My Last Day in Norway

Stave Church

Ingrid, Lars, and me.

This bathroom, located in the hallway of our hotel, was unisex.  An interesting experience.

Today was fantastic!  We slept in a little, then went shopping at the Sandvika Storsenter.  I had a very yummy waffle, which is more like a dessert, that they have over here.  We scoured the mall, which is huge, looking for gifts for our families. We didn't find much in the way of souvenirs, but it was not for the lack of trying.   Ingrid and Lars picked us up at the train station and we went to the Viking Ship Museum-really cool!  There were remnants of 3 ships, all dated to about 900 A.D.  It's amazing how much has been preserved, and I can't help thinking how exciting it would have been to find these ships.  After that, we went to the Norsk Folkemuseum.  It is a collection of very old historic buildings brought from different parts of Norway, one of which is the Stave Church dating back to 1100 A.D.  It was made of pine.  You might ask how a building made of pine can last over 900 years.  I will tell you: the pine trees had all their limbs removed but the tree was left standing for 15-20 yrs.  The sap would then impregnate the trunk, preserving it from the inside out - cool, huh? And then of course they sealed the outside with a tar/sap substance.  The architecture was amazing.  Then Lars and Ingrid took us to see the church they were married in, which dated back to 1100 A.D. as well.  It was beautiful.  Thanks to all our Norwegian cousins for all their kindness and showing us such a good time.