Monday, June 18, 2012

June 5 thru 11 --- Stockholm with Silme

Our visit to Sweden staying in Stockholm with Silme.

May 30 thru June 5 --- Trysil via Røros

Wed 5/30
Arrived 6:30 from Trondheim/Røros
Flat on Trysil mountain near Radisson Blu
Dinner out in Trysil

Thu 5/31
Trysil Kirke
Plassen Kirke
Library:  met Hilding Sponberg
Lunch with Melanie Logemann at Rialto
Tove Rud Granberg visited us at our rental flat after dinner, with husband Stein Erik Granberg
Fri 6/1
Day at Skjaerberget, homeplace of Per Larsen
Hilding Sponberg PowerPoint presentation on emigration from Norway
Jan Arne and Gina Bye farm
Einar and Inger Røberg (artist and ceramacist)
Lars Harold Nordgaard
Tove Rud Granberg and Stein Erik Granberg
Kjell Gran
Morten Kjellvang (Military guy, son of Vidar)
Vidar Kjellvang (Bad hips guy)

Sat 6/2
Erik left 7:45 by bus for Elverum and date with Kirsten Gran Tannåneset on his way to Stockholm
Day with Kjell Gran at cabin called Tannåneset
Visited homeplace of his father, Karsten, called Gran, which means "Spruce".  Combination house and barn.  Now owned by Hega
Visited Aspberget Farm in Sweden, home of Lars Larsen Aspberget in 1700's
Visited Garaalsen, home of Heinrik Heinriksen Heimeinen, Forest Finn;  And museum house built 1850; original house under flagpole
Pultost (cheese, sourcream, and mashed potatoes
Jon Tangnes and ?
Music cd from Tova Granberg with Trysil song

Sun 6/3
Plassen cemetery flowers to Karsten Gran gravesite
Trysil Bygdetun, folk village; Johannes Flormøen
Trysil Kirke cemetery:  Petter Embret Sletten
Ragnar and Jonas left 4:45
Dinner with Lise Drange, and Aase and Harold Drange
Rømmesøll (cold cheese, milk, sourcream soup, also called Ostesøll) and Spekemat, traditional meal of reindeer, sheep, pig meats with flatbrød, and kaffe and kake (kringle=coffee cake)

Mon 6/4
Bookstore
Lunch at Rialto with Kari Oden
Lars Harold tour of Sletten homeplace; Slettmovegen, Trysil Skog
Kaffe and Waffles with Aase Drange
Gift from Aase of watercolor "Julenisse" or "Fjøsnisse"
Erik Nyhus: the man outside the Rialto

May 29 to 30 --- Kristiansund to Trondheim

Kristiansund to Trondheim with a stop in Hell, Norway to visit Gro Karin Gifstad and her daughter Maya.

May 27 thru 29 --- Ålesund to Kristiansund via Atlantic Hwy

Ålesund to Kristiansund via Atlantic Hwy.  Lots of rain and fog.

May 25 thru 27 --- Ålesund and Runde Island

Document Ålesund and Runde Island (chasing non-existent Puffins).

May 24 thru 25 --- Travel to Geiranger

Document part of the trip.

May 21 thru May 24 --- Exploring Bergen

Exploring Bergen was fun, but also a little difficult.  I was hurting in enough places to be really tired and cranky, but we had a great visit there.  Bryggen is an area of early history in Bergen.  The beautiful buildings were a major attraction.  From the Internet, Bryggen --- UNESCO World Heritage Site.  "Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Many fires, the last in 1955, have ravaged the characteristic wooden houses of Bryggen. Its rebuilding has traditionally followed old patterns and methods, thus leaving its main structure preserved, which is a relic of an ancient wooden urban structure once common in Northern Europe. Today, some 62 buildings remain of this former townscape."

Bryggen is an amazing group of buildings, some of them still leaning from the explosion of an ammunition boat in the harbor.  Beautiful colors and an amazing place to explore.

A highlight of our visit to Bergen was meeting Silme's half-brother Kjell Arne Vardøy and his wife Anne Maria.  They live in Glesvær, a small fishing village on the west coast of Sotra.  Kjell Arne and Anne Maria Vardøy met us at the Glesvaer Kafe where we had Rasteballer, traditional meal of potato balls, sausage, lamb chop and root veggies; also called Klaud in Trysil.

Kjell Arne and Anne Maria gave us an evening boat tour (with an amazing sunset (11 pm) over the North Sea) of the Vilhelm Paul Vardøy family sea houses.  They could not have been nicer and when we parted, it was only because it was so late.  Kjell Arne wanted to take us to see more of his property and we wanted to hear more of his stories.  Hopefully there will be a next time.