July 21

July 21:  We left Kristiansund to start south through and along the fiords on the Atlantic Ocean road.  We stopped at Ergan Kystfort, a restored German coastal fort from World War II.  Bud was home to 350 Germans, and Polish and Russian POWs. We were able to get out of the heavy rain, down into the bunkers, and listen to a guide explain what it would have been like for both Norwegians and Germans. It was a hard time for Norway!

We traveled the “Golden Route” which moved us up the “Troll’s Path”, a winding road of endless hairpin switchbacks which went up and up and up. In going around some of the turns, the side of the road was invisible to us – only the downward sloping face of the mountain could be seen.

One of the concerns as we slowly (and safely) traversed the mountain was that we would miss the ferry, which would have had us waiting another hour and a half for the next one, but Jon had called ahead, talked to the captain of the ship, and was able to get him to wait 10 minutes for us. Our lucky day!  So catching the ferry was a good thing, but the driving rain was not such a good thing. I chose to brave the elements, along with many others from the bus, and we took pictures of what we could see.  The cloud cover was low, and added drama to the shots.  I guess coming back to see the Geiranger Fiord on a sunny day is just another reason to come back to Norway.  Our hotel was the Alexander, sitting between a fiord and a sheer mountain face. The hotel would have been a perfect movie spot for an Agatha Christie novel (although in Norwegian she’d be Agata Kristiansson)– wood burning fireplace, wooden floors, stone hearths, elaborate dining area, wingback chairs, private balconies, long hallways, etc..

July 20

July 20: We left Trondheim to make our way to Kristiansund. Along the way we had the chance to ride ferries across breathtaking fiords and travel through long, dark tunnels. There are so many tunnels in Norway, and each one feels as if it might be the longest one in Norway.  Our concert was planned in Kristiansund at Kirkelandet Kirke. The church was more modern than  the others we’ve sung in, but absolutely gorgeous. This church was built in 1964 after the previous one burnt down when the Germans burned the town. The stained glass wall at the front of the church reaches 30 meters toward the sky, and the light shining in made the wall glow with color.

Day 11: Oslo to Trondheim

July 19:  We got up today and left the historic city of Oslo to wind our way to Trondheim.  When this trip was first set up we were to have a concert there, but no more. So at this point it will serve as our northernmost city visited in Norway. It was founded in 997, and was the first capital in Norway. We have come to find that many cities hold the honor of being Norway’s capital. Our driver says this is because the capital was in the town of wherever the resident ruler was. The countryside in Norway is absolutely spectacular! This is a good thing because the trip from Oslo to Trondheim was a long darn drive.

Trondheim was a quiet little burg. Our hotel was on the water, and I took a short walk after dinner to have  at least a small view of the town.  The houses I saw were one next to the other, and painted in soft tones of yellow, blue, red and green, with a white one mixed in every now and then. One of the odd things that I think I’m still not used to is the long hours of daylight. My walk occurred between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m., and I didn’t need any flash on the camera. When we left in the morning we stopped for a quick tour of Nideros Cathedral. It is the largest cathedral in Norway, and Norway’s national sanctuary. The exterior was an art gallery of gargoyles, and saints. Inside, the quiet coolness welcomed us. One of the highlights was being able to sing two of our songs in the cathedral – the acoustics? Heavenly.

Day 10: Oslo

July 18, 2010

On Sunday we went to sing at the Holmen Kirke (Holmen church)- a Lutheran church on the outskirts of Oslo. We wove our songs through their service, and although the service was completely in Norwegian, I recognized the parts of the service. The church was beautiful – a tall A-frame structure painted white with a brown roof.  The inside though was my favorite part. Wooden slats lined the ceiling with long rectangular windows lining the top of the wall. The tile floor held wooden pews – each pew had a stack of square pillows at the end for anyone who wanted a cushier seat.  Hanging  from the ceiling on one side of the church was a schooner, a very Scandinavian symbol, which, when hung in the church symbolizes how God helps us sail through life. The church’s organist said that the flying ship is common in the older churches in Norway. The nave on a ship is where the people gather together, and the alter area also called the nave. It was yet another example of how Scandinavians weave their nautical lives with their church lives. Another interesting piece of information given to us was about the area that I would typically call the narthex- here a very small entry way…almost more of a mud room.  The organist said that back in the church’s early days the room was called the weapon room, and all who entered were required to leave their weapons.  Church has surely changed since those days.

Following the service we returned to our hotel, and got the whole choir out on the balcony outside of the Nobel Suite.  Myron conducted us in singing one of our concert songs, and then Amazing Grace. We drew quite a crowd in the square!

Then we were off to Vigelund Park – a huge park filled with statues by Vigelund.  The park was alive with visitors picnicking, strolling, and playing, and held statues of all ages and sizes.  One of the most impressive is Vigelund’s monolith of bodies…a statue carved out of a single block of stone that reaches over 56 feet into the sky. All of his stone figures captured such expression and movement, and the variety of ages of his subjects drew all of us in in some way.

The evening was finished with another delightful dinner at a restaurant with a fun waiter from Denmark. I must say that our service in Norway has been great – we seem to attract waiters who are willing to have fun and joke – making dinner an event. As we walked back to our hotel we realized that although it was after 9:30 at night, the sun was still shining on the tops of the buildings.  So surreal to have such daylight so late at night.

Day 9: Oslo

July 17th – Oslo, Norway   The day began with another sumptuous buffet.  Once again, there was more food than anyone could possibly eat, and foods to tempt any palate. A new addition to the morning was a choice of herrings. There was “breakfast” herring, herring in cream sauce, herring in sour cream, herring with lingonberries (my new favorite), herring in a curry sauce, and herring in a tomato sauce.  We also had choices about our salmon.  Breads, fruits, eggs, meats, and Swedish/Norwegian pancakes were also offered. Once we had nourished our bodies for a day of sightseeing we were off.  Buying a ticket for the Hop On-Hop Off bus gave us a way to get around town. We rode the bus around the city, listening to the informative narration of a guide through the small ear pieces provided. We rode around the Oslo Fiord until we got to Bygdoy – the big island that holds some of Oslo’s maritime and folk museums. We began at the Viking Ship museum – an amazing place.  They have taken 3 Viking ships that were used as burial chambers, excavated them, and painstakingly restored them. One of the ships had been broken into thousands of pieces from the weight of the earth pressing down. Although many of the artifacts from the ships were plundered by grave robbers, the archaeologists were able to retrieve some of the items buried with the ships, and they are displayed at the museum.  It would seem that wood carving is another of the high arts practiced by Scandinavians.  It is thought that at least one of the ships was used to bury two women.

Next we went to the Fram Museum – a tall A-frame building that holds Roald Amundsen’s ship, the Fram, which he used to move through pack ice as he explored the polar regions. After reading about him at the museum, it is easy to see why he is a Norwegian hero…he explored tirelessly, mapping the new areas he came to, and at the end of his life, disappeared into the wild as he went back to look for some fellow explorers who had disappeared when their air ship went down.

Hopping back onto the bus we traveled back to the center of Oslo and got off so that we could go see the Oslo Opera house. The building is beautiful, and built in such a way that visitors can climb up the slanting marble roof to the top. Inside, the building is filled with thousands of thin pieces of wood which line the outside of the ramps that lead to the various levels of the actual theatre. The whole structure is a line artist’s paradise.

After dinner we took a walk up to the castle where we once again saw extremely young men serving as guards in skinny guard houses. There was no telling if King Harald and Queen Sonja were at home, although I sort of doubt it given the number of guards.

Day 8: Stockholm to Oslo

July 16, 2010

As we drove across the border into Norway, Rolfe stood up and sang the Norwegian national anthem.  What better way is there to enter a country than that?  Once again, they didn’t stamp our passports…dang. When we fly from Norway back to Denmark before coming home I wonder what they will say to us about our whereabouts for the past weeks… We arrived at our hotel (The Grand Hotel) to find that is was indeed grand.  The room of two of our members, Roy and Sean, wasn’t ready, and they were upgraded for the inconvenience – to the suite where Nobel Peace Prize winners stay when they come to Oslo. Sweet! We took a little walk to stretch our legs, and ended up at the Oslo Cathedral, which has as a cornerstone, a stone carving that is approximately 1000 years old, showing the struggle between good and evil…comforting to know that people were struggling with those same things so long ago.

Days 6-7: From Alvesta to/in&around Stockholm

Stockholm, Sweden: Day 6: We left Alvesta, Sweden at 8:00 a.m., leaving our host families behind. By morning time, everyone seemed to have become closer to the host families who had, just 12 hours earlier been strangers.  Hugs all around,  a final picture, and we loaded up onto the bus to make our way to Stockholm.

The countryside in Sweden is green, green, green, and filled with trees, many with tall thin trunks, branchless until  about 2/3 up the trunk. Sharing the hillsides were groves of aspens and other deciduous trees. We drove off and on for about 6 hours – making our way across the Swedish countryside. Even the rest areas were idyllic – one was on Lake Vattern. And as we stretched our legs we were able to enjoy the breeze blowing in off the lake.

We drove through Stockholm to get to our out of town hotel – The Scandic, and I could see why they call Stockholm the Venice of the North. Canals ran in between stretches of buildings fronted by snappy facades. Ferries and other small water crafts crisscrossed between islands, carrying visitors and residents alike. Our drive through town was a quick taste of what we would come back later to enjoy. Once we’d checked in to our hotel, our kind driver, Hans, brought us back into town, and the members of the chorale split up to wander the old city. A group of us went to eat at Zum Franziskaner, one of the oldest restaurants in Stockholm – originally operated by monks in 1416. My food was tasty, but not everyone in my group was as pleased. Maybe just being a landmark restaurant doesn’t make your food of landmark quality.

Day 7. Thursday, July 15, 2010

We began our day at the Vasa Museum. The Swedes colossal ship faux pas.  It had its maiden voyage in 1628, and sank within 20 minutes of setting sail. The ship had double gun decks, and not enough ballast.  It lay at the bottom of the harbor for 333 years, and was raised in 1961. Through massive preservation efforts, it has been restored, and with 95% of its original wood intact, it sits in the museum. The exhibits were wonderful and informative. The ship had 500 carved wooden statues, and a 10 foot wooden lion represented Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus – the Lion from the North.

Next we made our way to the Royal Palace – Kungliga Slottet – where we watched the changing of the guard. A 45 minute performance of the Royal Guard along with the Swedish Navy Band, moved us right into the Swedish feeling.  We wandered into the Storkyrkan, the huge church where Princess Victoria was recently married.  One of the highlights? A ginormous statue of St. George slaying the dragon – supposedly symbolizing the slaying of the Danes who occupied Sweden.

Roy and I took a route back to the bus that would allow me to find the Small Boy statue.  he is touted as the smallest statue in Stockholm.  With a few turns of the map, and some false starts we were able to find him, tucked back into a courtyard behind the Finnish church.  He is made of brass and is only about 6 inches tall.  His head is shiny from all the people who rub his head for good luck.

We met at the bus at 4:30 as scheduled, but over the next hour, found out that our evening concert would be cancelled.  This was disappointing, but we did have the chance to practice in the St. Peter and St. Sigfrid’s Anglican church.

Some of us went out on the town after rehearsal…Stockholm is a city to come back to for sure! Tomorrow we leave for Norway. A long way on the bus to a new and exciting part of Scandinavia.  See you on the road!