This is our second evening in Eggedal in a historic hotel. It is quaint and quite old. Once the community building which housed the sheriff department, priest, shoe-maker, doctor, and a few others, it was restored into a hotel. I believe the third generation currently operates it. We are in the Lærerværelset Room which literally translates to ‘teacher’s lounge.’ What an appropriate room for the two of us to be in!
A part of this hotel also includes a cafe serving breakfast, lunch, and dinners, which is convenient for us. Eggedal is quite small - there’s a grocery store, an ice cream shop, a variety store, gas station, and church….and not much else. By dinnertime, we were reminded that we are in traditional Norway for our meal consisted of meatballs, boiled potatoes, stewed peas, with lingonberries on the side. This morning’s breakfast buffet included cut-your-own slices of hard bread, different kinds of flatbread, six different kinds of local cheese (including geitost coming from the sæter,) meats of elk, moose, reindeer, pig, salmon and trout, and all sorts of pålegg (toppings) of jams, chutneys, and meat sauces. A far cry from Oslo where the buildings are clean and sleek and there is food from many cultures!
Today we traveled from the Sigdal Valley north to Nesbyen in Hallingdal. We had to travel over three mountains and several valleys to get to it. Along the way, we found more and more snow to the point that I was worried about it eventually covering the roadway. Here we were wearing shirts with no coats during our days in Oslo, and today I was wearing five layers of clothing! Remember….there’s no such thing as bad weather in Norway, just bad clothing! The fog created the most problems for us on the way home.
Our purpose for going to Nesbyen was to visit the Hallingdal Museum. Founded in 1899, it is among the oldest open-air museums in Norway. There are 30 buildings and approximately 30,000 objects from the regions. Objects included items such as farm equipment, bunader, trunks, toys, cupboards (skaper) and much more. I think our favorite building was a loft from Ål and was built around 1340. It is today one of the country’s best-preserved wooden house, not associated with any religion or clergy, from the Middle Ages. The accompanying photo is this building.
My favorite parts of the time there included the entire display of World War II memorabilia including the resistance movement here in the Hallingdal area. Many of the saboteurs of the heavy water in Rjukan fled to the forests of this region. We viewed many of the propaganda material created to ‘win’ Norway over once Germany invaded and occupied the country. The other favorite part was conversing with the site manager and assistant of the museum. It’s always interesting to get insight from others and their culture. The assistant shared with us a major piece that was left out of the display - that of the women of the “Lotte Movement.” Women were every bit as important as men in the resistance movement, and slowly they are being recognized.
Upon our return to Eggedal, we visited the local grocery store to get that experience. One of my favorite parts was watching a man take a loaf of bread that is baked daily out of the paper packaging, place into a machine which cut the bread into slices. He then placed the loaf on this metal shelf and slid plastic wrapping over it, tied it up, and away he went! Simple, effective, and fast!
Another interesting day in Norway!
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