From the harbour of the capital of Norway, The Oslo Fjord, you find the most popular recreation area. The fjord is a long gem, 100 km between Færder lighthouse to Oslo, and it is encircled by the country’s most densely populated area. In the summer the fjord comes to life and my wife DianeCA and I often go to our favourite little island for a swim, some tanning and sometimes a little picnic. With my Nokia N82 at hand, I captured one of this quality times with my wife this summer and you’re welcome to join our BBQ feast:

_{Grilled chicken with salad and dressing.}

This island, Kalvøya (Calf Island) is just 20 minutes from Oslo center by public transportation. Even in this densely populated area in Norway (Oslo: 0.5 mil.), you can find your own, quiet little spot along the fjord to enjoy the tranquillity and fresh air. You’ll also find beaches – sometimes a bit overcrowded to my taste – or less crowded like the nude beach . Her we found our own little bathing spot and after a relaxing swim, my wife packed out the food for a BBQ and I was the chef:


Norwegians have a close relationship with boating, and this is evident in the Oslo fjord. In the summer there are boats of all sizes on the fjord, and it is possible to go kayaking, canoeing, fishing, and sailing if you wish to enjoy the outdoors! This is the view from our cook out that day – to me this is by all means; recreational:


There is a flourishing animal life on this island with a lot of birds, some more intrusive than others. Here are some seagulls enjoying some of our leftovers:


I just love to be out in the nature, not only in the summer time, but in all four seasons. It’s a way to charge your batteries, to find inspiration and get away from the stressful, urban life. In Oslo, it’s just outside your doorstep you know. As I’ve reported before, this island is recreational in all seasons – have a look:
-> From frozen Paradise to hot summer beaches in Oslo Norway
-> Frozen Paradise

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Ribeauville located close to the Alps in North France in the region Alsace, is an amazing little village amongst green grassy hills with beautiful nature. We were stunned by its charm and beauty! Some say; ‘Alsace is a party.. . ‘ and when you visit Ribeauvillé, you understand the full meaning of the sentence. Here the ancient walls, the streets, the old houses and their wood beams are always decorated just waiting for the first note of music:

Ribeauvillé has a long history first mentioned under “Ratbaldovillare” in an official document circa 768 AD. It meant “Villa of Ratbold”, in old German “Ratbold” signified “the boldest man of the counsel”. Property of the Dukes of Alsace, the Counts of Eguisheim, the Emperor of Germany and the Bishop of Basel, it was the Counts of Ribeaupierre who were the last lords of the town before the French revolution.

We visited this charming city as part of our trip by car – together with TorAa and Anna – from the adventurous Blog Gathering at Claudie and Pierre in Ollioules, South France (see links to my posts from the gathering at the end of this post!).

Ribeauvillé is an improbably beautiful village, uncharacteristically neat and tidy, the stuff of which fairy tales are made: higgledy-piggledy, half-timbered houses alight in summer with cascading geraniums and petunias; richly decorated wrought iron inn signs; great wooden doors from beneath which waft insistent, irresistible smells of onion tart, freshly baked bread, new wine and old barrels. No wonder, I went crazy with the camera (my Nikon Coolpix). Click to see all the photos in details at my Flickr account:

My regular readers know I consider food and wine an important part of exploring a region’s culture. Here is our splendid dinner at the Hotel au Lion:

<sup>Main course: Cog au vin d´Alsace et spaetzle and of course; wine de la castle!

Left, starter: Escargots “Maison” – Right, dessert: Münsterkäse</sup>

This will be the last post from our adventurous trip through Europe after the loveliest Blog Gathering at the charming hosts Claudie and Pierre in Provence. To me it has been wonderful to recall and memories these special experience and share them with you. Hope you have enjoyed it too and here are links to the previous posts:

1: Building friendships at Blog Gathering in South France
2: Blog Gathering at Ollioules in Provence France
3: Blog Gathering in Provence France visits Le Castelle
4: Norwegians visiting Montreux by Lake Geneva in Switzerland

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The charm of Montreux’s setting – at the most popular resort on Lake Geneva – depends on its variety of geography and vegetation, ranging from the gardens on the lakeside, through the Alpine meadows and forests around Caux and Les Avants, to the lofty peaks of the Rochers de Naye.

With a magnificent view and an unusually mild climate, the city extends for some 6km along the shores of the lake, incorporating a number of smaller places which were formerly independent communes.

For a Norwegian – who loves nature and mountainous landscapes – it was overwhelmingly beautiful travelling through the Alps. My wife DianeCA and I, went by car with TorAa and his wife Anna from the adventurous blog gathering at Claudie and Pierre in Ollioules, South France (see links to my posts from the gathering at the end of this post!).
While at it, driving through Europe back to Norway, we had a short visit in Switzerland and the closer we got Montreux, the more we talked about our dear blog friend Jen at Expatraveler. This is where she used to live while she was an expat in Switzerland. With our own eyes, we could see she’s not exaggerating at all when reporting how beautiful this area is. I’m sure she would have loved to be our tour guide and thoroughly enjoyed both the company and the laughs

Let me share some photos taken from the city:

^{Beautiful architecture and a lot of great fun in Montreux.}


There was a great deal of activities on the lake too:

^{Lots of boating and swimming right by the shore of this beautiful city.}




I have more to share from this adventurous trip through Europe, so stay tuned – here are links to the previous posts:

1: Building friendships at Blog Gathering in South France
2: Blog Gathering at Ollioules in Provence France
3: Blog Gathering in Provence France visits Le Castelle

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Le Castellet is a charming little village perched above the plains of the départements Var in Provence, France. Arriving on the little road from La Cadiére-d’Azur you get a good view of Le Castellet, as the road across the countryside and vineyards pretty much circles the village before finally climbing up to the center.

It was a fortified medieval town, once belonging to the Baux and King René, ruled by the Lords and Bishops of Marseille and later by the Lords of Castillon. The “center” is at the top of the village, contrary to many Provencal villages where it’s on the slope and the top has only a lonely old church or castle. The narrow streets are cobblestone and the houses are old – nicely decorated with flowers. The chateau was last rebuilt in the 15th century, and has an imposing defensive feel about it.

As guests of the wonderful hosts on our Blog Gathering; Claudie and Pierre, my wife DianeCA and I had the privilege of spending a day walking around these medieval surroundings. I took a lot of photos as always and this time I’ll share them all from my Flickr account this way (enjoy!)

Le Castellet is also a surprisingly active village with various shops, art/antiques and handcrafts as well as lively business at the restaurants. We had our lunch at one of them, trying out the famous French Crêpe or pancake cuisine. As a Norwegian, I had mine in the French ‘Fruits de Mer’ way (English; Seafood) of course:


This is my third post from our unforgettable Blog Gathering at Claudie and Pierre’s. Being guided around of a local makes all the difference; e.g. we met a friend of Claudie, a Danish lady at her interior decoration boutique. Kind of exciting to have a Scandinavian meeting in this charming village

I have a lot more to share from this adventures trip, so stay tuned – here are links to the previous posts:

1: Building friendships at Blog Gathering in South France
2: Blog Gathering at Ollioules in Provence France

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Ollioules is located South France in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, 7 km northwest of the naval port of Toulon. Beautifully set in fantastic natural scenery at the foot of the big mountain Le Gros Cerveau, this highly privileged location close to the sea but still a little away from the hectic coast life makes it an ideal holiday resort. It’s a charming medieval village with well-restored houses, streets with arcades and flowery balconies.

Ollioules (population of about 12,000) is renowned for its flowers and the town is, actually, called la reine des fleurs (the queen of the flowers). The name, Ollioules, comes from the Roman word, Oliolis, which signifies olives which have been cultivated in this area for thousands of years.

We where lucky enough to be invited by Claudie and Pierre, who opened their home for a Blog Gathering for almost a week. We had the adventure of a life time. In my last post; ‘Building friendships at Blog Gathering in South France’, you’ll read about how wonderful we were taken care of. In this post, I’ll take you along for some of our adventures in Ollioules:

Jazz Concert at the town square:

We had a lovely evening listening to a very good jazz band which included some local musicians. It felt like everyone was there in a cosy and family friendly atmosphere. Typical for a small town like this, where ‘everyone’ knows each other, is proud of their city and support local activities like this. Yeah; even the children had fun and danced all around:


Ollioules by night:
At 11:30PM, after the concert, we walked around and I had my Nokia N82 at hand, trying to capture the atmosphere. Though the lighting was a bit difficult, I do hope you get the idea of why Claudie and Pierre are proud of Ollioules and how easy you can fall in love in this town:

^{By night in the most charming town at Provence at full moon.}

Local Art Exhibition:
Some days later, another adventure in Ollioules – everyone was there and one felt the same charming and friendly atmosphere – The exhibition with local artists (Claudie’s sister was one of them!):

^{Left: Mayor, Robert Beneventi opened – Right: Food and drinks was served outside.}

At the beach:
Located 5 kilometres inland, Ollioules is near the lovely beaches of the Provençal coast such as: Bandol, Six-Fours and Sanary is only 7 kilometres from Toulon. Twice we were at Bandol and this was my first swim in the Mediterranean:

^{Left: Entering the beach – Right: RennyBA scuba diving}

Like I sad in my last post; it’s impossible to fully describe in words how wonderful this time at our Blog Gathering was. Reading between the lines and watching the pics, hopefully gives you a clue.

TorAa and his wife as well as Mr. & Mrs. Lifecruiser and my wife DianeCA was there too, you might like to click to read some in their perspectives. I have a lot more to share from this adventures trip, so stay tuned – here is link to the other post:

1: Building friendships at Blog Gathering in South France

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