Chapter IX

July 6, 2014

Telemark

The next morning I awoke rather early. It was a cool, wet morning. I went outside to see the mountains but they were veiled in fog, their presence was no less evident though. I wandered into the kitchen to see the chef and he gave me a cup of coffee for which I was grateful. Before too long breakfast was served and we were packing up to leave the fairy land. Our next stop was Heddal Stave Church for which I was excited. To see the stave churches was one of the main things I wanted to do in Norway. 

Heddal is the largest surviving stave church in Norway, build in the 13th century it underwent severe (and needed) restoration in the mid-nineteenth century. It is still a fine example of both traditional imagery and post-Reformation changes such as the rosemaling painting on the wall which covered the original Catholic imagery.  '

After me and my camera were dragged away from the stave church back to the bus, we headed for Gaustatoppen. This is the name of a very high and very scenic mountain in Telemark. There were a few sheep roaming the mountainside, their little bells tinkling eerily though the mist. Some of the group thought it would be a good idea to chase the sheep. It is not a good idea to chase the sheep.

 Meanwhile, I (and others) filled our water bottles from a mountain stream. Norway is quite proud of the fact that all their natural water sources are not just potable but downright delicious. I have to admit, it was quite good and honestly, I got to drink water from a mountain stream. I'm pretty happy about that. 

 After this refreshing stop on the mountainside. We had one more place to go, the Vemork museum. This is the site of a power plant dating back to the early twentieth century. The reason it is important is because it was a leading producer of heavy water an essential ingredient to the study and production of nuclear weaponry. When the Nazis invaded Norway in World War II they took control of this plant and began work on their nuclear weapon. In order to stop them, some local Norwegians made a daring attack on the plant. Though it took more than one try, they finally succeeded in destroying the plant as a useful member of the Nazi's nuclear program. Apparently there is a decent film about it as well featuring members of the actual event. 

In order to get to the museum however, one must walk for a few kilometers through the forest. It is a legitimate hike before you finally arrive. This is partly due to the fact that the power plant was in an isolated position and partly due to the fact the Norwegians probably thought why not add a little outdoor adventure to the situation. There is even a zipline over a deep ravine and a rope bridge involved. 

After we heard the exciting story of the heavy water sabotage, we piled back into our bus once again and headed for home.