We found many intriguing restaurants in Rjukan on TripAdvisor. Here’s a sample of some of the food awaiting you.
In searching for restaurants in and around Rjukan (and there are many delightful places), we came across this kid-friendly farm and cafe:
About us Håvardsrud Seterliv is a traditional Norwegian farm in Skirvedalen. Here, children can have fun, run around freely and get to know farm animals.
The stewards who work at the farm show and explain how to handle the animals. Both adults and children can help with moving small animals, caring for chickens, picking up cows, milking and feeding.
Full of joy, the children sit on the turf roof and cuddle with the rabbits, or jump from stone to stone with the goat’s milk and the lamb. Feeding the pigs with sour milk that spurts is also a hit.
The care of the milk, cheesemaking and cheesemaking is taken care of by the farm, but you can see a little through the windows of the new cheese factory. This is for food safety reasons.
If you wish, you can take part in a butter making course, where you make butter with budeia and get your own butter to take home. The course takes about 1 – 2 hours.
To assist those who don’t speak Norwegian, Google Translate offers the following:
Dorthe Erichsen and her Series Seterliv
While touring the Håvardsrud Seterliv farm website, we came across a blog post that recommended a series of books by Dorthe Erichsen.
The WLBOTT research team had some trouble finding much info on the Seterliv series, so we asked Elder G to lend a hand….
WLBOTT: G, yesterday we were talking about a nice Norwegian town called Rjukan. I came across a delightful farm nearby that gives children a farm experience, with cows, chickens, pigs and goats. The farm website references a series of books called “Seterliv” by author Dorthe Erichsen, but I can’t seem to find any information about the book series. Can you help?
Elder G: Absolutely! The Seterliv series by Dorthe Erichsen is indeed a real and well-established series of Norwegian historical-romance books. Here’s what I found:
What is Seterliv?
A 28‑book series written by Dorthe Erichsen and published by Bladkompaniet/Vigmostad & Bjørke, set in early 1900s rural Hallingdal, Norway
Follows characters like Ingebjørg (the main heroine), her sister Ragnhild, farmers, rallare (railway navvies), and love interests like the odelsgutt Tolleiv and Elias the rallare
The plot blends feel‑good romance with touches of tragedy, rural life, moral secrets, and even a village murder for added drama .
Examples of Titles
Some entries include:
Den nye predikanten (Book 1)
Hjemkomsten
Falskhetens spill
Slåttefesten
Brevet
Sommernetter
…all the way to Ingebjørg og Tolleiv (Book 28)
Key Details
Topic
Info
Author
Dorthe Erichsen (born 1961), based in Drammen; also writes for other series like Sommerland and Losbarna
Genre
Historical-romance, feel-good rural novels
Availability
Physical books (pocket formats), e-books, and audiobooks via platforms like ARK, Norli, Storytel, BookBeat, and Fabel
Why it’s hard to find info
It’s primarily available to the Norwegian-speaking audience and marketed through Norwegian book retailers and audiobook platforms.
You won’t find much in English – it’s a niche series aimed at readers who enjoy serialized romantic dramas rooted in early-20th-century Norwegian village life.
So yes, it exists!
It’s a well-loved, concluded 28-book historical romance series by Dorthe Erichsen. If the farm near Rjukan uses the Seterliv series to enrich its visitor experience, it’s definitely referencing this real set of novels centered around farm and village life in Hallingdal.
Would you like help finding where to buy or borrow them, or summaries of some of the individual books or characters?
WLBOTT: Does the title “Seterliv” have an English translation?
Yes! The Norwegian title “Seterliv” translates quite directly to “Seter Life” or more naturally in English, “Life at the Mountain Pasture” or “Life on the Summer Farm.”
Here’s why:
Seter (or sæter in some dialects) refers to a mountain pasture farm — a traditional Norwegian summer farm where people (especially women and young girls) would bring livestock (cows, goats) up into the mountains during the summer to graze.
Liv simply means life.
So together, Seterliv evokes the seasonal, rustic, and often romanticized lifestyle of living and working on these mountain pastures during summer — a big part of Norwegian rural tradition and folklore.
It doesn’t have an official English translation since the books haven’t been translated, but “Seter Life” or “Life on the Summer Farm” would be accurate renderings.
A Service to our Customers
As a service to our Loyal Customers, we have found all 28 book covers!
And Leaving No Turn Unstoned….
Perhaps WLBOTT could join the marketplace for Norwegian period romances, adding our unique flare….
Saga of the Seter and the Sacred Spool “She thought she was just spinning wool… until destiny spun her heart.”“Midnight Milking and the Moonlit Ball of Twine” “Under the midnight sun, her pail overflowed — and so did her secrets.”“Goat Bells at Dawn, Twine Knots at Dusk” “In the soft jingle of goat bells, she heard the call of forbidden love.”“The Shepherdess, the Druid, and the Tangled Skein” “Three hearts. Two spools. One destiny… tangled beyond repair.”“Hayloft Yearnings and the Twine Oracle’s Prophecy” “She climbed the hayloft seeking solitude — but found a prophecy she could never untangle.”“Among Fjords and Flirtations: A Twine-Laced Love” “She came to herd sheep. She stayed to weave hearts.”“Pasture Promises and the Ballad of the Endless Twine” “Between echoing peaks and moonlit pastures, their love spun beyond the horizon.”“The Fjell Priestess and the Forbidden Fiber” “Bound by vows and veils, she never imagined she’d unravel for him.”
