Celebrating a birthday and fishing

25.07.2019-27.07.2019 - For more than twenty years my dad has been traveling to Norway for sea fishing and most of the time he stays at the same resort in Flø near Ulsteinvik. Since he is there for his birthday this year, we plan to visit him for a few days. It is a long drive of over eight hours at more than 30 degrees Celsius in a car without air conditioning. My dad, my cousin Peter and my dad’s friend Alois are already waiting for us with dinner. We have self-caught fish, which tastes delicious, and for dessert I have prepared Tiramisu.

Twice Sigi joins dad and Alois for fishing. He is even lucky. His biggest catch, which he somehow shares with Alois, is a 6 kg hake. Every time he returns there is a smile on his face.

Overnight stay: N 62.402972, E 5.850710 Flø Resort (floe-feriesenter.no)

Aquarium Atlanterhavsparken

28.07.2019 - Since the satnav leads us to a ferry instead of a tunnel or a bridge, we directly pass Ålesund. We decide to stop at the Aquarium Atlanterhavsparken and to take a walk around the area.

As first visitor of the day I buy a ticket for the aquarium. The tanks are full of fish, crustaceans and various sea animals native to the sea off Norway. In the outdoor area there are seals, penguins and otters. Some of the tanks are uncovered and you could touch the fish. Corresponding signs indicate that some of them bite. Of particular interest to me is the activity room with crabs, crayfish, starfish etc. which are common in this particular region. The activity room is only open for one hour. During this time you are allowed to look at and even touch the animals under supervision. The children are allowed to catch crabs, but it is more about feeding them and not to harm them. I am not sure if this is cruelty to animals or a good approach to teach children and adults how to handle animals carefully.

The Aquarium Atlanterhavsparken near Ålesund ({atlanterhavsparken.no) is one of the largest seawater aquariums. I would have expected it to be bigger, but it is nicely arranged with seats in front of the tanks. However, aquariums and especially zoos are rather questionable to me and I get into a conflict. On the one hand I like to look at the animals and I think it is good to see them at least once in a lifetime very close and in nature. On the other hand I consider most aquariums and zoos as cruelty to animals which I do not want to support.

Overnight stay: N 62.4659, E 6.0956

Lessons learned

• A distance can be quite long if the permitted speed is (mostly) limited to 80 km/h.
• During a heat wave in all of Europe, the temperature in Norway is also around 30 degrees Celsius.
• You should definitely check the route suggested by the satnav and compare it with an online route planner such as Google Maps.
• Using ferries along the coast cannot only save time but also money because some roads, bridges and tunnels are subject to charges as well.