I would be remiss if I didn't post something specifically about the Norwegian sauna. (And Rebecca - your comment last night made me post this and the next one, thanks for following along!) The sauna at the Skapet hut was epic: beautiful, easy to use, and right by a river by a lake with an attached shower which you could turn into a heated shower. The sauna stove had a front water chamber for heating the water. What was really epic about this sauna were the conversations. The first time we used the sauna we had just returned from a long (16+) mile hike and the sauna was already being used by 2 Norwegian couples. We had an amazing conversation that evening, One man had left Jamaica when he was 17, lived all over the world, and then went to school in Norway. He is now happy here with his wife/girlfriend who told us fascinating stories about local foods. We discussed the strength of the middle class, his Tessla, and his love of travel. We also covered taxes, culture, cars, languages, and educational systems. At the end of the evening, we shared a large stew with some local berry sauce. The girls played endlessly and said that they had never had so energetic (when hours before they said they could not hike any further). They were in love with the other couple's 5 month old who tagged along the whole time, cuddled in a duffle bag-type portable bed.
The second night at the sauna, we met a naked German theology professor, his sweet wife and his former Norwegian student who had hiked up with his own wife and their three kids about the ages of our girls. Conversations about the reasons Norway started NATO and didn’t join the EU were interspersed with topics such as cultural nationalism and the importance of a having a sense of belonging (through religion or cultural identity), as well as the importance of these things for kids came pouring out in the sauna. I found the conversation fascinating and I literally left only when I was about to pass out because it was so hot in there. The girls ran in and out of the conversation and the nearby lake. The kids were not sure they were ready for using the alder branch to slap themselves during the sauna like the theologist did. We all agreed that if this sauna was Norwegian "hot" (and everyone says Finnish saunas are much hotter), we would not survive a Finnish sauna.
The conversations and company were as beautiful and warm as the sauna itself.
Getting the stove running the second day. That day, the solar effect of those windows gave us a head start.
Enjoying some quiet time as the sauna was heating up.
Lily’s face the first time she got in the lake!
Enjoying the warm water the sauna produced for one final wash before bed.