Sunday p.m.
Dear ones,
Yesterday was full – we decided to drive down the coast on the west side of the Oslo fjord. Get your maps out? The first touristy thing we encountered was a tunnel to the top of a ridge. It was built in a spiral of six levels – real interesting construction. The view from the top was, of course, spectacular. There is a restaurant on top but we didn’t eat.
We drove on to Horton after wandering through the streets of Holmestrand – stopped at a unique church, from 1674 built in the shape of a Y (it was locked). Horton was formerly the Navy’s headquarters, and still appeared to be an active base. Wouldn’t you know the museum was closed on Saturdays until May. We may drive down there again. Sitting in the ice in the harbor was the three-masted schooner, the Christian Radich. That would be fun to see in full sail. Vince says it is one of few schooners left in the world, and that Norway is the only country that still teaches its sailors to sail.
The church at Horton was interesting – not so old, built in 1854; an resembled First Lutheran some. Just a little ways south was another community, Borre with an old church – from the Middle Ages. Think that is 1500, give or take a hundred years. That church too was locked – think Saturday is a poor day to visit churches.
From there we went on to Tonsberg which is supposed to be the oldest city in Norway, founded in 900’s, no – at end of 9th century, would make it late 800’s. Supposedly there were ruins of 2 old castles there, one 1276 and the other 1503. It took us awhile to find the way to the ruins; we had to park the car and walk and climb. The ruins were on the top of a mountain (a little one) overlooking the town. We saw foundations, some were covered by snow, and even climbed on some of the stones; Jene wanted to find a loose piece but didn’t succeed. The climb was exercise enough to keep us warm.
From there we drove to the end of the world – Verdens ende. We didn’t stay on the main highway and drove to the end of the little road. There were huge rocks on which we could walk aways – and out there on the horizon was the North Sea. We saw a couple ships or tankers steaming on their way out there. All hard to describe – but impressive. By then, the sun was about set so we turned around and came back home. Guess it was almost seven when we got back.
The rest of the week was rather quiet. My cold didn’t get worse and didn’t settle into a cough. I’m fine again. Wednesday I decided to go back to the University Library – the walk from the trikk to the Library wasn’t as bad as the other time – only about 2 blocks were icy this time. The book I thought I would read wasn’t on the shelf so I found a different one. Did find a few names and dates I didn’t have before. Oslo had a fairly big fire on Wednesday – a couple of buildings downtown burned. Took 7 hours to bring under control. Vince could see the smoke from the Univ, which is some distance. Jene had to walk right by it on her way to class. It was cold – the water froze!
We went to church at Osteras this morning – it was communion. I could understand “Dette er Jesus legeme; deter er Jesus blod” so guess that was all we needed. Vince probably understood more. When we got home, we had a phone call from Oddvar – we arranged to meet him close to Krakstad at 4:30. He took us to meet a lady who makes bunads. I may get another one – from that area. This one has a lot of hand embroidery on, so it seems wise to let a native make it. This lady served us coffee, cookies and apple tarts, as close to apple pie as you will get in Norway. It was good but probably not a good substitute for super. We got home before 9; I heated up some homemade soup – such was our dinner.
Tomorrow I order tickets for the World Cup Ski Jumping Competition on Mar. 16 – on Holmenkollen. Watch for us on the Sports show – who knows?
Heard from Mark and Amy last week – they sound busy.
Love, Verla and Vince
February 7, 2016
February 6, 2016
Beautiful weather
Saturday morning, 3-1-86
Dear ones,
We have had beautiful clear weather, or mostly so, for quite a spell. We even had 2 or 3 days this week when it got up to freezing – so imagine we have had a little melting. It doesn’t show much except we see a few bare spots on sidewalks. And it is sloppy downtown. Do you suppose when it melts it runs down all these hills thru town to the fjord?
With the dollar value dropping, we keep losing buying power. Our January rent was the same as $533 and our March rent will be the same as $578. It is taking more of our dollars to equal the kroners – We’ve been trying to figure out these past couple of days if we will have enough for our traveling in May and June. I may have to write home for more money. When we talked last fall about this apartment, I think it was in Oct., it would have cost us $480. Supposedly, it is good for the country’s trade, but if tourists are like us, it means they buy less, so the foreign countries don’t gain. However, maybe foreign trade between countries is not comparable to tourist spending. Oh well, we have our tickets, we can always come back.
It’s good to hear that Ryan has grown! Will that rate, well that’s a dumb question – he obviously won’t grow that much every month, right?
Hey, Mom, suppose I’ve read that verse before but didn’t remember it. I take it to mean foolish genealogies, and I don’t think mine is. We are talking about Titus 3:9 (for the rest of your information).
I’m not sure what we are doing today. Vince said something about getting the car washed. It is quite dirty. They told us at the factory in Sweden that Norway doesn’t use salt – but they do – at least here in Oslo. Yesterday, we took it to a Volvo garage for its first service. We have almost 1200 miles on it. We paid for only the oil, the filter, grease or whatever. It still cost us 280 NKr (or $40.00). The bus route for getting home again or go someplace else (for most of the day) was so complicated, we took a taxi home, and then back again when it was done.
Vince had such a good day at the University on Wednesday – getting the experiment ready to go, etc. that he announced when he came home that he wasn’t going back till next Tuesday. This experiment and research has to do with denture adhesives. He has read all the papers and research and information (well, if not all, a great deal), so he has gained another area of expertise. It’s a bit out of his field as a fixed (Crown & Bridge) prosthodontist since it is in Removable (Partials and Full Dentures) Prosthetics; but there is talk at Iowa of making the 2 just 1 department, anyway. Have I written that before? He was told again on Wednesday how good his presentation on acid-etch bridges the previous Friday had been – the Prosthodontists here had poor results with the technique so had given it up. But now since Vince’s talk, they are going to look at it again! It made him feel really good.
Thursday Vince and I decided to see a couple of things downtown – we rode in on the trikk with Jene when she went to her class. We went to the Defense (Forvarsmuseet) Museum and looked at the weapons of Norway from the 900’s on. It was interesting, but very little in English. Even with a map, we had to ask directions on just exactly where the building was. We must have spent 2 hours walking through 2 floors of exhibits – then we had a sandwich in the cafeteria, and then walked to the National Gallery. It was 3 (15:00) p.m. when we got there and it closed at 4; but an hours was long enough for us to walk through 3 floors of paintings and sculptures. We almost skipped the first floor because it was ‘modern art’ and that’s usually pretty abstract. But in that section was the only painting that really struck Vince’s fancy. We didn’t see any that we particularly liked done by well-known artists or Norwegian artists. Now we don’t know if we will go to the Munch (Norway’s most famous artist) Museum. He willed all his paintings to Oslo – well, not all – but I suppose all that hadn’t been sold to or done for others. We just aren’t “arty” people, I guess, though I was able to explain some of the paintings to Vince because of the lecture I went to on Norwegian artists.
By the time we got to the trikk I told Vince that the hardest part of the day would be to walk from the trikk to the apt. after sitting down for awhile. My feel were killing me – if I’d seen a T-shirt that waid “I walked my feet off in Oslo” I would have bought it, I think. But it was rush hour and the trikk had standing room only, so I didn’t have to worry. Vince stayed home on Tuesday, and read/studied here. I ironed the shirts. In the afternoon, we went to the grocery store. He can’t figure out why I let him go long here, when I don’t want him along at home. He decided a cake would taste good so bought a mix, also a box of frosting mix (I thought). I baked the cake maybe on Wednesday evening (I had gone down to the Library on Wednesday – the walk wasn’t so bad – most of the sidewalk was clear of ice). I didn’t find a cake pan but used a bread pan. It wasn’t a 9 x 6 – more like a 3 x 12. So I got a long narrow load cake. What I though was frosting was filling (pudding) so I sliced the cake in half, put filling between the layers, more on top. We ate it!
We are invited out tonight – to the home of the head of the Prosthetic Dept. Jene is invited for pizza to the couple downstairs. She has ‘baby’ sat for them a couple of times. All for now –
Love, Verla and Vince
Dear ones,
We have had beautiful clear weather, or mostly so, for quite a spell. We even had 2 or 3 days this week when it got up to freezing – so imagine we have had a little melting. It doesn’t show much except we see a few bare spots on sidewalks. And it is sloppy downtown. Do you suppose when it melts it runs down all these hills thru town to the fjord?
With the dollar value dropping, we keep losing buying power. Our January rent was the same as $533 and our March rent will be the same as $578. It is taking more of our dollars to equal the kroners – We’ve been trying to figure out these past couple of days if we will have enough for our traveling in May and June. I may have to write home for more money. When we talked last fall about this apartment, I think it was in Oct., it would have cost us $480. Supposedly, it is good for the country’s trade, but if tourists are like us, it means they buy less, so the foreign countries don’t gain. However, maybe foreign trade between countries is not comparable to tourist spending. Oh well, we have our tickets, we can always come back.
It’s good to hear that Ryan has grown! Will that rate, well that’s a dumb question – he obviously won’t grow that much every month, right?
Hey, Mom, suppose I’ve read that verse before but didn’t remember it. I take it to mean foolish genealogies, and I don’t think mine is. We are talking about Titus 3:9 (for the rest of your information).
I’m not sure what we are doing today. Vince said something about getting the car washed. It is quite dirty. They told us at the factory in Sweden that Norway doesn’t use salt – but they do – at least here in Oslo. Yesterday, we took it to a Volvo garage for its first service. We have almost 1200 miles on it. We paid for only the oil, the filter, grease or whatever. It still cost us 280 NKr (or $40.00). The bus route for getting home again or go someplace else (for most of the day) was so complicated, we took a taxi home, and then back again when it was done.
Vince had such a good day at the University on Wednesday – getting the experiment ready to go, etc. that he announced when he came home that he wasn’t going back till next Tuesday. This experiment and research has to do with denture adhesives. He has read all the papers and research and information (well, if not all, a great deal), so he has gained another area of expertise. It’s a bit out of his field as a fixed (Crown & Bridge) prosthodontist since it is in Removable (Partials and Full Dentures) Prosthetics; but there is talk at Iowa of making the 2 just 1 department, anyway. Have I written that before? He was told again on Wednesday how good his presentation on acid-etch bridges the previous Friday had been – the Prosthodontists here had poor results with the technique so had given it up. But now since Vince’s talk, they are going to look at it again! It made him feel really good.
Thursday Vince and I decided to see a couple of things downtown – we rode in on the trikk with Jene when she went to her class. We went to the Defense (Forvarsmuseet) Museum and looked at the weapons of Norway from the 900’s on. It was interesting, but very little in English. Even with a map, we had to ask directions on just exactly where the building was. We must have spent 2 hours walking through 2 floors of exhibits – then we had a sandwich in the cafeteria, and then walked to the National Gallery. It was 3 (15:00) p.m. when we got there and it closed at 4; but an hours was long enough for us to walk through 3 floors of paintings and sculptures. We almost skipped the first floor because it was ‘modern art’ and that’s usually pretty abstract. But in that section was the only painting that really struck Vince’s fancy. We didn’t see any that we particularly liked done by well-known artists or Norwegian artists. Now we don’t know if we will go to the Munch (Norway’s most famous artist) Museum. He willed all his paintings to Oslo – well, not all – but I suppose all that hadn’t been sold to or done for others. We just aren’t “arty” people, I guess, though I was able to explain some of the paintings to Vince because of the lecture I went to on Norwegian artists.
By the time we got to the trikk I told Vince that the hardest part of the day would be to walk from the trikk to the apt. after sitting down for awhile. My feel were killing me – if I’d seen a T-shirt that waid “I walked my feet off in Oslo” I would have bought it, I think. But it was rush hour and the trikk had standing room only, so I didn’t have to worry. Vince stayed home on Tuesday, and read/studied here. I ironed the shirts. In the afternoon, we went to the grocery store. He can’t figure out why I let him go long here, when I don’t want him along at home. He decided a cake would taste good so bought a mix, also a box of frosting mix (I thought). I baked the cake maybe on Wednesday evening (I had gone down to the Library on Wednesday – the walk wasn’t so bad – most of the sidewalk was clear of ice). I didn’t find a cake pan but used a bread pan. It wasn’t a 9 x 6 – more like a 3 x 12. So I got a long narrow load cake. What I though was frosting was filling (pudding) so I sliced the cake in half, put filling between the layers, more on top. We ate it!
We are invited out tonight – to the home of the head of the Prosthetic Dept. Jene is invited for pizza to the couple downstairs. She has ‘baby’ sat for them a couple of times. All for now –
Love, Verla and Vince
February 5, 2016
What To Do
Sat a.m., 8 March 1986
Dear ones,
The coffee is perking – I’m the only one up yet. Supposedly we are going to do something today, but no one has decided what yet.
We have had several days of melting weather with temperatures in upper 30’s and lower 40’s F. Think the 3-4 inches more of snow that we got on Tuesday is melted, plus more. I can visualize rivers of water running down the hills toward the center of town to the fjord.
Trying hard not to get my hopes up that spring is just around the corner – we were told last Sunday that spring comes end of April. Yet Oddvar told us he does his planting the last week or 2 in April and first couple of weeks in May.
Last Saturday night’s dinner at the home of the Head of Prosthetics Dept. was interesting and fun. There were 2 other dentists from the department and their wives there, so there were 8 of us. We had cold smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, creamed potatoes and toast. For dessert we had multeberries in whipping cream. That is a real Norwegian delicacy; think this was the first time we had coffee and dessert while we were still at the dinner table. But we did adjourn to the coffee table to visit and it wasn’t long before a bowl of fruit was passed and then a dish of candy. They all tried to remember to speak in English for our benefit – once in awhile they forgot. One of the wives had spent 2 or 3 years in United States. She told of getting hungry for fish, and finally when she got to San Francisco she thought she would get some good fish at Fisherman’s Wharf. But all there was was braised, or broiled, or stewed, or fried. So she asked if she couldn’t have some plain boiled fish and boiled potatoes. Guess she got it.
Sunday morning Vince was busy. The church choir was the special music at the chapel service out at the Federal Prison – it’s only about a 15-min. drive from here. Then the choir also sang at the service at the Osteras church. He found out at the prison that there had been an escape the day before; and also that a Norwegian who had been caught giving information to Russia had been at the chapel service. On Monday night, the choir sang for the annual meeting at the church. While there, Vince found out this escapee is a drug smuggler. And somehow, with the aid of some one on the outside, the high snow banks had aided in the escape.
Jene and I went to the lecture course on Monday; Vince picked us up afterwards. A girl came and talked to us – she had overheard us and figured we were Americans. She graduated from St. Olaf in 1977. Her parents are missionaries in Japan. She is back in the states for a month visiting relatives in – Mason City and Osage?
Jene’s first six weeks class finished yesterday; now she has a week break before the 2nd 6-week courts starts. She keeps saying she’s not learning much but she sure knows a lot more than when she started.
Thursday afternoon we decided to do something so drove down to a center down the road a little ways. Think we walked around in almost every shop. Did see a food store that is quite a big larger than the one we go to here. But we didn’t see a fresh fish counter. We ended up in a konditori (bakery) for a roll and a cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound exciting!
Wednesday while Vince was at the Univ. and Jene was at class, I worked around here. First, I pressed the blouses and shirts. Then I decided to make choc. Chip cookies. What a mistake! They are edible but not good. I guess I won’t try that again. First, my measuring cup is in liters: 1 cup equals .24 liter or 2.3 deciliter; second: Norway doesn’t have brown sugar as we know it – theirs is almost damp and mixed with molasses. I used it half strength; their: vanilla is not the same – it can be gotten in a small packet in essence and suppose that is liquid. I bought vanilla sugar. Then you have to adjust the sugar amount or add a small amount of liquid; Fourth: Norway doesn’t have chocolate chips, so I cut 2 choc. bars into bits. I did find some shelves (not racks) which fit in the oven, and used them as cookie sheets. All in all, it wasn’t a good idea. Now, I don’t know if I have nerve enough to try pie. Did find smult the other day which is Norwegian word for lard; it says on the outside marent fett so I suppose it is made from whale blubber!
Worked on our income tax yesterday. Think I have about all the figuring done. So will fill out the forms and get them sent in.
Well, Vince is up so better get started on the day. Sounds like you all enjoyed Sharon’s birthday. I vote for a repeat for next year – you don’t want to be 41 anyway, do you, Sharon?
We have been working on a tentative itinerary for our travels after 17th May. Vince is worried about driving in Germany – he tells me to study German. Would be fun to see some of Luther’s location but they are mostly in East Germany – and we aren’t about to wander around there without a tour guide.
Thanks for the letters!
Love, Verla and Vince
Dear ones,
The coffee is perking – I’m the only one up yet. Supposedly we are going to do something today, but no one has decided what yet.
We have had several days of melting weather with temperatures in upper 30’s and lower 40’s F. Think the 3-4 inches more of snow that we got on Tuesday is melted, plus more. I can visualize rivers of water running down the hills toward the center of town to the fjord.
Trying hard not to get my hopes up that spring is just around the corner – we were told last Sunday that spring comes end of April. Yet Oddvar told us he does his planting the last week or 2 in April and first couple of weeks in May.
Last Saturday night’s dinner at the home of the Head of Prosthetics Dept. was interesting and fun. There were 2 other dentists from the department and their wives there, so there were 8 of us. We had cold smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, creamed potatoes and toast. For dessert we had multeberries in whipping cream. That is a real Norwegian delicacy; think this was the first time we had coffee and dessert while we were still at the dinner table. But we did adjourn to the coffee table to visit and it wasn’t long before a bowl of fruit was passed and then a dish of candy. They all tried to remember to speak in English for our benefit – once in awhile they forgot. One of the wives had spent 2 or 3 years in United States. She told of getting hungry for fish, and finally when she got to San Francisco she thought she would get some good fish at Fisherman’s Wharf. But all there was was braised, or broiled, or stewed, or fried. So she asked if she couldn’t have some plain boiled fish and boiled potatoes. Guess she got it.
Sunday morning Vince was busy. The church choir was the special music at the chapel service out at the Federal Prison – it’s only about a 15-min. drive from here. Then the choir also sang at the service at the Osteras church. He found out at the prison that there had been an escape the day before; and also that a Norwegian who had been caught giving information to Russia had been at the chapel service. On Monday night, the choir sang for the annual meeting at the church. While there, Vince found out this escapee is a drug smuggler. And somehow, with the aid of some one on the outside, the high snow banks had aided in the escape.
Jene and I went to the lecture course on Monday; Vince picked us up afterwards. A girl came and talked to us – she had overheard us and figured we were Americans. She graduated from St. Olaf in 1977. Her parents are missionaries in Japan. She is back in the states for a month visiting relatives in – Mason City and Osage?
Jene’s first six weeks class finished yesterday; now she has a week break before the 2nd 6-week courts starts. She keeps saying she’s not learning much but she sure knows a lot more than when she started.
Thursday afternoon we decided to do something so drove down to a center down the road a little ways. Think we walked around in almost every shop. Did see a food store that is quite a big larger than the one we go to here. But we didn’t see a fresh fish counter. We ended up in a konditori (bakery) for a roll and a cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound exciting!
Wednesday while Vince was at the Univ. and Jene was at class, I worked around here. First, I pressed the blouses and shirts. Then I decided to make choc. Chip cookies. What a mistake! They are edible but not good. I guess I won’t try that again. First, my measuring cup is in liters: 1 cup equals .24 liter or 2.3 deciliter; second: Norway doesn’t have brown sugar as we know it – theirs is almost damp and mixed with molasses. I used it half strength; their: vanilla is not the same – it can be gotten in a small packet in essence and suppose that is liquid. I bought vanilla sugar. Then you have to adjust the sugar amount or add a small amount of liquid; Fourth: Norway doesn’t have chocolate chips, so I cut 2 choc. bars into bits. I did find some shelves (not racks) which fit in the oven, and used them as cookie sheets. All in all, it wasn’t a good idea. Now, I don’t know if I have nerve enough to try pie. Did find smult the other day which is Norwegian word for lard; it says on the outside marent fett so I suppose it is made from whale blubber!
Worked on our income tax yesterday. Think I have about all the figuring done. So will fill out the forms and get them sent in.
Well, Vince is up so better get started on the day. Sounds like you all enjoyed Sharon’s birthday. I vote for a repeat for next year – you don’t want to be 41 anyway, do you, Sharon?
We have been working on a tentative itinerary for our travels after 17th May. Vince is worried about driving in Germany – he tells me to study German. Would be fun to see some of Luther’s location but they are mostly in East Germany – and we aren’t about to wander around there without a tour guide.
Thanks for the letters!
Love, Verla and Vince
February 4, 2016
Taking a Ride
16 March 1986
Dear ones,
Did I write Saturday morning last week? I’m thinking I did, but its hard to remember what I’ve written to you and what I’ve written to the kids. Anyway, if the following paragraph is old, you’ll just have to read it anyway. Vince and I went for a ride – Jene got ready too, but didn’t feel super so decided to lay around home. It was a bright sunshiny day – the last one we’ve had I think. It was a sloppy day to drive with the melting. We headed n.w. toward Honefoss, and just before we got there, Vince saw an old church and turned off to take a look. It was old and locked. However, there was a monument to Anna Colbjornsdatter, and also a museum across the road. There were a couple of cars there so we decided to go see if it was open. It wasn’t – it’s not heated – but the care taker was outside and we visited (Vince visited – though he spoke some English) with him. He invited us in to look around if we didn’t mind the cold. He unlocked a few doors for us. We saw a good W.W. II collection. The Germans overran most of Norway in two weeks, and there was no outright resistance after 2 months. The underground resistance is another story. The caretaker apparently lives in the back rooms. He popped out and wanted us to see another room. It was called the Swedish room; and there were still bullet holes in the wall from a battle with 500 Swedish soldiers in 1716. The legend goes that Anna C. (the minister’s wife) helped set an ambush for these soldiers. The building used to be the parsonage – part of it was from the 1600’s, part from 1700’s, and part from 1800’s. In the oldest part was a collection of Jorgen Moe’s possessions. He evidently was a minister and we are supposing there; he was also in on the compilations of Norse folk tales by Asbjornson and Moe. His things appeared to have been elegant in their day. The ministers in the 1700s were wealthy.
Then the caretaker wanted us to go down the basement to see something else. Behind a door he opened electronically, and then behind bars chained and locked were Russian icons. You’ll have to look the word up in a dictionary or encyclopedia. I only have heard enough to know they are quite valuable – he said they were worth a million kroner. There were also paintings of the Russian czar’s family done by a Norwegian artist who had been there. In that same room, but not behind the bars was a runestone from the Viking Age - 900-1050 A.D. – the inscription was something about “Guttorm the good”. There were also 2 stone ‘hammers’ that were 4000 years old.
From there we drove into Honefoss – and walked around the town. We were looking for a café to eat lunch. The town was lively – a woman was giving a speech in the square. The sings were advocating boycott of South Africa in protest of apartheid. Suppose she was talking about that – Women’ Lib day is Mar 9, so it could have been that. We only found a “fast” food place for a sandwich. By the time, we had eaten, the speaker was done and the town was about folded up. Stores close at 1 p.m. and don’t open again until Mon. morning. So we drove on a little farther and then headed back to Oslo on a different highway. Lots of pretty views.
We talked about taking the trikk downtown on Sunday and going to the worship service at the Cathedral, but it was cloudy and damp so we decided to drive to Haslum, the next little ‘suburb’, for church. The main part of the church had been built by 1200. The walls were about 4 ft. thick. Wings had been added later as had the pulpit and pews. The pews seated 4 people each and there was probably 16 rows front to back on each side of the aisle; the wings had 6 on each side so I figured it couldn’t seat more than 200 or so. The chandelier hanging in the center had candles, 12 of them, but electricity and heat had been put in. We hung around a little afterwards to take pictures. The asst. pastor came to talk to us as we were looking at the baptismal font – it was dated 1643. He pointed out the original font which had been found out in the grave yard. It was a large rock with the ‘bowl’ for the water hollowed out. He asked us where we were from – he was from N.Y. – the only other thing Norwegian about him was his wife. He had lived in Norway 9 years.
17 March 1986
Wednesday I met 2 ladies downtown at noon. There are nieces of Sverre Hornseth (he lives at Ovre Rendal) who is a first cousin to Elise. We went to the Theater Café, had lunch and visited until 4. It was interesting and I didn’t know about these until they called. I had been writing to Sverre now and then and he told them to contact us.
Tuesday I tried to make an apple pie. It was better than the choc. chip cookies.
Thursday we left on a little excursion – drove up to Hamar. Found the jewelry store where Vince bought the ear rings 10 years ago. I have lost one and he was checking to see if he could find a matching one. We couldn’t. Then we tried to find the store where we bought our sweaters. We hoped we could find such a good deal again. Think the stores have changed; not as many of them carry those kind of sweaters. Guess mostly tourists buy them. We didn’t find any. So we had a cup of coffee and then drove up to Elverum. We saw the building where the constitution had been signed – that must have been before we got to Hamar because it was open from 12 – 2, and we were about an hour early. At elverum we found a place to stay for the night and then drove downtown. The stores were closed but Vince saw a sweater in a window that he thought was pretty. We got up early the next morning so we could check out that store before we looked for a (?) checked out a couple of touristy things. When the clerk told Vince the price of the sweater, he decided it was too expensive. He couldn’t find any other he liked; and we were in a husfliden where all the sweaters are hand knit – they are handcraft and bunad stores. The clerk decided to take the one out of the window – then she saw it had last year’s price on it. He thought it was maybe a bit big, but decided to get it anyway. So he was done shopping – Jene and I never did find anything we wanted to buy.
We did find a monument – built on the spot where King Haakon told the Germans (nei) when they asked him to agree to a government run by Quisling (Norway’s traitor). And we got close enough to read the inscription even though we trudged through snow over our knees. Traveling in Norway in the winter has a few drawbacks. We also visited a Forestry museum which showed the history of lumbering; there was an aquarium there, too, with a lot of different kinds of fish.
Then we drove up to Lillehamar and got ourselves a room. It was about six or so. Jene wasn’t feeling good – so she climbed into bed – think it was trudging through the snow – Vince and I went down for (?) and then went out for a walk along the main street. We found a few stores we wanted to check out in the morning. Jene’s friend at home wants her to bring something back so she’s been looking for a made in Norway gift that doesn’t look like a “souvenir”. We checked out of the hotel by noon, and then went to find Maihaugen, an outdoor museum with a collection of old buildings. The buildings are furnished, too, I guess, but are only open in the summer time. Paths were cleared though so we could walk through the area.
From there we headed in the general direction of Oslo, driving through Eina. That’s where Vince’s grandpa W. and great grandfather lived for 10 years before coming to Iowa in 1864. The little old hotel we stayed in 10 years ago wasn’t open. Could be they use it only in the summer. We drove by the farm so Jene could see it. Guess we didn’t stop after that until we got home.
Had some soup, read our mail. Didn’t stay up too late because Sunday was Holmenkollen. That will wait until the next letter!
To answer some questions: Palme’s assassination was big news – of course, we don’t understand a whole lot. We get a couple of Swedish channels, too. But it gets to be a lot of watching the pictures and trying to get the drift. The Nato exercise up north where 16 Norwegian soldiers died in an avalanche was also big news. Guess there is controversy about whether they should have been ordered in there.
The people in the house called once – the battery on the Cutlass died and they were wondering what to do. Everything else seemed to e fine. The little boy is enjoying the big yard to play in, and had been sliding down the hill. It must have been still Jan. or early Feb. when they called. We will have to write them soon – some of the mail that they have been forwarding has taken six weeks to it must be coming by boat.
Dawn did call, in fact twice. We weren’t home the first time so she talked to Jene – then she called us later. Sounds like Heather is growing and changing!
Heard about the buzzard cake but not about the Elvis one.
Time to fix breakfast. Need to go to the store for bread and milk. Jene starts her second six-week session today, but it is in the early p.m. instead of late a.m. She will like lying in bed a bit longer. She had last week off. Think she gets next week off for Easter break. We’ve been told every one in Oslo heads to the mountains for Easter vacation.
Love, Verla and Vince
Dear ones,
Did I write Saturday morning last week? I’m thinking I did, but its hard to remember what I’ve written to you and what I’ve written to the kids. Anyway, if the following paragraph is old, you’ll just have to read it anyway. Vince and I went for a ride – Jene got ready too, but didn’t feel super so decided to lay around home. It was a bright sunshiny day – the last one we’ve had I think. It was a sloppy day to drive with the melting. We headed n.w. toward Honefoss, and just before we got there, Vince saw an old church and turned off to take a look. It was old and locked. However, there was a monument to Anna Colbjornsdatter, and also a museum across the road. There were a couple of cars there so we decided to go see if it was open. It wasn’t – it’s not heated – but the care taker was outside and we visited (Vince visited – though he spoke some English) with him. He invited us in to look around if we didn’t mind the cold. He unlocked a few doors for us. We saw a good W.W. II collection. The Germans overran most of Norway in two weeks, and there was no outright resistance after 2 months. The underground resistance is another story. The caretaker apparently lives in the back rooms. He popped out and wanted us to see another room. It was called the Swedish room; and there were still bullet holes in the wall from a battle with 500 Swedish soldiers in 1716. The legend goes that Anna C. (the minister’s wife) helped set an ambush for these soldiers. The building used to be the parsonage – part of it was from the 1600’s, part from 1700’s, and part from 1800’s. In the oldest part was a collection of Jorgen Moe’s possessions. He evidently was a minister and we are supposing there; he was also in on the compilations of Norse folk tales by Asbjornson and Moe. His things appeared to have been elegant in their day. The ministers in the 1700s were wealthy.
Then the caretaker wanted us to go down the basement to see something else. Behind a door he opened electronically, and then behind bars chained and locked were Russian icons. You’ll have to look the word up in a dictionary or encyclopedia. I only have heard enough to know they are quite valuable – he said they were worth a million kroner. There were also paintings of the Russian czar’s family done by a Norwegian artist who had been there. In that same room, but not behind the bars was a runestone from the Viking Age - 900-1050 A.D. – the inscription was something about “Guttorm the good”. There were also 2 stone ‘hammers’ that were 4000 years old.
From there we drove into Honefoss – and walked around the town. We were looking for a café to eat lunch. The town was lively – a woman was giving a speech in the square. The sings were advocating boycott of South Africa in protest of apartheid. Suppose she was talking about that – Women’ Lib day is Mar 9, so it could have been that. We only found a “fast” food place for a sandwich. By the time, we had eaten, the speaker was done and the town was about folded up. Stores close at 1 p.m. and don’t open again until Mon. morning. So we drove on a little farther and then headed back to Oslo on a different highway. Lots of pretty views.
We talked about taking the trikk downtown on Sunday and going to the worship service at the Cathedral, but it was cloudy and damp so we decided to drive to Haslum, the next little ‘suburb’, for church. The main part of the church had been built by 1200. The walls were about 4 ft. thick. Wings had been added later as had the pulpit and pews. The pews seated 4 people each and there was probably 16 rows front to back on each side of the aisle; the wings had 6 on each side so I figured it couldn’t seat more than 200 or so. The chandelier hanging in the center had candles, 12 of them, but electricity and heat had been put in. We hung around a little afterwards to take pictures. The asst. pastor came to talk to us as we were looking at the baptismal font – it was dated 1643. He pointed out the original font which had been found out in the grave yard. It was a large rock with the ‘bowl’ for the water hollowed out. He asked us where we were from – he was from N.Y. – the only other thing Norwegian about him was his wife. He had lived in Norway 9 years.
17 March 1986
Wednesday I met 2 ladies downtown at noon. There are nieces of Sverre Hornseth (he lives at Ovre Rendal) who is a first cousin to Elise. We went to the Theater Café, had lunch and visited until 4. It was interesting and I didn’t know about these until they called. I had been writing to Sverre now and then and he told them to contact us.
Tuesday I tried to make an apple pie. It was better than the choc. chip cookies.
Thursday we left on a little excursion – drove up to Hamar. Found the jewelry store where Vince bought the ear rings 10 years ago. I have lost one and he was checking to see if he could find a matching one. We couldn’t. Then we tried to find the store where we bought our sweaters. We hoped we could find such a good deal again. Think the stores have changed; not as many of them carry those kind of sweaters. Guess mostly tourists buy them. We didn’t find any. So we had a cup of coffee and then drove up to Elverum. We saw the building where the constitution had been signed – that must have been before we got to Hamar because it was open from 12 – 2, and we were about an hour early. At elverum we found a place to stay for the night and then drove downtown. The stores were closed but Vince saw a sweater in a window that he thought was pretty. We got up early the next morning so we could check out that store before we looked for a (?) checked out a couple of touristy things. When the clerk told Vince the price of the sweater, he decided it was too expensive. He couldn’t find any other he liked; and we were in a husfliden where all the sweaters are hand knit – they are handcraft and bunad stores. The clerk decided to take the one out of the window – then she saw it had last year’s price on it. He thought it was maybe a bit big, but decided to get it anyway. So he was done shopping – Jene and I never did find anything we wanted to buy.
We did find a monument – built on the spot where King Haakon told the Germans (nei) when they asked him to agree to a government run by Quisling (Norway’s traitor). And we got close enough to read the inscription even though we trudged through snow over our knees. Traveling in Norway in the winter has a few drawbacks. We also visited a Forestry museum which showed the history of lumbering; there was an aquarium there, too, with a lot of different kinds of fish.
Then we drove up to Lillehamar and got ourselves a room. It was about six or so. Jene wasn’t feeling good – so she climbed into bed – think it was trudging through the snow – Vince and I went down for (?) and then went out for a walk along the main street. We found a few stores we wanted to check out in the morning. Jene’s friend at home wants her to bring something back so she’s been looking for a made in Norway gift that doesn’t look like a “souvenir”. We checked out of the hotel by noon, and then went to find Maihaugen, an outdoor museum with a collection of old buildings. The buildings are furnished, too, I guess, but are only open in the summer time. Paths were cleared though so we could walk through the area.
From there we headed in the general direction of Oslo, driving through Eina. That’s where Vince’s grandpa W. and great grandfather lived for 10 years before coming to Iowa in 1864. The little old hotel we stayed in 10 years ago wasn’t open. Could be they use it only in the summer. We drove by the farm so Jene could see it. Guess we didn’t stop after that until we got home.
Had some soup, read our mail. Didn’t stay up too late because Sunday was Holmenkollen. That will wait until the next letter!
To answer some questions: Palme’s assassination was big news – of course, we don’t understand a whole lot. We get a couple of Swedish channels, too. But it gets to be a lot of watching the pictures and trying to get the drift. The Nato exercise up north where 16 Norwegian soldiers died in an avalanche was also big news. Guess there is controversy about whether they should have been ordered in there.
The people in the house called once – the battery on the Cutlass died and they were wondering what to do. Everything else seemed to e fine. The little boy is enjoying the big yard to play in, and had been sliding down the hill. It must have been still Jan. or early Feb. when they called. We will have to write them soon – some of the mail that they have been forwarding has taken six weeks to it must be coming by boat.
Dawn did call, in fact twice. We weren’t home the first time so she talked to Jene – then she called us later. Sounds like Heather is growing and changing!
Heard about the buzzard cake but not about the Elvis one.
Time to fix breakfast. Need to go to the store for bread and milk. Jene starts her second six-week session today, but it is in the early p.m. instead of late a.m. She will like lying in bed a bit longer. She had last week off. Think she gets next week off for Easter break. We’ve been told every one in Oslo heads to the mountains for Easter vacation.
Love, Verla and Vince
February 3, 2016
Snowing and Windy
22 March 1986
Dear ones,
It almost looks like an Iowa winter day – it is snowing and windy. I haven’t been out yet, but the thermometer says 2 degrees C (35-36 F) so it isn’t real cold.
Vince and I went to a concert at a church downtown on Thursday night – it was a large orchestra, a chorus and 3 soloists. It was snowing big wet flakes when we left here and by the time we got off the trikk downtown it was barely sprinkling. Good thing! – we had a 5 or 6 block walk to the church. The music critic (Vince) said it was good – the music was quite modern considering the composer (and conductor) looked to be a man of 60 or 65 years. The orchestra was quite loud – could have been from the acoustics of the church. I fight the temptation of not listening because I don’t understand the words. For instance: when we got off the trikk downtown, I told Vince I was going to the “damer rom” – I knew there was one in the station. When I got there, it had pay toilets (toilette) and not just a measly Crown (krone) like one of the dept. stores but 5 crowns. Luckily I had one, so I inserted it in the door, went in. When I came out, and headed towards the sink, I didn’t think about closing the door behind me so it would be locked for the next one. I started washing my hands when I heard some Norwegian – I paid no attention, couldn’t understand it anyway. The lady washing her hands next to me, after just a bit, went out and closed that door. As I was drying my hands, I glanced around and there behind a window sat a couple of people – caretakers I assume. I decided they had told me to close the door. Oh, well. So I’m deaf. We have decided we must look like Norwegians. Yesterday we were stopped by a lady and asked something. The only thing we understood was Steen and Strom, the name of a dept. store. So we pointed the direction it was. Wonder if she found it?
Jene has Easter break this week and so does the Univ. I asked at the Post Office – they are closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The grocery store is too, except they are open Sat. morning. Guess half of Oslo goes to the mountains for the week. We are talking about, but haven’t decided yet, going over to Stockholm for 2-3 days.
Monday night I got a phone call while Vince was at choir practice. He said it was Ottar; he may have asked for Vince – I told him he was at church. Then he said, "Onsdag," so I said, "Onsdag, ja." Then he said, "Klokken fem," so I said, "Klokken fem, ja." Then he said, "Kaff," and I said, "Kaffe, ja." We repeated that whole thing and then he said OK (or some such) and hung up. When Vince got home, I told him I thought we had been invited to Ottar’s for coffee on Wednesday at 5.
On Wednesday Vince went in to the U. in the morning but came home early afternoon. We allowed 1 ½ hours to drive to Ottar’s that time of day and we needed it. Vince wanted to know what I was going to do if I was wrong and I said just be embarrassed, apologize and leave. We rang the doorbell, and sure enough they welcomed us in. Vince asked if this was the right day, they said ja ja. The coffee table was set – for 5. Jene had agreed to babysit for the people (Americans) downstairs so she didn’t go along. I really believed they would have someone else there who could speak English – neither Ottar or Signi do. But Vince’ Norwegian carried us through. We had 2 kinds of cake and cinnamon rolls with our coffee. After we had second, and some candy or sugar lumps, Ottar shoved the cups aside, and went to the hallway and got my books. (I almost didn’t bring them). Then he tried to find the pages his family was on – he gave me names of his brothers’ families and of his aunts and uncles, some birth dates and death dates, addresses, etc. When I got down all he knew, then he said, (Na, vi ha mer kaffe”. So the cakes and rolls were passed again. It was nine o’clock before we left. They were leaving on Friday for their summer hytte at Rendal. But they will be back in April some, and go again in May. Think they spend most of the summer there. He will be 72 soon; she is 69. They are a neat couple. She gave us 3 jars of jam, one tyttebear, the other 2 currant (rype) jelly.
I left Holmenkollen Sunday for this letter, didn’t I? We took a couple of trikks to get there – it was easier than using the car. We just followed along with the crowd, and reading the signs and arrows to find the section where our seats were. When we got to the place where we would start the downward climb – we were in row 48 of about 80 rows – it was roped off and wehad to stand aside. It didn’t take us too long to figure out that it was time for the King to arrive. Sure enough, in a few minutes he came walking slowing in – he is 83 – followed by his son and daughter-in-law, 2 grandchildren and their friends. Both Vince and Jene got good pictures – so for once we were in the right place at the right time. Jene has been wanted(?) to see him and was afraid it wasn’t going to be. Think she was disappointed he didn’t look more kingly. He went to this heated box while we climber down to our snow covered cement bleacher seats. Luckily, we had bought 3 pieces of plastic foam to sit on! It was snowing, a little breezy, and very foggy. We had seats directly across from where most of the jumpers were landing. Next time (ha) we will get from across from where they leave the jump. We couldn’t see them until they were soaring thru the air and then we had to look up behind us. Suppose the mountain side was used to its best advantage to build the seats, but for the spectator, there could have been a better design. In spite of freezing, we were still glad we had seen it. There were 80 jumpers – the top 50 jumped twice. Think it was an Italian who was followed by a Finn. You wouldn’t believe the halftime entertainment.
There was a good sized plane flying around overhead during the first half – the fog covered him half the time – I don’t know how the pilot could see anything. The fellow in front of us told us that sometimes the Airlines offered flyovers of the Jump as part of a tour and he thought that might be what is was. But then later he told us they just announced over the loud speakers that there would be sky jumpers during the half. Sure enough – we heard the pilot’s voice over the intercom say he was approaching – then we saw him break thru the fog and at least 12 parachutists jump out. They all steered their chutes so they landed on or close to the X at the bottom of the ski jump. As the last one landed, the big airplane took one last low pass over the arena, tipped his wings and disappeared into the clouds. Dumb Norwegians – our airports would have been closed in such a fog! We were so cold we didn’t wait for the presentation of the medals; but began the climb up the steep, high steps to the 80th row again. We got warmed up, however by the time we got to the trikk. The one down downtowned (?) was mobbed with people, but there was a sign pointing to a walkway to the second line we had to take to get back to Osteras. We decided we would do that – it would probably be easier than waiting in line taking the other trikk downtown, transferring, etc. Wrong! We walked down a sidewalk that was snow covered, ice covered, almost straight down, and it must have been more than a mile. Actually, I didn’t walk – I slid, and held onto Vince. But after asking 2 or 3 times we finally found it, and rode the rest of the way home. And we did get warmed up! Monday and Tuesday we were all so stiff in our meg muscles, we could hardly move. We think it was the climb up the steps though and not the slide down the mountain side!
Guess I’ll mail this and see what the weather is like.
Love, Verla and Vince
Dear ones,
It almost looks like an Iowa winter day – it is snowing and windy. I haven’t been out yet, but the thermometer says 2 degrees C (35-36 F) so it isn’t real cold.
Vince and I went to a concert at a church downtown on Thursday night – it was a large orchestra, a chorus and 3 soloists. It was snowing big wet flakes when we left here and by the time we got off the trikk downtown it was barely sprinkling. Good thing! – we had a 5 or 6 block walk to the church. The music critic (Vince) said it was good – the music was quite modern considering the composer (and conductor) looked to be a man of 60 or 65 years. The orchestra was quite loud – could have been from the acoustics of the church. I fight the temptation of not listening because I don’t understand the words. For instance: when we got off the trikk downtown, I told Vince I was going to the “damer rom” – I knew there was one in the station. When I got there, it had pay toilets (toilette) and not just a measly Crown (krone) like one of the dept. stores but 5 crowns. Luckily I had one, so I inserted it in the door, went in. When I came out, and headed towards the sink, I didn’t think about closing the door behind me so it would be locked for the next one. I started washing my hands when I heard some Norwegian – I paid no attention, couldn’t understand it anyway. The lady washing her hands next to me, after just a bit, went out and closed that door. As I was drying my hands, I glanced around and there behind a window sat a couple of people – caretakers I assume. I decided they had told me to close the door. Oh, well. So I’m deaf. We have decided we must look like Norwegians. Yesterday we were stopped by a lady and asked something. The only thing we understood was Steen and Strom, the name of a dept. store. So we pointed the direction it was. Wonder if she found it?
Jene has Easter break this week and so does the Univ. I asked at the Post Office – they are closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The grocery store is too, except they are open Sat. morning. Guess half of Oslo goes to the mountains for the week. We are talking about, but haven’t decided yet, going over to Stockholm for 2-3 days.
Monday night I got a phone call while Vince was at choir practice. He said it was Ottar; he may have asked for Vince – I told him he was at church. Then he said, "Onsdag," so I said, "Onsdag, ja." Then he said, "Klokken fem," so I said, "Klokken fem, ja." Then he said, "Kaff," and I said, "Kaffe, ja." We repeated that whole thing and then he said OK (or some such) and hung up. When Vince got home, I told him I thought we had been invited to Ottar’s for coffee on Wednesday at 5.
On Wednesday Vince went in to the U. in the morning but came home early afternoon. We allowed 1 ½ hours to drive to Ottar’s that time of day and we needed it. Vince wanted to know what I was going to do if I was wrong and I said just be embarrassed, apologize and leave. We rang the doorbell, and sure enough they welcomed us in. Vince asked if this was the right day, they said ja ja. The coffee table was set – for 5. Jene had agreed to babysit for the people (Americans) downstairs so she didn’t go along. I really believed they would have someone else there who could speak English – neither Ottar or Signi do. But Vince’ Norwegian carried us through. We had 2 kinds of cake and cinnamon rolls with our coffee. After we had second, and some candy or sugar lumps, Ottar shoved the cups aside, and went to the hallway and got my books. (I almost didn’t bring them). Then he tried to find the pages his family was on – he gave me names of his brothers’ families and of his aunts and uncles, some birth dates and death dates, addresses, etc. When I got down all he knew, then he said, (Na, vi ha mer kaffe”. So the cakes and rolls were passed again. It was nine o’clock before we left. They were leaving on Friday for their summer hytte at Rendal. But they will be back in April some, and go again in May. Think they spend most of the summer there. He will be 72 soon; she is 69. They are a neat couple. She gave us 3 jars of jam, one tyttebear, the other 2 currant (rype) jelly.
I left Holmenkollen Sunday for this letter, didn’t I? We took a couple of trikks to get there – it was easier than using the car. We just followed along with the crowd, and reading the signs and arrows to find the section where our seats were. When we got to the place where we would start the downward climb – we were in row 48 of about 80 rows – it was roped off and wehad to stand aside. It didn’t take us too long to figure out that it was time for the King to arrive. Sure enough, in a few minutes he came walking slowing in – he is 83 – followed by his son and daughter-in-law, 2 grandchildren and their friends. Both Vince and Jene got good pictures – so for once we were in the right place at the right time. Jene has been wanted(?) to see him and was afraid it wasn’t going to be. Think she was disappointed he didn’t look more kingly. He went to this heated box while we climber down to our snow covered cement bleacher seats. Luckily, we had bought 3 pieces of plastic foam to sit on! It was snowing, a little breezy, and very foggy. We had seats directly across from where most of the jumpers were landing. Next time (ha) we will get from across from where they leave the jump. We couldn’t see them until they were soaring thru the air and then we had to look up behind us. Suppose the mountain side was used to its best advantage to build the seats, but for the spectator, there could have been a better design. In spite of freezing, we were still glad we had seen it. There were 80 jumpers – the top 50 jumped twice. Think it was an Italian who was followed by a Finn. You wouldn’t believe the halftime entertainment.
There was a good sized plane flying around overhead during the first half – the fog covered him half the time – I don’t know how the pilot could see anything. The fellow in front of us told us that sometimes the Airlines offered flyovers of the Jump as part of a tour and he thought that might be what is was. But then later he told us they just announced over the loud speakers that there would be sky jumpers during the half. Sure enough – we heard the pilot’s voice over the intercom say he was approaching – then we saw him break thru the fog and at least 12 parachutists jump out. They all steered their chutes so they landed on or close to the X at the bottom of the ski jump. As the last one landed, the big airplane took one last low pass over the arena, tipped his wings and disappeared into the clouds. Dumb Norwegians – our airports would have been closed in such a fog! We were so cold we didn’t wait for the presentation of the medals; but began the climb up the steep, high steps to the 80th row again. We got warmed up, however by the time we got to the trikk. The one down downtowned (?) was mobbed with people, but there was a sign pointing to a walkway to the second line we had to take to get back to Osteras. We decided we would do that – it would probably be easier than waiting in line taking the other trikk downtown, transferring, etc. Wrong! We walked down a sidewalk that was snow covered, ice covered, almost straight down, and it must have been more than a mile. Actually, I didn’t walk – I slid, and held onto Vince. But after asking 2 or 3 times we finally found it, and rode the rest of the way home. And we did get warmed up! Monday and Tuesday we were all so stiff in our meg muscles, we could hardly move. We think it was the climb up the steps though and not the slide down the mountain side!
Guess I’ll mail this and see what the weather is like.
Love, Verla and Vince
February 2, 2016
Three Days in Sweden
29 March 1986
Dear ones,
Norway goes on Daylight Saving time tonight so we will be 8 hours ahead of Minn. Time until you go on Daylight time. Think Vince and Jene are getting their extra hour of sleep this morning. I decided to make my coffee and get started on the day.
We got back last night from 3 days in Sweden. It was fun and we packed in a lot of sight seeing. One thing begins to look like another after awhile. We buy little souvenir books at some of the places; but we should study them before we see the place. All we find out when we read them is what we missed seeing. We got to Mariefred, a small town outside of Stockholm, (there is an old castle there) mid afternoon on Wednesday. We had about an hour to go through it before it closed – it was 3 floors and 50 rooms. So we didn’t have a whole lot of time to dawdle. There 3000 portraits hanging in the rooms, hallways, etc. of kings and queens and other important persons – we saw one of Martin Luther, one of Calvin, of Thomas Jefferson. One of the kings had built himself a theater in one of the towers – that was quite neat. Out in front just before you crossed the moat was 2 runestones – we’ve seen several of those. They are from Viking times and I guess someone is able to decipher them. To us it just looks like picture language. Hope I’ve kept good enough record of our slides so we will remember where we took which pictures. After that we went over to the little town and walked thru some of the shops. The stores in Sweden seem to stay open till six, though a lot of them close over the noon hour. (Here they stay open during lunch hour but close at 5. The majority of the shops close at 1 on Saturday p.m. excepting the food stores which re probably open till 4. Very few if any stores are open on Sunday – some gas stations and sometimes they will have some grocery items, etc.) Jene is going to try to add to her shoe collection so she was looking for a shoe made in Sweden. She finally lucked out – a wooden clog; we found it in a little shop called Sussi’s and as we were walking around looking at things, a lady (clerk) walked up and said, “It’s good to hear my native tongue.” It turned out she was she was ‘Susie’ the shop owner, from England. She said we were a little ahead of the tourist season. She talked and talked. She has a retired gentleman make these wooden clogs for her, then she wood burns a design and paints them. So ‘Sweden’ as well as her name is on the bottom. She’s lived in Sweden 17 years, married a Swede. That was interesting!
From there we drove to the outskirts of Stockholm, got a hotel room, and settled in. We ate our supper there at the hotel. After breakfast the next morning we took a bus to the subway stop. We were having a time finding the correct bus, we asked to(?) of the drivers – neither one spoke English. We finally asked a fellow who was waiting for the bus – he spoke English. When we got off the bus we weren’t sure where to find the subway – the fellow we talked to came to our aid and told us to look for the T for tunnel (in DC it is M for Metro, right?) We bought a 24-hour ticket which got us on subways or busses without further cost for the rest of the day – it was quite a savings. So we headed for Old Town and the Palace and an old church, a large cathedral type. On the way to the Palace we walked by an old church – it was open, so we decided to go in, too. It turned out to be a Stockholm Cathedral. Big, ostentatious, gaudy – places (boxes) for the royalty to sit. It was built in the 1200’s, added to, remodeled, etc. and of course, before the Reformation was Roman. It had small chapels around the outside of the main nave; people of importance buried in the floor in these chapels. There was a big sculpture of St. George slaying the Dragon. Descriptions can’t begin to do it justice. From there we headed to the Palace – people were standing waiting so we figured something must be about to happen so we joined the crowd. It was about a 15-minute wait before they had the changing of the Guard. These were more like Swedish militia than like the English palace guards. After that we went into the Treasury to see the Crown jewels. They were about 2 floors below ground level. It’s difficult to imagine the wealth of the monarchs – one crown had hundreds of diamonds; some of the others had many kinds of gems. There was even a silver baptismal font.
After that we went to find the other old cathedral, but it was closed for construction work of some kind – so that was that. We stopped for a smorbrod (sandwich) at a bakery near the T, then rode to another stop, transferred to a bus and went to the Wasa museum. Here we saw the restoring, still in process of the old Swedish man-of-war ship. It overturned on its maiden voyage and sunk while it was still in the Stockholm harbor in 1628. In 1956 it was located, finally raised to the surface in 1961. It was in amazing condition considering the length of time it had been under water. They have been working at preserving and restoring it ever since. It was interesting – we had a guided tour, first in Swedish, then in English. By now it was 5 o’clock and we had seen enough for one day, so it was the bus back to the T back to the bus to the hotel. We decided to stay over another night. Holy Thursday is not a national holiday in Sweden like it is in Norway, but Good Friday is; we weren’t sure how much would be open anywhere.
So Friday morning we checked out, and drove up to Uppsala – it is a University town and the see of the Swedish bishop, so it has a huge cathedral, with chapels all around the outer aisle, and many people buried there. It was large and beautiful. They were having a Good Friday worship service at 11:00, so we waited and went to it. Vince even understood some of the sermon. The cathedral was filled, and a lot of visitors and tourists. Then we drove to Old Uppsala where the earlier cathedral had been. Part of it remains and it is still used as a place of worship. Quite close by are 3 huge mounds, royal burial grounds. From excavations done, they are believed to be from the 5 or 600 A.D. time period. And are thought to be of 3 kings told about in the sagas. Now that’s old! There was a little eating place open there, so we had smorbrod og kaffe before heading back to Oslo. It was at least a 6 or 7 hour drive, so it ws close to 10 before we got home. Luckily, I have bought some books which tell about these places – after awhile they all run together in your mind. We never did get to the newer part of Stockholm, nor did we attempt to visit the grave of Oluf Palme. I guess Swedes are still stopping and throwing flowers both at his grave and at the place where he was shot.
Last Sunday we went to Hobol to an old church. Oddvar met us and went, too. Did I write this before? We went to his house for dinner and an afternoon of visiting. It was fun again and they are nice.
Guess I’d better shampoo so my hair will get dry. We are invited for cheese and crackers at 7 to Hanna & Rolf Koppang’s. There is services at the churches tonight – Vince sings with the choir at Osteras. It is a 11 o’clock Easter Eve watch. They also have a worship service at 11 a.m. on Monday (second day Easter) besides the service tomorrow.
Don’t know when this will get out – P.O. closed from Thurs. thru Monday. But will drop it in the box anyway.
Love, Verla and Vince
I don’t do any fancy cooking for us here, so none of us are gaining weight! Don’t worry, Mom!
Dear ones,
Norway goes on Daylight Saving time tonight so we will be 8 hours ahead of Minn. Time until you go on Daylight time. Think Vince and Jene are getting their extra hour of sleep this morning. I decided to make my coffee and get started on the day.
We got back last night from 3 days in Sweden. It was fun and we packed in a lot of sight seeing. One thing begins to look like another after awhile. We buy little souvenir books at some of the places; but we should study them before we see the place. All we find out when we read them is what we missed seeing. We got to Mariefred, a small town outside of Stockholm, (there is an old castle there) mid afternoon on Wednesday. We had about an hour to go through it before it closed – it was 3 floors and 50 rooms. So we didn’t have a whole lot of time to dawdle. There 3000 portraits hanging in the rooms, hallways, etc. of kings and queens and other important persons – we saw one of Martin Luther, one of Calvin, of Thomas Jefferson. One of the kings had built himself a theater in one of the towers – that was quite neat. Out in front just before you crossed the moat was 2 runestones – we’ve seen several of those. They are from Viking times and I guess someone is able to decipher them. To us it just looks like picture language. Hope I’ve kept good enough record of our slides so we will remember where we took which pictures. After that we went over to the little town and walked thru some of the shops. The stores in Sweden seem to stay open till six, though a lot of them close over the noon hour. (Here they stay open during lunch hour but close at 5. The majority of the shops close at 1 on Saturday p.m. excepting the food stores which re probably open till 4. Very few if any stores are open on Sunday – some gas stations and sometimes they will have some grocery items, etc.) Jene is going to try to add to her shoe collection so she was looking for a shoe made in Sweden. She finally lucked out – a wooden clog; we found it in a little shop called Sussi’s and as we were walking around looking at things, a lady (clerk) walked up and said, “It’s good to hear my native tongue.” It turned out she was she was ‘Susie’ the shop owner, from England. She said we were a little ahead of the tourist season. She talked and talked. She has a retired gentleman make these wooden clogs for her, then she wood burns a design and paints them. So ‘Sweden’ as well as her name is on the bottom. She’s lived in Sweden 17 years, married a Swede. That was interesting!
From there we drove to the outskirts of Stockholm, got a hotel room, and settled in. We ate our supper there at the hotel. After breakfast the next morning we took a bus to the subway stop. We were having a time finding the correct bus, we asked to(?) of the drivers – neither one spoke English. We finally asked a fellow who was waiting for the bus – he spoke English. When we got off the bus we weren’t sure where to find the subway – the fellow we talked to came to our aid and told us to look for the T for tunnel (in DC it is M for Metro, right?) We bought a 24-hour ticket which got us on subways or busses without further cost for the rest of the day – it was quite a savings. So we headed for Old Town and the Palace and an old church, a large cathedral type. On the way to the Palace we walked by an old church – it was open, so we decided to go in, too. It turned out to be a Stockholm Cathedral. Big, ostentatious, gaudy – places (boxes) for the royalty to sit. It was built in the 1200’s, added to, remodeled, etc. and of course, before the Reformation was Roman. It had small chapels around the outside of the main nave; people of importance buried in the floor in these chapels. There was a big sculpture of St. George slaying the Dragon. Descriptions can’t begin to do it justice. From there we headed to the Palace – people were standing waiting so we figured something must be about to happen so we joined the crowd. It was about a 15-minute wait before they had the changing of the Guard. These were more like Swedish militia than like the English palace guards. After that we went into the Treasury to see the Crown jewels. They were about 2 floors below ground level. It’s difficult to imagine the wealth of the monarchs – one crown had hundreds of diamonds; some of the others had many kinds of gems. There was even a silver baptismal font.
After that we went to find the other old cathedral, but it was closed for construction work of some kind – so that was that. We stopped for a smorbrod (sandwich) at a bakery near the T, then rode to another stop, transferred to a bus and went to the Wasa museum. Here we saw the restoring, still in process of the old Swedish man-of-war ship. It overturned on its maiden voyage and sunk while it was still in the Stockholm harbor in 1628. In 1956 it was located, finally raised to the surface in 1961. It was in amazing condition considering the length of time it had been under water. They have been working at preserving and restoring it ever since. It was interesting – we had a guided tour, first in Swedish, then in English. By now it was 5 o’clock and we had seen enough for one day, so it was the bus back to the T back to the bus to the hotel. We decided to stay over another night. Holy Thursday is not a national holiday in Sweden like it is in Norway, but Good Friday is; we weren’t sure how much would be open anywhere.
So Friday morning we checked out, and drove up to Uppsala – it is a University town and the see of the Swedish bishop, so it has a huge cathedral, with chapels all around the outer aisle, and many people buried there. It was large and beautiful. They were having a Good Friday worship service at 11:00, so we waited and went to it. Vince even understood some of the sermon. The cathedral was filled, and a lot of visitors and tourists. Then we drove to Old Uppsala where the earlier cathedral had been. Part of it remains and it is still used as a place of worship. Quite close by are 3 huge mounds, royal burial grounds. From excavations done, they are believed to be from the 5 or 600 A.D. time period. And are thought to be of 3 kings told about in the sagas. Now that’s old! There was a little eating place open there, so we had smorbrod og kaffe before heading back to Oslo. It was at least a 6 or 7 hour drive, so it ws close to 10 before we got home. Luckily, I have bought some books which tell about these places – after awhile they all run together in your mind. We never did get to the newer part of Stockholm, nor did we attempt to visit the grave of Oluf Palme. I guess Swedes are still stopping and throwing flowers both at his grave and at the place where he was shot.
Last Sunday we went to Hobol to an old church. Oddvar met us and went, too. Did I write this before? We went to his house for dinner and an afternoon of visiting. It was fun again and they are nice.
Guess I’d better shampoo so my hair will get dry. We are invited for cheese and crackers at 7 to Hanna & Rolf Koppang’s. There is services at the churches tonight – Vince sings with the choir at Osteras. It is a 11 o’clock Easter Eve watch. They also have a worship service at 11 a.m. on Monday (second day Easter) besides the service tomorrow.
Don’t know when this will get out – P.O. closed from Thurs. thru Monday. But will drop it in the box anyway.
Love, Verla and Vince
I don’t do any fancy cooking for us here, so none of us are gaining weight! Don’t worry, Mom!
February 1, 2016
Nothing Spectacular
5 April 1986
Dear ones,
This has been a quiet week with nothing spectacular going on.
Last Saturday we had snow and rain. It helped melt some of the snow. Downtown Oslo has very little snow left. Up here we still have piles along the streets and in places where its been piled that are from 3 to 5 feet high. I noticed yesterday that on the roof of the garages which we look down on it is down to about 3 or 4 inches. It had been at least a foot ever since we came. The days this week have been in the 40’s; today the weatherman said it would be 50. Noticed on the SE side of the bldg, the other day that there are some small flowers blooming.
Last Saturday evening we went to Koppang’s for cheese and crackers. She had a variety of cheeses, most of which I’ve forgotten the names. She offered to get Vince some gammel ost, but he said he’d pass. We left at 10 so we could drop Vince off at church for choir practice. The choir sang at the 11 p.m. Easter Eve service. There were six in the choir and about 20 in the congregation.
Sunday morning we went to the American Lutheran Church – it was the first English service we had been to since we came. In the evening Vince and I went downtown on the trikk and went to the Oslo Cathedral to hear Bach’s Easter Oratorio – sung in German with a Norsk translation printed in the program. The cathedral doesn’t compare to the ones we saw in Uppsala or Stockholm. But then Norway has been the step-child for a long time. It was under Danish rule from 1300’s to 1814, and under Swedish rule from 1814-1905. The church was full; people stood in line to get in.
Mark called Monday morning – we went on daylight saving time last weekend, so it was 7:30 Mon. a.m. here (he thought it would be 6:30 and we would be getting up for school.) Monday was still a national holiday so there was no school, no stores, banks or post office open. It was fun to hear from him – they sound busy. He had auditioned for a couple of summer jobs and was waiting to hear. Amy is finishing her Master’s and applying for jobs.
Did I tell you Vince has been invited to be a guest lecturer at the Royal Dental College at Arhus, Denmark. His fame continues to spread. A student from there had been at U of I last year, and guess he recommended Vince. So now we will or he will try to work that into our schedule. We may do it on our way to Germany in May.
Have I told you Lyle and Exene are flying over May 2 – 12? Vince has planned a trip to the fjord country for about 6-7 days while they are here.
Checking your letters to see if there are any questions to answer. On Tuesday when the mail was finally delivered again, we got letters from most of you.
Hey Mom, I’ll give you something new to dream about – Vince made me step on the scale the other day he was also concerned about my weight. And he was right – I’d lost 2 or 3 pounds.
Guess our loss was your gain – glad you all enjoyed Dawn and Heather. It’s hard to understand how anyone could choose to visit Minnesota instead of Oslo. No one mentioned struggling with the weather while she was there so it must have presented no major problems.
It’s a nice bright day, so we should decide to do something here in Oslo – think the stores close at 1 p.m. so shopping might be out. Shopping doesn’t mean buying.
Heard from Laurene – Terri wrote, too. She wants some stuff about Norway she can take it(?) school. So I’m collecting a few things and will get it in the mail soon.
Now that I started a new page, I’ve read through your letters. But just checked the mail and had a letter from Laurene. Sounds like she’d enjoyed seeing Dawn and Heather, too.
Also got another form. We needed to file our tax. Hadn’t brought it along – a business expense form – so called the Embassy. They had the forms and sent me one. So will have to get busy and finish it – wonder if the April 15 postmark is valid even if it’s from Norway.
Better get going on the day – it is slipping away.
My Dec. perm is beginning to look pretty shabby. But don’t think I want to try a perm here. So will have to start setting it more often or something. Maybe I should have Jene cut it – she gave Vince a haircut, and when the fellow downstairs heard about that, he asked her to give him one, too. So she did!
Love, Verla and Vince
P.S. Thanks for the pictures of Heather, Sharon. She is growing up!
Dear ones,
This has been a quiet week with nothing spectacular going on.
Last Saturday we had snow and rain. It helped melt some of the snow. Downtown Oslo has very little snow left. Up here we still have piles along the streets and in places where its been piled that are from 3 to 5 feet high. I noticed yesterday that on the roof of the garages which we look down on it is down to about 3 or 4 inches. It had been at least a foot ever since we came. The days this week have been in the 40’s; today the weatherman said it would be 50. Noticed on the SE side of the bldg, the other day that there are some small flowers blooming.
Last Saturday evening we went to Koppang’s for cheese and crackers. She had a variety of cheeses, most of which I’ve forgotten the names. She offered to get Vince some gammel ost, but he said he’d pass. We left at 10 so we could drop Vince off at church for choir practice. The choir sang at the 11 p.m. Easter Eve service. There were six in the choir and about 20 in the congregation.
Sunday morning we went to the American Lutheran Church – it was the first English service we had been to since we came. In the evening Vince and I went downtown on the trikk and went to the Oslo Cathedral to hear Bach’s Easter Oratorio – sung in German with a Norsk translation printed in the program. The cathedral doesn’t compare to the ones we saw in Uppsala or Stockholm. But then Norway has been the step-child for a long time. It was under Danish rule from 1300’s to 1814, and under Swedish rule from 1814-1905. The church was full; people stood in line to get in.
Mark called Monday morning – we went on daylight saving time last weekend, so it was 7:30 Mon. a.m. here (he thought it would be 6:30 and we would be getting up for school.) Monday was still a national holiday so there was no school, no stores, banks or post office open. It was fun to hear from him – they sound busy. He had auditioned for a couple of summer jobs and was waiting to hear. Amy is finishing her Master’s and applying for jobs.
Did I tell you Vince has been invited to be a guest lecturer at the Royal Dental College at Arhus, Denmark. His fame continues to spread. A student from there had been at U of I last year, and guess he recommended Vince. So now we will or he will try to work that into our schedule. We may do it on our way to Germany in May.
Have I told you Lyle and Exene are flying over May 2 – 12? Vince has planned a trip to the fjord country for about 6-7 days while they are here.
Checking your letters to see if there are any questions to answer. On Tuesday when the mail was finally delivered again, we got letters from most of you.
Hey Mom, I’ll give you something new to dream about – Vince made me step on the scale the other day he was also concerned about my weight. And he was right – I’d lost 2 or 3 pounds.
Guess our loss was your gain – glad you all enjoyed Dawn and Heather. It’s hard to understand how anyone could choose to visit Minnesota instead of Oslo. No one mentioned struggling with the weather while she was there so it must have presented no major problems.
It’s a nice bright day, so we should decide to do something here in Oslo – think the stores close at 1 p.m. so shopping might be out. Shopping doesn’t mean buying.
Heard from Laurene – Terri wrote, too. She wants some stuff about Norway she can take it(?) school. So I’m collecting a few things and will get it in the mail soon.
Now that I started a new page, I’ve read through your letters. But just checked the mail and had a letter from Laurene. Sounds like she’d enjoyed seeing Dawn and Heather, too.
Also got another form. We needed to file our tax. Hadn’t brought it along – a business expense form – so called the Embassy. They had the forms and sent me one. So will have to get busy and finish it – wonder if the April 15 postmark is valid even if it’s from Norway.
Better get going on the day – it is slipping away.
My Dec. perm is beginning to look pretty shabby. But don’t think I want to try a perm here. So will have to start setting it more often or something. Maybe I should have Jene cut it – she gave Vince a haircut, and when the fellow downstairs heard about that, he asked her to give him one, too. So she did!
Love, Verla and Vince
P.S. Thanks for the pictures of Heather, Sharon. She is growing up!
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