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!!

Norway Part 2: Saturday



Morning ice cream!

Saturday: a tour of Western Norway! We started the day leaving Sissel and Ragnar's house in Drammen really early that morning and started heading west to Laerdal. We made a few stops on the way for some ice cream and coffee (at 10:30AM... oh it was so good!), and of course we had to stop for pictures. There was also the Stave Church, beautiful scenery, and even snow!! After lunch in Hemsedal and the Stave Church, we arrived in Laerdal for a three hour tour of the Sognefjord and Naeroyfjordden. It was awesome! Every time we turned around we wanted a picture. Unfortunately they just don't do the scenery justice! The ferry was great because we were one of three cars on it- we pretty much had the deck to ourselves :)


An awesome waterfall we saw from the road

It started getting colder the higher we got, and this area was
REALLY cold! This house has grass on the roof- an old tradition
in Norway. I guess it helped with insulation during the winter.

Yes, that is snow! In June!

After getting back to a lower altitude it cleared up and we
were able to enjoy the Borgund Stave Church. They had just
tarred it, so that's why it looks black. It's made entirely of
 wood and it's incredible!



Where we caught the ferry in Laerdal

The ferry opens at the end to let the cars on board... I've
never seen anything like that before!

We started out thinking this was the most amazing view!
Oh, were we in for an awesome trip...

At the one and only stop on our tour, Kaupanger

Me and Sissel

The awesome tour guides!

Just inside the ridge on the far left, there is a portion that looks
like a hand coming down the mountain towards the water...
We decided that's the troll that lives in the mountain. If we
weren't on our best behavior, he was going to get us!!  ;)
And yes, those are glaciers on top.

We were picture taking fools...

In the Naeroyfjorden

A bunch of sea kayakers

After dinner in Flam, we stopped at this brewery/restaurant.
It was viking inspired, and completely awesome!!

There was even a fireplace with benches
that had furs to keep you warm!

After Flam, we headed once again into the tundra...

Again... it was freakin' cold!!

See- the car says 0 degrees celcius!! (32 degrees F)

The last thing I remember before falling asleep in the car

That night we finally arrived at the cabin around 12:30AM. I was exhausted from an awesome day! So I pretty much crashed as soon as we arrived. The rest of the crew stayed up and enjoyed the midnight sun of Norway. What an incredible day with incredible views!

On the final installment, you'll get to see our day at the Cabin, and Monday in Drammen. Stay tuned...

Norway! The home land...

Josh and I found some great flights from Milan directly to Norway, and we had to take advantage of the opportunity to see where my family comes from! I've been dying to get to Norway for that reason, and also to visit Sissel and Ragnar. I believe we determined that I am Sissels second cousin, once removed. So that would make her dog (Mia) my third cousin :)

We flew up on Thursday evening and stayed through Tuesday morning. Sissel and Ragnar were great hosts and tour guides- they showed us all of the highlights in one weekend! We were able to visit Oslo, Hemsedal, Borgund Stave Church, Laerdal, the Naeroyfjorden, Flam, Sissel and Ragnar's cabin in the mountains, Drammen, and we also saw the Lier Valley where my namesake, my great grandmother Maren Granheim, was born. Sissel even brought us to the place where her family farm was. It was a pretty amazing trip! I surprised myself when I didn't want to leave! It felt like home in Norway and I wish we could have stayed longer. But like all good things, it had to come to an end. The country is so beautiful with it's ever changing landscapes- the east side is more hilly, and the west side has the taller mountains. It's just amazing!

Josh took a TON of pictures on the trip, so I'll try to tell the story through pictures. It may take another blog or two... here we go!!


Friday: We explored Oslo and visited the Viking Ship Museum, the Royal Palace, the National Gallery and just meandered around town. The National Gallery was pretty amazing- they had some really amazing nature artwork, and also had a large collection of Edvard Munch's paintings, including The Scream. We became fans of his work after viewing the collection. His art is really interesting! A little dark... but thought provoking.

The "Queens" ship- this one was used by a queen, and she
was even buried in it. The woodwork on the ends was amazing!

View of the Queens Ship from above

Another ship that wasn't preserved very well. It was in rough
shape, but this was also a burial place.

These items were found on one of the ships. The metal stakes on
the wall were used to hold up tents on the deck of the ship.



A cart on display- it was found in the Queen's Ship to aid
her in the afterlife. The mindset of the Vikings reminds me
of the Ancient Egyptians.



Details on the cart. The woodwork was incredible!

The hull of another ship. This one was much bigger than the
others! You can see a picture on the wall of what it may
have looked like when in use.



The entrance to the museum. We lucked out with amazing weather
that day!!



The Royal Palace

Taking a short break. You can see the main road through
Oslo below.