To Gvarv!

Gvarv is the town in Telemark where the Torstenson family comes from, and I was lucky enough to visit! I took a train to Drammen, where Ingeborg and her husband met me to drive out to Gvarv where her mother still lives.
When we got there, a few more relatives, Oddvar and Kjell Ivar met up with us to show me a few locations from family history. I saw the church they attended, which has been there since 1150, some graves, the locations of the farms they lived on and the lake where my Great-great-grandmother Ingeborg began her journey to America when she was 20 years old, knowing she would never return home.
We then had a lovely lunch with incredible apple cake for dessert

before driving down to Tønsberg, where Ingeborg made some really incredible seafood soup for dinner.
The next morning, we drove back to Oslo and did some apartment searching with their daughters before all going to a hotel up at Holmenkollen for lunch.
I feel so fortunate to have found distant relatives here that are enthusiastic about teaching me about the history of our family, and are also incredible cooks. I left the weekend so full and more connected to my Norwegian heritage.