people who want to get fit and improve their health. 



If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I don’t have an active lifestyle. Iisipin ko pa lang mag-exercise, napapagod na ko so when we went here at Lerberen Folkehelsepark, ramdam ko yung pagod sa pag-akyat. 

Nagtungkod

My husband and son found a stick and they use it as a staff. My son does not have an active lifestyle too so on our way to the top, he was complaining already. We just kept on telling him na malapit na. hehehe! 

Naghatakan
Nagpabuhat

He cried when we reached the top, I’m not sure kung tears of joy or sa pagod. Hehehe!


This is the view from the top of the mountain, you can see the view of the city. 



I wrote our names in the logbook before we went down. 


My son was excited to go down, as in nauuna na sa pagbaba. He was in good mood already because we were going home. 

Watch the video here 

Uthaug

After our morning hike, off we went to my mom’s mother-in-law. This would be the last time that I would be able to see her house because next year, she will move to a new place. 

For your information, the airbase of Norway and NATO is located in Ørland at the mouth of the Trondheimsfjord. So some residents in Uthaug need to move to other places. The government bought their houses and given them enough time to move out.

Garten 

View from the window
Then we went to Garten because my aunt invited us for lunch. That was the first time I saw her place because she just moved to Norway several years ago.


We’re a happy camper because my aunt served a lot of foods. Nagtake-out pa ako. Hehehe!




April 25, 2017

Things to do in Austrått Norway

Austrått is located in Opphaug Norway which is just a few minutes' drive from Brekstad. It is a nice place to visit because you can see the old manor, fort, grove, and beach. The best part is, it is free.

Read: Trip to Opphaug Norway

Things to do in Austrått Norway 


Austråttlunden 

Austråttlunden is a protected woodland area in Austrått where you can see the different variety of rare plants and wildlife. If you are lucky, you can see moose, deer, and different kinds of birds.


Inside the grove, you can see the famous world’s northernmost wild oak tree. They say that the tree is hundreds of years old already. I went inside the oak tree when I first visited the place so I persuaded my son to go inside too. He was scared at first because he thought that there are squirrels or termites inside the tree.



This place popular for walking and running, it is about 3 km if you will go around the Austråttlunden. But we have a kid in tow so we did not walk that far. We went to the fort after taking pictures of the oak tree.


Austrått Fort 

Austrått Fort was built by the German Wehrmacht in 1942 to protect the Tronheimsfjord during World War II. Inside the fort, you will see the Triple gun turret that weighs 800 tons. The gun turret's last firing was in 1953 and it became a museum in 1991.



Norwegians protect and preserve this fort so the site is still in good condition. As you can see, there is a tarpaulin that covers the gun turret to protect it from the winter season. Again, I was not able to see the interiors of the gun turret because it is only open during the summer season. You can see the five-storey cannon tower and Fosen War Historical Collections starting in June of the year.



It is nice to be back and this time with my family. We took photos on the same spot where my siblings and I took photos several years ago.



Austråttborgen 

Austråttborgen or Austrått Manor is found in the municipality of Ørland, Sør-Trondelag Norway. Austrått has been the residence of many noblemen/noblewomen and officials since the 10th century. The Austrått Manor is one of the oldest Norwegian manors, it was built in 1656 by a Norwegian Chancellor named Ove Bjelke. The manor is a national property since 1919.


Some people like my mom, called this Austrått castle, inside the manor is a chapel where my aunt got married. We were not able to see the interior but the manor is open for public tours during the summer season.

Austrått Pyramid 


Beside the Austråttborgen is a pyramid with a plaque.

Austrått Beach 



There is also a small beach "Storjektvika" after the Austråttborgen where you can relax or even swim during the summer months. We touched the water and it is really cold.

Watch the video here

Update: April 2022

Austrått Havn

We revisited this place again because my mom said, there is something new here so we went to Austrått Havn and we found this viewing deck. There are also tables and benches just like in the Uthaug Marina where you can unwind while watching the fjord. 


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