Day 43 - Journey to the South of Norway
Kristiansand, South of Norway
August 3, 2023: Today we transitioned to Kristiansand, a city in the south of Norway where I have never been. It was a 4.5 hour drive. The town is named after King Christian IV, who founded the town of Christianssand in July 1641 . In 1877, the spelling was changed and Kristiansand was introduced in Norway's State Calendar. Kristiansand is located on the Skagerrak, The Skagerrak is the sea area that separates Denmark in the south, Norway in the north and Sweden in the east. This area served as a military support point for centuries, first as Denmark-Norway's fortress and later as a garrison town. Kristiansand is a port of entry to and from the Continent, with ferry connections to Denmark and a domestic starting point for the railway route along the bottom of Norway. It is a beautiful town on the sea with great views and is a destination spot for those on holiday.
We rented an Airbnb that is located on Bystranda Blå which is surrounded by the sea on all sides. It is a short 15 minute walk to the shops, restaurants and a movie theater. After finding the parking garage and dropping of our bags, we took in our accommodations. Rune and Marit noticed a item called “the King’s Cup” (Kongepokalen) sitting on the island. It is a prestigious award given to women and men who deliver the best result during a national competition for a specific sport. After doing some research we found that our Airbnb is owned by former Olympic athletes in Volleyball/Beach Volleyball and are now coaches. Their sons won the King’s Cup. All three sons stood on the podium in September 2019 after competing against in each other in a world cup final. Even more interesting, is that their mother competed in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. Rune worked security for the event and was in charged of the VIP and athlete entrance. He met her and actually watched her compete during those games. What a small world we live in 🌎🌍!!
For dinner we chose an Italian restaurant we had seen on Google maps called Bellini. Rune had been there before, so we decided it was a good choice. We were right, all of our meals were delicious. Jimm and Rune had the spaghetti with mussels. I had Penne Rustica and it was absolutely delicious. We had a nice time, continuing to catch up and discussing our plans for the next day.
Later, back at the Airbnb, we enjoyed sitting out on the patio and we all agreed it will be the perfect place to stay for our weekend together. We learned that the movie Oppenheimer is playing at the local theater, so we plan on seeing that tomorrow. All the reviews have been great and we all like historical films. We are looking forward to it.