I am apparently a bit behind in my blogging.. oops
I went up north to visit Trondheim from May 25-29, which is the town my mom was born in, to visit family and of course site see. It's pretty far north but still only considered central Norway. I am going up there again when my mom is here but most of our family will be on vacation and I wanted to get the chance to see everyone.
I stayed with my cousin Linn Marit while up there and she's actually my closest relative in Norway. Instead of being a grandparents cousins - children - children (etc), our moms are cousins (also the only family member that is the same generation as me and not 5 yrs old). I even have vague memories of her last visit to Seattle from when I was 6, so she's also one of the few people in Norway that I had met before.
I was also really excited to meet Erling, Linn Marit's adorable 3 year old son. Because he's so young it was pretty funny when we tried to "communicate". In Trondheim the dialect is very different and my Norwegian still isn't very good so I had a difficult time understanding him (and really anybody in general). At this age I don't think he quite understands the concept of "language" so he was a bit scared of me. Whenever he'd talk to me, I'd look at his parents for an explanation or just nod my head and say "ja" (ya) or "mmhhmm". And he'd also look at my like I was nuts because he couldn't understand the adults when they were talking with me (in English) and it was obviously my fault. It was a really amusing experience but it made me regret not trying harder with my speaking skills. When I did speak in Norwegian to him (either a phrase I managed to stutter out or because I was just reading something out loud) he would get really excited and immediately start speaking quickly to me, which resulted in a panicked expression for my part.
I also met her dad Rune and her younger brothers. That evening the 5 of us went out to the castle runes of Steinvikholm, the place of the last Catholic archbishop in Norway. I fell in love with the town of Stjørdal (where they live, outside of Trondheim). The area is so green, hilly and rural but close to town and close to the big city of Trondheim. It was perfect. That night I was amazed by the fact that it never got completely dark! By 1:30am it was dusk and by 2:00am the sun was rising. Needless to say I stayed up way to late every night since my body got so confused. I won't be moving there no worries, I don't think I could handle the opposite light problem in the winter.. constant darkness.
That night we rented a movie and bought candy at the rental place. It was the type of candy in those bins full of different kinds of colorful candy. I'm not sure if it's a Norwegian thing, that side of my family thing, or even complete coincidence, but thats exactly what my siblings and I used to do when we had sleepovers at our grandparents. I always get a few shark & frog gummies and Swedish Fish (so of course I did in Trondheim too). I haven't done that in years, it was quite the flashback and I loved it! I felt like a kid all over again!
Saturday, I joined the family to a confirmation of a cousin from Rune's side of the family, so no relation to me, but it was still really fun to see! Everybody wears bunads, the traditional Norwegian dress, and it's a huge right of passage for teenagers. The part I found intriguing is that few (very very few) Norwegians go to church but almost all Norwegians get confirmed. If they don't want to do it in the church they can also do it at the Town Hall (which is very different from confirmation in the US, since that's only a religious thing)
The celebration was an all day event! We went to church around 10:30 (don't ask Norwegians to wake up early for church), met up for food around 1:00. Now I say food, not a specific meal, because it was continuous eating. I hear a lot of people say Norwegians have great portion control and I believe that to be a big fat lie. We had our meal (2nds and 3rds expected), followed by coffee & ice cream. Then we went outside for pictures, quickly followed by coffee and cake (better take more than 1 piece of cake too since there were so many types). I didn't think I'd be able to eat for days!
During the celebration I got to meet Linn Marit's step mom and see her younger brothers & Rune again. Also, even though not related to the family, her grandmother came, my Tante (aunt) Greta, who is my grandma's sister. I don't have any memories of her although I know she was in the Seattle with Linn Marit when I was 6 and I've seen pictures.
In between the service and the reception we took a pit stop to the town of Hell. They have an old train station (no longer in use) that has been tourist-ized. There is a sign saying: Hell. Gods expedition. Which translates to: Hell - cargo delivery. However, in Norwegian expedition is spelled: ekspedisjon, very close but the sign has definitely been English-ified for tourists. It was still fun to go see though. Now I can truly say: I have been to hell and back.. tee hee
Sunday we took a trip into the city of Trondheim with Rune and the three boys. We visited the huge Nidaros Cathedral which is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world. It actually reminded me a lot of Notre Dame, and it's where many Royal Weddings happen. We also had a little picnic in a park (waffles & fruit) and then took a boat ride out to Munkholmen castle, and had ice cream! No, we never did stop eating. This castle was built from the stones stolen from the Steinvikholm castle I saw on Friday. That night we had a lovely BBQ where I had my first hot dog in months! It was delicious and much better than American hot dogs.
Monday we went back into Trondheim and visited the Folk Museum that has a bunch of ancient buildings that were relocated to be preserved. Apparently in the summer many of them are open to go inside and look around. Because it was still early in the season we were only able to peak into them. The buildings wrap their way up a huge hill and at the top are the remains of Sverresborg - a very old castle that was for King Sverres (borg = castle). After the museum we walked along the scenic riverfront with colorful buildings turned into restaurants and cafe's before I was dropped off at Tyholttårnet - the Trondheim Tower. I've heard it referred to many times as the miniature Space Needle (it even slowly rotates while you eat!) where I had dinner with my grandfather's cousin Inger Marie, her boyfriend, her daughter Carina and Carina's girlfriend. It was great to meet them! Inger Marie & Carine had just been to Seattle for holiday but I was in Colorado and unable to meet them at that time. It was really cool to meet more family and get to see the view of Trondheim at the same time :)
My trip up to Trondheim was very short but we sure packed a lot into it. I'm so glad I made it up there! I'll be visiting again in 20 days with my mom but that happens to be a very popular holiday time. Hopefully we'll be meeting up with Inger Marie & Carina in Oslo though before they leave.
I went up north to visit Trondheim from May 25-29, which is the town my mom was born in, to visit family and of course site see. It's pretty far north but still only considered central Norway. I am going up there again when my mom is here but most of our family will be on vacation and I wanted to get the chance to see everyone.
I stayed with my cousin Linn Marit while up there and she's actually my closest relative in Norway. Instead of being a grandparents cousins - children - children (etc), our moms are cousins (also the only family member that is the same generation as me and not 5 yrs old). I even have vague memories of her last visit to Seattle from when I was 6, so she's also one of the few people in Norway that I had met before.
I was also really excited to meet Erling, Linn Marit's adorable 3 year old son. Because he's so young it was pretty funny when we tried to "communicate". In Trondheim the dialect is very different and my Norwegian still isn't very good so I had a difficult time understanding him (and really anybody in general). At this age I don't think he quite understands the concept of "language" so he was a bit scared of me. Whenever he'd talk to me, I'd look at his parents for an explanation or just nod my head and say "ja" (ya) or "mmhhmm". And he'd also look at my like I was nuts because he couldn't understand the adults when they were talking with me (in English) and it was obviously my fault. It was a really amusing experience but it made me regret not trying harder with my speaking skills. When I did speak in Norwegian to him (either a phrase I managed to stutter out or because I was just reading something out loud) he would get really excited and immediately start speaking quickly to me, which resulted in a panicked expression for my part.
I also met her dad Rune and her younger brothers. That evening the 5 of us went out to the castle runes of Steinvikholm, the place of the last Catholic archbishop in Norway. I fell in love with the town of Stjørdal (where they live, outside of Trondheim). The area is so green, hilly and rural but close to town and close to the big city of Trondheim. It was perfect. That night I was amazed by the fact that it never got completely dark! By 1:30am it was dusk and by 2:00am the sun was rising. Needless to say I stayed up way to late every night since my body got so confused. I won't be moving there no worries, I don't think I could handle the opposite light problem in the winter.. constant darkness.
That night we rented a movie and bought candy at the rental place. It was the type of candy in those bins full of different kinds of colorful candy. I'm not sure if it's a Norwegian thing, that side of my family thing, or even complete coincidence, but thats exactly what my siblings and I used to do when we had sleepovers at our grandparents. I always get a few shark & frog gummies and Swedish Fish (so of course I did in Trondheim too). I haven't done that in years, it was quite the flashback and I loved it! I felt like a kid all over again!
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| Girls in Bunads |
The celebration was an all day event! We went to church around 10:30 (don't ask Norwegians to wake up early for church), met up for food around 1:00. Now I say food, not a specific meal, because it was continuous eating. I hear a lot of people say Norwegians have great portion control and I believe that to be a big fat lie. We had our meal (2nds and 3rds expected), followed by coffee & ice cream. Then we went outside for pictures, quickly followed by coffee and cake (better take more than 1 piece of cake too since there were so many types). I didn't think I'd be able to eat for days!
During the celebration I got to meet Linn Marit's step mom and see her younger brothers & Rune again. Also, even though not related to the family, her grandmother came, my Tante (aunt) Greta, who is my grandma's sister. I don't have any memories of her although I know she was in the Seattle with Linn Marit when I was 6 and I've seen pictures.
In between the service and the reception we took a pit stop to the town of Hell. They have an old train station (no longer in use) that has been tourist-ized. There is a sign saying: Hell. Gods expedition. Which translates to: Hell - cargo delivery. However, in Norwegian expedition is spelled: ekspedisjon, very close but the sign has definitely been English-ified for tourists. It was still fun to go see though. Now I can truly say: I have been to hell and back.. tee heeSunday we took a trip into the city of Trondheim with Rune and the three boys. We visited the huge Nidaros Cathedral which is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world. It actually reminded me a lot of Notre Dame, and it's where many Royal Weddings happen. We also had a little picnic in a park (waffles & fruit) and then took a boat ride out to Munkholmen castle, and had ice cream! No, we never did stop eating. This castle was built from the stones stolen from the Steinvikholm castle I saw on Friday. That night we had a lovely BBQ where I had my first hot dog in months! It was delicious and much better than American hot dogs.
My trip up to Trondheim was very short but we sure packed a lot into it. I'm so glad I made it up there! I'll be visiting again in 20 days with my mom but that happens to be a very popular holiday time. Hopefully we'll be meeting up with Inger Marie & Carina in Oslo though before they leave.
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| Nidaros Cathedral |
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| Erling and his Uncles in the park |
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| Folk Museum |
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| After dinner at Tyholttårnet |
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