The temperatures in May hit record highs for the month in Norway, and it looked like it would be the same for June. We decided to leave the city and explore the countryside. Mike and Katie got the nav switched to English, but now it was soooooo loud it was deafening, so we ran it with no volume. We set the map for Lillehammer……….because we had heard of it! The 1994 Winter Olympics were held there. And maybe you’ve heard of the Netflix show “Lilyhammer” with Steven Van Zandt, a mobster who is entering the witness protection program and wants to relocate to Lillehammer…..because he had heard of it!
The drive on the back roads of Norway was beautiful. Farms stretched on for miles, with fields of winter wheat and their vivid green sprouts poking through the dirt. Wildflowers of purple, pink, and white practically glowed on the sides of the road. It was quite hilly and you could see the mountains for skiing in the distance. The rivers were so wide they looked like lakes except you could see the speed of the water flowing in the middle. There was so much land! In Japan, it was like every city is attached to another city. Here there were miles and miles of fields with very small towns or communities of houses. 
We reached a small town called Skarnes and looked for lunch options, but everything seemed closed, even the grocery stores. We started wondering if it was a holiday or something because the camping gear store said they would be closed on Sunday for the “holiday.” We found a place called Fast & Tasty and thought ….maybe it’s really good. It was okay with a cheeseburger and kebab …..kebabs are very popular in Europe and this place boasted the world record for biggest kebab at 15 kilos. In Europe they often call the restrooms WC for water closet. This WC was in the dark, cold, creepy basement, which at least was free haha!
We continued north and almost suddenly the trees changed from hardwoods to very tall, thin pines and birches. Truly Norwegian Wood, as Mike joked when we saw piles of long logs cut for timber. Katie noticed there were many Teslas on the road and it turns out it is the most popular car in Norway, many of which are electric. Our rental turned off when we stopped at a light, then started back up when you pressed the gas.
As we approached the city of Hamar, there was a tremendous amount of road construction as though they were putting in a new highway. We decided to stop and look around and stretch our legs. Again, nearly everything was closed and some of the shops were closed down. We saw a large sports venue which turned out to have been used during the Olympics. It was 87 degrees and sunny and dry, so we thought we’d have some iced tea and sit in the shade for a bit. There was a McDonald’s open of all things, so we ordered drinks but the clerk seemed confused. “Tea?” Yes, cold, iced tea. “Cold tea? Is it good?” They had never heard of iced tea! But well, it is cold here most of the time!
So we found a coffee shop open and the only cold things they had were Coke, cold rubarb soup, and an apple dessert haha! We went for the apple dessert which was chunks of tart green apples on a nice bread with vanilla ice cream–very tasty for something not chocolate! The place was full of old velvet and flowered sofas and mismatched tables and chairs, with paintings of rock stars who were all dead…..Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain.
It seemed Lillehammer would be the same, so we decided Hamar was close enough and started driving back toward Oslo. It turns out that many countries have legally restricted work hours on Sundays and Norway is one of the most strict. Only gas stations, flower stores, and small groceries are allowed to be open. Who knew!?
We stayed up late again, admiring the lightness in the sky and planning our next phase. Norway had been perfectly lovely in every way.
Photo: Outside Hamar, Norway
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