SOGN OG FJORDANE

We have been one week now in this part of Norway that is the homeland for my mother, Norma.  Therefore, a place of my beginnings.  It has been a marvelous week with good weather and sightseeing and visiting with our generous and hospitable extended family here.  Their home sits by the side of Lake Holsen and across the shimmering water is a big mountain with a long, thin waterfall.  The place is idyllic in many respects.
From Holsen we took a day trip to the big glacier named Jostedalsbreen.  There we cooled our feet in the melted stream that was coming out of the glacier into an ice blue/green lake.  We found ice flows and were able to gather a few which absolutely amazed us.  We visited the Glacier Museum and learned much about this huge glacier and the ice age.  Also, there is good information about global warming and it is frightening to learn first hand what is happening to the earth.  It is very apparent in this glacier alone that what we have heard is very true.
Then we ate our lunch by the waters of the Faerfjorden and walked into a little burg that the locals have named Book Village. There were numerous bookstores selling mostly pre-owned books.  All kinds.  It was fun to browse through these shops and we even found some books in English.  We continued on our scenic journey through mountains and lakes to come back to where we started in Holsen.  Our "guide" was Rita, one of the family and she did a good job of telling us about area and what we saw.  Hopefully, photos will help tell this story.  I find my words lacking in how to describe what our eyes have seen.
Wednesday we set out for Floro where Rita and her sons live.  It is an hour's drive from Holsen, and is a lovely city by the waters of the North Sea where there are many islands.  Thursday we went onto the island named Kinn where the ferry left us for several hours. We saw a church that was built in the 12th century still standing there in it's stone and cement structure. There is a stage in front of  the mountain where a middle ages production is preformed by actors and village folk annually having to do with a Norsk myth.  People sit on the mountainside to watch this production.  Our timing was such that we did not get to witness that, but it was interesting none-the-less.  A little sheep had become lost outside a fenced area, and it was bleating loudly to find the way back in.   We found a gate, opened it and finally the fluffy little animal was able to get back to the flock.
It was sad to hear it's cries.  Poor little thing was frightened to death!
Suddenly, big black clouds filled the sky and a very strong wind began to blow.  We had no way off the island until the ferry came to get us. We hunkered down inside a small cabin on the dock and waited what seemed like an eternity.  Finally at 9:20 the fast boat came and we bounced all the way back on very rough waters.  Such is life on the North Sea.
Friday we island hopped, first taking an express boat, then a ferry, then a bus, a mail boat, a bus and the express boat back to Floro.   A great experience to see how the island folks live.  The mail boat delivers not only mail, but cases of wine, and other things that one on a island may want delivered.  People seem to live simply on these islands and love doing so.  With the beauty of it all, I wonder if maybe they have the right idea.