Where to start? My arrival in Furudal was filled both with a sense of anxiety about my dances and eagerness to get started working on them. Once we ran through the dances, I could tell that we didn't have any major obstacles. That was a good thing, but it also means that haven't worked on them hard enough to make them perfect. Regardless, Larry and I are both confident that Friday afternoon will be a passing day for us.
Furudal and the training camp is more than just practicing. Most importantly, it is the opportunity to withdraw from the world and focus on the wonderful people who are also interested in dancing. Our evenings at the campfire are filled with entertaining discussions. On the rare occasion that the subject wanders to dancing, it is a discussion of past hijinks.
My first appearance at the campfire (we were too late the first night, so I didn't manage perfect attendance this year) was accompanied by foil packets of salmon. Since we took our time getting down to the lake, there was very little fire left and more wood had to be thrown on to cook our meal. When we finally got to eat, the fish was delicious, however I got to endure several days of teasing thanks to those pieces of fish. Not to be outdone, I announced that the following evening I would bring a moose roast. One night I even suggested that we catch a wolf to bbq and then we could make a new pair of pants for Larry, or a hat, or a couple purses. Regardless, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.
This year we stayed in the youth hostel rooms attached to the Norwegian Veteran Museum. During WWII, Sweden wasn't allowed to host a foreign army, but the Norwegian 'police troops' were active in a number of towns throughout Sweden. When they built the rooms in the museum they went asking for money in Norway. The beds here are the nicest beds I have ever slept in; they are, in fact, the best beds you can buy in Norway.
Tonight, we have one last night in Furudal with only a few remaining dancers. Tomorrow, we drive to Östersund and Friday we dance up. Good luck to everyone!
Showing posts with label museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label museums. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Trysil IV
August 17, 2008
Today is my last day of vacation. I could have gotten up and gone to church to hear Else and her mother play, but I just didn't have the drive. I didn't get out of bed until close to eleven and was just finishing breakfast when Liv Marit and Oddmund came back. They weren't home for more than ten minutes before we took off to Solbekken, the local open air museum which is one of the oldest in Norway.
All of the buildings were open and there were demonstrations in almost all corners of the museum. Else was scheduled to play the whole day. Peder and I danced a couple of dances. Oddmund drove back to the house to get my fiddle so I could play some with Else, and returned with my fiddle and Geir. Else and I managed to find some tunes we both knew well enough to play for an audience of a couple hundred people who were not really listening, so we had a good time.
During the closing program, it was again the Myhr family who stole the show. Else played while Peder and Geir (the other brother) danced the ox dance and a halling. They did a great job. Especially if you consider that they were dancing on grass, barefoot, and the lady holding the hat had never done it before. Add to that, the hat they were offered was a ten pound cowboy hat and the stick curved upwards. It was basically impossible for them to have successfully kicked that hat off the stick.
While the closing gifts continued to be exchanged, I got to try some traditional Trysil food. Let me highlight rømmesoll - Norwegian style sour cream (rømme) with fresh curds and sugar. Delicious. Also, a local type of lefse that was pretty darn tasty with just butter (but, really, what isn't?).
Today is my last day of vacation. I could have gotten up and gone to church to hear Else and her mother play, but I just didn't have the drive. I didn't get out of bed until close to eleven and was just finishing breakfast when Liv Marit and Oddmund came back. They weren't home for more than ten minutes before we took off to Solbekken, the local open air museum which is one of the oldest in Norway.
All of the buildings were open and there were demonstrations in almost all corners of the museum. Else was scheduled to play the whole day. Peder and I danced a couple of dances. Oddmund drove back to the house to get my fiddle so I could play some with Else, and returned with my fiddle and Geir. Else and I managed to find some tunes we both knew well enough to play for an audience of a couple hundred people who were not really listening, so we had a good time.
During the closing program, it was again the Myhr family who stole the show. Else played while Peder and Geir (the other brother) danced the ox dance and a halling. They did a great job. Especially if you consider that they were dancing on grass, barefoot, and the lady holding the hat had never done it before. Add to that, the hat they were offered was a ten pound cowboy hat and the stick curved upwards. It was basically impossible for them to have successfully kicked that hat off the stick.
While the closing gifts continued to be exchanged, I got to try some traditional Trysil food. Let me highlight rømmesoll - Norwegian style sour cream (rømme) with fresh curds and sugar. Delicious. Also, a local type of lefse that was pretty darn tasty with just butter (but, really, what isn't?).
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Hamar III
August 15, 2008
Before returning the the Hedmark Museum, I stopped at an electronics store (El-kjøp) to check out cell phones. I'm still not quite ready to make the leap and purchase a phone, but it gave me the opportunity to read about the various plans. I now have a better idea of what it is I want, I think. It seems like I talk on the phone more than I send text messages, and that I talk on the phone a lot. So, it makes the most sense to me to get a slightly more expensive monthly plan with a less expensive rate by the minute. I'd welcome feedback on this topic.
I continued on my way to the Hedmark Museum and arrived just as Bjørn Sverre was pulling into the parking lot. We had lunch in his house, which is on the museum grounds, with another friend of his who was visiting from Oslo. She was also a fiddler and a dancer. She was also a jeweler and super sweet.
After lunch, Bjørn Sverre gave us a tour of the museum. The museum includes buildings from all periods of Hedmarks history from the ruins of the medieval church (ca. 1250) to early twentieth century buildings that aren't quite open yet. Bjørn Sverre had to go in and water the plants, so we got to see the house in the process of being staged.
Then he showed us the highlights from the 17th century exhibit, including a whiskey still, a mechanical thresher, and ornate sleighs. Before potatoes came to the area, many of the smaller households were dependant on the income the women of the families made working with the linen and wool textile industry. After the advent of potatoes, the fields that had been used for linen were used to grow potatoes and many families lost up to 46% procent of their textile based income. At least, that's what I think Bjørn Sverre was telling us.
In the end, he arranged a ride for me back into town. I'd done a lot of walking and was a little worried about coming back to Trysil. I got a ride with a lovely woman who dropped me off at the train station just in time to catch the train to Elverum. Of course, there were a couple guys getting on the train who had at least eight suitcases between them, so we were a little late leaving the station.
I should have had twenty minutes to walk to the bus station in Elverum, instead I had eleven. I hurried and arrived at the bus station at exactly 4:50 when the bus should have been leaving. But it was no where to be found. I went inside and it didn't appear to have arrived. I figured that I had time to risk heading to the pay phone to call Else and let her know I was coming. A half hour later, the bus showed up. Again, student price! I was on my way back to Trysil.
Before returning the the Hedmark Museum, I stopped at an electronics store (El-kjøp) to check out cell phones. I'm still not quite ready to make the leap and purchase a phone, but it gave me the opportunity to read about the various plans. I now have a better idea of what it is I want, I think. It seems like I talk on the phone more than I send text messages, and that I talk on the phone a lot. So, it makes the most sense to me to get a slightly more expensive monthly plan with a less expensive rate by the minute. I'd welcome feedback on this topic.
I continued on my way to the Hedmark Museum and arrived just as Bjørn Sverre was pulling into the parking lot. We had lunch in his house, which is on the museum grounds, with another friend of his who was visiting from Oslo. She was also a fiddler and a dancer. She was also a jeweler and super sweet.
After lunch, Bjørn Sverre gave us a tour of the museum. The museum includes buildings from all periods of Hedmarks history from the ruins of the medieval church (ca. 1250) to early twentieth century buildings that aren't quite open yet. Bjørn Sverre had to go in and water the plants, so we got to see the house in the process of being staged.
Then he showed us the highlights from the 17th century exhibit, including a whiskey still, a mechanical thresher, and ornate sleighs. Before potatoes came to the area, many of the smaller households were dependant on the income the women of the families made working with the linen and wool textile industry. After the advent of potatoes, the fields that had been used for linen were used to grow potatoes and many families lost up to 46% procent of their textile based income. At least, that's what I think Bjørn Sverre was telling us.
In the end, he arranged a ride for me back into town. I'd done a lot of walking and was a little worried about coming back to Trysil. I got a ride with a lovely woman who dropped me off at the train station just in time to catch the train to Elverum. Of course, there were a couple guys getting on the train who had at least eight suitcases between them, so we were a little late leaving the station.
I should have had twenty minutes to walk to the bus station in Elverum, instead I had eleven. I hurried and arrived at the bus station at exactly 4:50 when the bus should have been leaving. But it was no where to be found. I went inside and it didn't appear to have arrived. I figured that I had time to risk heading to the pay phone to call Else and let her know I was coming. A half hour later, the bus showed up. Again, student price! I was on my way back to Trysil.
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.
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.
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