New Year in Norway
- Lucy and the lens
- Oct 7, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 25, 2018
In the winter of 2017/18, Patrick and I (and our dog, Toby!) spent a week in Norway, including New Year's Eve. We loved it so much - the snow, the cosy log fires, the fjords and the mountains -that we're going back this winter to explore a different part of the country!
We split our time between the snowy, mountainous area near Lillehammer, and the stunning Sognefjord in the west. We hired a car (making sure to get ALL the insurance!) and even though we were worried about the long winter drives between bases, we realised that Norway is more equipped for driving in winter than anywhere else we'd been before!
1. Lillehammer, Skeikampen, Gausdal
First of all, we stayed at this AirBnB and would 100% recommend it to everyone visiting Norway in the winter. It's a historic log cabin a few metres away from the owner's main farmhouse. It features a log fire and the cosiest furnishings you could ever hope for. The bathroom was a few seconds' walk away in the main building, but it was so luxurious it was worth the dash through the snow!
We brought a lot of dried goods with us to save on food costs - pasta, rice for chilli, s'mores supplies, even a bottle of Baileys for our hot chocolate! - and we had a fully-functioning kitchen in our little cabin, so this worked out perfectly!
It's located in a super remote farming area high above the town of Gausdal. Due to the altitude, the snow here was DEEP. So deep, a path had been shovelled between our cabin and the bathroom in the main house, and the snow on either side of the path reached our shoulders at some points!
From the house, you can arrange tobogganing and dogsled excursions (which we didn't do) and rent snowshoes for the day (which we did). We took our snowshoes on a drive up the mountains of Skeikampen, a popular ski resort area. Unlike a lot of the ski runs in the area, which are a simple gondola-up-and-ski-down affair, Skeikampen is better for exploring, with a wide range of cross-country skiing routes. We uncovered some fantastic views while driving and snowshoeing through the mountains here, and stayed for sunset (not difficult when the sun sets at about 4pm!)
The cross-country skiing runs are surprisingly dog-friendly, too: we were worried about bringing Toby here but he blended right in amongst the many other dogs on the mountain!
While in the area, we also visited the ski resort town of Lillehammer itself. Although expensive, it's magical to wander around in the winter, when the Christmas decorations are still up! Slightly oddly, we ate Dutch mini-pancakes called poffertjes - we were so enticed by the warm, cosy decor of the restaurant!
We'd planned to spend New Year's Eve cosied up in our cabin, but we were invited to the farmhouse by our hosts, where we met a couple who were helping out on the farm in return for free accommodation, as well as another couple of paying guests. We all went outside to watch the fireworks down below in the town of Gausdal and other surrounding towns: from our vantage point up on the mountain, it felt like the whole country was putting on a firework display just for us! Toby, however, didn't agree, and decided to run off back to our cabin until the noise stopped! In the photo below, you can see the town lit up below: now just imagine this covered in fireworks!
2. Driving from Lillehammer to Sognefjord
This was a long drive, but a stunningly scenic one, with plenty of photo op stops along the way!
One of the first things we spotted was this church, just outside of Lillehammer on the opposite side of the river poking out from its monochrome surroundings.
An hour or so further on, we encountered something I was very excited about: an impressive display of icicles!
Our drive into fjord land took us on a car ferry ride across one of the fjords. As ferries are the only way to get around in some fjord areas, catching one was simply a case of showing up, waiting in line and buying a ticket as you board: so efficient! I got out of the car and went to the back of the ferry to enjoy the views as we sailed down the fjord: I think we were the only tourists on board, as the truck drivers staying warm inside their vehicles thought I was crazy!
We were a little worried about what we'd see on the other side, as the snow had been replaced by persistent rain and grey skies as we drove west. But we shouldn't have been: when we hit the other side of the fjord the snow was back and just as beautiful as ever, although not as deep as it had been back in Lillehammer!
3. Exploring Sognefjord
The Sogneford is generally considered one of Norway's most scenic, and I can definitely see why! Most people explore the fjord via a boat cruise, but we relied on our trusty car and had a fantastic time driving about all over the place! Here are some of our favourite stops.
First off, the Kaupanger Stave Church is hundreds of years old and built using wooden posts (staves) in a tiered design. We were the only visitors on this particular day, which I find hard to believe considering the scenery surrounding the church!
We drove a little further into the town of Kaupanger and stumbled upon this absolutely perfect fjord view!
After this, I will admit we got a little lost and stumbled upon a few stunning sights - I just can't say now exactly where they were! Don't they say that getting lost is sometimes the best way to experience a place?
Another must-see is the fjord town of Solvorn. Again, we were the only visitors there that day, and we only saw one local during our visit, too! We wandered down to the water and enjoyed the absolute stillness of the scene laid out before us.
We think Toby liked it, too!
Also worth checking out was Solvorn's church, its white clapboard blending in with the snow on the mountains around it!
We stayed in the town of Hafslo (yes, that's also the name of an IKEA mattress, oddly!), up on the hills above Lake Hafslovanet. This was our AirBnB. The lake was frozen over in parts, and an eerie fog hung over it in the mornings. One morning, we woke up and saw a spectacular sunrise over the lake and mountains, so of course I had to run out of the house in my pyjamas to snap a picture!
4. Driving from Sognefjord back to Oslo
Our drive back to Oslo from the fjords was surreal - at one point we were caught in a thick fog and experienced a complete white-out in the middle of nowhere. We couldn't see more than a few metres in front of us - luckily there weren't any other vehicles on the road!
When we came out the other side, we were greeted by a peaceful, monochromatic landscape that looked like something out of a painting! We weren't huge fans of Oslo itself - we wandered up to the viewing platform at the castle for views out over the harbour, but after the fjord and mountain views we'd enjoyed over the last week, it was a bit of an anticlimax! I'm sure that if we'd had more than a few hours to explore Oslo we would have found more to like!
We were incredibly lucky with the weather during our visit: the fjords don't always see snow in winter, and I can imagine our experience might have been completely different if it had been rainy, or even super windy, during our trip. The cold was biting at times, but the views were completely worth it! The only thing we'd do differently when we return this December is to try some local food - even if that means fermented fish!
Comments