Søndagstur

After a rainy week of indoor work on my presentation slides, I got out for a short søndagstur late this afternoon up to Vettakollen, a hill in Nordmarka not far from my apartment. Søndagsturer—or, “Sunday hikes”—are something of a routine for a lot of Norwegians, a sort of weekly “dinner” of good health out-of-doors. The top of Vettakollen, at any rate, provides one of the finer (and freer, as opposed to the top of the ski jump at Holmenkollen, which isn’t free, although handily it comes with a stroll through the Ski Museum) views of Oslo and Oslofjord, from which one can gather a good sense of the arc and curl of the fjord. (I think it looks rather like a dragon’s head on a map. Or a swan’s, I suppose, depending on your disposition.)

The name Vettakollen, by the way, comes, it turns out, from an archaic Norwegian word, vete, which is varde in contemporary norsk. Varde means “cairn” or “beacon.” A sign up there kindly (and quietly) informed me that for over 1000 years many varder were built on top of the hill—but built of wood so that they could be burnt and thereby warn the city below of coming invasions. So there y’go!

While I was taking the view, a group of British college students (presumably studying at UiO?) arrived and I overheard one observe that you’d be hard pressed to find many major capital cities whose woods are so close to “the main street.” My friend, I agree. An under-ten-minute T-bane ride to Vettakollen station, & one walks right into the thicket. And the quiet there!

Nordmenn på søndagstur. Utsikten fra Vettakollen.

Holmenkollen from Vettakollen. If you look closely you’ll also see Midtstubakken to the left of Holmenkollen. A smaller jump, but a beautiful one.

British kids feeling fine.