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We continued our weekend getaway (the one that started in Oslo and the visit to the themepark Tusenfryd) and we drove to Grimstad to visit some friends of ours and then we went to Kristiansand to visit Dyreparken. Dyreparken is a zoo/themepark.
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The southern coast has a lot of beautiful spots to offer in the summertime. And the people that live there claim that the weather there is the best weather in Norway
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Dyreparken is a very nice place for kids because there are lots of activities and animals.
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Grimstad, Dyreparken
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We were lucky enough to be able to stay with some friends of ours so we didn't have to worry about accomodations. But if you bring a tent there are lots of camping-places.
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After being at Tusenfryd we said goodbye to Marie and Knut and their kids. We drove through Oslo and down towards the south of Norway. The roads from Oslo towards the south are pretty good but normally you can't drive faster than 70/80 km/h so it takes a while. We finally arrived at our destination Grimstad at about 10 pm and here we stayed with our friends Olav and Allis.
There are so many beautiful small towns along the southern coast of Norway and many people in the larger cities like Oslo and Stavanger has cabins in this area. Due to this the small towns are buzzing with life in the summertime but seem more deserted in the wintertime. In the southern part of Norway it seems like everyone has a small boat of their own and sometimes it is much easier to get around in a boat compared to a car. Our friend Olav took us into downtown Grimstad on Saturday morning in his small boat and we just parked it at the harbour. The weather was great (even if it wasn't that warm). We had bought some shrimp and we were in town to collect these. Shrimp is a traditional Norwegian dish in the summertime. Just buy a bag a pre-boiled shrimp and then you can sit down, relax, peel them one by one and eat them. If you want something on the side it is best served with white bread, mayonaise and a twist of lemon. And ice cold beer by the way :-) When we went into town we also used the chance to have an ice cold beer and to walk around a little bit.
I found one link that presents some of the attractions and activities in this area http://www.grimstad.net/en/
Dyreparken
On Sunday we drove the short distance in towards the city of Kristiansand to go to the Dyreparken. This park is a combined zoo and amusement park and it has been around for as long as I can remember. I guess it started out as a little zoo and then it has expanded in many ways. But they still lack major attrations like big rollercoasters and stuff. But the kids love the cobination of games and animals. They have monkeys, a tropical house, an african savannaha, kingdom of the tiger and lots and lots of other more common animals. The one things that the kids love the most is the childrens petting area. In here you can get close and pet goats, chickens, pigs and so on. The only problem with the park is that you need some background knowledge to really enjoy some of the attraction. There is one section of the park called Cardemom town and it is based on the book When the robbers came to Cardemom town by the Norwegian auther Torbjørn Egner. This is a great place for kids who know the book but I'm not sure that it is treasured in the same way abroad as here in Norway. And there is one pirate show called Kaptein Sabeltann. This is based on a TV series for kids that were shown on Norwegian TV and kids really think that this is a great show. But for most Norwegian kids there is more than enough activities to fill at least one day in the park. You can find more information about the park on http://www.dyreparken.com/
After the stay in Dyreparken we drove the 250 km home to Stavanger from Kristiansand. We stopped on the way home and brought out our small barbecue and fried some hot-dogs. There are some places along the route where you can stop and get a table like the one on the picture. It was a pretty hectic weekend with over 1000 km of driving from Thursday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. But we got to see quite a lot. And Norway is a beautiful place to be in the summertime. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions or comments.
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Published on Sunday January 26th, 2003
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9 votes
