On January 15th, our group took a short two-hour train ride from Oslo to Lillehammer! On the way there, we noticed how the scenery changed from urban to rural. During our trip out of Norway’s capital, we saw a large number of fields with the same red and white trim farmhouses scattered throughout the backdrop. These farmhouses and fields reminded us of good old Decorah. There were so many amazing views of the Mjøsa Lake and evergreen forests from the bus, and the views kept coming when we arrived in Lillehammer. One thing we immediately noticed was the snow! After Oslo’s lack of snow and ice, we are still adjusting to the weather shift (thank goodness for Yak-Trax!). Along with the snow, we saw high snow-capped mountains and forestland scattered around the whole city.

Lillehammer is less populated and urban than Oslo with a population of about 30,000 people, but their city contains the scenery that comes to my mind when I envision Norway - small cities surrounded by beautiful nature. In Lillehammer, we have seen the history and influence that Nordic Skiing has in Norwegian culture. On the first night walking through Storgata road (Lillehammer’s quiet main street), we noticed how ski shops filled up much of the block.

On our first full day in Lillehammer, after our meeting with Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue, about half of our group braved the mountain to see the historic Olympic Ski Jump from the 1994 Winter Olympics, an Olympic year that put Lillehammer on the map as an international ski destination. In fact, three people, including myself (Carson Hagen), labored our way to the top of the ski jump - all 900 steps. But for the rest of our group, we still managed to see some fantastic views. We can’t wait to slip on our Yak-trax tomorrow for more exploring, including some free days for skiing, dog-sledding, and even curling! Stay tuned to see how we embrace our winter Olympic spirit enjoying friluftsliv (a Norwegian focus on outdoor recreation) in Lillhammer!

Ha det!