Day 1 of our visit to Norway. This morning we picked up our car at Gardermoen Airport and began our 10 day drive around central and southern Norway. Sadly, it rained pretty much the whole day which meant that we spent most of it in the car! Admittedly, we took it pretty easy as N hasn’t driven for almost 6 months – and we’re not used to driving on the right side of the road – so the first day is always a little nerve-racking.
We had a four hour drive to reach Dalen and decided to stop and stretch our legs at a small township called Kongsberg.
The rain meant we didn’t get time to do this town justice, but it has a river flowing through it with some picturesque falls and there seemed to be some pretty weatherboard buildings.
From Kongsberg we drove on to Notodden passing some lovely countryside on the way. One benefit of the rainy day was that a soft mist lay above the trees making for some almost-winter like scenes, which wasn’t something I had been expecting. So I was able to shoot some lovely photos above a lake during another stop.
By the time we reached Heddal Stave Church the rain had stopped and we were able to take a good look around both the church and the graveyard. We were lucky that one of the church attendants spoke excellent English (it seems that most Norwegians do!) and he gave us a guided tour of this very special building.
– the grandest and humblest of churches –
There aren’t many churches that are both awe-inspiring and comforting, but this is one of them and both N and I agreed that it will be one of the few churches that will make our list of churches
Heddal is the biggest of the remaining 28 or so stave churches left in Norway. These were built in the Middle Ages when the country adopted the Catholic faith. They’re constructed almost entirely of pine timber, including all the furniture.
When Norway adopted Lutheranism, some of the Catholic decoration was removed and the interior timber walls were painted with a rose design. The timber structure reflected the woodworking skills that the people had learned from boat-building and in fact the ceiling of Heddal Church resembles an upturned boat hull.
There is also a lot of carved timber work with motifs from ancient Norse mythology which our guide explained helped to make the new Catholic religion more palatable to the congregation. The space was so rich in detail and so inviting and comforting to be in.
From Heddal we headed straight to our hotel – aptly called the Dalen Hotel – which seems to be a bit of an icon in these parts. It was built in 1894 and they’ve gone to pains to ensure keep it as intact as possible. It’s a bit yesteryear – in a creepy kind of Adams Family kind of way – but it has a real charm nonetheless and I think we’re going to enjoy being here – besides, I’m the person who likes cemeteries, right?
