I personally did not expect to love pjalt, one of the local pastries, as much as I did. It’s sweet, soft, and fluffy, and traditionally topped with butter and getost, the local sweet brown goat’s cheese. Had I figured out a way to take them on a plane, it would have happened.
2. That Rørosmat existed. Rørosmat is a collective of 26 farmers in the Røros region who mainly produce dairy products, as well as reindeer sausage and other treats. But what I’m still excited for are two things: their ridiculously creamy butter; and their ice cream, often made with a local sour milk and local fruit, like lingonberries and cloudberries. You can only get this ice cream in the Røros region and maybe some select shops outside that. The butter is even harder to get your hands on, but worth every penny.
4. It’s a living museum – as in, people live there. Yes, a lot of the houses downtown are part of a cultural association that restores and maintains the older houses. But most of the houses are actually occupied, so when you peek in a window, you’re peeking into someone’s living room. Our tour guide assured me that the residents are used to it, though I tried to not look into windows unless invited to.
5. You really should visit for the festivals. Røros loves hosting cultural events – we were there during a major folk dancing festival, so we’d have breakfast with participants decked out in traditional garb. Just as exciting, though, is that they use the colossal scrap iron piles just outside the town center to host theatre performances in the summer.