Hamar I

August 14, 2008

I got up early and was delivered back to the bus station. The plan was take the bus (really two buses) to Hamar, visit the Hedmark Museum and Bjørn Sverre, spend the night with Jan and Alvhild and return to Trysil on Friday. Things went really well for the first stage of the plan. Once I got off the bus in Hamar, however, I had to start thinking on my feet.

First, I realized that I didn't really know where it was that I was going. Travel tip: The Hedmark Museum is a fabulous open air museum, but if you want to get there, look for Domkirkeodden on the map. I wound up going to Husfliden and asking them how to get there. They gave me excellent directions and said it would take 15-20 minutes to walk. Since it was drizzling and I didn't feel like pushing it, I took closer to 25 minutes. The rain stopped just as I arrived at the museum.

When I arrived at the museum, I asked at the gift shop if they could call Bjørn Sverre for me. I said I wasn't sure if he was expecting me, but that I thought he knew I was coming. They said he'd had a couple of other guests arrive shortly before and was I with them? No, but I was fairly certain that it was Alix and Roo, and I wouldn't mind joining them. So the girl at the desk tried his office and his cell phone. No answer. I wandered around the museum for a half an hour and we tried calling again with the same result.

I left my bag at the gift shop and took a detailed tour of the grounds. We tried calling again, but still no answer. So, I had an ice cream and a bottle of water, wrote a letter, and enjoyed the sunshine. As I was getting up, just before 3:00, I saw Bjørn Sverre, Alix, and Roo coming down the path from the restaurant! Naturally, they had been there for an hour and a half and I hadn't gone back in to check after my first short tour. Bjørn Sverre was encouraging us to attend the miniconcert in the cathedral ruins (covered by an acoustically resonant glass protective structure), but he had to hurry to make it to his mother's birthday party. We agreed that I would return tomorrow for lunch.

The concert was splendid and brief. Roo, Alix, and I took a short tour to the outdoor, permanent wooden dance stage. We looked at the older farm buildings that were the earliest part of the museum. Then, they needed to look at the gift shop and I needed to get back to the entrance. I was scheduled to meet Jan and Alvhild at 4:00.