‘Tjern’ is the Norwegian word for a body of water that is slightly smaller than a lake. Last summer, Carl and I went on a little hike on the southwest part of Finnemarka (‘marka’ = wooded and hilly area), the Drammensmarka. Finnemarka is 430 km2 in size and bordered by the Tyrifjorden to the north, Lierdalen to the east, and the Drammen river to the south and west.
We initially planned to hunt for some Geocaches, but it turned to be just a walk in the woods to visit Klopptjern. The pond is a water reserve and it used to be the city’s biggest sourse of drinking water (from 1861). The government built a dam to increase the water supply, but it was demolished in 1985. The people also used to celebrate St. Hans’ festival (Midsummer) by the pond, but nowadays, they do it in Homenokken where more people could participate.
Before entering the forest, we passed by Bragernes Kolonihage. It was the first kolonihage I have seen in Norway. Just like the bofælleskab (community living) in Denmark, the concept of the kolonihage is to gather a group of people to plant their own food, ie, gardening, organic. It can be private or owned by the kommune. How interesting is that? So, every member of the kolonihage is responsible to help in the planting and the harvesting of the crops. It’s like farming in the Philippines.
We also passed by the three tall apartment buildings standing on the edge of the hill. We used to just see them from afar. It must have been nice to live there, as it offers a quiet surrounding close to nature and a perfect view of the river!
The weather that day was absolutely beautiful! And as we get closer to the top of the hill, we saw a nice view of the river and Drammen itself.
The forest is very different in summer, with all the luscious greens! My husband knows a lot about plants and shrubs and such. Sometimes, he would just ask me to taste a leaf, a seed, a berry he picked on the way, claiming they’re spices. And most of the time, he was right. 😉 Jk.
Now, here’s Klopptjern once more. Because the pond is a water reserve now, organized fishing is not allowed! The water contains trout and perch.
After spending some quiet time in the lake, we headed back home, following the same path we took going up. Drammensjord just looked amazing from the top of the hill.
On our way home, we saw beautiful wild flowers and brought a couple home. These purple Allium ‘Globus’ flowers or Ornamental Onion blooms in late spring or early summer. The riverside just looked pretty with these babies.
This summer is going to be a whole new beginning for me, and I can’t wait! 😉 This is all for now. Cheers to more hikes in the woods! #spreadlove
PinayOdyssey 