Lillehammer

Other than stopping for gas on our way from Oslo to Aalesund, we’d never spent any time in Lillehammer, so we didn’t know what to expect.  All the local attractions are closed for the season so I was a bit worried we’d be wandering aimlessly around town with not much to do.  But thankfully, the day didn’t go that way at all.

Kory wanted to get up close and personal to the ski jump built for the winter Olympics in 1994, so right after breakfast we drove on up the hill.  I figured there’d be a nice view of the valley from on high, but other than that, it would take all of five minutes.  How wrong I was.

Just a few minutes after we arrived, a bunch of teenagers showed up wearing skintight suits, ski boots, helmets and carrying skis on their shoulder.  Another minute later, they were taking the ski lift to the top and the sprinklers were going off over the surface of the jump.  I asked one guy, “You can ski without snow?” and he said “Ja.”   We had to stick around and see that.  And stick around we did – for nearly two hours - as this high school class of kids – all born after the Olympics were in town - jumped one right after the other.  It was perfect timing as school just started yesterday, and this class is only held during first period.  So if we’d arrived at any other time, we wouldn’t have seen the jump in action.  It was incredible.

Climbing the stairs to the top wasn’t nearly as difficult as I expected, and it provided some great photos of the skiers after they launched.  We took photos from every angle, as there were no restrictions on where we could stand.  It was an exciting experience each time because we could hear the sound their skis made coming down the upper track, then when they launched it was dead silent.  The only sound that followed was that of the rushing wind as they flew past us through the air and landed far down below.  What a thrill. 

I was surprised Kaleb found it so entertaining, but he was genuinely thrilled by it.   I was thankful when he said, “I would NEVER do that!”  He’s going to try and incorporate the idea of it all into the book he’s writing this year for school, so that’s cool.  He’s started doing a little schoolwork even while we’re on this trip, as he’s so exciting about getting this idea for a science fiction book down on paper.  It’s nice for me to not have to tell him what to do – he’s very motivated by this year’s “schedule,” so Hallelujah for that.

Kory and I each took at least a hundred photos of the skier this morning and Kaleb got in on it too with the slow motion filming that his camera does (click on the photo above!).  We had perfect weather, so the whole morning was just awesome – all for the five dollar parking fee.  I think it was a much better deal than the amusement park, and Kaleb agreed, as he’d never seen anything like this before – especially so close.

When the class ended, we headed to the first of THREE thrift stores in town.  We got some things we needed but also some cool stuff we didn’t.  Even still, we hardly spent any money with things so darn cheap.  Even the hand knit wool sweaters were only $22 - and they look like new.  Such a deal.  We also bought some things to make curtain rods for our condo and a new painting for the living room.  I so would have bought another cake taker in the same design I bought before, but I couldn’t figure how to get it back to America to give it as a gift to anyone and Lord knows I don’t need two of them.  It was hard to pass up for only $20. 

The sunshine held out all day so we sat out by a creek and had a picnic lunch.  Kory is holding onto the fat-free diet pretty well, so far.  I brought a lot of food with us that I’ve made (and dried soups and oatmeal I brought from America) so he has stuff to eat. 

A few years ago when we stopped at a store in this area for some snacks, I bought the best lefse I’d ever had in my life.  I’ve been anxious to get back to this part of Norway so I could buy more.  It’s truly incredible.  It has the name of the farm where the potatoes grew stamped on the back, along with the expiration date.  They take it seriously.  So today, I had to stop and buy a few packs for Kaleb and I to snack on.  When I looked at the ingredients, I couldn’t believe it.  It’s made with NO fat!  Everyone I know that makes lefse uses either butter or olive oil, so it was shocking to me that they could make something so good without either of those, but they do - so Kory can eat it right along with us.  I went back to the store and bought seven more packs.  I figure we’ll eat at least a pack a day on this trip.  Yum.  So I’m thrilled Kory gets to eat at least one traditional Norwegian food he loves while we’re here (thanks for the prayers, Dee!).

Lillehammer doesn’t have a big shopping mall like we have back in Aalesund – it has a main walking street with all the shops lined up like it used to be in Aalesund before they built the mall out by us.  So Lillehammer has a cute and very lively downtown area, with buildings that remind me a bit of Trondheim but also some with their own style.  We enjoyed the afternoon walk through the town, to the church, through the graveyard, through a park and to the library where Kaleb had to get his “fix” by reading something for a little while.  He’s been reading a book his Grammy loaned him called “Signature of the Cell” about DNA and all things micro-biotic, so it’s pretty heady reading.  I think he went looking for comic books just to give his brain a break.

We took a drive out to the other side of the lake that borders the town (you can see the ski jump in the top right corner above).  It’s Norway’s largest lake and it was such a gorgeous day I wouldn’t have minded jumping in for a swim, but we didn’t plan on that when we left.  Kaleb entertained himself by skipping stones and Kory and I just soaked up some sun.  It was genuinely warm today, which was a thrill since they’d forecasted rain.  We did have a few drops fall for about three minutes, but that was it, so I’ll take that kind of rain anytime.

There was a concert tonight in the downtown area, and a circus right across from our hotel, but Kaleb wanted to “chat” on Facebook so we opted to take a cup of coffee (compliments of the hotel) on the rooftop bar overlooking the city, while the sun was setting.  It wasn’t a bad way to end the day. 

Tomorrow we make the eight-hour drive to Stockholm.  Kory’s hand is looking better and feeling better, but Dr. Odd said he had to give it a rest for two weeks and it’s only been one week now, so the driving still falls on me.  So far, so good and today I discovered our speedometer isn’t quite right because the “new” tires we put on were a bit smaller size than the old ones so when the odometer said I was going almost 90 kilometers an hour, I was actually going 77 (based on the “your speed” laser contraptions they have on the roads here.)  What a thrill that I get to “speed” all the way to Sweden!