We may not be posting as regularly this week, as the cabin here in Bruksvallarna doesn't have wifi, and so we have to go sit in the hotel lounge in order to post, and to work with photos. But we'll do what we can!
Thursday we got in a bit of skiing, but it was quite windy up where we were the first day, so we just skied back and forth in the road leading to the ski area, practicing with these unwieldy skis. They work OK for the flat, and for downhill, but don’t climb worth a darn….which is counter-productive. In the afternoon, we went to the indoor section of Martnan at Martnashallen. 250 vendors, selling just about anything you can think of. We went into the attached gym for some lunch, and got a surprise concert from a group of accordions. We couldn’t find the name of the group, but they had a teeny tiny player with them.
Friday we woke up to a day of rain….at 28 degrees F (-2C). Everything was coated in about 3mm of ice…the car, the roads, the ski trails, the fields….everything. Very pretty in its way, but we elected to stay home for the day.
NOT a lake, it's a field!
Saturday, we got up early enough to get great parking in front of the museum, which had some very nice exhibits about the mining history of the town, with lovely working models showing how the technology developed over time. It was too dark down there to get photos. Sheila enjoyed the costume exhibit, especially the combination of silver items. The sign with them said that the spindle was so a woman could bring her knitting or other handwork with her while she was walking from place to place, while the man only carried his snuffbox. Women were expected to ALWAYS be busy with something, but the men had some leisure time.
After the museum, we walked around the streets some more, just taking in the atmosphere... and buying some reindeer sausage from this gentleman in his traditional Saami clothing.
Sheila also made it in to town for the final dance of the week, where she met Bruce from Chicago, who she’d not previously met, and Anders from Dalarna in Sweden, who she HAD previously met in Colorado. Music by Brekkens Spelemannslag.
Sunday (today) was a travel day. We got up earlyish on a sunny day. Then Lars commented that he could see a rainbow out the window, aimed right at the neighbor's barn. Five minutes later, it was completely cloudy. Then it snowed like crazy for about 5 minutes, and then quit. Not knowing what to expect for our drive, we finished packing, took out the trash and unplugged the coffeemaker, and hit the road back to Sweden.
Our GPS had a bit of trouble finding the hotel we’re renting a cabin from, but we arrived at last. Lucky for us, the previous guests had left early, so it was all ready for us to move into. We should be quite comfortable here!
We drove around a bit, to get an idea of the layout. Bruksvallarna is a major cross-country location, and you have to watch out for skiers and snowmobiles crossing the road. There were people skiing, or carrying skis, everywhere you looked. Skis leaning against the grocery store, even. We’re looking forward to getting out tomorrow, maybe renting new skis for Sheila and Lars taking over the ones she’s been using. We also checked out nearby Ramundberget, more aimed at downhill. Ski areas here have lots of short runs, all strung out for miles along the road. A very different look from Colorado ski areas! And the mountains look quite different:
We didn't actually go into Røros today, but we did finally go skiing! The only skis we could find to rent are a new type, with built-in "skins" instead of fish-scales for traction. They go from mid-arch to about 8"in front of your foot and require a fairly different technique. So we didn't really get very far...spent a lot of energy trying to relearn how to ski. Slightly icy conditions didn't help, either. But it was still nice to be outside...-1C (30F), some sun, no wind.
When we got back, our hostess Lindsay invited us over for kjottsuppe (meat soup), and showed us around her event center, Fjøskakademiet, which is a bit of a work in progress in the old barn. It's used for concerts, weddings, weekend courses, etc.
Not a great shot. Old wall, wide boards, narrow spaces.
All glassed in.
We also got to go into the old part of the main house, left more or less untouched since Hans' great-uncle's time, or even further back.
We had a lot to talk about... Lindsay is a musician and has taught voice for the local theaters here and elsewhere. She's British, and lived in the Shetland Islands before moving to Norway. She said that learning Norwegian helped her to understand the Shetland dialect when she went back for a visit! Although Shetlanders think they're speaking English....
Rørosmartnan is the whole reason we're HERE, specifically, rather than someplace else in Norway. Sheila has a dancer friend who lives here part-time, so knew a bit about it from him. Unfortunately, he's not able to be here this year---icy hills aren't kind to a brand-new hip.
The winter market has been a going concern at least since the 1700s, with an official royal decree in 1854 that established it as always to be the next-to-last Tuesday in February. The opening cermony is at noon in front of the museum (the old copper mine), and people start arriving quite early to assure a good spot. We were very lucky with the weather, it being about 2C (35F) and partly sunny....but for two hours of standing on ice and more or less in one place, it still required double or triple wool socks in our heavy boots, double longies underneath, warm layers, and windproof layers. And hats. And at one point, even face masks (got a bit breezy for awhile).
We found what we thought would be good spots on the "grandstand" (made of snow...), but when they did a sound-check it was REALLY loud, with multiple speakers aimed at the not-yet-arrived crowd, so we moved around to a spot with only one speaker-stand pointed at it. This turned out to be good on several levels...there was a fence to lean on, we were right down close to the dancers and the horses, and we could still hear quite clearly. Understanding the speeches in Norwegian was another matter...we both caught bits and pieces, but it didn't really matter that much.
Lars finally got his camera out of its case, so hopefully the quality of these pics is up from what Sheila gets on her phone.
Staffers--the leather was worn by the miners so they could sit in the mine and not get dirty!
Hans Vintervold--mayor of Røros and the owner of the farm where we're staying!
Hans introduces Hanna Geiran, the Director for Cultural Heritage, who will officially open Martnan
3 of the featured dancers up on the stage were all young folks
If only we could get them to join our groups at this age! He's dancing with his mom....
Back to Sheila's phone for the view from our location. You will notice some people are in bunader (Norwegian folk-costumes), and some are not. Anyone that knows how to dance Rørospols may participate, with or without bunad. The pols dance is very much a living tradition here! And yes, they are in fact dancing on ice...
Maybe even better as a video?
There were more speeches, and a skit, and then what has been the main event since 2003....the entry of some 80-90 horse-drawn sleds, representing the old connection between the two copper-mining towns Røros and Falun (Sweden). This takes re-enactment to a whole different level, as many of the drivers have come the 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Falun entirely by sled, following the old pathways (which had to be restored for the pupose). Some have been on the road for two weeks, in the short days of a Nordic winter. Others have joined in as the group passes, from various towns along the old trade route, such as Särna and Klövsjö, both in Sweden. Still others have come from around Norway--Selbu, Fron, Tydal, for example. The entry of the drivers is the high point of the day. Later, they are treated to a welcome feast!
Sheila got a bit of video of this as well.
This variant of the Norwegian flag, which incorporates the Swedish flag in the upper left quadrant, was originally used when Norway was under Swedish rule (1814-1905). This section was removed in 1899, as Norway began to agitate for independence. Now it is flown at events like this, to signify the bond between the two countries...in this case as exemplified by the trade between Røros and Falun.
Then we noticed that we could go up to where the horses were having a well-deserved rest, for some up-close and personal contact. The drivers were friendly and happy to answer questions, but the horses only wanted their lunch.
Snowshoes for the horses
A Norwegian fjordhest...and possibly a Dølehest as well.
So tired...
There were some great views of the town to be had from the tops of the slag heaps!
Back across the stream and down into town, stopping for a warm-up in the church--a breeze had come up while we were up top, and it got chilly quickly.
Compare today's street scene with yesterday's...
Quite by chance, we wandered into one of the bakgårder ("back yards", set away from the street but enclosed by buildings), just in time for one of the horses to be brought in and put in its stall. An unusual color--dapple chestnut? No...I just looked it up. It's called "silver dapple", being a sort of silvery overlay on a darker coat. Apparently a fairly common mutation in the Nordic breeds.
That pretty much did us in for today. Driving out of town on streets crowded with pedestrians who pay no attention whatsoever to turn signals or back-up lights....or cars in general...was a bit stressful. It's now snowing lightly, blowing heavily. Hoping to finally get onto our skis tomorrow!
