Travel with Vesterheim
The Fjord Horse:
Folk Art and Farming in Norway
August 19-September 1, 2009
With Tour Guide Phillip Odden and Tour Leader Michelle Whitehill
For information contact Michelle Whitehill: 563-382-9681 ext. 240, or mwhitehill@vesterheim.org.
Click here for General Information and
Conditions.
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Itinerary:
Day 1 Wed., August19: USA-Oslo (In flight meals not included)
Transatlantic flight from Minneapolis to Oslo.
Day 2 Thurs., August 20: Arrive in Oslo (D)
Arrive at Gardermoen Airport in Oslo. Begin your tour with a visit to the Viking Museum and discover the importance of the horse during the Viking Age. Following this stop, sit back, relax, and enjoy a short sightseeing tour of Norway’s capital city. Welcome Dinner and overnight at Bondeheimen Hotel, Oslo.
Day 3 Fri., August 21: Oslo (B)
Take this day to explore on your own. Some sites of interest are the Norsk Folkemuseum, Vigeland Park, the Royal Palace, the Parliament, the Fortress, and the Opera House. Overnight at Bondeheimen Hotel, Oslo.
Day 4 Sat., August 22: Oslo-Stange-Elverum-Hamar-Biri (B/L/D)
Mid-morning leave Olso, driving north along the Mjøsa Lake to Stange for lunch at the Staur Gjestegård. After lunch, depart for Elverum for guided tours of the Skogbruks and Glomdals Museums. End the day with a guided visit to the Norwegian Emigrant Museum in Hamar. Dinner and overnight at Honne Hotell and Conference Center, Biri.
Day 5 Sun., August 23: Biri-Lena-Kapp-Starum-Biri (B/L)
Spend the day with Dr. Tor Finstad, a retired veterinarian and a chief judge for Fjord Horse International. Don’t miss the guided tour and shopping at the Henning Carving Factory. Experience the Norwegian farming culture by serving yourself local traditional food for lunch at the Gjestrum Farm. Then visit the education and breeding facilities at the Norwegian Horse Center. Overnight at Honne Hotell and Conference Center, Biri.
Day 6 Mon., August 24: Biri-Lillehammer-Gudbrandsdal Valley-Venabu (B/D)
Start the day with a special guided tour of the 140 relocated buildings at Maihaugen Open Air Museum. After, take time to walk, shop, and have lunch on your own in Lillehammer. Start the trip north into the mountains on the scenic Peer Gynt Road, taking in the rich farming culture. Learn about the “Traditions Behind the Food” while enjoying a Norwegian buffet for dinner. Dinner and overnight at Venabu Mountain Hotel, Venabu.
Day 7 Tues., August 25: Venabu-Vågå-Lom-Elveseter (B/L/D)
Drive from Venabu to the Nordre Ekre Farm in Heidal where you will have the option of horseback riding, riding in a horse-drawn carriage, or learning to bake flatbread. After lunch, drive to Valbjør Farm, with its wonderful view of the mountains and the green lake below. In route, stop and see fjord horses grazing in the field. Shop and have coffee on your own in Lom before traveling over the Sognefjell Mountain Road to Elveseter. Dinner and overnight at Elveseter Hotel, Elveseter.
Day 8 Wed., August 26: Elveseter-Lom-Elveseter (B/D)
Begin the day with coffee and cake at Uppigard Sulheim, an active farm that has been in the same family since the ninth century. Next, it’s back to Lom for a guided tour of the Lom Stave Church. Spend the rest of the day discovering Lom, but don’t miss the delicious dinner at the Fossheim Hotel. Relax with dessert and coffee in the Gaukstadstugu, a little wooden house from the sixteenth century. Overnight at Elveseter Hotel, Elveseter.
Day 9 Thurs., August 27: Elveseter-Geiranger Cruise-Hellesylt-Hornindal (B/D)
After breakfast, enjoy the view along the old scenic Strynefjell Mountain Road on your way to Geiranger. Before arriving at the famous village town there will be a photo stop to capture the panoramic view of the fjord below. After lunch on your own, board a cruise on the Geiranger Fjord. Once in Hellesylt, visit works of Odvin Parr and end the day with a visit to woodworker Rolf Taraldset. Dinner and overnight at Raftevolds Hotel, Hornindal.
Day 10 Fri., August 28: Hornindal-Stryn-Sandane (B/D)
Spend the morning in Nordfjordeid with a guided tour of the Norwegian Fjord Horse Center, the national centre for breeding and use of fjord horses. After lunch on your own, you have been invited to the home of Arne Solberg for an unforgettable afternoon. Dinner and overnight at Gloppen Hotel, Sandane.
Day 11 Sat., August 29: Sandane-Førde-Voss (B/D)
In the morning, experience a Norwegian mare show. After a short ferry ride and drive over the Vikafjell mountains, there will be a guided tour of the Hopperstad Stave Church. Before arriving in Voss, shop at the Stranda Flid, an indoor handcraft fair of local artists. Dinner and accommodation at Fleischer’s Hotel, Voss.
Day 12 Sun., August 30: Voss-Stalheim-Voss (B/L/D)
Visit the Stalheim Musem with lunch at the beautiful Stalheim Hotel. Stop at the Treskjæarartunet, a woodcarving studio. When dinner is done, be ready for a horse-drawn ride to visit the Voss Folkmuseum. Dinner and accommodation at Fleischer’s Hotel, Voss.
Day 13 Mon., August 31: Voss-Bergen (B/D)
Following breakfast, take a short ferry ride across the famous Sognefjord to explore Bergen, the capital of western Norway, and “gateway to the fjord.” Choose to ride the funicular (cable railway) to Mount Fløien or a walk along the famous Bryggen harbor, a huddle of timber buildings sheltering museums, restaurants, and art shops. Some sights of interest are Hanseatic Quarters and Museum, the Håkons Hall, St. Mary’s Church, and the Bergen Aquarium. Farewell dinner and overnight at Hotell Hordaheimen, Bergen.
Day 14 Tues., September 1: Bergen-USA (B/In flight meals not included)
After breakfast, transfer from your hotel to Flesland Airport for the international flight home.
Price $4,995
Additional cost: Flight taxes and fuel charge est. $430
Single Supplement $529
Land Only $4,095
Minimum of 24 participants
Maximum of 28 participants
Price Includes:
• Accommodations for 12 nights
• All land travel by first-class tour coach
• Daily breakfast (B), four lunches (L), ten dinners (D)
• Admission fees to all museums and attractions included in the itinerary
• Cruise on Geiranger Fjord
• Flatbread baking, or horse activities
• All domestic ferry crossings and tunnels for coach and passengers
• Comprehensive information kit with brochures and maps
• Vesterheim travel bag, including luggage tags
Tour Guide Phillip Odden is an expert on fjord horses, Norwegian folk art, and travel in Norway. He is a woodcarver in the Norwegian tradition who studied carving at the Hjerleid School in the late 1970s. Phillip met his wife Else, a native of Ålesund, Norway, while attending the school. His own Norwegian relatives are from Gudbrandsdalen, a central valley in Norway. For nearly 30 years, he and Else have made a living producing traditional carving and furniture from their studios near Barronett, Wisconsin. In 1997 Phillip and Else bought their first fjord horse. Together, they have traveled back to Norway many times, studying Norwegian folk art in public museums and private collections. In the past ten years the focus of their travels has included, not surprisingly, Fjord horses and horses in folk art. Phillip has had a long relationship with Vesterheim Museum, where he has demonstrated, exhibited, and taught classes in carving and design since the late 1970s. This will be the first tour Phillip has led for Vesterheim.
Tour Leader Michelle Whitehill is Vesterheim’s coordinator of tours to Norway. She organized all of the 2008 and 2009 tour details and recently returned from leading the museum’s Coastal Voyage Tour to Norway.