Norway Day 8 Saturday 10 th June 2023 Valer and Elerum

Thankfully recovered from the fatigue and migraine headache  of yesterday . Chatted to Helen this morning  whilst she milked her 5  beautiful cows.  Mariana,  the calf is 5 days old and simply stunning to behold. Helen works incredibly hard as a dairy farmer , cheese maker and gardener. Katy , the very bright and  alert family  sheep dog , kept a watchful eye on the chicken coop.  

Early morning stroll  to see Helen's  neighbours homes  along the road. Helen says she lives in  a  very friendly local  community who look out for each other and neighbours  like  to visit for a coffee and chat.

Helen's neighbour is in his 80's and  prefers to stack cut  wood in a traditional way 

Bear outside the Norwegian forestry  museum, Eleverum 

Cruciform  church in Eleverum  

Shaking suspension bridge , leads across the Glomma to a second museum area, mostly outside; this bridge was  better navigated  on the way back 🙂

1906 log cabin

Innovation arrived and the forest log cabins  became warmer in winter  once a top storey was  added  for ventilation  and a joetl installed inside.

The cabins grew bigger and more elaborate 

Rat proofing 

This large house was being used for a wedding reception( see the cars) 

And communities sprung up 

A slide 🙂

Fast running this river Glomma 

You can look inside some of the larger cabins 

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I liked the open fire and crib in this one  

Villages sprang up ...

We drove the van to Eleverum  late morning (25 k), it' s the nearest large town, we admired the rolling  verdant pastures , bathed  in bright sunshine , spotted with  pristine scattered  farm buildings.  I  sought out soft trainers  and sandals in the shopping centres  to replace the ones accidentally left at home 😔

We visited the Glomdal museet, after lunch in the van , this is the outdoor  museum  next to a large, shallow,  rushing river running through Eleverum filled with  forest log cabins , dating from 1906 onwards .

We called in to a swimming  lake ( about 13 k from Valer)   en route back home and swam in it for 30 minutes , absolutely delightful , tranquil, 18 degrees , stunning scenery , beach provided , a  changing room and long drop toilets . It was crowded this Saturday evening, BBQ  and volley ball pitch  

For supper, Andy cooked a chickpea and spinach curry , a  peas and cabbage side dish and rice,  all tasty  , followed by Helen's scrumptious home - made  rhubarb crumble and fresh cream. We drank fresh local apple juice  (from nearby  Flisa ) with our food . Much appreciated, sibs ....

I needed a lie down  for a long time straight afterwards  and to catch up with this blog ! Fortunately , very hard working farmers also go to bed early. Andy stayed up to watch the championship final Man City v Int Milan on TV in the farm house.