Day 16: Ringebu to Sør Fron

Up early to a cotton wool shrouded day! Someone had stolen the views!I packed up my stuff, hefted it onto my back and headed out of the door.  It took me a while to work out how the lock worked, but once that was done I stashed the key and headed off.  Only to get 100m down the trail before realising that my poles were on the other side of the locked door.  I retrieved the key, unlocked the door, grabbed my poles and locked up again.  

 

I stopped in Ringebu for breakfast.  Not at a cafe as they opened at either 10.30am or 12noon,  but at a well positioned bench overlooking the town. I am running low on ‘breakfast type snacks’ so will need to keep my eyes peeled for shops.  There is also a stretch coming up where there arw no shops for a couple of days.  That coupled with the accommodation being self catering is going to involve a bit of thought and planning.  

A lot of today was spent on roads.  It rained last night so the forest sections were full of mosquitoes (or similar biting things). They seemed impervious to insect repellent!   There was a short stretch, at the edge of a forest an about 10m above the E6 road.  One wrong step and I’d be tumbling down the bank!

I called in at the pilgrim centre as I passed it and learnt more about some of the art works I have seen. And collected another stamp in my ‘pilgrim passport.’ From there it was a short, 6km, hop to Sygard Grytting, tonight’s rest stop. 

I’m staying in a barn that dates back to the 14th century, and while I do feel that this may have an element of Trigger’s broom about it, it is certainly very old and rustic.  Even I need to watch my head going through the doors!  But there is a lovely, modern bathroom with super warm underfloor heating.  

One of the hotel staff (there’s a posh hotel here too) bought me out a coffee and a cinnamon bun when I got here, the owner’s dad showed me round and told me about a sculpture exhibit on a nearby field.  I’ve just bumped in to an American couple who are staying  ion the hotel while driving around  Norway visiting relatives and avoiding the ‘tangerine idiot’ back home, and I’ve also just heard that A & R from Australia will be here tonight.