Maristuen and the Borgund Stave Church

 We all were stunned when we realized it was 9:00 am when we woke up!  We had coffee, a banana each, and two hard-boiled eggs each, as well as some toast :-).  We each had enough, and several members of our group went hiking and/or running.  The setting truly is spectacular, and one has to wonder what John Maristuen thought when he arrived in flat North Dakota.

Joe and Randall exploring the King's Road, the path
of which was right outside our cabin.

Our plan for the day was to explore the surroundings and go to the Borgund Stave Church before going to Sara's apartment for dinner.  Some of the exploration was done via running (Joe) and some was done via hiking before we packed into the car to drive to Borgund Stave church.  We spent a fair amount of time in the interpretive center for the stave church, and then went over to view the real thing with our new-found knowledge.  We pointed out the "knees" and looked over the "sills" and other aspects of the wall structure, as well as wondering about the dragons that fly from the corners (no one knows why they are there).  They believe the church was built in 1100 AD, and this church is the finest remaining church of several hundred that were built.  Only a few Stave Churches remain.

We also spent a fair amount of time in the cemetery, and found a few of the Maristuen graves, but not the one Julie really wanted to see:  "born Anders Nystuen, died Anders Maristuen."  The stone has apparently broken and was fixed with an iron cross, but the cross obliterated the name.

Then we all started out on a hike of the King's Road -- the first proper road between east and west Norway.  It was built for carriages.  Julie was slipping and sliding (wrong shoes!) and decided to head back to the Interpretive Center.  The rest of the group hiked for about an hour before they returned to the Center, and we all had lunch, bought several things in the Center, and then headed back "home" to Maristuen.  On our way home, we were able to find a grocery store in Steinklepp, and we bought lots of food.  Hooray for food!

We returned to our cottage, rested a bit, and then got cleaned up to go over to Sara's apartment for dinner.  We had a lovely meal of salmon, reindeer sandwiches, fruit, two different kinds of pastries (a chocolate nut cake and kari lefse (not sure if that is the correct name), which was many slices of lefse folded together with goat cheese and sugar.  DELICIOUS!

Sara Maristuen in her lovely apartment.  She is a busy woman since she
checks in the visitors to the Maristuen cottages.  All of the wall paintings
are Maristuen family members, some done by famous Norwegian painters who
were guests at the hotel.

Anders Maristuen, Sara's grandson, regaling us with reindeer herding stories

Knut Maristuen hiking on the King's Road

Sara's cousin Jorunn was also there, as well as Sara's son Knut, and his son Anders.  We had a delightful evening discussing reindeer, music, education, the family, and taking pictures.  Knut had a large reindeer herd (numbering from 2000 to 5000, depending upon the time of year), and this summer, Anders is working for Knut using a drone to keep track of the reindeer to be sure they stay where they are supposed to.  We actually got to see a video done by a drone checking on the Maristuen reindeer herd.  Knut and Anders are quite concerned because one wild reindeer from a neighboring herd had been found to have CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease).  It's the first such case found in Norway, and if any deer in their herd has it, they will have to kill the entire herd -- a scary prospect indeed.  Knut was enjoyable and is living with (and has three children with) a local teacher across the street in the Maristuen house.

Julie with Sara (left) and Jorunn (right) -- 4th cousins

Anders is in his last year of college.  He is getting a music degree focused on rock and hip-hop.  He plays the bass guitar, and it seems he must be quite talented.  He left home at the age of 16 to go to a music high school (he lived in an apartment in the community).  He hopes to become a famous rock star, but in lieu of that, he will play music on the side and teach music at a school, but he also talked about some day taking over the reindeer herd, which appears to be Knut's main endeavor.

Anders, Randall, Juleen -- 5th cousins

Jorunn had a wonderful sense of humor, and we learned much about the family from her.   The Maristuens own considerable land in the area, and they own the cottages, including the one we are staying in which is beautiful, immaculate, and well set-up.  It even has a wet sauna!

The beautiful old hotel, which Julie visited in 1972, burned in 1976.

the hotel as it looked when Julie visited in 1972

the hotel in around 1937.  The older hotel, to the left, is now a museum.

After the fire, another more modern hotel was built, but it seems that after Chernoble, the tourist business came to a stand still in the area because the winds brought the radioactivity over Norway.  The tour busses stopped coming, as did other tourists, and five of the surrounding hotels closed.  The Maristuens were able to keep going with their facility, but the loss of the original hotel was devastating, of course compounded by Chernoble.  The swimming pool/restaurant/motel went through several owners and is closed right now.  The six Maristuen cottages remain open, and Sara is in charge of booking and getting people their keys.

We shared gifts and went through the Maristuen Heritage book that Julie had made.  Sara also had written a book about the Maristuen Hotel, and she gave us a copy.  It is filled with family information and pictures -- all in Norwegian, of course, but we can have the relevant parts translated.  They were quite pleased with the gifts, including the North Dakota pasta, the bison salami from Leeds, and the Frank Lloyd Wright silk scarf.

It was a wonderful evening of connections between the Norway Maristuens and the North Dakota Maristuens.

one of the original windows in the Maristuen Hotel Museum signed
by travelers in the 1800s.  

The six of us in front of the front door of the old museum/hotel.
Sara gave us quite a comprehensive tour.

train day: Oslo to Bergen and arrival at Maristuen

Today was a transition day.  We left our Oslo hotel, and off we went to the central train station in Oslo, took the train to Bergen, rented a car, and then drove to the Maristuen Hotel where we spent the next three days.

We left the hotel at 7:15 am to walk to the train station. We had enough time to get ourselves a cup of coffee and a pastry before hopping on the train (an easy process).  There were no empty seats on the train (literally – it was sold out).    Fortunately, the hotel had packed a "to go" breakfast for us, and the breakfast became our lunch.  The train ride was as good as the advertising indicated; it is billed as one of the most beautiful train rides in Europe.  The beauty was especially relevant for the last third of the trip when we travelled through snow-covered mountains with waterfalls everywhere one looked.  In one location, we counted a view with more than 30 waterfalls. And these were not waterfalls that were a few feet tall; they literally poured down from the tops of the mountains ½ mile or more.  Spectacular is an understatement.  The only irritating thing is that there were as many tunnels as there were waterfalls, so one had to be quick with the camera to get a couple of pictures before we were in the dark again.  We all took several pictures of the dark walls of the tunnels, having missed the PERFECT picture by a few inches.  Damn.  Some of the tunnels were through the mountains, but some appeared to be wooden structures meant to keep the snow away from the train tracks.

a beautiful farm setting visible from the train window

our arrival at the train station in Bergen: a bustling location

Olive was persistent in connecting with the Avis Car Rental Agency in Bergen to try to get them to stay open a few extra minutes after their 3:00 closing time, and she eventually succeeded, and yes, they said they would stay open until she arrived.  So when the train trip ended at 3:00, Olive and Joe RAN to the car rental agency and made it (Joe won, but Olive was not far behind).  Hooray!  The rest of us stood in the rain waiting for them to come back to pick us up with the car.  Fortunately, it didn’t take long, and we were able to put all of our luggage (JUST BARELY) and all of us (JUST BARELY) into the car, and off we went to the Maristuen Hotel.

We wanted to try to find a grocery store and a restaurant on the way to Maristuen.  We failed to find a grocery store that was open, but we were able to pick up 6 bananas, 12 eggs, and a loaf of bread for breakfast at a convenience store.  While we were successful finding a restaurant in a small town, the food was less than spectacular and quite pricey.  Those of us who bought hamburgers paid $25 for a not-very-good hamburger.  But to be fair, it did have 3 onion rings and a pile of fries with it :-(.  The good news is that we all were fed and we hit the road again.

We again were amazed by the beauty surrounding us, and at 8:30 pm, we pulled into Maristuen.  Gorgeous.  We were given the large four-bedroom cabin (we had paid for the three-bedroom one), so we were given a bit of a gift from Sara, who was as pleased to see us as we were her.

Our cabin is wonderful -- the setting, and all of the amenities including a dish washer, a clothes washer and dryer, wi-fi, TV, heated floors, a sauna, and absolutely everything one needs for a beautiful stay in a beautiful location.

We wrapped ourselves up in our duvets and sat outside on the front porch and enjoyed the splendour. We went to bed at midnight, and it was still light out.  We are going to like this place!

It was a bit chilly, in case you hadn't guessed,
but the view was so spectacular, we couldn't resist
sitting outside until about midnight around the time
this picture was taken!

Randall and Juleen standing on the porch of our cabin,
with Randall sporting his new Dale of Norway pea coat

the exterior of our Maristuen cottage

the living room of our cottage, the beautiful kitchen and dining
room are on the far end.  The cottage included 4 bedrooms.

Norwegian Culture Day in Oslo

First activity of the day -- we ate at the hotel breakfast.  What a feast!  Everything from salmon lox to caviar (truly), cold meats, superb cheeses, fruit, yogurt, grains, nuts, dried fruits, eggs (both scrambled and poached), bacon, sausage, spectacular breads -- absolutely everything you can imagine.  Probably the best "free" breakfast spread any of us had ever seen at a hotel.

only one small segment of the breakfast feast

Then after a picturesque walk to the water front, we were on our way via ferry to the Bygdoy penninsula to visit two different locations.

First, we went to the Viking Ships Museum and saw the four Viking ships and memorabilia from them.  We learned about the sea faring abilities of the Vikings, the quality of the boats, as well as the fact that they used the boats to bury important people once they were no longer sea worthy.  Happily, one of the boats was used to bury two women, so women were important (at least some of them) in ancient Norse culture.

Next stop -- the Norse Folkemuseum. The place is immense with both interior museums and open-air museums.  Everyone seemed to think that the lefse-making demonstration was the best, and we all had a taste of "real" Norwegian lefse which was thick, sweet, and made from grain, thus tasting quite a bit different from the potato lefse we eat in Midwestern US.  We learned that only the peasants made lefse out of potatoes because they couldn't afford to purchase the imported grains.  Oh-oh.  Sorry, kiddos -- you must be descended from peasant-stock.

replica of a stave church at the Folk Museum

The exterior portion of the Folk Museum was immense and was set up to show the distinct character of separate areas of Norway during multiple time periods.  We took varied routes around the grounds, but all visited the Stave Church and learned that the wealthy people stood in the front of the church (closer to the light of god), with the altar always located on the east end, and the poor people stood in the back because, after all, god had ordained which social class you were born into.  Additionally, men stood on the south side, and women stood on the north side (no chairs in these churches). Thus, the poor women were in the Northwest corner where is was the coldest and draftiest.  Sigh.

After the Folk Museum, we split up and did various activities.  Julie and Harold rested and then went to Henrik Ibsen's house, where he and his wife Suzanna lived for the last 11 years of their lives, after they had become quite wealthy (having started out quite poor).  They imported everything, including their gold chairs (I kid you not).  The apartment they rented was in the exclusive part of the town, right across from the Palace, and Ibsen, who loved adoration, would sit in front of the window just so people would walk by and see him.  We learned some new things too -- like he may have been OCD because he would brush his side burns for exactly 1 1/2 hours every day, and his barber came at 1:00 every Tuesday.  One day, the barber was a few minutes late, and Ibsen wouldn't let him in the house because it "just wouldn't work to do it late."  He also cleaned the house himself, and it was spotless, despite the fact that they never entertained.  Lots of fun things to learn.

Henrik Ibsen

Randall and Olive went to the Palace and surveyed the beautiful gardens there.  Juleen and Joe ran (literally) to view the sights.  They saw the Parliament, the palace and Vigeland Sculpture Park.  Side information:  Julie's childhood dentist back in Rugy, ND was Dr. Vigeland, and he was related to the sculptor who created the sculptures in this magnificent park.

Randall and Olive taking in the sights and sounds of Oslo

The Norwegian Palace

Vigeland Sculpture Park

We met at 6:00 and shared experiences at our floor's hotel lounge, and then headed to another fabulous restaurant, this one by the water featuring seafood -- Solsiden, another great choice by Olive.

Skol!

After a great feast, we walked a bit before Harold and Julie went back to the hotel while Randall/Olive and Juleen/Joe stopped at the bar at the hotel and had a drink.

All in all, a spectacular day in Oslo.

Dreamliner to Sweet Dreams in Oslo

Everything went off perfectly on the first day of the Maristuen Heritage trip.  We all made it to JFK airport in plenty of time via three different travel itineraries: Randall and Olive took a taxi from their home in New Jersey, Julie and Harold flew to JFK early in the morning, and Joe and Juleen flew to JFK later in the afternoon.  Happily, we all made it with no complications.

Terminal One at JFK holds many of the international airlines, and it was like a mini United Nations inside the terminal: Korean Air, Japanese Air, German airlines, French Airlines, Brussels Air, Mideast airlines -- you name it, they were there, and so were the occupants of the various countries.  It was enjoyable for Julie and Harold -- who arrived at the airport very early -- to wait for their travel companions and to watch the people in their location right next to an Islamic Prayer Corner.

Then it was time!  All six of us boarded the Norwegian Air  Dreamliner  787 plane (huge -- three sets of three seats across) and away we went.  After an uneventful flight, including two meals -- the first one decent, the second rather abominable -- we landed in Oslo, grabbed our luggage and got on the electric Air Train to get to our hotel in downtown Oslo.  Again, the Norwegian mythological gods were with us when we got off the train and made all the right street turns to get to our hotel which was only a few blocks from the train station.

Our hotel was the Christiania Teater, and it turned out to be quite wonderful.  We figured out how to use the water spigots and the shower heads (not an easy endeavor), rested a bit, and decided to introduce ourselves to some Norwegian culture to shake off the sleepiness.

Christiania Teater in Oslo

Julie and Harold's room: the rooms were wonderful

We spent the afternoon in three different groups.

Randall and Olive rested and then went walked to find a great little restaurant where they had soup and a salad.  They then walked around and found a Dale of Norway shop where Randall purchased a classy Dale of Norway pea coat, quite fortunately on sale.  He realized as he tried it on that he is far more Norwegian than he thought because the coat had arms that actually fit his arm length, yet it was slim in the torso.  It looks great on him.  They then headed to the National Gallery of Art.

Juleen and Joe went for a run along the water to scope out the area, then after cleaning up and resting, they went to the Norwegian History Museum (not all that great, according to them) and then they also headed to the National Gallery of Art.

Julie and Harold rested and then went to the National Gallery of Art, which they loved (actually all six travelers loved it).  It was fun for Julie to see the original of "The Scream" because she had a kitchy blow-up of it in her office for about her last ten years of teaching (it seemed very appropriate at the time).  They were all impressed with the Norwegian art and with the lay-out of the museum both themeatically and chronologically.

Edvard Munch Galley

After resting and then getting together for a drink in the hotel lounge (there was a sitting area on each floor) and imbibing in the vodka and bourbon purchased duty free at the airport, they headed to Engebert's Cafe, the oldest restaurant in Oslo (150 years to be exact) serving traditional Norwegian fare.  We all had excellent meals: cod, herring (some of it was braided -- I kid you not), halibut, and mink whale!  It was all beautifully presented and was superb.

     

One of the highlights of the night was getting a tour of the building by one of the people working there.  He regaled us with stories of Munch, Grieg, and Ibsen who all ate there often.  It was (and is) the meeting place of the Norwegian Arts Society which Munch was kicked out of after he wrote a letter to the society about his gloves and his scarf which he said was stolen at the restaurant, and he claimed it was by one of the members.  It was not, and they were furious, so they did not allow him to attend anymore.  That was the end of that group for Munch.  The group still meets there today, and each member has a self-designed coat of arms which hangs in the hallways and up the stairs.  Some were quite creatively done, as you can imagine.

The guide also told us about the famous Engebert Christmas feast, held on Christmas Day.  They serve 500 people that day with all the traditional Norwegian fare, including lutefisk, lefse, rummigrout, rosettes -- you name it, they serve it.  It was intriguing to learn that their holiday foods were the same as what Julie grew up on in North Dakota.  Additionally, he told us about the owner who travelled to northern Norway himself to choose his own "lye fish" to serve on that day.

We ended our day by walking around by the water, and then we returned in three different groups (three different degrees of tiredness).  Some members of the group got to see the fires built all over the harbor celebrating the summer solstice.  We did, indeed, arrive on the longest day of the year.  Good thing our rooms had heavy-duty room-darkening shades on the windows.

What a dream it was to get into bed!