Ingvild's and Arild's Wedding: Part 2, The Event!

We awoke to a thick fog.  I probably took ten photos of the fog-laden boathouse and boat.  This is one of them.  I like the horizon-less impression it gives.

An hour or two into the mid-morning the fog lifted, promising good weather for the big day.

Our destination was in these mountains that arise steeply out of the fjord.  It would take about an hour to drive there, including driving through the deepest undersea road-tunnel in the world (942 ft. deep):

Tove, Ole Morten, Unn and I went early to the Gjestehus to decorate.

Tove walks up to the Gjestehus.  This used to be a farmstead.

That's the proprietor in the left corner.

The main house and outdoor "lounge".  The sod-roofed building housed a dining room and the "chapel" where the wedding took place.

Unn and Ole Morten share a quiet moment down by the brook that ran through the farmstead. 

Unn starts decorating the reception hall

Ole Morten and Tove pitch in

Mari arrives with her grandparents, Verna and Odd.  Verna's bunad is from Sogn.  



In addition to wearing a traditional bunad, Ingvild also wore the bridal crown.  It weighed over two pounds! 

The choir sang traditional music arranged and composed by Arild!

Mari watched patiently while her parents were wed.

After the wedding ceremony we had a delicious dinner of smoked salmon and avocado for the appetizer, roast lamb as the main dish and creme brulee for dessert.  Later, of course, there were several cakes and coffee.

Just after cutting the cakes.

The wedding couple and their "witnesses" (best man and maid of honor)



Ole Morten, Unn, Mari, Ingvild, Arild, Vivian and Amund



It was a very festive occasion.  Many wore bunad and we all enjoyed the particularly lovely weather.

I think that Ingvild and Arild picked the perfect spot to celebrate their nuptials.  I believe that they would agree:



They look happy, don't they?



Ingvild's and Arild's Wedding: Part 1, The Drive Down

We have attended a wedding a month this summer.  Unn (Tove's younger daughter) and Ole Morten were married in June The NY Wedding.  Tove and I were married on June 30, but celebrated on July 9 The Bryllupsfest.  This month, we drove down to Sunnmøre to attend the wedding of Ingvild (Tove's older daughter) and Arild at the Rekkedal Gjestehus.  Sunnmøre might be one of the most beautiful parts of Norway and Rekkedal Gjestehus is in an idyllic mountain setting, yet only a few miles from the sea (fjord, actually).  Rekkedal Gjestehus really captures the loveliness and spirit of the Sunnmøre region, as you will see in a later post.

The drive from Trondheim to Hareid (we stayed in Tove's ex-husband Einar's cabin in Hareid with Unn and Ole Morten) takes about 6-7 hours, depending on the ferries.  It was a relaxing drive in great weather.

We stopped near where Keiko the Orca Whale is buried.  You remember Keiko, don't you?  The film, "Free Willy"?  Well Willy is finally free.  Click the link to get the whole story.

Keiko lies near here

Beautiful weather and scenery = Peaceful Drive

"Traffic"

 I did not want to draw attention to myself or appear too "touristy" on the trip, especially on the ferries, so I tried to "dress down" a bit.

Inconspicuous

view from the ferry

Notice the line of cars awaiting the ferry?

Ho hum, just another roadside view.

On the ferry to Hareid

Einar's cabin

The deck in front of the cabin.  As you can see it's on the lake.  That's Einar's boat on the water.

This is on the road from Hareid to Ulsteinvik.  Lots of farms in this area.

We had dinner in Ulsteinvik "al fresco" at KaffiKari

View from our table.

After dinner we visited Ingvild, Arild and Mari, their daughter.  They live about 20 minutes by car away from Ulsteinvik in Eiksund.  On the way back from visiting "the kids" the moon rose.  The photo does not capture the magical beauty of the moonlit evening.

Moonrise over Hareid 

Next: "Wedding Day".

Berserker

I had no idea that berserk had its origins in Old Norse.  The linked Wikipedia article about "Berserker" states:

"Berserkers (or berserks) were Norse warriors who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested in numerous Old Norse sources. Most historians believe that berserkers worked themselves into a rage before battle, but some think that they might have consumed drugged foods."

A couple of days ago Tove told me about these red mushrooms with white or yellow dots that sometimes appear in our backyard. They are called rød fluesopp and many think that some vikings ate them before battle to go "berserk."  Why am I writing about berserkers and mushrooms?  Well . . .  

We took our Sunday Walk today.  We took the car to a ski lodge called "Skistua" and hiked from there to a mountain hut ("hytta" in Norwegian) called "Elgsethytta."  Here is an interactive map of the area.  Play with the check-list on the left side of the page.  If you scroll a little to the left, you can see both Skistua and Elgsethytta.

It was a gray day, but passable weather in the high 60s.  We took buckets with us for berry picking but the berry bushes were pretty picked-over.  The trail is a popular summer trail, but it might be even more popular in the winter for cross-country skiers.  I would like to return this winter.




Map on the trail 


We saw this map on the trail.  You can click on it, but I think the link, above, is easier to use if you want to see a map.



We walked around this lake.

On the way back from the mountain hut, we watched people swimming in the lake.  We felt the water and it was definitely warm enough to swim in.

Far side of the lake.  Note the picnic bench -- nice!



Volunteers made and installed the boardwalk.




Elgsethytta




Blueberries



Along the trail, we came across a huge rød fluesopp! (Ohhhhh)  It was about the size a softball.  The botanical name for this hallucenogenic mushroom is Amanita muscaria.  We are told that they are not as deadly as previously reported.  They remind me of the dancing mushrooms in "Fantasia". 

We tried a little with our picnic lunch we had packed.  I must report that the hallucenogic effect was highly exaggerated.  I could hardly tell any difference.







Just kidding.