Friday May 8th 2015. Skjold at Marieke’s and Alf Runen’s

 litter of puppies                                                                                                                                  

 Walk with Marieke and AR. View at Haugesund
 Over there is Stavanger

                                                                                               Tosca is having fun with her new friends

Because of my abdominal discomfort I could sleep in their bed. It was a good night. Cramps away, but now my head feels like drunk. Must be of not eating yesterday and hardly drinking . After getting my cafeïne dosis and after my breakfast my drunken head indeed got light again and again I was the little red rooster. Marieke and Alf R slept in the living room, which they shared with their litter of puppies.
Next infrastructuring, calling Hertz, whether I could bring back the car later on Saturday. Next arranging accommodation for Saturday night, when Sunday I will meet my wife Sonja and my friends Paul and Oesj. And then arranging to stay overnight on Sunday.

The afternoon we visited the mother of Mariekes friend Alf Rune and her English partner Cris. Next visiting by car the coastal town of Haugesund, the city where Alf Rune grew up. Getting pizza, doing the laundry with Marieke and in the evening returning from Mariekes place to Martin and Drude to sleep in their beautifully restored barn.

Late in the afternoon we’ll go to Martin and Drude, where daughter Marieke has been living for many years, until Alf Rune and Marieke started living together.
About 10 years ago daughter Marieke got to know Martin and Drude and their attitude to life apealed to Marieke. Moreover, Martin was busy with horses and that’s what Marieke wanted to do too. As a result Marieke went a summer to Norway to get acquainted with their way of living and working. Martin is originally Swiss. He took a course in organic farming, got to know a Norwegian girl and started with her a little organic farm in the outbacks of S- Sweden. Surrounded by mountains, lakes and forest he plows with an old hand plow, walking behind two horses (pictures), works with horses under saddle. They keep several dozens of sheep of an old Norwegian breed and they grow several crops. She specializes in cane braid (photos). They receive groups of students, they teach at a school part time, have tourist accommodation. At the farm they have a social care project for socially disadvantaged and thus Drude and Martin keep, in a for them satisfactory way,  the farm running.
Marieke sometimes helps managing the farm. First of course, coffee. After the coffee we made a walk on the grounds, watching the restoration of the original old, ancient wooden farm . Inspection of the lands, sheep, horses, and next Martin demonstrated the old-fashioned way of plowing with two horses and a hand plow. Pictures.
Martin talked to me about contact with the ground, a certain kind of philosophy, which also touches on slow food and slow city. The latter is now under discussion in the city council of municipality Vaals where I live. These experiences make me think again. Very interesting and sometimes touching the intention of my journey: back to basics.  But, as I said before: fly like an eagle and scratch with the chickens. Do both and enjoy both sides of life.