Sandspollen, Scandinavias best natural harbour

Some people argue that the islands outside of Stockholm are better to cruise than the ones in Oslofjorden. In many ways I think they are correct. But the one thing they can´t beat is some of the gorgeous natural harbours of The Oslofjord. The most beautiful in my opinion is Sandspollen.
On our virgin sleepover trip with our new boat Solrun II, a Weekendcruiser from NorDan (7800 version) we chose to spend the night in Sandspollen.


So far so not so interesting you might think. Hang on, the fun starts now. This weekend was rather hot and humid and the weatherforecast predicted very little rain. But just when we arrived the clouds rejoiced and opened their floodgates. In a massive way. At this point I would like to mention that we were not dressed for heavy rain.


But full of optimism we found a lovely spot, anchored and I used a couple of trees to connect us to land. At that time it sounded like a easy and good idea. Also, the trees would give me some protection from the rain since I had to use the grill since all our food was based on having a barbeque.



In between the first rainshowers I was actually able to dish up some really good food, but then the wrath from above really kicked in. It started with daaark clouds and rolling thunder. Then it looked like Flash Gordon had been to kind to a lot of babysitters based on the numerous flashes over the sky. Please do remember how I connected the boat to land. Via ropes to the nearby trees. ..
And what are the 2 things to avoid in a situation like this?
1. Do not be at sea in small boats
2. Do not sit under trees.

We did both. Off course we listened to the news on the radio with its long antenna (I mean if the first two wouldnt do us harm then a radioantenna clearly couldnt do any lightning damage). The weatherman announced that this was not a good time to be in a boat (You don´t say???) and also talked about the surprising but very fascinating weatherphenomenon that occured right in front of us. You see this was a tropical rainshower. Outside of Oslo, Norway. Tropical!? And some people still say that Al Gore is a liar. Visit Oslo is my reply.
After the fun passed, tropical showers of this kind is brutal but short, the sun actually came back for a short while and gave us some nice photops when we explored the natural surroundings. Nice isn´t it?



So even though the trip didn´t turn out as planned we got some really nice pictures and a good story to tell friends. And the boat? Slept like a baby. Next morning we discovered that the battery didn´t serve enough power to ignite the Wallas cooking stove. Thankfully I had brought a gasheater as well. So we got our morning coffee. Did I mention that in weekends there is a boat delivering fresh bread in Sandspollen. How many places do you know of with floating bakeries?

More boat stories will be published over the summer.

Christmas in Iceland - The Skata experience

There are experiences in life that can only be enjoyed in it´s original habitat. A good example is the Skata tradition in Iceland on the 23rd of December. My wife is of icelandic origin so I´ve had the pleasure of spending christmas several times in a wooden house far out in the countryside on the eastern side of the island. To be exact Stóra Sandfell close to Egilstaðir.
My father in law is a steady and persistent man who had a rather strong belief that for me to become a proper member of the family, I had to join in for the feast named Þorláksmessa (Mass of St.Thorlak patron saint of Iceland) were the fish skata is served according to ancient tradition. Perhaps not ancient according to the greeks but definately not 20th century either. So despite my recollections of the odor from his clothes returning home from Þorláksmessa previous years, the whole family joined this mass to make sure that we finally became one big happy smelling christmas family.
You might wonder how this glorious food looks like, so instead of bothering you with detailed descriptions, here´s a picture of a healthy skata plate.

Here is a exact description of what you see in the picture according to Iceland Review: It is so putrefied that when you take the first bite it will numb your nose and throat – so strong is the smell. The habitual way of cooking it is to boil it for about ten minutes. Then the fish is taken from the bones, some lamb fat mör is added, and then this sort of stew is served with boiled potatoes and brown rye bread.
Sound delicious doesn´t it? Remember that despite the rather strong smell the fish itself doesn´t taste as much. And how strange it may sound the preservation method is rather good for the stomach (base not acids), so it might be a good way to handle all the fat that could be served in the coming days of x-mas. I am Norwegian so putrefied food is not uncommon, so remember that I might be slightly biased here, but I really believe that it was OK. Not great, but not as expected from the smell of my father in law when he he came home from previous years Þorláksmessa.
Is it worth a trip to Iceland? No way! Is it worth eating to become a proper familymember? Indeed it is! But should you ever be in Iceland around christmas time you have to try it. Not because you wil fall in love with skata, but because travelling should evolve around experiencing local life and traditions. And it doesn´t get more Iceandic than skata. Just look at the picture of my father in law and you´ll understand. Thank you Jón for making me part of the family. See you next christmas for Þorláksmessa.

And here is the final proof of me enjoying skata. Hmm, delicious.