TUSEN TAKK to Tommy Raaen aka "OldBug" for his help in getting me a couple copies of Dagbladet and going through the trouble of sending them all the way to Texas (twice).
I've got PDF copies of the article as well, but would love to have a couple of printed copies of the newspaper.
If you guys can check your recycle bins and ask friends or family they might have a copy of this newpaper, I'd be glad to purchase it and pay for shipping to the US.
On Tuesday night, I met up with Marius again, and we headed down to the historic waterfront area in Bergen. The architecture and contruction of the building there was very interesting. We had beer, bread, and traditional plukkfisk for dinner. Plukkfisk consists mostly of mashed potatoes, cod fish, butter, and milk - it's good stuff! (I got a recipe from Marius, but haven't gotten around to making it yet)
Another late night jaunt to the RZR garage found everyone still hard at work. As you can tell, they were moving very quickly while getting their 'Dubs ready for the road trip to SCC.
Once again, the sun seemed to rise awfully early on Wednesday AM. When I finally rose from my slumber, Marius and I headed back to the Bergen downtown waterfront, to check it out during the daylight hours. Of course, I had another helping of homemade bread and brown cheeze for breakfast...
Bergen Cathedral (Domkirken) was built in 1150, and has been a place of worship for over 900 years.
The well-known cannon ball in the west wall, has been sitting there since the battle on the bay of Bergen in 1665.
Amazing architecture and pipe organ
The old world woodwork, construction and joinery techniques used in the historic buildings were very cool.
Working craftsman were "on display" while doing some restoration
Hmmm, what's on this sign, and who is the mystery/friendly guy in the background?
A few short hours later, I was back at the airport courtesy of Henning. Marius had an afternoon appointment at the beauty shop which he couldn't miss , so he arranged for Henning to take me to the airport. I had a great conversation with Henning, as well as a nice ride in his Judson equipped '62. Thanks for the (VW taxi) ride, Henning!
Next up: It's Wednesday afternoon, I arrive in Stavanger to meet up with the DKL guys, prior to heading east towards Oslo via Kristiansand...
Brrr, it's chilly in Texas this morning (~40° F/4° C) - good thing I have a nice SCC "Holey Moley" sweatshirt to wear (thanks again, guys!)
I've had a few things come up and been out of town for work since writing the last portion of my trip report, but plan to get back on task this weekend.
The next two parts of my Norway in a Nutshell tour consisted of a boat trip through two incredible fjords, followed by a bus ride which snaked along the Stalheimskleiven hair pin road and it's thirteen steep/narrow turns while enroute to a vista high above the Nærøy valley
Before boarding the ship, I had a few hours to explore the area around the docks of Flåm and the nearby hills. I wish I'd had more time here, as there are many walking/hiking trails, as well as opportunities to kayak in the fjords - maybe on my next trip!
Once on the boat, we started our trip into two branches of Norway's longest and deepest fjord, Sognefjord. The first branch is called Aurlandsfjord. It is quite wide, with lush greenery and incredible views.
The second branch is called Nærøyfjord. It is narrower than Aurlandsfjord, which makes it's walls with heights of 900-1400 meters (~2900-4600 feet) an awesome sight.
We reach the end of Nærøyfjord, at the town of Gudvangen. From there it was a twisty, turny bus ride to the town of Voss, before a train ride back to Bergen.
At one of our photo stops, I joked with the bus driver, and told him that he'd done well for his first time down the Stalheimskleiven road. Obviously he'd had plenty of practice, as it was quite a feat to get a large bus down a small road with many turns.
The town of Voss is home to Voss Church (Vangskyrkja). It was built in 1271-77, has walls up to seven feet thick, and is still in use with services every Sunday.
Next up: Tuesday PM - back in Bergen for the evening, a tour of the historic waterfront areas in the morning, and a departure south to Stavanger to meet up with the DKL crew...
Tuesday morning - man the sun came up quick! I started my day off right with a hearty serving of brunost ("brown cheese") on fresh bread with butter. I subsequently ate brunost as often as I could find it, and even brought a couple of packages home with me.
This day was the one that I arranged to do a "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. This trip involved a ~12 hour "loop" from Bergen through the mountains and fjords of western Norway, by train, boat, and bus.
This was a long day, with a LOT of stuff packed into it, but I am so glad that it did it. If you're visiting Norway, I'd highly recommend setting at least a short time aside to take this tour.
Although I would have like to have stopped more than we did on the train and bus, this had just given me another reason to want to head back to Norway, in order to do it all again at my own pace over a few days.
Train station in Bergen, headed to Myrdal
Which way to Insanity/SCC??
Incredible views of mountain valleys!
One of the fairies of the Kjosfossen Waterfall
The Flåm Railway -- Myrdal -> Flåm
Amazing color and clarity
Baaaaah...
The town of Flåm
Vintage rail cars at the Flåm Railway Museum in Flåm
A view from above, in the hills of Flåm
Next up: The Norway in a Nutshell Tour continues - into the fjords by boat, and then through the mountains by bus...
Wow. It's already been over a year since I returned to Texas after having an incredible time touring Norway and attending the 2009 Scandavian Cal-look Classic (aka SCC). This is the first installment of long overdue trip report.
In short, this is THE best VW event that I've ever attended. Read on for the long version...
My friends in Finland were the ones who originally planted the idea of going to SCC in my head, and after making a second trip to Finland I knew I had to attend SCC. A plan was set in motion - spurred on by not only the thought of seeing all that was SCC, but also because my grandmother was Norwegian, and I looked forward to visiting the country of my ancestors.
I arrived in Oslo, Norway on Monday afternoon before the SCC weekend via London from Dallas/Fort Worth. While in the Oslo airport, I dined on what I was sure was traditional Norwegian food - granted it was at Pizza Hut, but where else in the World would they have pepperoni pizza with grapes on it??
A couple of hours later, I hopped on another flight. This one took me to the west coast, and Norway's second largest city, Bergen. Strangely, none of employees at the Bergen airport restaurants had any idea where I could get more of the "traditional" grape pizza...
Bergen resident, Regenstadt Zombie Racewerks member (http://www.regenstadt.com), and all-around cool guy Marius A picked me up the airport in his daily driver - a nice 1302, used when he's not driving his cool '58 Type 1, or the RZR '67 single cab. Marius and I then headed out to the Krankenhaus garage, to meet everyone and check the progress on prep work for their long ride to SCC.
Upon our arrival at Krankenhaus, we found the guys working to resolve a brake problem that was affecting a newly lettered RZR Type 2. Everyone gave me a warm welcome and showed me around the shop (I didn't even have to speak Norwegian - ha!).
We left the RZR garage at ~2:00am, and headed out to Marius' place, which he'd graciously offered the spare bedroom to me for my stay in Bergen. This was just the first taste of much Norwegian hospitality and friendliness which I experienced many more times in week that would follow. Thanks for everything, Marius!
Marius' apartment was very cool. I initially joked that it looked like IKEA inside, but it was obvious that Marius had taken great pride in the decor. It included some very cool features like a balcony with a beautiful view, and lighting provided by a Type 2 front end mounted on the wall. After a few beers and great conversation, I grabbed some much needed sleep at ~4:00am.
Next up: It's Tuesday and I took an awesome tour of Norway in the west...
Heads and valve covers are used, but unported and in very good shape. Intake manifolds are brand new, genuine Autocraft versions.
94mm bore, .425" step from outer fin to sealing surface (unknown chamber volume). Includes used Manley stainless steel single groove valves - 11/32" stem diameter, ~49.25mm intakes and ~39.25mm exhausts, steel retainers & keepers.
The heads are cut for Chevy-style/size springs (i.e., K800's) - .775" ID and 1.460" OD. I reassembled the heads, but wouldn't re-use the springs as they've got some pitting in a number of areas.
Guides are not loose or sloppy and seats look good. Valves may be usable, but I'd suggest at least a valve job, if not the purchase of new valves. The corner of one fin was cracked, but rewelded - otherwise heads show no other problems or signs of abuse.
Here are mine! (some of you guys here might recognize them, as well as me... )
The links below are to high quality/lower bandwidth versions. To view the videos in high definition format, be sure to double click the images below, then click the "HD" button when viewing the videos on YouTube.
Vis innlegg
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