Day 45 - Lillesand on the Sea

August 5, 2023: On Saturday, we decided to head to Lillesand, just 20 minutes east of Kristiansand. Lillesand is known for their white-painted wooden houses and the historic Hotel Norge, where the famous writer Knut Hamsun was a regular guest in the 1930s. The harbor is full of cozy restaurants with a view of the water and with a wonderful atmosphere. Also alongside the harbor are niche shops, galleries and a museum.

We selected Restaurant Sjøbua for lunch and enjoyed watching the boats come in while we ate a great meal. Of course had to get some Norwegian Softis 🍦, another food that I fell in love with on my first trip to Norway in 1981. Softis translates to soft ice cream in English. It is so creamy and luxurious! It is served with several types of toppings. I may have already mentioned this in a previous post, but my favorite is the chocolate powder topping!

After lunch, we walked around a little more, enjoying the beautiful weather and then headed back to Kristiansand. Rune and Marit went for a swim at a nearby beach. However, Jimm and I were not prepared to get into 65 degree water and then get out into 67 degree weather, but they said they are used to it and it would be refreshing! 🥶😂

For dinner, we had made a reservation at Håndverkeren Restaurant & Pub, the city’s largest pub. They had very high ratings and were touted as having a large selection of beers from local breweries. It had a very cool atmosphere and the service was really good. I had BBQ spare ribs, which you wouldn’t typically associate with Norway, but they were delicious. It was our last night in Kristiansand, so we soaked up our time together, finishing with some amazing desserts before walking back to our accommodations.

Tomorrow we make our way back to Fredrikstad with some stops along the way. I will hate to say goodbye, but know that I will be back and we will see each other again in the future.