True Norwegians

News flash: I am a planner. I don't like spontaneity much, especially with little kids. But Friday night, as Levi and I were planning a Saturday trip to Fredrikstad, we both felt *meh* about going. So at about 10:00 pm, we scrapped the plan and decided to hoof it out to Jotunheimen National Park for the weekend!

I blame Iceland. It was really cool spending the weekdays in the city and the weekends out in the countryside. I felt like getting out to see the mountains and lakes and fjords of Norway. Levi had been dying to go to Jotunheimen, but with a 4 hour drive to get there, we weren't sure it was going to happen.

So after only an hour of planning (seriously, that is crazy for me), Saturday morning we packed up the car and went for it!

The area we went is on the Gjende lake and the Besseggen Ridge. It's one of the most popular hiking and camping areas in the world! We took a ferry on the lake out to a spot called Memurubu. On the boat were tons of hikers who were outfitted to spend days and even weeks out there. We talked to a family of five who was spending two whole weeks hiking and camping along the lakes there!

The ferry

We all got off the ferry together, but Levi then planned to hike back to where we started, while the kids and I would hang out until we could catch the ferry back again. 

It was a beautiful spot, nestled along the banks of the lake in between snowy mountain ridges on every side. There was a lodge there where we warmed up, then we walked around and enjoyed the beauty.

Inside the lodge

View of the lodge from outside

Do you see my cute little guy down by the flagpole?

We were not really outfitted right for this trip! I wasn't expecting it to be so cold! It's been so warm in Oslo, but it was cold in the mountains and on the lake. I think the kids and I would have spent more time outside exploring if we had dressed more warmly. It was pretty funny actually, because everyone else up there was outfitted in really expensive, nice gear. We looked like those people you see on the ski slopes in their jeans and sweatshirts, haha.

I did finally get to take a picture of a turf house! I've been dying to take a picture of one since Iceland. Hopefully I'll get some more chances, as it seems there are a lot in Norway.

Levi didn't end up doing the whole ridge hike as he planned. It started raining a little and he didn't have good rain gear. He also realized that he had the credit card and the car keys and worried about leaving us without them for too many hours. He climbed up the ridge for awhile then came down again and caught the ferry back to us. He got some amazing views from up there.

We decided to stay the night at the lodge there by the ferry. It was such a cool, interesting place! It was like a hiker's hostel, with tiny rooms and shared bathrooms. We got the last private room, but they don't turn anyone away. Once the rooms are full they lay mattresses out throughout the lodge and even in tents outside and let people stay if they're willing.

The Lodge

River bank in front of our room

Where our room was -- turf roof, love those!

They serve family-style dinner to everyone, and it was pretty amazing. This incredible cauliflower soup with freshly baked bread to start, roast beef (from grass-fed cows just down the street), potatoes (also grown in the neighborhood), and chocolate mousse with fresh strawberries for dessert! We were famished, but I don't think that was the only reason the food tasted so dang good.

The Norwegian girls sitting with us had to help us out. The announcements and menu (just for informational purposes; everyone got the same thing) were all in Norwegian. Also, Levi started smearing jam on his bread only to be told it wasn't a sweet jelly; it was tart, to go with the meat, like cranberry sauce! They had a good laugh! :)

We decided to spend the night for the kids' sake, because Quintana in particular does not do well in the car. But it turns out she doesn't do too well bunking up with the family, either. I blame myself, though, for forgetting the pack and play. This was the kind of establishment that gives you mattresses to put on the floor, not the kind with baby beds. I still thought she'd do okay sleeping with me, but it was a total nightmare. Trying to go to bed was awful; she wouldn't stay in bed and just kept running around the room. Levi J couldn't sleep while she was doing that, obviously, and I ended up singing "Wheels on the Bus" for like a half hour straight. Big Levi had to lay on the mattresses with the both of us so we could sandwich her in.

The she woke up at 3am and we had to do the same thing all over again for another two hours.

This was at 8:00 AM, one of very few times the three of them were sleeping soundly. You can even see Levi J with his legs dangling off the bed, haha

Note to self: crib is a must.

We had a breakfast buffet in the morning, which was really nice. I committed another American faux pas, though, spreading brown cheese that I thought was peanut butter all over some bread for Levi J! Haha.

One really cool thing about this place was that everyone there was Norwegian! We didn't meet any other Americans, and we heard very very little English. It was really an authentic Norwegian experience!

I wish you could see these guys better; it was a table of Norwegian guys who all looked like they were auditioning for the next Thor movie, haha

Levi wanted to look Norwegian with his shorts kind of short and his socks up to his knees, haha

The drive home was uneventful but lovely. Snowy mountaintops, fjords and rivers and lakes, farmland and pine trees and green everywhere we looked!

I wish you could see the sheep on the riverbank here. I could here their bells and their "maaa"s when I woke up in the morning.

Levi and I immediately thought of Bryan Brimhall when we saw this guy. Looks heavenly.

Levi J and I call these hay bales giant marshmallows :)

Levi did some more awesome GoPro video if you want to see more!