Return to Norway Part 2 - Aurebekksvannet

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         On Sunday, Alina and I woke up to the sounds of the beautiful Aurebekk waterfall, and trekked up the hill to Anne Tone's for breakfast. The plan for the day was to see almost all of the family, and have a picnic at the new Gapahuk up at Aurebekksvannet. We got ready with our tur pants and wool sweaters, and walked with the girls up to the lake. The gapahuk, which was built by a bunch of Gunlaug's kids (they'd been slicing wood when we were there over Easter), looked amazing! It was such a nice day out, that we stayed for hours--eating, talking, playing with the children, and just hanging out. Here are some photos of our wonderful day!

The Mill at Aurebekk.

The Gapahuk! It was very cozy and had tables and other places for everyone to sit.

Alina and I in our hiking pants--have to dress the part when you gå på tur!

There was so much food! We cooked hot dogs, hamburgers, and they even cooked a bunch of vegetables in the fire for Alina. Plus lots of coffee and diet coke!

Gunlaug made a bucket--a whole, gigantic bucket--full of riskrem for us! It's usually a Christmas dessert, but it was one of our favorite foods from when we visited last year, so Gunlaug whipped some up. I'm going to have to steal her recipe before I leave Norway :)

She also made a delicious pumpkin pie, out of the pumpkin that we had sent her for Christmas. Alina and I were so surprised, and thought that it was absolutely amazing. 

Continuing with the food, I would like to add Hot Dog Dressing to my list of extremely specific Norwegian condiments, which includes Hamburger Dressing, Taco Sauce, and French Fry Spice.

The kids, adorable as ever, had lots of fun playing together during the cookout!

Alina and I played bocce, and monkey in the middle for a while with some of the girls, and had a rock throwing contest onto the frozen parts of the lake with Lea and Hanna.

They have such a fantastic area where the whole family can get together. It's really beautiful up there, and so fun that all of the children can be with each other and play.

Speaking of children, there is a new grandchild of Gunlaug's named Isak (like Isaac but eeesahk*). *I should have had Alina help me with that because phonetic language is part of her University courses. She is studying English and Political Science.

I'm really not sure that I've seen or held a baby since the pandemic started, so I was so happy to hold the baby!

We also attracted quite the crowd :)


Alina got her turn as well; Isak was very friendly, and I don't think he cried once the whole day! Lea also drew a very cute picture of the two of them.

Overall, I had a fantastic day. I am so lucky to have such wonderful, caring family here. This was definitely a highlight of our return to Norway!


























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