Oslo International Summer School - Telemark Excursion

In summer 2011, I attended the Oslo International Summer School. I enrolled in an intensive Norwegian language course (level two). While the studies were quite intense, there was some opportunity for fun too. One of the perks of attending the International Summer School at the University of Oslo is the opportunity to attend a weekend excursion. I chose to attend the trip to Telemark, and I am so glad I did. Telemark was beautiful! It's been a fairly rainy summer, but we got one nice day during our weekend trip.

Our first stop was at Henrik Ibsen's childhood home followed by the Vrangfoss Locks, which has five chambers. We were able to watch two boats go through. On day two, we visited an open air museum that displayed traditional farmhouses, tools, and clothing. We also visited Heddel Stave Church, which is Norway's largest stave church and was built around 1250. Our last stop, and my favorite stop in the excursion, was the cobalt mine at Blaafarveværket. Unfortunately we did not have much time at the mines and there was much to see and do, so I was only able to attend the mine tour and did not get to look at any of the other museum exhibitions or "houses" that were scattered about. I would love to go back some time.

The absolute highlight of the weekend trip was the guesthouse we stayed at Saturday night. I think it was most of the student's favorite part of the trip too. The guesthouse is an old farm that has been converted to rooms of various sizes. While many buildings have been built more recently, there are still some buildings from the farm's early days. The farm dates back to around the year 1000.

The owners were very hospitable and real jokesters. They even told stories of the trolls who live in the mountains nearby. We had a fabulous homemade meal, which included homemade sour cream butter (which was to die for btw), flat bread, pork with a vegetable assortment, and some yummy caramel-flan-like dessert.

By some random chance, the room I stayed in just happened to be somewhat of a tourist attraction in itself. While all the other students stayed in normal rooms, I got to share the attic with three other lovely ladies! When I say attic, I mean that I had to crawl up a narrow ladder, crawl through a tiny door, and walk on my hands and knees to my bed. There was NO standing up, or even sitting up straight for that matter, in the bedroom. For one night it was kind of fun, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it much beyond that.

I am glad that I had the opportunity to enjoy Telemark. It was absolutely beautiful and picturesque. So, by all means, go already!