Theme:

A typical Norwegian family/sunday trip. Focus on campfire, grilling, icebreaker activities. Get to know the international students.

Preparation Post:

“Hi guys!
Mondag 12.01.2015, meet us outside Spicheren 09:15.
Where: Jegersberg, take with the Jegerberg map you got today.
What you got to take with you:

•  warm clothes
•  food: hotdogs/sausages, kvikklunsj, orange
•  drinks
•  backpack
•  knife”

Activities:

We met at Spicheren and walked to the green area in Jegersberg. The group explained the tradition of the Sunday trip in Norway. Every Sunday the families go for a hike in the nature. They take lunch or make a campfire with their children. It is common to do this no matter what the weather is like. The group leaders behaved as if they were parents taking us on a Sunday trip. To mix up the international and Norwegian students we played tug of war and of course our group won. The game helped to get in touch with new people.

After this we followed our parent-guides to the mountain “Den Omvendte Båt”. Before we reached the top, we had a “kvikk lunsj” and orange break and of we signed into the summit register. Eating this on a Sunday trip is common too, as we learned. We continued our journey. On the top of the mountain we were told a story about the mountain’s history during WWII.

The plan was to make a campfire on the mountaintop but due to the weather conditions the group changed it. So we went down to the lake and searched for a wind-sheltered area. We lit a fire with the wood we brought with us (each of us carried one piece). We made sausages and stick-bread on the fire which is a Norwegian tradition.

Finally we went back to Spicheren and everybody walked home happy and relaxed.

Learning outcome:

• Norwegian traditions and culture
• Get in contact with the Norwegians
• Historical background of the area

Evaluation:

The daytrip gave me a good insight into the Norwegian Sunday trip tradition. The game at the beginning helped to get in touch with some new people. However only one game was too little hence the internationals and Norwegians didn’t really mix up.

The route of the trip was beautiful and the distances were easy. In my opinion it was a bit too much of following the leaders and too little work for us. This is the reason why there was no learning outcome linked to outdoor skills. This was the same with building/lighting the campfire. The guides found a fireplace and didn’t explain what they did.

In general it was a well-organized trip and the leaders adapted their plan to the situational conditions. Additionally the way of leading reminded of parents guiding their children so it really felt like a Sunday trip.