Our stay in the mountains of Skjerdingen is coming to and end and after our breakfast, we pack up our bags, check out and head off west on route 219. We make our way over the mountain to the valley on the other side. Here we join the major north-south highway E6. We turn south here and drive along the river down this valley until we come to the exit for Hunderfossen Family Park.
We have decided to come to this family park for the day so that the kids could have some fun. It is a small park and is certainly no Disney theme park, but it is certainly suited to families and children. We pay our entrance fee and make our way into the park. First thing we have to do is get a picture in front of the huge troll sitting on the rock near the entrance to the park.
After that we just wander around and check out the many rides. One of the funniest for Olivia (and even the parents) is the whitewater rafting ride. We had a good laugh as we went around on this ride. We also played some mini-golf and checked out some of the racing cars. There is a ride where you pull yourself up a vertical pole and then (slowly) fall back down. The big boys check out the go-carts, but they go a bit too slowly for them.
We discover that the park seems to be geared towards getting the children all ready for life in rural Norway. They have trucks to drive, fork lift trucks to manipulate and diggers to scoop up the sand with. It is great fun for them. We have a quick lunch in one of the many cafeterias and follow that with a soft ice for dessert. While the park may not have the thrilling rides of a Universal Studio, it is great fun for smaller kids.
We leave the park shortly after 4 PM and from here we make our way down to Oslo. We spilt up from the rest, as we will be staying in different places. We drive to Kolsås, on the western side of Oslo, where we are staying with Jorgen and his family. They have just moved in and when we were here in June we had helped them move and do some work on the house.
We arrive there shortly after 7 PM. While we are helping prepare for dinner, we watch the opening of the Athens 2004 Olympics on TV. It takes us a while to get dinner ready - lots of talking, a few drinks and the Olympics opening, so we are only ready for dinner by 10 PM. But what a feast.
We sit outside on the table set up on the lawn. We have candles to provide a warm glow. The food consists of crab, prawns, fresh bed, cheeses, cold cuts and other dishes. We wash this all down with first beer and then wine. The food is really good and we have a fun time cracking open the crabs. The shells are so tough that we need a hammer and some pliers.
After we have finished off the food, we sit back and enjoy the very pleasant evening with some after dinner drinks such as single malts and a few cigarillos. The night air is cool, but very comfortable. What an evening. At around 1 AM we decide to head in and wash-up before one more night-cap.