Lillehammer 12/07/2

 When planning our winter trip to Norway, the town of Lillehammer kept coming up.  We were familiar with the village because  the 1994 Winter Olympics were held here.  At that time there were about 25,000 permanent residents living in Lillehammer and they assumed the monumental task of hosting a worldwide event like the Olymics.

This area had been settled since the Norwegian Ice Age.  The village itself came into existence in 1827 when it obtained rights as a market town for this region.  The population at that time was 50.  This area has always been popular for the winter sports, due to the abundant snow and nearby mountains.  When the 1994 Winter Olympics were awarded to Lillehammer, it put it on the worldwide map.  Map sales increased greatly. Most people, outside of Norway , had never heard of Lillehammer and had no idea where it was located.  

When we got off our train today, I felt like we had walked into a Winter Wonderland. Everything was covered in snow.  The outside temperature was 34 degrees.  A comfortable temperature to be out side and enjoy the sights.  Our hotel was a five minute walk and the Christmas Market was out our back door.

I must say I am impressed.  The train was on time and comfortable.  The scenery was breathtaking.  The village is cute and decked out for Christmas.  The Christmas Market stretched behind our hotel around 4 to 5 blocks.  It was packed by Norwegian residents.  Linda and I stopped for lunch at a little Italian restaurant named Toscana.  The restaurant was located on the second floor of a building overlooking the Christmas Market.  We had a great Italian meal while watching the Market.  Afterwards we continued our exploration.

We are staying overnight and will return to Oslo tomorrow.  I was going to write this journal entry when we returned to Oslo, but it made such an impression on me, I thought I would do it today.  We have enjoyed Oslo, Drobak, but Lillehammer is something special.

Below are snowy scenes from Lillehammer.







Icy Creek behind our hotel










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