The Hallingdal Route

Cardrive Riksvei 7, Hallingdal valley, Norway [HD]

Watch in HD (720p or 1080p), the button is in the footer browser of the video!
Driving on the RV7, the road through Hallingdal, starting in the neighborhood of Flå and ending in the neighborhood of Gol. Hallingdal is a valley and traditional district in Buskerud county in Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol.
The video ends with a beautiful painting, created by Johan Christian Dahl, in 1844, named: View over Hallingdal.

Information Hallindal:


Music in this video:
Stellardrone, Etherial
Geirr Tveitt, the introduction of Variations on a Folksong from Hardanger, for orchestra & 2 pianos


The inhabitants are often called Hallinger (singular halling). Halling dialect (Hallingdialekt) is a dialect from Hallingdal. It belongs to a dialect group traditionally spoken in Norwegian mountainous areas.
Hallingdal has developed its own brand of the rosemaling, with a distinct symmetric style, different from the style in Telemark and Valdres. The valley also fostered a number of known painters during the 18th and 19th century.
The music of Hallingdal is traditionally dominated by the Hardanger fiddle, which was taken into use from c. 1750. The dance tunes of the valley have a distinct pattern, following three different lines of tradition, one in the south, at Nes, and two in the area of Ål. The tunes from Ål are recognized by a distinct rolling on the fiddle-bow, and the tunes are fairly old.
From early on, Hallingdal also developed a tradition for langeleik, partly replaced by the fiddle. The folk music tradition is held alive even today in the valley. After the building of the railway line Oslo-Bergen, the accordion came into use, and many fiddle tunes were adapted to the new instrument -- usually a diatonic button accordion. Hallingdal is the only area where the old fiddle music were adapted like this in local tradition.
Halling is the name of an old folk dance that is traditionally used in Norway. Each dancer is alone, in contrast to the more common couple's dances. The climax of the dance is known as thrown Halling, where the goal is to kick down a hat from a stick. The dance is often called Lausdans meaning loose in Hallingdal and Valdres, but known as the Halling in most other valleys.
The parents of Norwegian romanticist painter Hans Gude lived in Hallingdal until 1852, and Gude painted many of his works there.

Bergen line, Norway: the train stopped at Hol Stasjon

The story of HOL STATION.
Hol Station is a forgotten, not in use anymore, railway station. I have been there in August, 2016 when I was walking the Stasjonsvegen (Station road), in the municipallity of Hol, Buskerud, Norway.
My photos:

The building is empty, but has still a special dignity. Incredible that this monument is not used as a restaurant, for instance, a place to drink a coffee.
Trains do not stop there anymore. They pass in a so high speed there that one does not even notice this station, when watching outside from a comfortable seat in the Bergen line.
Therefore it was really special that this time, on that 11th of January 2018, the train lowered speed, and stopped there, finally.
Reason was a train coming from the direction of Ål, into the direction of Bergen. Our train was going into the direction of Ål.
Normally trains pass each other in Ål, but this time the train from Bergen was obviously too late, and the other already on its way.

The quality of the film parts in this video are not excellent: the weather conditions made it difficult to create bright scenes: it was already going to be dark, and there is no sun shining in the valley of Hallingdal in winter. At the end of January the sun is able to send its first rays over the top of the mountains, but I uploaded the video anyway, because of the unique situation that the train stopped at Hol Station.

TICKETS FOR THE BERGENLINE
*Photo Gallery on Flickr, Bergensbanen:
If you would like to travel with the Bergen line, you can order tickets for seat reservations at Norges Statsbaner (NSB):


HOL STATION, HISTORY
Hol station is a railway station on the Bergensbanen. The station is located in Hol municipality in Buskerud, and was opened to be used as a passing point for trains in opposite direction (kryssingsspor, crossroad): one to Bergen, the other one to Oslo, in 1911. Around 1931, it was upgraded to station, and stayed so till 1983. After that it was again in use as a spot for trains in opposite directions, to pass each other.
The station building was designed by architect Harald Kaas inspired by the style of architect Paul Due.
It is considered worthy to be protected. Today, the building is just as it stood while there was traffic at Hol Station.
More:
Wikipedia:

Terra Buskerud:

Norsk Jernbaneklubb

Photo Gallery on Flickr, Bergensbanen:
MUSIC
Arman Amar - City of the Birth

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