Aalesund, Sweet Aalesund

I woke up around 5:30 this morning, which wasn’t good for me since I didn’t get to sleep until after one.  I was dogging it all day.  I took advantage of the early wake-up and found myself the best spot in the viewing lounge in the front of the ship.  And there I sat, nearly all alone until everyone was roused from their slumber, hours later.  I didn’t leave my spot all day as I was sure someone would get it and I wouldn’t have a place to work with my computer, since there aren’t many chairs with tables in front of them like the one I scored. 

I’ve been tired all day, but I still managed to finish up the photo book of our trip to Turkey.  I wanted to get that ordered before we leave Norway.  I have a few other photo books to make too, but I’m not sure how many opportunities I’ll have to work on them.  I have nothing but time now, but having the computer charged up and a place to sit will be my biggest challenges. 

I couldn’t relax much today because there were some very beautiful sights I wanted to be outside photographing, but I was very committed to getting this photo book done. The thought of sitting on a boat for 11 days without being productive is more than I can bear, so if I get something done each day, I’ll feel better about this use of my time.  Kory is just the opposite.  He thrives on just sitting in one place looking out the window and doing nothing. 

When we left Bergen last night we traveled north and by the time the ferry arrived in Aalesund this morning, I was ready to get off the boat.  I reminded Kory that I had jumped ship before when on our first cruise, and I wasn’t past doing it again.  If I hadn’t sat and worked on that photo book today, I’d be stir crazy by now.  I already feel like a caged animal, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the next ten days. 

Bjørn was waiting on the dock when we pulled in, along with Inger’s brother, Ernst.  They came into Aalesund this morning and THANKFULLY took our car back home with them, so now we don’t have to worry about driving it back from Bergen.  What a huge blessing that was!  That guy Bjørn, he really needs some kind of award for being an all-around good guy.  If there’s a problem, he has the solution.  It’s nice to know people like him, otherwise our time here wouldn’t be so sweet.  Stu and Judy think all Norwegians are incredibly hospitable.  In order to translate their thoughts to Stu’s relatives the other day, I had to ask Kory how to say “hospitable” in Norwegian.  It’s “gjestfrihet” which literally means, “guest freedom” and that is sure a good description of what we feel when we are here, thanks to people like Bjørn.  Hallelujah!

Cousin Axel and his wife Kari, Tante Aslaug and her friend Liv all joined us this morning when the ship stopped in Aalesund.   Because we bought our tickets through an American travel system, we had to pay for the full round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen, otherwise we would have gotten on board in Aaelsund, with them, too.  Stuart wanted to see Bergen anyway so we took advantage of that and that’s why we drove down there yesterday. 

It took all day for the ferry to go from Aalesund into the Geiranger fjord and back out again (dramatic photos above are from there).  I’ve done it several times already in previous years and the weather today wasn’t anything to brag about, but some of the clouds sitting on top of the mountains did make for some nice photos.  I managed to run outside and take a few (like 200) if someone came by that could save my seat for me.

Towards the end of the journey into the fjord I fell asleep in my chair.  The ship’s horn honked as we arrived in Geiranger, and it woke me up.  Kory said I stood up, grabbed my camera, took a photo of the ship in front of us and sat right back down again and fell asleep.  At least I now know what I missed.  I needed that sleep more than I needed to take more photos, that’s for sure.

Stuart and Judy found themselves a nice spot in the front of the ship right up next to the window (on the right, above) so they sat there all day and watched the world go by with their cameras clicking away.  Stuart was most impressed with the farms that sit high up in the mountains.  Just thinking about all the work it took to haul up everything needed to live there, was more than he could understand.  We didn’t hear much from the two of them today but I did notice that Stuart still had his jaw dropped when I checked on him.  He just shakes his head in disbelief over how incredibly beautiful this area is.  And photos don’t do it justice.  It has to be experienced in 3D, that’s for sure.

I kicked into the “ugly American” mode tonight when we went to dinner.  Yesterday I was first on the boat and headed right for the restaurant to get our dinnertime changed from 8:30 to 6:30.  I can’t eat that late and sleep well afterwards and Stuart can’t wait that long to eat because of his diabetes.  The head honcho said it was no problem to shift us to the earlier seating.  I then asked if we could all sit together and if possible, by a window.  He said he’d see what he could do.  Well, tonight we were denied entrance to the dining hall because we came at the earlier dinnertime.  They said we were to eat later. I marched right in there and reminded the guy of my requests from yesterday and it seemed he then realized he’d made a mistake.  We had to wait about five minutes and they fixed us up with a table right next to the window in the back of the boat.  Sweet.  Everyone kinda made fun of me and my demands, but no one was complaining about the end results.  The food would have been worth waiting for, as it was so incredibly delicious, but I still wanted to eat early. 

We all had a nice visit during dinner and a few good laughs.  Liv tried to teach me a few more of the idiosyncrasies about the Norwegian language and some of the specialties of the dialect, but it was lost on me.  I had to tell them about my experience yesterday, when we stopped in the antique store.  When we were in Turkey, Kory kept telling me to barter with the storeowners so they’d come down on their prices.  He talked Norwegian when he told me that so I thought I knew the word for “barter.”  So I asked the lady yesterday, “Prater du?” which I thought meant, “Do you barter?”  She responded back in Norwegian with “I don’t speak English.”  I couldn’t figure out why she responded like that since I was talking Norwegian to her, so I asked her again and again she said it.  When we left the store I asked Kory what the word was for “barter” and he said, “pruter.”  The difference in one letter meant that I asked the woman NOT if she “barters,” but if she “talks.”  We all had a good laugh over that one.

I talked with Kaleb a few times on the phone today.  He said he misses me a little already and he even went home and took out the garbage like I asked him to do, but I’m sure he’s having a wonderful time with his friends.  The rain held off all day but now it’s begun again, so it’s time for me to sleep.  Day “two” is done, with nine to go.  I hope I make it.

A Little Road Trip

I picked up Turid and Hege after I dropped Kaleb off at school this morning, and we hit the road, heading east. Our only goal for the day was to visit three of the family farms where my friend Stuart’s grandparents came from. It was one of the prettiest drives I’ve been on in Norway and we had an incredibly sunny day in which to enjoy it.




All four of Stuart’s grandparents came from our neck of the woods in Norway. Many of the farms are within a two hour’s drive from here, so I had to go see them and find out if any relatives were still living in the area. I think I hit pay dirt, but I’m not 100% convinced just yet. We found the farms alright, but I also wanted to find second or third cousins to introduce him to when he comes to visit us next year. We made it to the Lange farm, which is where is last name comes from, but no one was home. We talked to a neighbor and it’s pretty certain a second or third cousin still lives there, but we couldn’t verify it. The farm was still being worked and it sits inland a little ways toward the end of the fjord that goes past Molde, the city where Kory was born. I took a ton of photos. It’s a nice place.



The Frøyset farm is where Stuart’s grandmother came from farm, but her mother came from the Sandness farm, just right next door. They are both about a twenty minute drive from where his grandfather lived. The farms are right on the edge of the fjord and have a stunning view of the snow capped mountains that lie behind the foothills across the fjord (see photo). The church where everyone from that side were baptized, confirmed, married and buried lies just across the water, and it’s one heck of a pretty church. It was a very peaceful and out of the way kind of community and the people couldn’t have been any friendlier.



Norwegians love it when Americans are trying to find their roots, so they are especially helpful with the process. I interrupted one guy’s lunch (his name is Kaare, same as Kory’s Norwegian name) when I banged on his door to ask about his ancestral roots. He didn’t mind a bit. He said they had a huge family reunion just last year and many came from America to attend. He knew his family tree names back two hundred years without batting an eye. I’m pretty sure he’s a second cousin to Stuart, but I have conflicting information between church book records and the farm history books, so I’m not saying for certain what their relationship is just yet. But based on how much I thought they looked alike (see photo), I’d have to say they share some DNA in there somewhere.



It’s so fun to meet total strangers in Norway and talk about dead people. I took a lot of photos, which I’m now anxious to get back home and share with Stuart. I took photos of the Frøyset farm too, but there was no one to talk to there, so that will have to be saved for our visit back to that sweet spot next year.



We got home just in time to make it over to The Good Teacher Inga’s house for dinner. What a lovely evening that was. It took me a while to relax around her because I still think of her as my teacher (she’s younger than me.) I remember once as a kid when we ran into one of my elementary school teachers in the store and I was in shock. Somehow I thought she lived at the school and had no life outside that place. It was a bit like that going to Inga’s house. It might take a while to transition her from being The Good Teacher Inga, to My Friend Inga, but I’m going to give it a shot.



Inga’s house sits high up on a hill looking smack dab across the fjord to where Kory grew up. It’s easy to see his old childhood school and even the house they lived in. Kaleb was bored to tears, all evening, but fortunately, didn’t make any of us miserable because of it. Maybe he was just too tired after his all day bicycle trip during school today. This Norwegian life is something else.

Rain Rain Go Away!

I was awake until after two o’clock this morning because I drank a cup of coffee last night at our home fellowship group. What was I thinking? Then I woke up at four and couldn’t get back to sleep. Needless to stay, I stayed home from school so I could try and sleep in, but it was nearly impossible. Kory got Kaleb off to school while I tossed and turned in bed.

Today was the day for Kaleb’s class party at a beach near our house. The invitation said if it was bad weather, it would be indoors at the school instead. It was raining hard all last night and this morning. All the boys were to bring a pot of coffee and the girls were to bring cake (weird). Kaleb apparently forgot what time the party started (5:30pm) and he assumed it was during the school hour so he asked Kory to make a pot of coffee to take with him to school. (Like that’s what he was going to drink?) Kory didn’t remember the details of the party either so he just did what Kaleb asked. This is why mothers are so important because we remember this kind of stuff, or at least write it on the calendar (which no one checked). I felt terrible that Kaleb was already loaded down with his school books in his backpack then Kory needlessly added a big thermos of hot coffee to the load. I could only laugh when I got out of bed and Kory told me what happened. Kaleb didn’t complain much when he came home still lugging the pot of coffee because it was his own doing. I’m thankful for that. It was a good “teachable moment” to check the calendar for details, rather than relying on memory alone if I’m not around to keep them on track.

Kory and I went to the mall at Moa this morning so I could buy the groceries needed for the things I’m making for the Confirmation on Saturday. Kory went and visited Tante Ruth and Tante Kari while I went shopping (they live right next door). Tante Ruth is doing great, so that was good to hear. She’s even offered to help Tante Kari as she’s recovering from her surgery. Tante Kari is finally smiling a real smile and is getting better every day, for which I’m thankful. I hated that she hurt so much. Both Tantes said they are devastated we are moving back to America. The only upside is that someday when we come back, we might be living next door to Tante Kari, which put a smile on her face.

Kaleb was in sour mood to match the weather this afternoon because he lost one of his Nintendo games. The game chips aren’t much bigger than a quarter and they cost over $70 so it’s a big loss. We kept telling him to be careful and to keep all the games in a safe place. This is how he learns. He was borderline mean and didn’t even want to go to the school picnic because of it, but we insisted he go. I couldn’t believe they didn’t move the party to the school, but they consider light rain tolerable. Only if it would have been an all-out downpour would they have moved it indoors. So all the parents and kids were in full rain gear, some had umbrellas, standing out in a park by the water’s edge, roasting their hot dogs on the “one-time grills,” drinking coffee and eating cake (see photo – the gorgeous mountains in the background aren’t even visible because of all the rain! ). The rain never let up and yet the party went on for hours. Too funny. Kory brought some firewood so at least we had a real fire going instead of just the line up of the one-time grills. Our Christmas tree was sitting out the garage all these months and Kory cut it up but never disposed of it because we weren’t sure where to put it – so he brought it along today. It was a big hit as all the branches were so dry the boys loved throwing them on the fire and watching the explosion of flames that came soon after. It was about the only entertainment there was, so it was a good idea.

The parents of Kaleb’s friends came up and talked to us about how sad it is we are leaving and how upset their kids are to be losing Kaleb as a friend. That was sort of nice to hear. We invited them all over to America to come for a visit so hopefully some with do that. I talked with one of Kaleb’s teachers and she said Kaleb was a "brave" student – that most students won’t read out loud but Kaleb always volunteers to do everything and she likes that he’s “out there” in terms of participating in everything. I’m thankful for that. I really wanted to know if he had any problem areas or if he was a challenge in any way, but it’s not “Norwegian” to say anything bad so I guess I’ll never know. She did say, with great delight, that she has watched him blossom in the socializing department, and for Norwegians, that’s by far more important than doing well academically. So I guess our mission is accomplished – we brought him here for socializing and to learn the language and he’s done both quite well. I just didn’t think leaving would be so hard.