July (pre Guillian Barre Syndrome)

We returned from Norway and it was now time to get on with our summer. 

First on our schedule was a visit from Ulyana and Steve, who live in Baltimore.  Ulyana had lived with us in Yardley, PA during her exchange student and under graduate years (1990's-2000's).

We were sad to see Ulyana and Steve leave, but we had a camping/kayaking trip to Baker Lake to get ready for.  We packed our tent.  Friends Judy, Janine, Bill, and Jean got their various sized RVs ready.  Five of the kayaks were loaded on our trailer and on July 11th we headed up to Baker Lake.

The weather was glorious with blue skies and white puffy clouds.  We saw the fish taxi dumping fish into the lake.  While kayaking we saw an eagle catch a fish so big he had to swim to shore to eat it.   It was a great time, except for the raccoon that found our Costco sized (BIG) container of chocolate and coconut covered nuts.   It was our mistake for leaving it on the picnic table.  We forgot raccoons are clever enough to unscrew lids.  Somewhere out there was a mighty sick raccoon.  There was only an empty container in the morning.

We capped off our trip by joining the Anacortes Newcomers Plus group for a boat tour of Diablo Lake.

After the tour we packed up and headed home.  That was Thursday, July 14th.  I was dealing with a bit of a cough, but all was well in my world.

The last leg of the Norway trip

Our last leg of this trip involves flights from Kirkenes to Tromso (1 night) to Bodo (1 night) to Trondheim (3 nights) to Alesund (2 nights) and then to London Heathrow to visit our former exchange student and her family.  Most of our internal flights were on a regional airline, Wideroe affiliated with SAS.  The flights were good and I loved looking down on the fjords, clouds and mountains.

In every city it seemed that there were classic wooden boats in the harbor.  It became a game to seek them out and take photos.

We come from Skagit county, known for their tulip festival in April.  We were impressed to see tulips in bloom throughout Norway as we moved north.  From mid-May in Oslo to late-June in Tromso.  You will notice the jackets changed as summer progressed.

The city of Tromso lies 217 miles north of the arctic circle.  The city center is on an island connected via bridges.  The population is just over 72,000.  There is a large student population.  We came to enjoy the "midnight" concert in the Arctic Cathedral.  It actually started at 11:30 pm, but with the sun up 24 hrs a day it didn't really matter.  On our return to our hotel we noticed a large white boat.  It turns out the King of Norway had arrived while we were at the cathedral.  The flag flying indicates he is on board.  He was touring the country before celebrating the 25 anniversary of becoming king.  The benediction would take place in Trondheim just after we left.
 

Bodo, just north of the arctic circle, is a town of ~50,000.  Like Tromso, Bodo was nearly completely destroyed by the Germans in WWII.  We learned a lot about the history in the Nordland Museum in a 1903 building.  One of the few to survive WWII.

Aerial view of Bodo reconstructed after WWII

Trondheim is the third largest city in Norway with nearly 170,000 people.  We spent a good part of one day visiting the Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop's palace and museums.  It is a lovely city with a big university population, great walking/biking paths and lots of museums.  Trondheim was occupied by the Germans in WWII, but not destroyed.  However, like many cities they experienced devastating fires in the past.  Even the Nidaros Cathedral was damaged  by fire in 1327 and again in 1531.  King Olav Haroldsson (born in 995) became king in 1015.  In 1030 he returned from exile to regain the throne, but was killed in the battle of Stikelstad.  His body was returned to Trondheim and there was talk of miracles and cures.  Shortly thereafter he was made Saint Olav and the cathedral was built over his supposed burial site.

Cathedral footprint 1031 (u.l.); 1500 (u.r.); 1531 (l. l.) after fire; today (l.r.)

Since my great aunt Alma and my friend Susan graduated from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, we sought the grave of B.J. Muus a founder of St Olaf College

Joanne at the grave of Bernt Julius Muus (1832-1900) founder of St Olaf College in Northfield, MN

Our second day in Trondheim we rented "city bikes" and toured the paths along the river.

Alesund, is a seaport town with a population of ~ 45,000.  There are lots of islands and mountains nearby.  It is somewhat reminiscent of Anacortes.  While there we visited with one of our former Russian student's cousin.  She married a Norwegian and lives nearby to Alesund.  She came in by ferry with her 2 mo. old son to show us around.  We even saw our Hertigruten boat, the Lofoten come into Alesund.

Had we done a return trip on the Hertigruten down the coast, we would have seen Alesund, but we never would have had a chance to rent a car and drive the scenic road known as Trollstigen.  The road snakes up the mountain and has the most spectacular scenery - mountains, waterfalls, farms and rivers.

The peaks, rivers, road and 7 sisters waterfall

We didn't see the King of Norway live in Trondheim, but we did see the event as it was televised.  A fitting end to our Norway adventure.

The Norwegian Royal family in Nidaros Cathedral

From Norway we fly to Heathrow, London to visit another former Russian student and her family.  We arrive on the day that the England learns the voters have chosen to leave the EU.  This could be a serious mistake by angry voters.  I hope the US voters don't make a similar mistake.

We had great fun getting to know the kids again (our last visit was 3 years ago).  They climbed trees, rode bikes and we all had a great time in a power boat on the Thames River near Windsor Castle and Ascot racecourse. 

It has been a great trip, but it is time to head home.  Thanks for joining us!

Hertigruten cruise up Norway's coast Bergen to Kirkenes

Norway started running ships up and down the coast in 1853 to improve communication and quality of life for those living in the coastal communities. The route became known as the "Norwegian Coastal Express".  In the 1980's the government subsidies were phased out and more emphasis was placed on tourism.  In March 2006 two independent companies running ships on the route were merged to form the Hertigruten group.  There are currently 12 ships in the fleet with daily departures from Bergen to Kirkenes.   The trip north takes 7 days with 34 stops along the way.  In addition to tourists the ships still carry mail and supplies.  Passengers do not disembark at every stop.  Some happen during the night and some are too short or in an area with no services.

We chose the ship MS Lofoten for our trip.  It is the oldest (built in 1964, last refitting in 2004) and the smallest (287').  Our boat had ~ 110 passengers.  People do get on and off at many of the stops so the passenger count changes constantly during the trip.  Passengers come from around the world.  On our boat we had people from Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, UK, Netherlands, France, USA, Canada, and Australia. 

Friends from Anacortes were taking an earlier Lofoten cruise in May.  When they arrived in Bergen they found that the Lofoten was in Denmark having major repair work on the engine. Their cruise was salvaged by shifting them to one of the bigger ships.  We were told that the Lofoten was expected to be back in service for our trip on June 10th, but we didn't know for sure.

When we arrived in Bergen on June 9th the Lofoten was still in Denmark.  The repairs were done, but everything needed to be tested before the boat could move on to Bergen.  As it turned out the Hertigruten Group put us all up in a hotel in Bergen on the 10th and provided a nice buffet dinner.   We did leave port on the morning of June 11th (the boat had arrived in Bergen at 3am that morning).  This delay in departure gave us an opportunity to enjoy the festival known as Hanseatic Days celebrating the northern European merchant trade in which Bergen was a vital player.

There was music like the Latvian male choir (upper left) and the group from Holland (lower left).  The firefighters marching band (upper right) and the Royal Norwegian Naval Forces Band with Frode Alnaes, popular jazz guitarist and composer (lower right).

There were boats, crowds, and of course fair maidens!

Finally at 9am on the 11th of June we begin our Hertigruten journey.  Because we were a day behind schedule, our first day took us all the way to Trondheim.  To make up for the lost day we skipped the Geiranger fjord.  It was a disappointment, but fortunately we had seen lots of fjords previously.

Our cabin was small, but there was enough room to turn around.  We had a shared bathroom and shower just down the hall.    The boat had 4 different inside lounges and a dining room.  There were  outside lounge areas on two levels of the stern.

The captain, Tor Amundsen, welcomed us with champagne in the bar lounge, David reads in the "blue chair" lounge toward the bow.  The dining room set for dinner.  Breakfast and lunch were buffets with open seating.  Dinner was served at assigned tables.  We were "lucky table 13" with Norwegians, Knut and Brodie, as out dinner partners.

On our first day heading to Trondheim, the weather was great and many passengers were out on deck enjoying the scenery. 



 We left Bergen (upper left) had some nice scenery (upper right), more nice scenery (lower left) and then the town of Maloy (lower right).

We arrived in Trondheim at8:30 am on June 12th.  It is the third largest in Norway with a population of greater than 187,000. Trondheim history dates back to the Vikings.  Today it is a vibrant industrial and university city.  The cathedral, the warehouses, and the old bridge all looked lovely.  We are pleased that we will be going back later and have more time to look around.

Trondheim

Departure from Trondheim was at noon.  Time to have lunch onboard and then settle back to watch the sights pass by.

The villages are getting smaller, more boats, and the clouds are coming down

June 13th was the day we crossed the Arctic circle.  It was cloudy, cool and rainy.  They entertained us by calling King Neptune up from the sea.  He initiated the willing explorers to the Arctic with a ladle of ice water down the back.  David took it like a man.  I wasn't so composed.

The Arctic circle lies above 66 deg N.  It is the point where the sun stays above the horizon for 24 hrs.  Hence the name land of the midnight sun. 

I will admit to using my camera's dramatic setting for the waters north of Bodo and the Svolvaer Church.  I threw in the flowers for some color.  They are planting their spring pansies now.

Between 11 pm and midnight we went into the Trollfjord.  This was a beautiful narrow fjord and it was exciting to be able to see it under the midnight sun.

MS Lofoten turning around in Trollfjord 11:45pm June 13th, 2016

Moving north at a steady 15 knots the villages are smaller.  Fishing is more prevalent.

This northern part of Norway is the region of Finnmark (or Lapland as you may have known it).  In WWII much of Finnmark was completely destroyed by Hitler.  All houses and industries were burned or bombed.  In Honningsvag the church was the only building left standing as shown in the old photo.

The Honningsvag church built in 1885, the only building left standing in WWII

The Sami culture tour was our excursion from Kjollefjord.  The Sami are an indigenous people who herd reindeer up in the Finnmark (Lapland) area of Norway.  The Sami actually span four countries, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia.  They do still move the reindeer south in September and back north in April.  The no longer live in tents, but have modern cabins.  Like many indigenous people in the world, they are renewing efforts to keep their culture and language alive. 

Sami Culture tour

We leave the Lofoten in Kirkenes in the far northeast of Norway.  We are about 5 miles from the Russian border as the crow flies.  We spend a night there.  We had been forwarned that there wasn't much to see and people were right.  The thought of going to the border was dashed by the receptionist at our hotel.  He said there is really nothing to see, just a guard station.  After walking all the streets in town we walk uphill to the lake.  It is an industrial area.  There is a ship building company, Kemik.  The temperature was surprisingly warm in Kirkenes.  David switched to shorts and a short sleeved shirt. 

We will now head back south taking some internal flights.  Kirkenes to Tromso to Bodo to Trondheim to Aulesund.  From Aulesund we fly to England to vist Anya and her family and then it is back home.

"Ancestors I'm Looking for You"

One of the incentives for this trip was to learn more about  my Dad's Norwegian ancestors.  Since moving to Anacortes the Norway "thing" has gotten stronger.  Carl and Linda, Jeff and Joyce, and Floi were among those who told us about their Norway trips.  Our visits to Petersburg, Alaska immersed us in their 17th of May independence celebration.  It was time to go.

Last Christmas, while in Iowa, I learned of a 4th cousin living south of Bergen and north of Stavanger (our great great grandmothers were sisters) .  She lives on the farm where my great grandfather Gunnar (George) Olson had once lived.  George came to the USA when he was six years old.  The family first settled in La Salle county, Illinois.  George's mother, Anna Serina is buried in Leland, Illinois.  Sometime after George married Amelia Jacobson in La Salle in 1893 they moved to Iowa where there was cheap land.

Here in Norway we have met others on a similar ancestor searches.  In Balestrand we met Louise and her husband from the Quad cities in Iowa.  In Bergen we met Gail and her husband from  Jamestown, NY.  Gail lived in Illinois near where Anna Serina, George's mother is burried.  In Visevik we met Andi from Luther College in Decorah, IA.

Sovik farm is just to the right of Aksdal

From Bergen we bussed to Haugesund where we spent a night.  While in Haugesund we made use of their Bygdebok collection to see if we could make sense of Gunnar's family.  We were feeling pretty good when we drove from Haugesund  to just past Aksdal to meet Torhild Sovik,.  She greeted us warmly with food ready.  Fortunately we were forewarned so we hadn't eaten lunch.  Torhild had a complete collection of the Tysvaer Bygdeboks so we continued our research.  David set up a spreadsheet to keep it all straight.  He has been invaluable in collecting the information.

Haugesund waterfront, David and I with our "animals" and Our Savior Lutheran Church

We rented a nice Toyota Yaris hybrid in Haugesund for our drive around Tysvaer and on to Stavanger

Torhild is David's age.  She has lived on the Sovik farm since 1983.  Currently she has 99 sheep, 62 are this year's lambs.  She raises them for food and sheepskins.  In her house there are sheepskins on the chairs and a lovely sheepskin rug in the living room.  Torhild doesn't speak English and my Norwegian was not sufficient to converse.  Fortunately the Google translate app on my computer worked even without wifi.  We did a lot of conversing via computer.

Sovik farm overlook Grindefjord

When not looking in the Bygdeboker, and not eating, we drove around the Tysvaer municipality (similar to our counties) soaking up the scenery.  It was fjords and farms.  Grindefjord and Skjoldalfjord dominate the area.  I have ancestors with connections to the following farms:  Erland, Ikdal, Munkhus, Mehus, Vara, Nes, Nesheim, Sovik, Aursland, Vatland, Oygarden, Espevik, Musland, Tosvoll, Ersland, Eggja, Frovik, Skogen Sore, Dalva, Store Nessa, Indre, Nessa, Indre Amdal, and Ringja.  Basically they were everywhere around those fjords. 

Views around Tysvaer including the Skjoldastraumen Church

Lots of signs

After leaving Torhild we headed to the island of Rennesoy to seek Amelia Olson's, (George's wife) ancestors.  The library in Vikevag had the Rennesoy municipality books. .  We were good to go.

When we asked about food and lodging there was nothing in Vikevag (it was Sunday), but there was going to be a classical concert in the museum (associated with the library).  We went back to the car and ate our "emergency apples" and then went in to the concert.  It is a good thing we did as it was just David and I and the librarian in attendance.  It was a really nice Sunday and I guess that kept people outside.

The sights of Rennesoy - it was time to make hay!

Rennesoy and Mosteroy - land of Amelia's kin

The concert was good.  Remon Janisse from the Netherlands on the guitar and Marijana Walczak from Serbia on the violin.  We had a nice chat afterwards and the librarian appeared with some food and tea.  She was the one we asked about food and lodging.  I think she felt bad that we hadn't eaten.

The neighborhood across the water looks a little like our Skyline neighborhood in Anacortes

David heading in to hear Marijana play

Our good luck was just starting.  We headed to Osthusvik where the librarian thought we might find food and lodging.  We found both at the Fjord Bris Hotel.  We were put in an apartment right on the water for the price of a hotel room.  The Sunday buffet dinner met our food needs.  This cute little place right on the water serves as a conference hotel for the oil industries in Stavanger. 

Our "apartment" in Osthusvik

Monday was divided between driving around Rennesoy and researching at the library.  It was time to drive through the Mastrafjord tunnel to the island of Mosteroy.  We asked about the green houses we has seen while driving.  Tomatoes we were told.  This area grows 70% of the tomatoes sold in Norway.

Cows, sheep, fish farms and green house tomatoes

On the northwest end of Mosteroy is Utstein Kloster.  My records showed that Amelia's dad, Jacob Jacobson was born there.  The Abbey was built in ~ 1260.  After the reformation the Abbey was empty.  In 1750 Christopher Garmann moved into the area to farm and the Abbey was converted into a farm house.  This lasted until the 1930's when restoration work began.  Jacob Jacobson was born in 1823.  It is possible that Jacob's father worked one of the farms that made up Utstein Kloster.

Utstein Kloster on Mosteroy

 After Mosteroy we drove a longer tunnel under the Byfjord to Stavanger.  Stavanger is the 3rd largest city in Norway with a population of 211,000.  Stavanger is known as the oil capital of Norway. 

We are staying at the Access Apartment and have a kitchen and access to washers (amen).  Our first full day in Stavanger is cloudy so we opt to do the museums.  The Maritime museum talks about the past with the herring canning and the trade that resulted.  Stavanger was the port that many emigrants used when leaving for the USA.  The Restauration a 54' sloop sailed from Stavanger on July 5, 1825 starting the emigration from Norway to America.  The ship sailed with 52 people on board.  Three months later they arrived in New York with 53.  Steam ships soon took over the trade and passenger routes.  Gunnar and Anna Serina and family came over in 1866 on the three mast sailing bark, the Hercules with captain Neilsen.  Their voyage took 4 weeks and two days and they arrived in Quebec.

The canning museum not far from the Maritime museum showed the canning process and machinery.  The old can labels reminded me of the Anacortes canned salmon labels.

Stavanger Maritime and Canning Museums - herring barrels, sail loft, labels and the "new" steamship

The Norwegian Petroleum Museum (Norsk Oljemuseum) provided a very informative look at the Norwegian Oil industry.  Oil has transformed Norway into a rich country.  They estimate that they have 50 years of oil remaining and 100 years of gas.  The government is banking much of the oil profits for the day when it will decline.

In their own words

Our last day in Stavanger was beautiful so we headed outdoors.  We took ferry to Tau and a bus to the start of the Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen) hike.  The hike features a lot of up, but the view is tremendous. 

Preist Rock hike - someone has done a lot of work on the trail and we thank them!

There is no way I would get close to that edge!

Time to head back to Bergen and get on the Hertigruten ship to head up the coast of Norway.

Norway in a Nutshell from East to West

We spent our 45th wedding anniversary back in Oslo.  What a great anniversary gift this trip has been.  The next phase of our trip is about to begin.  The rental car has been turned in and we will now be traveling by train, bus, and ferry.  We are following the Norway in a Nutshell route, but have slowed the pace so we can really get to know the areas where we stay.  The red dots clustered in the middle are where we visited or stayed while on our "Nutshell" trip.  Oslo to the SE is where we started and Bergen to the SW is where we end.  The blue dots are Lillehammer and Lom, the subject of the previous blog.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1E4zJK1AZ8k1G3nk0TuSqyt0qD2o  (a link to the map above if you like to zoom in and out)

The train to Myrdal took us up 2400’ to the snow covered mountain top.  The track from Myrdal to Flam covers a distance of 20K and drops back to sea level.  It took 20 years to build (started in 1924) and has 20 tunnels through the mountain.  Because of its steep gradient and picturesque scenery the Flam line is used almost exclusively for tourists.

The train, tunnel, snow, Kjosfossen water spirit (in the red dress), and finally a farm in the valley

Tourists come to Flam via the train or on cruise ships.  It is very much a tourist town.  We enjoyed a hike behind our hotel and strolled through the Flam train museum.  The museum documents the building and early days of the railroad.  Those of you who have cruised to Alaska may find the scenery familiar.  The beautiful scenery and deep water attracts cruise ships.  Cruise ships give rise to shops. 

Flam with a Holland America ship in port

After one night in Flam we took the bus 8K down the road to Aurland.  It is still a tourist destination, but is less crowded and lower key (no cruise ships). 

Aurland - view from the cemetery & looking back from the ferry

From Aurland we took a fjord tour by ferry to Gudvangen and back.  The ferry ride took 2 hours each way with a 3 hour layover in Gudvangen.  Plenty of time to see the area and have lunch.  Waterfalls were abundant along the way.

Crusing the fjord from Aurland to Gudvangen

We spent the next day exploring by bus.  Our route was Aurland to Leardal and then a second bus to Borgund. After a 20 minute walk from the busstop we were at the church.  It is one of the  least altered of the 28 remaining stave churches in Norway.  This one was built between around 1180.  The men who built the church were ship builders and they coated the wood with tar to preserve it, just as they did their boats.  The stave church is no longer used for services, only on special occasions or for a local wedding.  There is a "new" church built in 1868 that is used for services.  Across the road is the museum to help interpret the history of the church. 

 

The town of Leardal where we switched buses had its own beauty and an interesting "old town".

Leardal and old town

I almost forgot to mention, the bus ride from Aurland to Leardal had a unique distinction.  A 15 mile long tunnel bored through the mountain.  Not so great for sightseeing, but very efficient.  The alternate route is the "snow road" up and over the mountain.  The tunnel was constructed between 1995 and 2000.  Maybe Seattle should talk to them about how to make a tunnel.

The high speed ferry took us from Aurland to Balestrand the next day.  The four hour ferry ride gave us time to enjoy the fjord scenery and wonder what people do for a living out here.  There is a farm called Stigen which is only accessible by boat and a climb up an 800' steep rock face.  Stig means ladder and apparently in the old days they used a ladder to climb up the slippery rock face.

Norwegians love the sun and any day it was shining you would find them sunbathing.  They feel a serious need to generate vitamin D when they can. 

Views from the high speed ferry from Aurland to Balestrand

Feeling the need for some physical activity we rented bikes from the Balestrand Tourist Info and rode out past Dragsvik.  We visited  the white church and cemetery and the Lunde Arboretum with its huge Monkey Puzzle tree among its interesting tree collection.

The bike ride from Balestrand out past Dragsvik

The highlight of the bike ride was visiting the Enamel Shop of Solveig and Rolf Haukass outside of Balestrand.  Their house/workshop is up a hill.  We had to get off the bikes and walk it was so steep.  The effort was rewarded  by getting to meet Solveig and Rolf and learn about their work, home (since 1971) and life.  When their kids were young they would ride on a sled down the hill in the winter to catch the school bus.  "Two minutes of pure fun", Rolf said.  "Coming home it was 30 minutes of trudging through the snow." 

The best part of stopping at their place was getting to shop!  They had many pretty copper plates with colorful enamel art, but this one with ancient stone carvings caught my eye.  The also had pendents and earrings.  The only places they sell at are their shop and the Balestrand Hotel.

We can't leave Balestrand without a look at the St Olaf church.  It was built to honor the wishes of a dying English woman, Margaret Kvikne who had married a Norwegian, Knute Kvikne.  Margaret had started raising money to build a proper church, but died of TB and flu before it could be accomplished.  Knute followed through and had this lovely church built in 1897 to honor his wife.

St Olaf Church in Balestrand

To Bergen by high speed ferry we go.  It was an overcast day, but the scenery was amazing.  In some ways like the inside passage to Alaska.  The closer we got to Bergen the more boats and houses we saw.  We are starting to see more pleasure boats. 

The skies of Bergen are punctuated with many pretty spires and towers.  You can see from the backgrounds in the photos that our weather varied some.  It was raining when we arrived, but cleared nicely so we could see the sights.

Bergen spires

The old Hanseatic League commercial center of Bergen was populated by German merchants since the mid 1300's.  Fires frequently destroyed parts of Bergen.  The current buildings now a UNESCO World Heritage site were rebuilt after a fire in 1702.  The nice weather brought crowds out to the outside cafés.  Many of the buildings have a noticeable lean and the alleys between them are quite narrow.  

We arrived with a little rain, but that didn't stop the outdoor music.  I felt sorry for the woman holding the umbrella over the conductor.  Her arm must have been killing her.  There was an awning above most of the musicians.  You can see the weather got better and that their season is a little behind us in WA.  Our tulips were done before the end of April.  This tulip photo was taken May 29th.

A trip to Bergen is not complete without a visit to the Fish Market.  We happened to go there for our last dinner and were lucky to get there as they were closing down.  We got a big platter with fish, shrimp, crab for half price. 

Bergen fish market, Yum!

You also can't visit Bergen without taking the Floiban up to the hill overlooking the city.  There are nice hiking trails up there.  We happened to go up on the day they were doing the 7 Mountain run/walk.  The 7 mountain course in 30K.  There is a 4 mountain, 15K option that many families were doing.  Of course the ugly cod in old town is a tourist magnet.  I waited patiently for the Chinese cruise ship passengers to get their photos before moving in.  We also visited the Bergan aquarium.  We felt a little out of place as everyone had little children or grandchildren.  The sea lion show was great and the aquarium was nice even though small. 

Needless to say we found Bergen to be picture perfect.