A boat ride on the fjords

We arrived in Laerdal, a small village at the eastern edge of the Sognefjord, a huge fjord that goes all the way to Bergen. We stayed here because there is a car ferry that goes along a scenic two-hour ride to Gudvangen, where we would continue our journey.

Laerdal was pretty empty. In the 1850s, it was an important center of trade and communication between east and west Norway. Now, the wooden little houses are owned by those who want to preserve its character and charm. They hold a number of art fairs during the year, but our overnight stay was quiet, with just a bus of Japanese tourists making their way on the Norway in a Nutshell tour.




We stayed in one of the oldest buildings in Laerdal, built in 1840. Lyle was not real excited about it, but of course I loved the iron bed and charming wallpaper.



We woke up to a sunny and warm day, perfect for a boat ride. We drove the little Prius onto the first deck and then we found seats on the top deck to enjoy the views.



Pictures can't even capture the majesty of these vistas. Only when you see other boats, kayaks, or small towns dotting the shore can you understand the height and depth of the mountainside against the water.



This awesome, but peaceful ride gave us a chance to experience two different fjords....part of the huge Sognefjord that goes all the way to Bergen......and the most narrow fjord, the Naeroyfjord. As soon as we turned to enter this smaller fjord, the weather changed to cold and blustery. When we arrived in the little town of Gudvangen, the rain started, and we were grateful for the timing!



We drove off the ferry and headed to Flam, a small village on the fjord, but busy with tourists. This is where cruise ships come in every day from Bergen with "boaters" as Lyle calls them. (Lyle and I have yet to get on a cruise ship, but little did he know what was ahead of him....) Cruise ships in the middle of Norway! We stayed here for two nights so that we could explore the area by train and foot....our next mode of transportation.




The view from the hotel was amazing!


For a few more pictures of the fjords......

Two towns - two friends

One of Lyle's best friends is Eric. They grew up together on farms across the road from each other, went to school together, even to college. They have remained friends to this day and we have enjoyed getting together still. Friends.....still to this day.

I bring this up because both of their families came from Norway, their farms about 70 kilometers from each other. In fact, the towns still have their last names! Our goal on Sunday was to visit both.

We headed east from Gjovik and into the mountains to look for Tollefsrud. This town is so small, it wasn't on any maps, but we had the general direction, thanks to Google maps. The landscape turned into hills and valleys and we wondered why would anyone leave this beautiful area?




But, we saw the sign....


....and went to the church and cemetery, just as the morning bells were ringing. It was a somewhat magical moment. This is where many Tollefsruds lived before their emigration. We walked around the cemetery and found a few gravestones with not only the Tollefsrud name, but many other names we recognized as common in Minnesota.





The town didn't have much more than the church, a school, and a few homes. It was a very quiet Sunday morning and we didn't see anybody to talk to, so we headed north looking for Eric's home town, Lomen.We drove along Slidre Lake in a beautiful valley that reminded me a little of California...and found the town.






We had arranged to meet Eric's relatives who would show us Lomen and the well-known stave church there. These small wooden churches used to be all over Norway from before the Middle Ages, so different from the massive stone churches all over France. But fires and time have taken their toll. Only 28 remain and we were blessed to be able to have a private tour of the one in Lomen, built over 800 years ago. It was a Catholic church then, before the Reformation brought the Lutheran denomination to Norway. One of the few remnants of that era is the carved wooden head of the Madonna, Mary, sitting on the altar, dated to the 1200s. We were fascinated at the carvings in the wood, the old Viking chest, and the architecture. The church was expanded in 1749, but much of the center is all original.









We were not only treated to a tour of the church, but also to a wonderful Norwegian brunch at Eric's cousins' home....scrambled eggs, breads, sausage, cheese, fruit, and good coffee and tea. The setting along the lake reminded us a little like being in a cabin in Northern Minnesota, but the sod roof of one of the buildings brought me back to reality that I was in Norway. I loved being able to meet and talk with people and forget that we were tourists for awhile.....and instead, just Sunday visitors coming for brunch. It felt cozy.




But we had to get on with our journey through some more mountains to the little town of Laerdal, on the edge of a fjord, where we would take our anticipated fjord cruise the next day.

Video from Finnskog celebration

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Norway.... by plane and automobile

I think there was once a movie called, "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles". Well, that was ringing through my brain on our trip to Norway. I will add "boats" too, as we took them all. So, I will divide the Norway experience into parts using these subtitles, since there is no way I can relate it all in one blog. And...will just tell about some highlights.

After discussing whether we would drive to Norway (Lyle's idea: "Can't we just rent a car and drive to Denmark, cross over to Sweden, then go to Norway?"). I argued that would take at least 3 our our 10 days, so I had to overrule it. Nope, we will rent a car when we get to Oslo, which is what we did after our plane ride from Paris. We arrived to a rainy, but green, Norway on a Friday afternoon. The landscape was dotted with farms with red barns and wood houses, so different from the limestone towns of France.



We picked up the car and after getting a little lost ( "I can't find the streets on this map!") we found the hotel in the city. On our walk to scout out the city in the evening, we were immediately introduced to Norway's famous high prices at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was a must since I collect the shot glasses. One beer and one gin and tonic cost the equivalent of $25.00! These prices were going to be a challenge! Norwegians pay a lot for their drinks and eating out. Not as many cafes lining the street as in Paris. Now I understand why. The price of a hamburger at McDonald's was around $8.00. You can guess what a meal at a nice restaurant would be.....



But Oslo has money....oil money has helped build condos and entertainment areas in the center of the city and on the harbor. It was impressive and clean. Because it didn't get dark until after 11 pm, the nightlife just started going around then. Many places are open til 3 AM, which is when the sun started coming up! We even saw a number of U.S. chain restaurants, rare in France.




On Saturday we headed north in our little Prius to discover my roots, one of the purposes of our trip. My mother's grandparents came from the border area of Norway and Sweden and we were determined to find the two little towns. The countryside reminded us a lot of northern Minnesota....


but when we came to the town of Grue, the landscape changed a bit to a forest of tall, skinny pine trees.


I now realized what I had learned about my ancestors.....this area is called "Finnskogen", which refers to the Finnish immigrants who settled this area because of their expertise with working the land filled with these trees. I guess I never realized my Norwegian ancestors were Finnish! That day we just happened to be there for their summer event celebrating their Finnish customs. While walking through the village that was set up and learning about the customs still practiced from the 17th and 18th century, we talked to a few people and discovered that they had the same names that were in my family tree! So, I guess I DID meet some relatives and was pretty excited to see the area that my mom's grandmother came from, before emigrating to the U.S. when she was 12 years old in 1867.








We headed north to search for Medskogen, Sweden, just across the border. This is where my great-grandfather came from. He came to the Wisconsin area when he was just 4 years old. I guess it wasn't odd that they met in the states and their families were no more than 20 miles apart back in Norway, but I still find it a good story. They had 13 children, the sixth one my great-grandmother Mathilda. Anyway, we did find the area, even though it isn't much of a town anymore.


The rain and time beckoned us to continue on our journey back into Norway to the little town of Gjovik, a little south of Lillehammer, on the largest lake in Norway. This town was dead, streets empty....


At least, until 11 pm. Then it woke up. We later found out that this area is what some call "redneck" (we laughed at our Norwegian friend that we met in Oslo who told us this), Well, they do know how to have fun. We found a little bar that had music and it soon became full of happy, TALL and husky Scandinavians. How different from the French! The music was fun, a mix of American, Irish, and Norwegian folk and pop songs. We had a great time!


Again, heading back to the little hotel at the wee hours of the morning, we couldn't believe how many people were out. It was a welcome change from Paris, which is just so much more sophisticated and formal. We made our plans to find Lyle's ancestor's town the next morning...the town of Tollefsrud.

....and Giverny, the house and gardens of Monet

Although Lyle and I had been to Giverny two years ago, we didn't have the time to go to see Claude Monet's home and gardens. (A huge bus had just unloaded its tourists, the weather looked threatening, we had rented bikes and needed to get back to the train). This time, my two friends and I took the short train ride to Vernon, and then the shuttle bus to the quaint village where Monet lived and painted....and were anxious to see the famous gardens.

The first view that greeted us were a beautiful field of poppies......

and then a walk through the flower-decorated lanes of Giverny....

But the gardens and home of where Monet lived and painted were what we all had dreamed about visiting someday. Claude Monet rented the house in 1883 and worked here until he died in 1926, when his son Michel inherited the house. It was abandoned and the gardens became almost like a jungle. When Michel died in 1966, he left the house and gardens to the Academie des Beaux-Arts, but it wasn't fully restored until American benefactors started the huge job of getting it back to how it looked during Monet's time. The thousands of flowers, the Japanese bridge hovering over the lily pond, and the weeping willows all seemed to put on a show for us.










We enjoyed the nearly-perfect summer day with a lunch at a little cafe across from his home, decorated with trellis-filled roses.

Two small villages, two talented painters. We were blessed to visit them both.