August 4th

We turned the corner at there home on Notteroy and proudly flying high was the Norge flag, a custom for visitors. Strict protocol is held in Norge on flag flying. Up at 8am - Ken and Tone's oldest daughter Inez's help raise the colors. She also helped decorate the delicious birthday cake. We took a little time to freshen up. As we came out of our room we were shown the house and yard. Everything was in order - what a beautiful surroundings. Aud made us a lite breakfast, what a treat, as we will experience their generosity throughout the days. This may sound like foreshadowing but it is because I am a day behind and we have experienced it. The breakfast was a beautiful baked egg dish, a layer of dough, mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes and eggs. With a salad, along with great coffee. Then came the cake you have seen in the last post.

After the party we went out to explore, as we are in Tonsbergs Edward and Aud took us to the top of the hill on the island to the Slottsjellarnet castle. This is the castle that the King lived in 871. One could see any incoming ships. The castle was surrounded by a high wall and would have maybe 100to500 people. The wall is signed by each King to commemorate the peace of this country. At the bottom of the hill is little food shop. There we tried rotobruga - a thick sour cream with a hint of vanilla. Topped with a light sprinkling of brown sugar. Ed asked the gal for a helping so we could taste it, she gave us some w/o charge. Both tried it and found it delicious. A couple of weeks before Ed received a 100$ ticket for parking to long in the lot. It turns out it is 3 hour free parking but you need to get an authorized pass, which we did.

We then went downtown to look at the old fishing village. The quaintness of some of the buildings preserved the old world charm. Tons berg was the home of many whaling captains. Where much of the whales were sold.

We then returned to the home. To our surprise there was Aud's son Ken, his wife and both children. They readied a real nice surprise, before us on the deck was a plateful of prosciutto and cheese. Along with that was pisco sour, a Chilean comfort - social drink. It is made with the first pressing of grapes skins boiled and fermented 1:1, blended with squeezed lemons and powdered and a couple drops of bitters, also use egg whites for a thickener. What a refreshing taste! Needless to say we re-tasted it to ensure we liked it until the bottle was gone. Then Ed found a bottle of Kendall-Jackson cab, that too disappeared.
Again we felt it was time to eat, back down to the wharf, Aud driving, as she was the designated driver. We walked along the pier looking for a table set that we could watch the sunset. The meal was started with a local red wine, an order of scallops on a bed of green seaweed in a garlic sauce. Each ordered something different, Aud the chicken locally grown by a farmer close by, Shirleen the lightly smoked thick piece of catfish, Ed a generous portion of trout, I pork loin in a rich sauce, mellon and peach balls. The table was served with a heaping bowl on roasted fingerling potatoes. 

Pork Loin

Catfish

Trout

Chicken

Sunset, Gals wrapped in Restaurants blankets

Back to the house for a nightcap, a cognac of the Cardinals. As I was slowly drinking it, I became extremely tired and closed my eyes and carefully balancing the glass, this was the time to go to bed!

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