Tromsø Day

I was shocked to see I’d slept in until eight this morning.  I don’t think I’ve slept in that late since I’ve been in Norway.  It’s nice having a room with no window.  One channel on the TV shows the view from the camera in the front of the boat, so it only takes a second to find out if it’s sunny or not, but telling day from night isn’t possible now since we have entered the land of the midnight sun.  I have to force myself to go to sleep.

They served pancakes with blueberry jam this morning for breakfast.  We were sitting with Tante Aslaug and her roommate, Liv, a wonderful woman from the Philadelphia Church.  I dropped a bit of the blueberry jam on my light blue shirt, and Tante Aslaug moaned, knowing that blueberry stains are nearly impossible to get out of clothes.  Liv piped up and said, “Well, now you have a memory from Harstad” (the city we were near at the time.)  I thought that was a funny way of looking at it.  No need to buy souvenirs from that town, I guess.

After breakfast “King Neptune” arrived on the top deck to present the winner of the Arctic Circle competition a gift.  Along with receiving his free backpack with the Hurtigruten logo, he got “baptized” by having a scooper full of ice cubes and cold water poured down his back.  As compensation for the deed, he was given some kind of hard liquor to drink as a celebration of his entrance to the North Sea.  Any others that wanted to have a stiff drink early in the morning, had to undergo the same treatment, so people were lined up like crazy getting their backsides drenched with ice cubes and cold water. 

I could see that Stuart really wanted a sip of something stronger than coffee, so I stood in line and took the hit for him.  I got the water, he got the booze.  I’m not sure it was the best thing for his diabetes but he sure enjoyed the experience much more than I did.  Fortunately, the sun was shining and I just laid on the back deck and dried off, and fell asleep.  How that’s possible, I don’t know, but I was snoring something good.  So was Kory.

Our big stop for the day was in Tromsø, the largest city in Northern Norway and quite a bit larger than our town of Aalesund (see above photo of the State Church).  I asked ahead where the thrift stores were and was given rough directions, which turned out to be almost correct.  Because we speak Norwegian, we were able to ask more directly once we got in town, but Stu and Judy weren’t keeping the same pace as Kory and I so they got the whole run around.  I’d given them the map the receptionist office on the ship gave me.  They wrote the word FRETEX on it, which is what the Norwegian’s call “Salvation Army.”  When they encountered the same problem we did with the directions, they asked a kid about Kaleb’s age if he knew where the “Salvation Army” was.  He left his friends behind and kindly guided them way across town to the Army surplus store.  They got a good laugh about it afterwards. 

So Stu and Judy spent most of their afternoon walking from one end of town to the other, while Kory and I bee-lined to three different thrift stores, worried they would close early like the ones do in Aalesund.  I bought a lot of pewter stuff which drives Kory nuts because I already have more than I can use and I honestly don’t know what to do with it all, but each piece is different and special and I’m totally addicted to it now so I’m not sure if there is hope in me ever quitting this habit.  I may have to start the first “pewter anonymous” self help group in Norway.  The guy in the last shop looked at me kinda weird when I bought out nearly all he had.  He just said, “You know, this stuff USED to be popular…” like he was trying to talk me out of my purchases.  I know it USED to be popular - that’s why it’s in my price range.  Cousin Kari tried to explain to me today that if I didn’t buy so many small little things, I might actually be able to have one nice big, expensive new thing as a memory from Norway.  But then it would only be one purchase, and not nearly as satisfying as all these small little finds.  It’s not just the destination, it’s the journey that counts!

We also had time to stop into the “Perspective Museum,” which thankfully was free.  It was basically just a bunch of photos with stories attached, showing the lifestyle of the Sami people that live in these parts, up north.  Since global warming is destroying their lifestyle on the ice, this one photojournalist wanted to capture every part of their life and have it documented.  He is sure they will be disappearing in the not too distant future, as the ice continues to melt and the polar bears and other sea life start to disappear.  From my perspective, it was a good place to set down all my shopping bags and take a break, even if the thought of eventual doom was the reason.

I was missing Kaleb pretty badly today but when we called him this evening, he wasn’t missing us too much.  His class at school climbed up a mountain today, so he was glad to not have to do any schoolwork. 

Today was the first warm day we’ve had in a long time in Norway.  Kinda funny it’s happening so far north, but I’m thankful we can see the gorgeous mountains popping up all over the place, no matter which way we look.  I thought it would be flattening out by now, but so far, that’s not the case.

I had to stay up until after midnight since the boat was going to enter a two-hour block of open sea.  It was explained to us on the first day of this trip that the difference between a cruise ship and this ferry is that the ferry stays close to the shore and the cruise ships have to go on the outside of all the islands.  It makes a huge difference as we are always sandwiched in between islands and the mainland and the ride is pretty smooth.  But because of that, the evening sun is nearly always blocked by some landmass to the west of us.  Tonight, however, we had two hours of ocean horizon in which to watch the sun NOT set.  It dipped down, not even close to the horizon, then started going right back up again.  That was cool to watch (see photo taken after midnight).

Kory drew a few new pictures today and I worked more on the Israel photo book.  All the scenery is now new to us since we’ve never been this far north, but I’m afraid once we reach the last stop, I’ll be tempted to take the next flight south.  I’m not having a bad time, but I can’t do a whole lot, and if I were back home in Aalesund, that wouldn’t be the case.

Life in a Cave

Kaleb couldn’t have been more difficult this morning. I would have thought after 14 hours of sleep, he would have woken up refreshed and ready for a new day, but it was just the opposite. He was sour, defiant and downright disgusting. It sure made it hard for getting to church on time since he wouldn’t cooperate with a single thing. He wouldn’t get dressed, he wouldn’t eat breakfast. It was one of the worst mornings we’ve had with him and I nearly lost my mind in the process. It’s not the kind of experience that prepares one for worshipping God. Kaleb sat out in the car for the first half hour of church, with Kory calmly talking to him about who knows what. Finally Kory gave up and came in just as the singing was over. He asked Andreas, a young guy at church that Kaleb really likes, to go out and talk to him, which he did, so Kaleb came in a few minutes later like nothing had gone on all morning. I want what Andreas has.




After attending Agape Church we rushed over to a summer kid festival being held at Philadelphia Church so Kaleb could do some fun stuff with other kids. I was pushed for time so I left Kory and Kaleb there while I headed into the city to pick up My Pal Vestina. We’d planned to go explore a cave today that I’ve been wanting to see for over ten years. It’s on an outer island and I thought it was quite a walk to get to the entrance, but as it turned out, it takes only about fifteen minutes, so I had more time than I thought. They have done many archeological digs in that cave and it’s well known in all of Norway as being the oldest establishment in the country (that they know about, anyway.) It’s a real ‘cave man’ kind of place as people have been living there since the ice age. My Pal Vestina brought along her boyfriend, so they were disappointed Kory and Kaleb didn’t join us (see photo of Vestina’s boyfriend doing the Hallelujah pose at the mouth of the cave).



Kory decided to invite some people over for dinner tonight so he stayed at church a while chatting with all kinds of folks. I was back home in plenty of time to make another batch of that yummy seafood chowder (it’s quick to assemble) and we invited Odd and Turid over, along with Helge, a guy that Kory used to play with as a kid here in Norway. I guess their parents were good friends and he remembers Kory well. Last year Helge gave us fairly new (but used) tires for our van before we took our road trip. (He owns a mechanic shop.) I’ve been wanting to payback that favor for over a year so I’m glad he loved the chowder.



Kory also invited Charlie, an artist from England, who went deaf twenty years ago when he was eighteen from a bout with meningitis. He was married to a Norwegian woman and has a daughter here, so he doesn’t want to leave Norway, even though he doesn’t see her often. He loves children so he’s always drawing sketches of them and befriending them quickly, but as we found out tonight, his life is terribly lonely. He can’t hear a thing in a crowd and while he can read lips, he can only read them if someone is speaking English. He longs to hear a sermon, but can’t. He comes to church every Sunday just to be in the house of God, alongside other Christians. He’s not been included in a whole lot of things because he’s so difficult to communicate with. Oh, how I ached for him. He has hearing implants but he turns them off unless he is in a quiet room with just one person speaking at a time because otherwise it’s all too amplified and he can’t understand anything. His Norwegian is difficult to understand, but his English is perfect. The sad part is, he’s like the woman mentioned in the Bible that “suffered at the hands of the physicians.” (Kory thought it was more like A Series of Unfortunate Events.) After he got the implants, he developed epilepsy from the surgery. They gave him medicine to control the epilepsy and that caused him to have a heart attack (he’s only 38), and now he can’t taste or smell because of all the drugs he must take. Because of his epilepsy he can’t share custody of his daughter anymore. He’s on one heck of a downward spiral.



It was very sad to hear we are the only people who have ever invited him to dinner in the twelve years he’s been attending church. We prayed for him tonight as he was nearly in tears talking about how desperately lonely he is and how he just craves some kind of meaningful fellowship with other Christians. I so wanted God to give him back his hearing right on the spot, and I have enough faith to believe it could happen, but God has His own plan in His own time.



My problems are nothing compared to Charlie’s problems, but I’m glad we have a God big enough for both of them. And whether God chooses to heal the things in our body that don’t work properly or not, He can change our heart so it’s easier to accept. I’ll be continuing to pray for Charlie.

Hege's Confirmation Day!

Before I even had my sacred morning cup of coffee, I was up making food for the Confirmation party today. I was at it for three hours straight and we were nearly late for the Confirmation itself because I was rushing around trying to get Kaleb and I dressed for the event. It’s as formal of a day as it gets around here so I knew I had to at least iron our clothes.

The church was completed packed out. We arrived five minutes before the ceremony began and we got the last three seats. They had three separate Confirmations today in the same church, each one processing 30 kids at a time. The church can only hold so many family and friends so they can’t do them all at once. Tomorrow they will have additional Confirmation ceremonies. They were scheduled two hours apart and they ran like clockwork. The church was full of men, women, children and even babies in their traditional Norwegian bunads. I just love seeing entire families decked out in their Norsk costumes.

The Confirmation ceremony itself was full of pomp and circumstance, somewhat like a graduation ceremony. All the Confirmants wore white robes and came in a procession down the aisle after the candle bearers. There were songs, prayers, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, the Apostle’s Creed. Someone sang Amazing Grace in both English and Norwegian and the Priest gave a little sermon. I didn’t understand all he said but I could tell he was talking about money. So many kids only go through with Confirmation to get the cash gifts that come with this tradition, but it seemed to me like the priest was advising them that God offers something greater than money can buy. At one point I let a loud “Amen” slip out, but Kory smacked me because it’s not proper to speak up in the State Church here. They are very serious and somber folks and I’m quite certain no one has ever shouted HALLELUJAH in that place.

The grand finale of the ceremony was when the Confirmants came up two by two, stopping first to light a candle in the candelabra then going forward and kneeling before the two priests. As one priest said the name of the first kid, all the family in attendance stood up while the priests each laid a hand on their head and gave a prayer of blessing. Then they said the name of the next one, and on it went, two by two until all the kids had been prayed for. Afterwards they marched outside for group photos and quickly disbursed to all the locations around the city for the big parties that followed.

It’s not common to have friends attend the parties, which I think is a little sad. Of the 70 people at Hege’s party today, only three weren’t related to her. Since it was all family, it was kind of funny that it was so formal but it followed all the Norwegian “code” for special events. The tables were set nice and fancy and everyone had a reserved spot. The guests all stood behind their chairs, waiting to be welcomed to the party and invited to sit down. There was an opening speech by Hege’s father, Odd. Hege gave a speech of welcome then we sang a song. (It’s common to take a well known tune and rewrite the words to fit the event or the person, so we sang a few of those songs throughout the party.) Everyone was invited to the buffet table to eat all they could manage. After dinner there were more speeches and then a video presentation displaying Hege’s love for dancing. We took a break and had time for visiting one another before the cakes and coffee were served, after which we all played a “How well do you know Hege” game. (Our group came in dead last – mostly because it took us so long to translate all the questions!) Hege took whatever free time she had and methodically opened all 60 envelops she received as gifts for the occasion. Each one contained cash – anywhere from 100 kroner ($14) to 1,500 (over $200). Hege wrote down each person’s name in a book and how much they gave so she could write thank you notes later. She set all the cards up on a table and displayed them for all to see (some were works of art as people often hand make the cards). Kaleb couldn’t wait to total up the amount she received and when he realized she got over $3,000 he very seriously asked if he could go through Confirmation in Norway. Money is a powerful force.

The ceremony was at high noon but we didn’t get back home again until after 8pm. Kaleb wasn’t too happy that he missed out on having a sleepover with his friends however, so I had one crabby boy to deal with on an otherwise lovely day. This has been a big year for Turid as she has worked so hard to complete art school plus prepare for today. She did all the embroidery on Hege’s bunad (dress) among other preparations. I almost feel her relief as she’s been burning the candle at both ends ever since we got here. Now that she finally has time to play, we are leaving. That is just one more thing that makes me sad we are moving, but if Kaleb has his way, we’ll be back in a few years.