Norway: The final installment

After our long day on the road in Norway, we decided to sleep in on Sunday morning and enjoy a lazy day at the cabin. The view was incredible! Mountains all around, and we were up in the permafrost area so it was chilly! Luckily the cabin had lots of heat to keep us warm. The cabin is amazing- where it's located they don't have electricity or running water yet, so they bring in all of their water, and use a generator for the TV (when they use it). But they do have the option to take a shower due to the system they have, and they do have running water in the sinks in the summer time.

We went for a walk around the area and it started raining/sleeting! It wasn't raining hard, and the sleet was more like snow- it was June 3rd! We couldn't believe how cold it was, but we still had fun! Josh even played with Mia a bit and raced her back to the cabin. After a fun day relaxing, we went back to Drammen for the night and had some delicious pizza :)

Trollbu is the name of the cabin- there were trolls pictured
inside in some interesting places- the napkin holder, on the wall...
This is how they bought the cabin.

Josh and Mia

On Monday Josh and I headed into Drammen to see the city. It is a cute little town with a small square in the center, a shopping mall and a nice walking path along the river. Ragnar picked us up after lunch and brought us up the "Spiralen" which is an engineering marvel- they carved a tunnel out of the mountain in a spiral shape. Instead of going straight through the mountain, you go up to the top!! It's like the spiral entrance/exit in a car ramp, only you're in what looks like a TNT blasted tunnel. At the top was an amazing view of Drammen and we even took a little walk on the paths up there. It was like being in northern MN, only on top of a mountain.

Looking at the Drammen River

Ragnar pointing out their house on the other side of the valley

Bambino in Norway!

This bridge is famous and has won awards- the Y bridge
It is for foot traffic only and is pretty amazing!

We also met up with Sissel when she was finished with work, had dinner in Drammen (at the restaurant where they met), then Sissel took us on a tour of the Lier Valley. This was really fun for me because my namesake (Maren Granheim, my great grandmother) was from the Lier valley before moving to the north shore with her husband. Sissel even drove us by the farm where her family lived!  The valley was lit up beautifully with the evening sun, and we enjoyed a nice drive through the area. It was so much fun to see where my Norwegian relatives come from!! Being in Norway really felt like home to me and I could easily live there. The country is so beautiful!! But as they say, all good things come to an end. The next morning we had to leave very early for the airport to catch our flight.

Looking across the valley at Maren's farm

Looking towards Drammen from the Lier Valley

Thanks again to Ragnar and Sissel for being such wonderful hosts!! We had an amazing time and can't wait to come back again soon! Also, thanks to "Auntie Sissel" for Bambino's first stuffed animal!

Elgar the moose- I love his Norwegian sweater with matching
socks! He's too cute! Thanks Sissel!!