King Harald and Queen Sonja are among the hundreds of thousands of Norwegians who’ve traveled to higher elevations to spend the Easter holidays in the mountains. The royals have their own family cabin known as Prinsehytta in Sikkilsdalen, in the mountains just west of Gudbrandsdalen.
“Sikkilsdalen is very important for us,” King Harald said during the couple’s recent state visit to Chile. “That’s where we can retreat.”
Dressed for winter weather, the royals opted for tradition and traveled to their royal retreat on the train to Vinstra, in the comfort of their own royal carriage that’s officially owned by state railway NSB. It now has to bid for the rights to operate various train lines in Norway, however, and NSB management also has recently announced controversial plans to change the railway’s name to Vy and repaint all its trains green. It’s unclear what that will mean to operation of the royal carriage, which still bears its traditional red color, adorned with the emblem of the crown.
newsinenglish.no staff
