To Hemsedal!

On the 11th, Brigt left work early and we packed up for the journey to Brigt and Kristins cabin in Hemsedal, which is a famous ski area between Bergen and Oslo. The drive itself was truly beautiful, there were waterfalls, mountains and beautiful farmland in river valleys everywhere we looked. We stopped briefly in Voss, which is another popular ski location for coffee and waffles and then continued on our way. We also stopped at Stalheim, which has a hotel where the emperor of Germany always used to stay that has the most incredible view. Really, everything you could ask from a mountain vista, beautiful cliffs and mountains of interesting shapes as well as stunning waterfalls and a beautiful river valley. Maybe that is the

reason that it has inspired so many beautiful and popular paintings! We stopped, took some pictures, then drove down the mountain road and stopped again to take some pictures of an incredible waterfall. Then we were off again! The rest of the drive had more mountains, and also more tunnels. In fact, we went through the largest driving tunnel in the world...the Lærdal tunnel. which is 25 km long. The lovely thing about this tunnel is that throughout it, to keep drivers awake and people happy, are these chambers that are lit in blue and other colors so that they end up looking like ice caves.
Hemsedal is a generally pretty incredible place from what I have gathered, there are incredible mountains in every direction, but the mountains are such that there are gentle enough ways up that they are perfect for cross country skiing, and in the winter there are hundreds of kilometers of ski trails groomed that connect to the valley. Krisin's family had lived in Hemsedal for generations and she

still has cousins that farm there and have lovely mountain farms where they still bring cows in the summers, which is a lot of the reason why Brigt and Kristin decided that they should buy their second cabin there.
Their cabin is also a pretty incredible place. They have room for as many as 15 people to sleep, and a hot tub that they heat by keeping a fire going for several hours, and a ski waxing room, and a machine for pumping hot air into your cold wet boots, and a lovely deck, and a beautiful fire place, and blueberries growing all around, and a perfect view of Skogshorn, and easy access to the ski trails! All while retaining the cozy feeling of a real cabin.
When we got there, we decided that it was important that we get in a walk before the sunset (which was not that long). We took a little hike up a small hill with a truly incredible view of mountains in every direction. Over one valley, we could see the peaks of Jotunheimen and Brigt pointed out all of the routes that he loves to ski and hike

and bike when they're at their cabin, and I was pretty jealous/ inspired.
We had a late dinner while watching Simone Biles and Ali Raisman dominate, I tasted some rommebrod and then went to bed in preparation for more travel the next day!
In the morning, I looked out a little at the morning light over Skogshorn, read a little and then ate my last breakfast with Brigt and Kristin before heading to Gol to catch the train to Oslo!
Kristin and Brigt were phenomenal hosts and I so enjoyed the walks we took, the food we ate, the conversations we had and learning about Norway and my family from them.