This past weekend was the Marathon Family Ski Weekend, and Kimber was one of the organizers. We went to Sauda, an area we visited early in our time here in Norway. It looks a bit different in the winter, but it was still a really nice place.
We went by ferry, which actually docked right below our apartment (the Marathon office is just on the other side of our building, so it was the closest the ferry could get to the office. It was a two hour boat ride to Sauda, and the ferry delivered us right below the hotel. After a one minute bus ride up the hill a bit, we were there.
The hotel was a different one than we stayed in before, but it was quite nice. It is an older building, and the woodwork and staircases gave it quite a lot of character.
We were going to have a snow light competition the first night, but everyone was a bit tired and the weather did not cooperate, so we all just hung out in the lounge area for a while.
The next morning (after a filling buffet breakfast) we went out to ski. The weather was rainy and the snow pretty slushy, but Kimber did some downhill practice while I took Sidney over and had her practice going down some smaller hills to build her confidence. I did not ski since it was easier to pick Sidney up without worrying about falling down myself. We took the early bus back, since Sidney was pretty worn out, and Kimber went for a walk while I stayed with Sidney.
Saturday evening was the Snowman contest. There were three families competing, and Sidney and I built ours for fun. That is where Sidney's quote about me not having an idea came from. The snow was a bit slushy, but it held together well for building.
Saturday night was the Pub Quiz, which Kimber and I both organized. There were four teams of mostly Brits, and it was a pretty good time (though I admit I made it a little too long.) Either way, everyone had fun and we all got to socialize a bit.
We tried cross country skiing on Sunday, and the weather and snow conditions were much better. I, however, did not ski again because the bindings for my skis did not match the type of boots I have. It worked out well, though, as I pretty much walked along with Sidney to pick her up when she fell down (and pick Kimber up, too, once.) Sidney actually got the hang of it and did pretty good, though she is still a little afraid of going down the hills.
All the kids seemed to have a really good time during the weekend. There was a kid's activity coordinator Saturday night, and they played games, made masks and ceramic mugs, and all got conned by Sidney. Somehow she is able to wrap older girls around her finger.
We took the ferry back to our apartment, which was really nice to be able to just walk upstairs from being dropped off. Along the way, we saw some nice scenery, as well as the big crane ship we saw last year. It is amazingly big. Notice how the crane sticks up into the clouds. (Okay, the clouds were pretty low, too, but it is still a really big ship!)
Sunday night saw our first soccer game of the season. Since there is construction on the pier the ferries used last year, they all dropped off either under our building or at the building just across from us. It was entertaining to watch.
The Vikings won 4-0, and the game was televised. Having the stadium behind us gave us a clue as to when they would score, since there was a 10 second delay between the live event and the broadcast. Kimber and Sidney were both asleep before the game was over, but I stayed up until the end.
Kimber is off to Aberdeen, Scotland, until Wednesday. She is staying at a hotel that is a converted 19th century mansion. The mansion itself is a replica of a castle. She took the camera, so maybe we will post a picture or two before we head off to Dubrovnik next week.
