There's Norway We're Doing That!
July 12th & 13th, 2016
The drive from Stockholm to Lillehammer was beautiful, and apparently only the start of the beauty of Scandinavia. We are only in Lillehammer as a short stop between Stockholm and Slinde (a small town near Flam), so we knew we had to get as much in as possible during the short stay. We had to stop once due to a double rainbow being in our periphery...
The drive to Lillehammer was stunning!
We woke up early to head to Lillehammer’s OlympiaPark which is where the 1994 Winter Olympics were held. Right when you drive into the city, you can spot the massive ski jump and we were excited to check it out. We took the ski lift up and were shocked at just how steep it was. The landing pad is made out of rubber in the summer and apparently there are times when they let people tube down it. We didn’t get a chance to do that, and Anna most likely would not have anyway because it was so steep! We made it to the top and enjoyed the views and checking out where the athletes begin the jump (more unbelievable in person). We then walked over to the Olympic torch and got to climb to the top of it.
Yep! People willingly jumped off a ramp with skis...
Next, we made our way to the bobsled and luge track. When we heard that it is possible to ride on the track, we knew it was something we would have to do, despite Anna’s fear of dying in the bobsled. This fear grew when the release form we signed had a note about how to react if the car flipped. It is actually bobdrafting, not sledding because there is no ice, but the same track and a similar car but with wheels, and it reaches up to 100 km/hr. We were driven up to the top of the course and anxiously got into the cart. The ride was so much fun and so fast! It is crazy that it is all controlled by hand pulls and our driver was excellent. It was so much fun to be on a real bobsled track that has been used in the Olympics!
Yep! We willingly paid to go down a bobsled track! It was AWESOME!
We then had about 5 more hours of driving before we reached Slinde. Of course this turned into about 6 since we had to keep stopping to ohh and ahh at every amazing view. Every turn we took the views got more insane and the landscapes just kept changing. We would be checking out streams with fish jumping around in the warm sun, and then be in snow capped mountains and see glaciers in the mountains nearby! We had to stop to let sheep cross our path and listen to the bells on their necks as they ran by us. It was a great ride and we are looking forward to spending the next week in Norway!
This is literally the view that greets us every morning.
