After our wonderful Coastal Voyage and two days in Oslo, we had the added excitement of a nice little coda tacked on to the end of our holiday, in the form of a visit to Cath and family.
They moved to Norway last year and are in the middle of a"Grand Design" build at the top of a mountain!
We leave Oslo by train once more, this time bound for Gol, where Cath will pick us up and take us to Hemsedal, a well-known ski centre in the south, where she has two very luxurious cabins.
The train journey is very enjoyable and the scenery lovely, so we are delighted to be seeing yet another area of Norway.
Alighting at Gol, we form our usual baggage chain, with R on the platform and the rest of us handing down the cases from the five steps up to the train! Something to bear in mind when packing!
We pile in to Cath's four-wheel drive and set off for Hemsedal where we ensconce ourselves in the mountain-top chalet which accommodates 17. It is very eerie being in a ski resort at the close of the season, as there are still runs, [in fact, one from the cabin door] and quite a bit of snow, but absolutely no human life around. As the average age of the skiers is 25, it is easy to imagine how lively the place will be in season, as Cath tells us of the number of bin-bags full of bottles she throws out on change-over day.
We thoroughly enjoy our two days there and then Cath drives us to where the new house is in progress and we stay in her tiny cabin at the foot of the hill, as they have just managed to complete enough of the house for the family to live in.
We have a lovely day pottering around and enjoying the amazing location and making friends with the dogs, cats and horses, who are all part of the family and after a jolly pasta in the new kitchen, we up periscope in the little cabin and giggle hysterically at S's attempts to negotiate the top bunk!
Next day, we set off early with Cath for the airport, which is a two-hour drive away. I am amazed at how empty the roads are in Norway, as you can drive for miles without meeting anything coming towards you. It makes driving pleasurable and relaxing, something I can hardly remember!
We stop at Kongsberg for coffee and cakes and admire a lovely sculpture of two galloping ponies, before arriving in good time for our flight to Edinburgh. We wish Cath a fond farewell and she helps us with the on-screen check-in and that really is the end of our holiday!
