Hangin’ Out In Moss

Every few days, the nature of our trip changes completely. First we were bicycling and island hopping in the Swedish archipelago, then we were on a leisurely, pastoral canal cruise. That was followed by a very different cruise along Norway’s wild and rugged coast. After that, a stay at a summer cottage on a remote island in the Arctic.

And next, we had several days’ stay at the home of Eirik and Gry in the small city of Moss, near Oslo (plus a weekend in Fredrikstad—more on that in a future posting). Moss has a population of about 30,000, which makes it one-third the size of Boulder. Just as Boulder is a short drive from the major metropolitan area of Denver, so Moss is within commuting distance of Oslo, Norway’s biggest city. However, the town center of Moss is condensed into a smaller area. The downtown buildings are bigger and more urban in character.

Many of the historic old buildings have been preserved and repurposed. Eirik and Gry own a beautiful, third-floor loft apartment in a gracious, old building that used to house “The Elephant Apothecary” on what used to be the market square. Now that their two children are grown and have moved out (although not very far; they both still live within a couple of blocks of their parents), there were two spare bedrooms, which were happily occupied by Peggy and us.

The apartment was close to everything and everyone (no more than two to two thousand meters, right Gry?). There was a constant stream of visitors, parties, jams, outings, and so on. We made a quick, overnight trip to Oslo to visit Kåre, Inger-Lise, Malou, and their new baby, Bo. “The Girls” (Gry, Peggy, Anni, and Denise) indulged in a day at the nearby Son Spa, followed by an evening with delicious pizza at Erling and Anni’s new house. We also spent an entire weekend in nearby Fredrikstad, at the Månefestival, (see next blog entry). And, of course, we took advantage of the warm weather to earn a few more bragging rights by going for a swim in the Norwegian Sea.

Our friends took great care of us. Everyone was welcoming and friendly and made us feel right at home. Thank you so much, everybody!