Alagaesian

Went up to Geilo for a ski trip last weekend with some friends.  Geilo is about 3 hours east of Bergen and 3.5 hours west of Oslo.  The sentrum is about 800 meters above sea level with peaks and ski slopes from 1200 meters above sea level.

We got to the cottage at about 9pm after a 3 hour train ride from Bergen.  The sky was amazingly clear with stars in bright contrast against the dark.  Temperature about -9 to -17 degrees Celcius.  The snow around the cottage was waist deep up to a meter high so I had to do some shoveling the next morning. 

The shoveling was a nice warm up before the real workout.  It was my 5th time on skis i think and did a 3-hour run on the cross country tracks on Saturday amidst blowing wind and snow, and another 2 hours on Sunday (this time with calm weather and light snow).  Run might not be the right word as I also had countless falls and did some acrobatic exhibitions a couple of times. 

Still a long way to go before I can really perfect skiing, a bit frustrating as well after all the falls.  But overall it was fun, not to mention a nice workout (haven’t been to the gym lately as it has been crazy working nights in the office the past week).

All the skiing and falls worked my appetite for the good hearty dinners cooked by Kari and Anita.  While the guys were making the fire and getting settled, the girls were busy working their magic in the kitchen.  We had tomato soup on Friday night like nothing I’ve tasted before (will have to get that recipe soon!) and a Filipino delicacy called pancit canton (canton noodles) prepared by Anita on Saturday.  Probably gained a couple of pounds from all the eating over the weekend.

It was a nice and relaxing weekend getaway.  I have decided to frequent the cottage this winter until I finally learn how to cross country or do alpine.  

Technorati Tags: Geilo, winter, ski