Day 49 - Aremark & the Surrounding Area

August 9, 2023: Today we did a little tour of the area surrounding Aremark called Østfold. We stopped at little store/restaurant where we had some traditional Norwegian pancakes and coffee/tea on the way to the town of Ørje and the Haldenvassdragets Canal Museum (Kanalmuseet). The museum is located in the old timber mill at Ørje Brug and tells about the time of timber floating and the biological diversity of the Halden watershed. It opened on Ørje Brug in 1986, (200 years after the canal builder Engebret Soot was born.) It was interesting to see the photos of Halden and what life would have been like for my grandfather in the area before he left for the America in 1913.

Next, we went to the Brekke locks, Northern Europe's highest canal lock system. It has four canal lock chambers and a height difference of 26.6 meters. The Brekke locks were completed in 1924. I have been here in the past and took a ride on the boat seen in the picture above. This time we were able to look at it from a completely different view. It is an amazing system that was created as a result of the need to transport timber to the sawmills at Tistedalsfossen.

When we had finished our tour of the locks, we headed to Halden city center and grabbed a late lunch and some Softis in the harbor before heading back to the cabin. Then we just relaxed and had coffee and Norwegian chocolate while reminiscing about previous visits and family. A great end to the day.