Join a tasty and eventful journey through Norway's most lush agricultural areas, where we visit some of the big, beautiful farms on both sides of Lake Mjøsa. Cultural highlights and the best foods and drinks Norway produces awaits.

On this trip we get close to our surroundings; we cycle through Stange, get to know the hosts on large farms, are served lunch in the old storage houses and coffee in the fine living rooms, and visit large and small sights, which span between a local fish shop and ruins of a cathedral from the Middle Ages in Hamar. Our skilled, local guide is with us throughout the journey.

Program

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Day 1
We meet our local guide when we arrive at Stange train station, and leave no time to rest further: We get straight on a bike. The luggage is transported by car to where we will sleep, while we take an easy and pleasant bike ride through Stange Vestbygd. The first stop is beautiful Røhne Nedre, a lively farm with grain and oilseeds on the fields and chickens in the chicken house. In addition, they have a saddle maker workshop and their own brewery. After a tour of the farm, our hostess Karoline transforms into Empress Josephine and gives us the story of the wonderful Napoleon room. Dugurd and coffee are then served in the cosy 17th century parlour. The trip continues by bike through the beautiful and open cultural landscape, passing small and large farms with Lake Mjøsa as the perfect background. The next stop is the Fjetre family farm. The hostess is a chef and she serves us a tasty lunch in the barn. Fjetre is one of 4 authorised restaurants for Norwegian barrel-ripened aquavit in the area, so there is the possibility of a small glass for lunch to those who would like a taste.
After lunch we will learn more about the “water of life”. After a short bike ride we arrive at Atlungstad Distillery which offers "an experience you will not forget". Here you will hear about the history of aquavit since 1531 and in the historical buildings you can follow the potato from its arrival and till it ends up as fluid gold. Of course there will be testing of the products. Feeling hot after today’s biking? We have time for a quick bath in Norway’s biggest lake right here at Atlungstad beach.
Next stop is the Fredheim farm store. Fredheim Gård has been in the family since 1939 and they offer vegetables, eggs, juice, marmelade, chocolate, biscuits, cheese and lots of other delicious foods. We get to taste some of the products before we get back on the bike seat for the last stage, to Bryhni Søndre where we will spend the night in the newly restored residence from 1760. The farm has been awarded Olavsrosa from Norwegian Cultural Heritage, as the only one in Stange municipality. For dinner the hosts will serve us a range of small dishes in combination with a wine course. What a day!
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Day 2
Don’t eat too much breakfast at beautiful Bryhni Søndre, we go straight to a half day Italian cooking class! The chef will present the menu before we all roll up our sleeves and start cooking. We make four exciting dishes, and top it off with a sweet dessert.
Content and full of home-cooked food, we drive by bus to Hamar and our hotel in the city centre. The rest of the afternoon you spend on our own before we all dine together at a local restaurant.
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Day 3
Breakfast at the hotel before we meet up with the local guide. First stop is the Kirsten Flagstad Museum. As an international opera star, Kirsten Flagstad spent most of her life travelling, but Hamar was her hometown. In an interview in 1958, she stated: "I always say I'm from Hamar - I'm so proud of it, I still feel like Hamar is my city!" It is here in the house where she was born we find the museum dedicated to her amazing opera career. We continue with a stroll on the beautiful promenade along Lake Mjøsa, to the ruins of the old cathedral at Domkirkeodden (about two kilometres). Those who during the Middle Ages went to Mass in the cathedral were greeted by Gregorian chants, and we get to convey the history and stories from the Middle Ages through the same songs. There are much more than ruins to explore, however and we will also visit what is probably Norway's largest public cookbook collection with well over 5,500 cookbooks. Not only do they teach us how to cook, they are also an important cultural-historical source about the time they were written. Here we also find one of the country's largest herb gardens, with around 400 plants, many of which were grown in the monastery's time. The herbs were the pharmacy of the time, and the monks had great knowledge of the various plants. Well back in the centre of Hamar, we stop by one of the country's best fish stores. The owner’s simple philosophy is "to give customers the best food experiences". This means providing the highest quality, not only of the seafood they sell, but also customer service and guidance.There will also be a visit to the local food coirt. In the afternoon you are free to explore Hamar as you like, before we meet for dinner in the evening.
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Day 4
Today we will continue to taste local food produced at the stately farms along Mjøsa. After breakfast we are picked up at the hotel and taken to the large farm Simenstad. Here we meet the hostess Brit who offers us flavours from the beautiful kitchen garden and baked goods from the oven in the brewery. Simenstad gives us authentic culinary experiences, where everything is tasty, fresh and colourful. From Simenstad we then drive to Sveinhaug Gård which is beautifully located close to Ringsaker church. The hosts here will take us on a historical walk through the newly restored garden from 1850, and there will be an opportunity to buy vegetables. Back in the bus we continue over Mjøsbrua bridge and to the other side of Mjøsa. The bridge is 1,420 metres long and to the north wesee the county's green vocational school, Vea. Past the bridge we turn onto the local road towards Biri, and from here we can look down on Kremmerodden, an idyllic property right down by the lake. This was Biri's first shop – Petersburg country store was established in 1754.
Up on the hillside above Biri, the large Sigstad farm will be our next stop. The hostess Julie welcomes us and serves tastings made of happy, free-range pigs, produce from the kitchen garden and their own grain. It will also be possible to buy the farm's locally produced meat. From Sigstad we drive to Stokke Nedre. The farm is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Mjøsa, and here we are served the tasty day’s menu. Satisfied with fantastic food, drinks and experiences, we are taken to Gjøvik train station to continue the journey in Norway.
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Pearls around Lake Mjøsa

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Program

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

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