Traveling to Norway with kids - Days 4 & 5

Wedding weekend!

Ida´s wedding was about 30 minutes outside of Kongsberg, so we found a bus that could get us to Kongsberg and planned to have Hedda meet us at the station and drive us to the locale, Søstrene Storaas Hotell. What a beautiful spot!  The Søstrene Storaas Hotell is run by 3 sisters and it is a member of the historic hotel group in Norway.  This means the building itself is full of traditional charm and the meals are incredible!

We arrived at 11 and got checked in and freshened up for the wedding, which started at noon.  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.

Next it was time for a short rest to prepare for the reception.  I had been told the dinner would last 4 – 5 hours, and Ida wasn´t lying.  We started with a champagne toast at 3:30. At 4 we went into the barn where all the tables were set up. By 4:30 we had a bowl of soup and a slice of bread.  Then the speeches started. The main meal came around 6 and consisted of pork, onion puree, carrots and potatoes, followed by more speeches.  Around 8, it was time for Dessert: a chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and raspberry sorbet, followed of course, by another speech or two!  I had the privilege of ending the night by teaching everyone how to sing the Skogfjorden Takk for Maten song.  At that point, the dancing started, but I needed to get the little ones to bed.

The next day was Sunday, July 3^rd, which meant there was a Fourth of July celebration at Frognerparken.  We tried to attend once we got back to Oslo, but it was pouring down rain.  The kids took a pony ride under the trees, but we were all ready to crash after our big weekend.