Norwegian Experience: Day 3 Hadeland Glassworks

I just got off the phone with Judy and she and her sister, whom she brought along as her guest, had an awesome time today!

Today was the day they spent at Hadeland Glassworks, touring the facility. Judy gave me a play by play account of the day and I must say I'm a bit envious of everything she got to do.

The day started out with gorgeous weather and a light breakfast at the hotel before Judy and her sister were picked up by a private car and taken on a scenic drive to Hadeland. During their hour-long drive they moved through lush farmlands, past the Mjøsa and Randsfjorden lakes and into the idyllic surroundings at the southern tip of Randsfjord. On the way there their driver and guide, Harald, helped pass the time by pointing out a number of interesting sights.

Once at the Hadeland Glassworks, Judy and her sister were met by "Tommy" their Hadeland guide. He first took the pair through Hadeland's museum, where they viewed pieces that dated back to the mid-1800's. During this part of the tour, Tommy also talked about the history of the communities that surround the glassworks.

Historic Hadeland glass

After that Judy and her sister were taken to the glass-blowing facility where they watched some blowers prepping glass for the master-blowers by heating the glass and adding the necessary colors. They watched as master glass blowers made a series of display plates and spun textured bowls. If that wasn't cool enough, next Judy and her sister got the chance to blow their own glass pieces and make a couple of original creations! They each made a unique, colored drinking glass as a souvenir to bring home as a reminder of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Then, while they waited for their glasses to cool, they were treated to lunch. Judy was expecting to eat in the general cafeteria, but we had other plans for her and her guest. Thanks to Borton Overseas and Hadeland Glassworks, the Norwegian Experience winner and her guest were treated to a private three-course lunch that included a fruit appetizer, a main course of fresh salmon and potatoes and then a luxurious lemon mousse for dessert.

Following that Judy was presented with a Hadeland gift certificate, again courtesy of Hadeland Glassworks and Borton Overseas, for some shopping in the Hadeland gift shop! She told me that she picked up a number of very nice pieces, including some ornaments. So, if you're a friend of Judy's, you might want to be extra nice to her when she gets home if you are hoping to get one of those gorgeous ornaments!

After that, it was time to pick up their one-of-a-kind glasses from the cooling room and say goodbye to all the wonderful people at Hadeland Glassworks.

Overall it was a great day for Judy--in her own words "This was another once-in-a-lifetime experience that we had at Hadeland! Just watching the blowers make masterpieces before our eyes and then giving us the opportunity to make our own--it was amazing! This trip has been so wonderful and I've only been here three days! I can't wait for more!"

We're glad Judy and her sister are having such a great time. If you want to keep up-to-date on what Judy is doing in Norway, make sure to keep checking back here, or you can subscribe on the right-hand side and recieve all new blog posts in your e-mail in-box.

The Norwegian Experience Recruitment Contest is a joint venture between Sons of Norway International and its partner Borton Overseas. The contest is open to all Sons of Norway members who sign up a new, dues-paying member between January 1 and December 31, 2009. A winner will be drawn at random in January of 2010. For more information about this year's contest, visit www.sonsofnorway.com or click here.