The Industrial Museum (The Heroes of Telemark)

After dropping Tas at the airport we stayed the night back in Lunde and then headed further north back to Rjukan so we could visit the Industrial Museum situated in the Norsk Hydro Electric plant built in 1911.

This is where Heavy Water was first produced and the factory was taken over by the Nazis in WWII. This was the location of the famous Saboteur operation by the Allied Forces, lead by the Norwegians in 1943. The Allies feared the Nazis were going to produce a atomic bomb and The Heroes of Telemark film told the story.

Our park up for the night in Rjukan - it
was in the carpark of the cable car

The museum was excellent and we spent a few hours looking through the old turbine and generator hall as well as the cellar where the Heavy Water was stored and blown up by the Saboteurs.

We also learnt that heavy water, although it sounds ominous, it is actually okay to drink. It just has a different hydrogen atomic make up.

It's a striking building in a remote location

Inside the Turbine and Generator Hall

An old crane for Phil to admire!

The Heavy Water cellar was uncovered under the rubble from the old tower and was in surprisingly good condition. They built an interactive exhibition hall over the top which opened in 2022.

Dee outside the exhibition in the cellar

Dee with the Saboteurs

The South Coast

We returned to the south coast and stayed at a lovely campsite at Rognstranda located in a Geo Park where the high cliffs on the east were over half a billion years younger than the glacier smoothed rocks on the west - two entirely different geological worlds with a small sandy bay in between!

View from the top of the cliffs

The sea was so inviting we just had to go in for a swim - it was cold though!

We walked up to the top of the cliffs and along the coastal path to Langesund.

A matching bird box!

Langesund

Some very friendly Sparrows after a meal

On our last day at Rognstranda we watched a flat packed wooden home being flown in by helicopter. There are some lovely holiday cabins on the rocks so someone must have been having theirs delivered.

We dropped Tas off at the airport after her week in Norway and we were going to be heading north.

Lunde and Telemark County

We based ourselves at Lunde, which is on the Telemark canal. We were also allowed to pitch our tent for Tas beside us for when she arrived, which was perfect. A great campsite with a senior discount for over 55's if you stayed 3 nights or more!

The lock at Lunde

Gates are opened by a bar and rack system

The old lock keepers house

Tas arrived via Ryanair at Sandfjord, near the coast so we picked her up and returned to Lunde where we had planned some days out from.

We visited the town of Rjukan, further into the mountains where we took the Krossobanen cable car. It was the first to be built in Northern Europe in 1928. It was a gift from Norsk Hydro so the towns people could go up and get some sun during winter because the town is located in the narrow Vestfjord valley and is always in the shade.

In 2013, mirrors were built high up on the mountain overlooking the town so the suns rays can be diverted into the square - 100 years after the idea was conceived. We were surprised that a mirror arrangement like this even exists!

At the top we had a good view of the peak of Gaustatoppen (1883m) peaking out from the clouds. The weather was a bit grim, including some hail, which Tas liked for novelty factor!  Luckily we found a nice wooden shelter for lunch before walking back down to the truck.

The next day we had booked a 'floating' sauna at Lien Gard in a beautiful location - which is known for apples, raspberries, gooseberries and honey. We bought some lovely, smooth honey from here.

The weather was better outside and we had the sauna at a temperature of between 70 and 85 degrees C and the lake was 12 degrees C for a cold dip - brrrrr! Tas did very well to get in - the sea is about 24 degrees C in Bali! It was a really great experience :)

Tas found the water quite cold!

Later we visited the Heddal Stave Church, built in the 13th century from wood and was very impressive. As was the chocolate cake from the cafe :)

Our last day while based at Lunde was spent visiting a Silver Mine near Kongsburg where we took a tour starting with a train ride over 2 km inside the mountain before a guided walk.

Taking Purdy for a walk in the middle of
nowhere on the way to the mine

The carriages were like a prison!

Our pitch at Lunde