Sunday morning we had a quick breakfast in our "apart-hotel" before heading for the station to obtain coffee and find our seats on the Vy train. Oddly for the length of the ~7-hour cross-country journey to Bergen, it turned out to be a Vossebanen tram with only two restrooms, one of which went out of commission partway to our destination, leading to long lines for the tiny restrooms at Hønefoss. The countryside was initially flat-ish with a river or lake before the rail line climbed into the hills.
Our destination was the ski town of Geilo (pronounced Yei-lo). When it's not ski season, there is hiking and biking and Sunday driving--on our way to the lake, we were passed by a number of men or couples driving vintage cars. We also saw a couple of sod-roofed houses, which is a local tradition. We stayed at the Geilo Hotel, a very short walk from the train station. Smaller than the big Dr. Holms Hotel across the tracks which had a "sportsman" energy that didn't vibe with us, even though it was originally founded as a mountain sanatorium. Instead, we loved the Nordic chic, hyggelig feel of this smaller establishment. The basement sauna was just okay, but the breakfast was excellent, and it was an easy walk to the lake path for a "hike," complete with the bucolic sound of sheep in a field with jangly bells around their necks.
The only complication was the due to rain, the lake was pretty full, so at one place we had to steady each other across a stepping stones to keep from getting wet, but at the second place, removing shoes and socks and rolling up our pants was unavoidable. After the "hike," we went through town to get to dinner and then our hotel. We walked by a contemporary church and graveyard, a couple (three) grocery stores to prep for shopping the next day, a traditional church and graveyard, and some public art, including a larger-than-life kick sled of the kind used throughout Scandinavia. Dinner was a fancy tasting menu with *excellent* soup, bread, and wine at a Stube. Then it was back to the hotel for relaxation, sauna, and bed.
Clockwise from left: melon, gravlax (smoked salmon), cucumber, brown cheese
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