Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day is not a holiday in Norway, so I'm enjoying a beautiful sunny day while everyone else has to go to work/school. Actually I have class later today. I'm taking introductory Norwegian at the University and have classes every Monday and Wednesday. I had a tiring but fun weekend vounteering at the Ølfestival in the Bergenhus castle, which was followed by a solid afterparty that went until the wee hours of the morning. Basically they rented out a pier and we drank the unfinished kegs from the beer while dancing and dining. I made some new Bergen friends, both Norwegians, Americans, as well as a few exchange students from Spain, France and England. One in particular, Annie, is is also in my Norwegian class and teaches kindergarten at the international school where Zara goes. Then Sunday I went to a food festival that was just outside the castle, and while eating a villhjort burger covered in tyttebær a nice little family can and sat at the table with me. The mother was from New York and her 5 year old daughter spoke perfect English even though she grew up here. I told them about Maxwell going for full immersion in the local public schools learning Norwegian, and about Zara going to the international school instead. Turns out the little girl also went to the international school and Annie was her teacher. Small world!

Maxwell also had his first successful fishing trip this weekend, so we dined last night on fresh mackerel! And there's plenty more in the freezer that he's fileted. The weekend was also a sunny one, so Zara and I got out in the fjord and did some swimming. Maxwell may catch fish, but my Zara is one! She'll jump off a diving broad fastened to a rock into the black waters if indeterminate depth. The cliffs above suggest it's rather deep though. We swam past seastars and jellyfish, through kelp beds and floating leaves, along the rocky coast where Zara learned firsthand that Norwegian sunbathing is a clothing optional affair. We probably swam 300-400 meters around to another jumping off place where we could ladder out and rest for a bit before swimming back.