Michi Photostory

The heat is on here in the Philippines and for the past several days, I’ve been seeing my Facebook Memories when we visited Norway two years ago. Habang init na init ako dito sa Pilipinas, balot na balot naman ako sa pictures so let me do some throwback post. 

We’ve been walking to Bruholmen for three consecutive days because my mom was not allowed to drive but after a few days of resting, she finally decided to drive again. After breakfast, she was persuading us to go out but I told her to rest at baka mapagod na naman she kept on saying na okay na daw siya so we gave in. 


After lunch, we went to Grandejaera Nature Reserve, it is one of the wetland systems in Ørland which has been under the Ramsar Protection since 1983. Other protected areas are Hovsfjaera, Innstranda, and Kråkvågsvaet. This place has a shallow marine and tidal landscape which attracts local and foreign birdwatchers and bird lovers.

There are a lot of birds and even migrating birds from Iceland that you can see in the area. They even have photos of birds that you might see all throughout the year. The peak season is spring and autumn season. If you want to visit the place you can go to the cultural center to get some maps or rent telescopes, binoculars, or a bike. 



But if you just want to unwind, you can just go to Grandfjaera. The place is open to the public and FREE. There are tables and benches if you want to have a picnic too. We did not stay long because it was so cold, ang nipis ng jacket namin. We’re hiding our hands inside our jackets. 

Watch the video here. 

In the Philippines, every Holy week we only have four days of vacation but here in Norway, the holiday starts on Holy Thursday until Monday so they have 5 days off from work. So my mom has one more day before she goes back to work.


April is the start of the Spring season but for us, it feels like winter sa lamig. Hehehe! My mom took advantage of the good weather so she went out to clean the garden with my son. I was watching them from the kitchen window and it looks like my son was enjoying picking the dry leaves and then he started cutting the grasses. After several minutes, I saw him in the swing. Then after a few minutes, he went inside and he said to me, “hirap maggarden”.


My mom shared with me what my son said in the garden. While my son was busy cutting grasses. He told my mom, “You know, you should buy a lawnmower so it is easy to cut grass”. lol He was having a hard time cutting grass using the scissors so nagsuggest na bumili na lang ng lawnmower. My mom just laughed and she said, she has a lawnmower in the garage.

Rusasetvatnet 

After lunch, we went to Rusasetvatnet. It is one of the recreational areas and one of the largest restored wetlands in Ørland Norway. It used to be the primary source of drinking water in Ørland before it was shut down in 1981. The place is good for walking, running, cycling and even bird watching. It has Ørland freshwater at the foot of Rusasetfjellet where you can see wildlife and fish.


They are developing the area to connect Brekstad, Rusaset, and Austrått. Once the restoration is finished, you can go fishing in the Dala River, Balsnes River, and Stamford River. My mom mentioned to me that we can walk up to Austrått so it means there is already a footpath that was developed. But since we already visited Austrătt before, we did not go there anymore.

Read: Things to do in Austrått Noway



One thing I noticed here in Ørland Norway, is it is not tourist-friendly. What I mean is there is no English translation in every place that we’ve been to. I saw flyers and brochures at the seaport but there is no English version of it. For someone like me who doesn’t know the language, it is hard to get the information I need. Parang mas mahirap pa dito kaysa sa Japan.