Dovregubbens Hall

When I heard we were travelling north on our trip I thought that, the further north we went, the more rocky and stark the terrain would become. How wrong I was. It has been high mountains with glacial u shaped valleys, fertile fields and beautiful farm buildings. Around Trondheim: lots of cereals - wheat, barley and oats; and, as we travelled down towards Roros: fruit trees, silage being cut and baled in white 'tractor eggs', cows out grazing (in many places they are kept in barns and the grass brought to them), sheepies, horses (again not a common sight) and even some llamas & emus (definitely not a common sight!!!).
After we left Roros we turned south and west towards Dombas - our overnight stop. The railway track was beside us all the way from Trondheim running alongside the road or between us and the beautiful salmon river with many anglers fly fishing in it. What a fabulous train journey that would be - wall to wall stunning scenery.
We called in at the highest point of our journey - Dovregubbens Hall (as in the piece of music by Greig) - 946 metres above sea level. Trolls everywhere - not a pretty sight. They're not the cuddly ones I remember collecting in the swinging sixties.
Our hotel in Dombas - Gjestegaard - is a typical Norwegian guesthouse whose main business would be in the winter. They have a ski lift, ski hire, and would cater for skiers, cross country skiers, skishooters and rock climbers.
It was a lovely atmospheric wooden chalet type building with huts for rent and a caravan site. The caravans could connect themselves to little chalets with verandas by lining up the caravan door to a door at the back of the chalet and then pulling a canvas connector across (if that makes sense). Very clever and extending the caravan usage to all year.
We had a typical Norwegian meal of Reindeer patties, boiled pots, fresh veg, game sauce, wild cranberry sauce and flatbread. For dessert: creme caramel with cream.
Breakfast this morning was the usual:- home baked breads, fish: gravalax, smoked salmon, various pickled herring dishes; meats, cheeses (including the norwegian sweet brown cheese) eggs with prawns, hot boiled eggs etc. They have a Kulturmolk which is a bit like buttermilk but not so tart and thicker - very good.
Oh - and there aren't many places where there is a notice pinned up in the entrance hall telling you what to do if you should meet a Musk Ox whilst out having a stroll!
Luckily we didn't but apparently there are plenty about so, if they become a nuisance in a particular area, they have to despatch them:( I would have loved to have seen one - preferably from a distance. I'm told they look like big shaggy boulders if they are lying down.
We left bright and early this morning for Trollstigen and the Geiranger Fjord - both mind blowingly spectacular and in my next post x