In a cabin in the woods... It was. And it was fantastic. Sue and I spent the days that the kids were in camp in a beautiful hytte not far from camp. To get there you had to drive up a dirt road for about ten minutes, and then there was a cluster of cabins. Of course, there were more cabins on the way as well.
This is an unusual view of our cabin. Why? Because there are no sheep in the photo! Seriously! It is what we would call open range, so there are sheep, goats and cows that could mosey on by any time. The driveway and yard are full of sheep patties, and you really do need to be careful where you walk!
The cabin is bigger than it looks. It has three bedrooms, a little kitchen, a 3/4 bath, and a large living/dining room. There is also a large deck on the left end, but you can only see a corner of it here. In total, you could sleep 9 people here! And everything is wood, giving it that cozy feeling. What's not to love?
Another, more pastoral upside (at least for this author) is the lovely tinkling sound of the bells on the sheep. Yes, they also bleat quite a bit, but usually they are not so noisy. They do, however, have a habit of scratching themselves on the house though. If you're not expecting it, this can be very disconcerting at first.
Here's a little sheepish video to make you chuckle. Be sure to listen all the way to the end.
Evenings at the cottage were typically quiet, reading, watching TV, and so on. But, one night I went out to a concert in Hol, where I got to hear Arne Anderdal and Jo Asgeir Lie play music not only from Hallingdal, but also from Voss. It's no great secret that I love Arne's playing, but Jo Asgeir brings such great rhythm, washy colors in harmonies and textural interest to the tunes that they really come alive when the two play together. And, the dance rhythm is always right there. It was a great show, and worth the drive.
We also had some patches of sun, which was a relief after the amount of rain we've had thus far. Here is a little film of Valdres. The "marshmallows" are large bales of hay for the winter months. The barn is special. Note the round design near the top. This is a Valdres Rose. You only see them on barns in Valdres, and they come in various shapes and sizes. Valdres is a little different in shape than Hallingdal, and you can see that here as well. Valdress has more space across the valley than a lot of Hallingdal. Hallingdal is more narrow. At the very end of this video, you can see a ski area high up on the ridge.
We also discovered some tasty places to eat in Fagernes, and were delighted that my friend Henning Anderson let us use his washing machine. We all know that as travelers, that function can be essential! We didn't really have a chance to visit because he was busy with a play that would be performed at the end of the week.
One day we went to the Museum in Fagernes, so that I could have my fiddle worked on, and Sue and I could see the costume exhibit that was up. I dropped my instrument off, and we went to see the costumes. Part of the exhibit examined the current controversy in bunad. As Norway has moved away from the nationalistic wearing of bunads, and has become a country with many immigrants, some artists are trying to find ways to integrate into culture, and one expression is through bunads. You will see here two photos. I will write about each one.
I can't remember who this woman is, but she caused quite a controversy when she wore her hijab with bunad. Some Norwegians were offended. Her point in wearing it, from what I read, was to illuminate the intersection of being Muslim and being Norwegian. I think she looks gorgeous. As a non-Norwegian, it is challenging for me to understand why this is difficult, although it does show that Norway is becoming less homogenous.
The man who did this bunad emmigrated from Sudan. After living in Norway for a dozen years, he created this costume. It uses parts of both Norwegian bunad, and parts of traditional Sudanese clothing. This is reflected not only in the style, but also in the fabrics and the designs. I love that he has put it with a pair of leopard print shoes, rather than black bunad shoes. This bunad also created a stir, probably because the person wearing it is African, and the entire bunad, other than the knickers, is highly modified. I really love this.
But, this lead to a conversation between Sue and me about cultural appropriation. This is not something that is discussed in Norway, it seems. Is it cultural appropriation? Is it possible that cultures can be integrated without cultural appropriation?
There was also this pair of bunad, of which I was interested in the one on the right. Just after Norway got its independence, this bunad was designed, and known as the "Oslo Bunad." I think it's really beautiful.
It was time to go and see about my hardingfele, which had been left in the very capable hands of Knut Oppheimsbakken. It was Knut's fiddle owned by Olav Mjelva that I had originally decided was like somthing I would want. But, when I asked Knut, he said he was not making anymore. Now, that has changed again, and he is doing a little making, he's working less at the Museum, and he's farming a bit more.
When I walked into the shop, there sat Øyvind Braband. I invited Sue to come in, and then Øyvind started to play. I was able to get a quick clip.
On another day we went into Gol. We walked the shops, and Sue did some shopping at Husflid. I should not disclose what she purchased as I believe she was shopping for presents. Ha! We also did some sweater shopping. I bought a beautiful white sweater of alpaca knitted locally. I have only worn it once so far, but I really like it. The final shopping item was a Hallingdal polse. For the uninitiated, a polse is a sausage. This one was about 18" long, and we got to taste it before buying. This one was made of pork, though we also tasted one of moose. They were both good, but we liked the pork one the best. That went home with us too, and kept to share with the kids on the next travel day.
We also tried to find shampoo for me, there is a scent and color free version made by one of the grovery chains here. But, while I could find it, I could only find it in a YUGE (nod to JW) size, and that would not work for travel. I would continue to look. Meanwhile, the shampoo I had brought fromt he US was making my head itchy. Oh well.
The kids wrote about the rest of the last day in Fagernes, attending Kappleik. I will tell the story of the Scandic Hotel Fagernes. It started early in the week when we stopped in to check our reservation. Yes, in order. We went back in on Friday morning and made sure they knew we needed the rooms together. Yes, it was understood. But it wasn't.
We went to check in after 6PM. There was a full tour bus ahead of us. They negotiated an earlier than usual breakfast (and that really cost them the bucks, $1k exactly). Fine. Then it was our turn. No, they did not have two rooms, one a family room, and one with twin beds, in proximity. In fact, they were at opposite ends of the hotel. This would not work for us. While we were standing there, an English speaking man came to the desk and interrupted us. It seemed that his shower would not turn off, and was flooding his room. The clerk behind the desk said, "Yes, this is happening in different places. I am very sorry. There is nothing we can do about it." Then he went on to say that there was ongoing remodeling happening...As I would have been, the customer was furious. He asked for another room, the hotel was fully booked. He asked for them to make him a reservation elsewhere and pay for it, they said no. They told him that the next nearest hotel was 30 km way in Beitostolen. The man decided to do that.
Now they returned to us, and a woman had also come to work behind the desk. She was very clear that there was no way to put us next to each other. Finally, they asked if double beds (note that s, it is important) were ok instead of twins. We said yes, We got keys. The kids' family room was fine. But, the other room? One double. Not happening. So, back to the counter. Explain. Be told no. Hold firm. Point out that when we booked in January there was a spot for comment, and we had put that the rooms needed to be together. We were told they can't see those comments. OK...so then why does Scandic have that in its reservation system? Hmmm....
We got given another room just a couple of doors from the kids, other side of the hall. Great! But not. We unlocked the room to find someone else's luggage and clothes. It was occupied!! We went downstairs again...by now you must assume that I was thoroughly pissed off. They found us a room with two twins one floor below the kids. We took it, but as we walked up to our room, we noted that TWO families had checked into family rooms on our floor, one exactly next to our room. That could have been ours, and they could have given that family the room our kids had. What the heck? OK, we had beds.
The Scandic Fagernes has won awards for its breakfast, and it was quite a spread. But, we had talked to the chef the day before. She had assured us there were plentiful gluten free options. NOT! There was icky bread and crackers, and that was it. IT. Nothing more. Are you kidding me?
We went to check out and there was a new manager on duty, plus the same lady was also behind the desk. The manager asked how our stay had been, and I said terrible, and that I would not stay there again. She asked why. I showed her photos of the hole in our room's wall, the stains on the furniture, and the lines of dirt left by a mop on our floor. And that was after all the hassle of trying to get our rooms together. She gave me the name of someone at corporate, and I will email them.
We are staying with Scandic again in Bergen. Fingers are crossed. Time to head to Røros!
