Hovden Wear - BLOG

Day 16 we went back to the Nidaros Cathedral with our friends.  We went to another kids play and did some coloring in the cathedral.  There was a cool scanner set up where the kids would color something and then their pictures would get projected onto the cathedral wall.  Very fun.

We finished up our trip by visiting the lovely town of Trondheim.  Our good family friends, Kari and Daniel, moved to Trondheim the week before from Spokane, and so our goal was to not only see the sights, but also to welcome them to Norway.

The next day we felt a little better, so we went to Ulsrud farm. Ulsrud is kind of like a mini version of Maihaugen.  The man who lived there willed the whole farm to the Gausdal History Society and when he died, it became a museum.  There was an art exhibition by local artists, hand-knit mittens, locally made cheese for sale, and games for the kids.  We also got to go inside the old farm buildings and hear about Gausdal through the ages.

The next day we went to Maihaugen in Lillehammer. Maihaugen is a collection of old farm buildings from around Gudbrandsdalen. Some of the buildings are on their own, others are part of a grouping that came from a single farm.  There is also a section that has houses from different areas, including the current Queen´s childhood home.

One of my goals for this trip was to take the kids on a boat on Oslo fjord.  Fortunately, the public transportation system includes ferries to various islands and to the Nesodden peninsula. So, we hopped on the ferry and took the 30 minute trip to Nesodden where a friend of mine lives. We took a walked, stopped at a playground, and dreamed about ways to make strawberry pie.

The alter was set up in a clearing by the side of a beautiful lake with trees around us.  Ida rode in on a horse driven sleigh, looking beautiful and extremely happy. The ceremony lasted about 40 minutes and included songs, vows, a blessing and a funny pastor with meaningful anecdotes and a few jokes.

Friluftsliv is all about spending time outdoors. It is a way of life that has deep roots in Scandinavia. In fact, friluftsliv is so ingrained in the culture that it followed my family across the water to America.