July 10-16
Yes, we’re still catching up on stories from four months ago. Good grief. But it’s fun to go back and revisit these fun memories!
Our draw to Lillehammer is Kayla’s college roommate, Emily, who moved there around 2010 when her husband Erik landed a job and they could launch an ex-pat life in beautiful Norway. It was truly delightful to spend 6 days with Emily and get better acquainted with their whole family (including their fun and brilliant children, Greta and Henrik, and gorgeous doggo, Lotta).
After Emily met us at the airport in Oslo, our first stop was at Kistefos, a cool sculpture garden about an hour NW of Oslo. 
Kistefos is built on the grounds of an old pulp mill, which now hosts exhibits of historic industry mixed with contemporary art. 
Look closely and you can see four Emilys! 
“Energy-Matter-Space-Time” 
The cheese slicer was invented in Lillehammer in 1925! This is a special one made for the 1994 Olympics and on display at Maihaugen. 
Maihaugen is a huge living history museum in Lillehammer, with more than 200 buildings dating back to the 12th century. 
Garmo Stave Church was built around 1150; this pulpit was crafted in 1738. 
A closer look at Norwegian farm life … 
…home life…. 
…and beautiful craftsmanship.
Of course we had to visit all of Lillehammer’s Olympic structures! 
We admired the ski jump from the bottom … 
…. and the top. (I can’t imagine strapping on skis and sliding down from here!) 
It’s a big ski town. This statue honors the Birkebeiner warrior who skiied the crown prince to safety during a war in 1206.
Other diversions while in Lillehammer included a refreshing swimming hole … 
…the most impossible mini golf course … 
… and learning Kubb, a Norwegian stick-tossing game. 
We also spent a fair amount of time admiring Lotta. (She gets carrots to fall out of this contraption!) 
Lotta’s adorable room below the stairs. 
But above all, we enjoyed long evenings hanging out and chatting in the backyard.
And just like that it was time to head back to Michigan! In Reykjavik we remembered we had a bunch of Euros, and wound up spending it all on some questionable candy. They are wild about the licorice in Iceland, and even go so far as to put it in their chocolate. Hmmm. If you ever want to try it, I’m sure we’ll still have some hidden in a cupboard somewhere.
Getting back to Glenn, Matthew jumped back into housing projects, Kayla jumped back in to On-Ramps, and we enjoyed about three weeks of relatively routine midwest summer days.
Coming up in our next post: Matthew gets a phone call, Kristina comes for a visit, and we head to Storm Lake via Minneapolis on a short but action-filled road trip!
You sure make it sound like you had a good time! <3 We loved loved loved having you!
Dear good to catch up, thank you. Jeff B