In search of the giant

Oh boy. Lots to blog about yesterday. We picked up our rental car near our hotel in Oslo and managed to navigate our way out of the city. Oslo has some of those narrow, windy roads that Europeans seem to favor for some insane reason. It was a little nerve wracking, but we made it. 

Then it was on to Veggli, in search of the legendary family of giants from Dad's side of the family and the barn from their farm, which still stands. For several years now, Dad's been particularly interested in the story of Johann (John) Aasen, a man born in Minneapolis who grew to be over 9 feet tall. John spent some time in Hollywood, starring in a number of early silent films, and was also featured in various circus troupes. John's parents (the Danielsruud/Bakke family) are fairly well known in these parts. We even met a man in a nearby village who has been trying to get the government to commission a statue of John. A kind woman named Marie who lived on a beautiful farm near the Aasen farm offered to show us the site. Marie told us it would be difficult hiking and that it would take 10-15 minutes. Both were understatements! The trek began with a steep uphill climb on a muddy path that was just recently cleared of tall pines. At the summit, we walked another half mile over/under/through thick brush, mossy rocks and more pine trees. Eventually we reached the barn, built some time in the early 1800s and still relatively sturdy. Clearly, these folks loved solitude more than I love a good nap! But I must admit that the view from their farmyard is tough to beat. Mom still can't believe she was forced to make that hike, but is thankful that Dad's silly fascination with the giant came to some sort of fruitful finish. 

After descending Everest, we grabbed dinner at a restaurant in Veggli and asked some locals where we should spend the night. They recommended we drive on to Gol and gave us a locals-only shortcut to get there. Again, their interpretation of travel time and the curvatures of the road were slightly understated. But, the scenery was gorgeous and, with the 24-hour daylight, the mountain passes weren't too daunting.  

The hotel they recommended turned out to be very nice. The house band was absolutely awful and a round of beers cost us $40, but the room was great and the coffee at breakfast strong. 

Now, we're off on a three to four hour drive to Lillehammer.